Constellations & Cactuses

chapter 6

it was monday before i knew it. after downing enough coffee to hopefully make me emotionally stable to spend the next five to seven hours surrounded by arrogant teenagers, i was ready for school. i walk into school, head down trying to get to my locker as quickly as possible.

sometimes people stare, and of course it's not in a good way. they whisper and laugh as if it's assuming to humiliate someone. i think i get it though, their lives are probably as shit as their comments, so they distract themselves by talking about someone else to help them forget and I guess I can't blame them for that. as I'm about to reach my locker i forcibly bump into someone and by the sound of the laughter erupting from the group behind them, it's not an accident.

ashton, a boy in my year who just bumped into me, turns around and snickers.

"watch it dork," he threatens.

the girl beside him with ashy white hair looks up at me from under her eyelashes with guilt filling her piercing winter blue eyes her eyes that once felt like at home but now set a cold feeling to the room making it drop a few degrees.

sage.

she stands still for a second, only a few meters away from me. she looks like she's about to say something, holding a book to her chest before ashton grabs her by her arm and pulls her away.

i watch them walk down the hall feeling slightly squeamish. i should've drank more coffee.

the rest of the day was agonisingly slow. you know how when you're looking forward to something like christmas or the weekend and it just seems to take sooo long but when you have something you're not so excited to do, time seems to literally fly. by the time i got home i was exhausted, luckily i hadn't bumped into sage or even Ellie, especially after our last encounter.

but unfortunately i still had to see the short red head this afternoon as we both had the afternoon shift at the flower shop. after changing into a black shirt and jeans, i head downstairs to the flower shop and put on my black apron. my mom finishes serving a customer before turning to me with a smile.

"how was school hun?" she asks as she organises a vase on the counter filled with violets.

"fine," i mumble filling up some water cans trying to limit the convocation.

luckily she knows when to let me be and she hangs up her apron before kissing my hair and heading upstairs.

"let me know when Elizabeth gets here!" she tells me as she walks upstairs.

i mumble a 'yeah' before starting to water some plants.

it's 3:56 by the time Ellie arrives at the shop, 26 minutes late.

she rushes in, cheeks glowing a soft pink, her hair pulled back in two braids which strands falling out at the front. she's wearing a faded dark blue t-shirt dress with black tights and white high-top converses with un-matching socks.

she looks like she just ran a marathon but somehow she still looks adorable.

"you're late," i tell her with no expression in my voice.

"i know, I'm so so sorry, i got off the bus at millie's house to get chang-" she starts rambling but I interrupt her.

"i really don't care, don't be late again," i warn her.

"you're not even gonna let me explain?" she asks confused glaring at me.

"like i said i don't care," i tell her as i clean the counter.

"well... i'm going to tell you anyway," she says after a minute looking at me confidently.

i roll my eyes as i grab her an apron off the rack and hand it to her.