Wolven

1a. reasons not to trip in the woods

The halls of San Clemente High somehow looked apocalyptic in the pale morning light, blotched with the stiff, barely-conscious students that milled from locker to friend to classroom. At least standing before the bustling parking lot of the school I could appreciate the morning sun before having to interact with the infected student body. Every person at the school was counting down the seconds to the last bell of the day, even if the first hadn't even rang.

I was no different. All the muscles in my body felt heavy with sleep.

"I don't know that I can do another two months of this," I said.

Ivy had no time for sympathy.

"You've made it this long," she sighed, tucking her car keys into her backpack. She was twitching at the lips, like being five minutes later than usual to school meant we were going to be marked tardy for the rest of the year. Still, she managed to keep her tone tight as usual. "And you only have to get through the day before some rest. You should be proud, Jade. The golden age of your childhood is coming to an end; take advantage and enjoy it."

"The golden age died with Mom," I said, biting at the inside of my cheek as we began down the sidewalk towards the main quad. I tapped my temple, giving her a smirk. "I've been in the dark ages for years, now."

"Well then hopefully you'll be coming into your middle ages."

"Yikes. I was hoping to keep clear of that for another few decades," I said.

"What? No, I was following the history joke, Jade—"

"Yep. Got that, thanks."

I took a sharp turn towards the library and away from her before she could baby me further. I'd caught sight of a familiar face, his nose stuck between the pages, and if I needed to take advantage of anything, it was an opportunity to ditch my constantly displeased sister.

Baxter greeted me as soon as he saw me jogging up to him. The pile of backpacks on the benches around him was normal, though their owners were more missing than usual.

"Where the hell is everyone?" I asked him.

He delicately dogeared the page of his book before pursing his lips.

"Elsie I think is sniffing around for potential bashes for spring break, and Tristan is either catching up with his other beef-heads and/or sniffing around for something to bump against." Baxter shook his head. "You know how it gets."
"Lots of sniffing going on," I said, sitting down beside him.

"You're right. Now that I think about it, Julio is probably doing some sniffing of his own," Baxter added with a pinch to his nose. "Either way, I'm just enjoying my book here and playing Keeper of the Backpacks until the bell rings and I'm no longer under any obligation to be a good friend."

"No one romanticizes like you, Bax," I told him, clapping him on the shoulder.

"Oh, but I do love the idea of a good cocaine binge."

"Don't knock it 'til you try it."

"Miss Wise! Have you joined the statistic?" Baxter exclaimed, leaning forward. He took his glasses off and blinked the focus in his eyes before adding, "I'm a little offended you didn't immediately tell me about it."

"Careful; you're starting to sound like Elsie, and I can't handle more than one of her in my life," I told him. Over his shoulder, I could see Tristan and two of his other friends making their way towards our table. "Besides, Tristan could probably tell you more about it than I could."

"Dear god, no thank you. I do not need to hear about you that way."

"Exactly," I laughed, waving at Tristan once he was close enough.