What a Life

October

I lean back against the wall, pulling the pack of cigarettes out of my pocket. I stick one in my mouth then grab my lighter, flicking it a few times and holding my hand out to cover the flame. I light the cigarette and put the lighter back in my pocket, sighing as the warm smoke fills my mouth.

"Those things will kill you, you know."

I don't look over as I hear the door open and close. I feel someone standing close to me. I shrug, pulling the cigarette out of my mouth and blowing the smoke out through my teeth. "Who cares. I'll be dead soon, anyway."

"Don't talk about yourself like that."

I look over at the short ball of fury standing next to me. "Are you even on break or did you just come out here to pester me?"

"I'm on a break," she mutters, leaning back against the wall. She pulls her dyed blue hair out of a ponytail, fiddling with the ends of it. "I hate this place."

"Me too."

"I never thought I'd be working at a fast food restaurant. I always thought I'd be the president or something. Instead, It's 3 am, and I'm at a freaking McDonald's." Her light blue eyes look dull and annoyed as they stare up into the sky, picking out the few visible stars.

I chuckle. "President, huh? You have big dreams, Weather."

She turns to me, shooting me a quick glare. "Stop calling me that."

"I'm not calling you Merri."

"Why not?"

"Because it's stupid," I say, sighing and taking another puff of my cigarette.

"It's not as stupid as Weather," she mutters.

"What's wrong with your parents, anyway? Why would they name you after a Disney character?"

"Who knows." She straightens her uniform and turns back to the sky. "Merriweather's the kind of name you give a butterfly, not a kid."

"True."

We sit in silence for a moment, and I smirk as I see her glance at my cigarette. "You want one, don't you?"

She stares at me for a moment, then reaches over and takes it from me. "This never happened," she murmurs.

I chuckle and pull another out of my pocket. "Your birthday's coming up soon, right?"

"Yeah. Then I can buy those for myself."

I look at her questioningly. "I thought you said they kill people?"

Merriweather's face goes red for a moment, and she quickly looks at the ground. "Right, not that I would, I just..."

"You're just addicted."

She shakes her head, slowly.

"Yeah, me too." I watch her short figure rise and fall as she sighs and steps forward.

"Okay, my shift is over in a few hours. You need a ride again?"

"Yep. Thanks."

"Of course."

The door closes behind her, and I slide down to the ground, staring at the loose rocks in the alleyway. Then, with a sigh, I put out the cigarette in my hand and stand back up. Time to go back to hell. I open the door and step inside, tightening my apron.

"October, there you are! We need you at the register!"

I groan softly and head forwards. "Yeah, I'm coming."

✦            ✦           ✦

"See you tomorrow night," I say, waving through the car window at Merriweather.

"Yeah, see you."

I step back and watch as she pulls away, her breaks screeching as she quickly rounds the corner. I look down at my watch and sigh. It's 7 am. I straighten out my bag over my shoulder and quickly turn to head inside, yawning. I quietly open the front door and close it behind me, kicking off my shoes.

"Nope, I know you had a late night, but you need to stay awake."

I groan as I hear my mom's stern voice.

"Put those shoes back on and gather your school things!"

I slowly shove my feet back into the sneakers and trade my work bag out for my backpack, turning and going back out the front door.

"And be quiet! Your father's sleeping!"

I wave my hand dismissively as I shut the door, heading back down the sidewalk. I sigh as I see the brightening sky is covered in clouds. I'm always extra tired on rainy days. I start walking to school, trying my best to ignore the sinking exhaustion that's taking over my legs.

Eventually, I make it there, even though I'm ten minutes late. I wander into the main lobby, grab a tardy pass, and head to my first class. God, I hate math, I think, stepping into my trig class. I hand the teacher the pass and sit down, placing my head on the desk. Good thing all I'll be doing is sleeping.

"Hey, October!"

Or not... I put on a fake smile and look up to see Jean turned around in his seat, looking at me excitedly. "Yeah?"

"Did you hear that Hazel's back?" He says in a hushed whisper.

I frown. "Who?"

"Hazel, you know, that really popular sophomore?"

"I have no idea who you're talking about."

Jean shrugs. "Anyway, she came back today after missing an entire week of school." His excited brown eyes light up as he delves even further into the drama. "She just broke up with Stephen Johnson, did you know that?"

I sigh, my smile dropping. "No, I don't really care to be honest."

Jean frowns at me. "You don't care about the quarterback to the football team?"

"Boys! Attention up here, please?"

Jeans quickly snaps his eyes back to the front of the room. The teacher gives the both of us a harsh look, then continues on with the lesson. I stare at Jean's messy brown hair for a moment, then put my head back down on the desk. A few minutes pass by before I feel a quick buzz in my pocket. I pull out my phone, being careful to hide it from view as I open the text message from Jean.

Jean:

Here she is ;)

A picture slowly loads on the screen. It's a girl, her arm wrapped around the previously mentioned quarterback's shoulders. She has long, black, curly hair that reaches almost to her waist. Her eyes are soft, and her skin is a deep, warm brown. I scroll down from the picture and text him back.

October:

She's cute.

I hear the buzz from Jean's phone in front of me.

Jean:

Right? I cant believe u havent met her, she knows evryone.

October:

Not me, apparently.

Jean:

Guess ur too ugly XD

I let out a small chuckle and slip my phone back into my pocket.

"So, if you'll take out your homework..."

The amused smile on my face fades as the teacher's unforgiving voice fills the classroom.

"Remember, your assignment was worth 100 points, so I hope you all tried your hardest."

I slowly rest my head on the desk, sighing deeply. "Well, shit..."

Author's Note:

Here's chapter two! I've gotta tell you guys, this took me forever to write. I just started school again, so chapters of any kind are gonna be scarce. I'm sorry! I'll try my best to get done what I can manage. 

Thank you so much for reading! Don't forget to vote and comment! What do you think about October?  I'd love to hear your thoughts!