FEAR.

DUCKWORTH.

N O T H I N G motivated Scarlett quite like spite. Which is why she wasn't concerned with school.
She was being spiteful instead. Showing her parents that no matter what measures they take for her to study, no matter how much they paid her teachers to pass her, she simply didn't care. It had been that way since the incident.

But that was a story for another time. Only a story known White Tower and in the Black Castle, named respectively as opposites for the two wealthiest families in Hemlock Grove.

S M O K E exited Scarlett's full pink lips. They were a bit chapped from her dehydration. Just a hazard from getting stoned before school. She took one more long drag off her Camel, feeling fire in her lungs, before dropping the filter on the ground, stepping on the cherry with her boot. The sound of approaching footsteps compelled her to leave, avoiding another lecture on her health.
Much to her surprise, she saw him instead.

She smiled softly at him over her shoulder as she departed, the rocks crunching under her feet. He winked in return, lighting his own cigarette as the first bell rang.
All 6'4 of his lanky body leaned against the stone wall, as he was not concerned with being on time. He never was.

S C A R L E T T ! " a feminine voice called as she entered the building.
Her cousin Peyton approached, her little tan boots clicking rapidly with her approach, her little orange dress was covered with a long black cardigan to make up for her lack of pants. Peyton never got cold. She claimed it was because she was hot blooded, to which Scarlett always rolled her eyes.

"Fancy meeting you here." Scarlett replied, walking beside her sun beam of a cousin.
People were surprised to find they were cousins, much less friends.
Peyton's eternal optimism dipped in blonde curls and bubbly laughs were enough to balance Scarlett's bitter outlook, dark pin straight hair and blatant disregard for others.

S H E was always grateful to Peyton for getting her out of trouble though. She always insisted "it wasn't what it looked like" and covered for Scarlett as well as she could, lessoning the consequences.
"Ready to be back at the grind?" Peyton asked excitedly. She put her arm around Scarlett's shoulders, her 5'9 form towering above Scarlett who was hardly above 5'3.
"Oh, you know it, baby. I am known for my academic prowess." She laughed almost sarcastically.

"Wanna go get sushi for lunch?" Peyton asked, turning to go to her Finances 101 class.

"Yes. We can decide on a place in English." Scarlett replied turning and walking to her Psychology class.

Scarlett felt relieved to not be speaking anymore. Talking gives the illusion that you have your shit together. Sinclair's have reputations to keep and were built on illusion.
Still, the hole in Scarlett's life followed her around like a shadow.
She could hear it in the silence, so she would fill the silence. She could feel it in her sleep, so she just stopped sleeping.
The fine line of stability and sanity she was walking was thin. Everything was falling apart.

But none of that mattered now. There was something coming. She could feel it.

Life is one funny motherfucker, a true comedian you gotta love it.