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THERE IS A SOFT knock on Viola's bedroom door, the low sound causing her to let out a defeated sigh as she is brought back to the reality of her surroundings. From behind the wooden barrier, her mother calls out in an elegant tone.
"Viola honey, you need to leave for school soon." She says delicately before the sound of her retreating steps echoes back down the hallway. Viola musters a tired groan for the umpteenth time, rubbing the evidence of sleep from her eyes. The muted buzz of her mobile phone registers in the far end of her mind and she rustles through the sheets to find it, a beat of her heart skipping slightly.
does it matter? [7:41am]
Viola types lethargically, her brows furrowed as she maintains her upright position in bed. She curses the morning for arriving as she feels her eyelids fall heavy once again and she lets out the smallest cry of despair—sleep is very important to her. She'd be happy to sacrifice her brother if it meant that she could spend her life sleeping.
sorry i don't text strangers [7:41am]
i know you viola [7:42am]
do i know you? [7:42am]
i wish [7:45am]
She scrunches her face at the slightly creepy reply, not bothering with her own as she grimaces with goosebumps and instead haphazardly throws the device onto the duvet, the phone bouncing amongst the comfort of her blankets. Viola leaves the warmth of her bed and leans her hand on top of her knees, stretching the aches and pains in her shoulders that come from sleeping in a tightly curled position. She quickly walks into the bathroom and ignores the muffled buzz that comes from her comforter, cursing herself at the dishevelled mess that is her hair once she catches a glance of herself in the mirror.
"Geez Viola, wake up with a bit more grace why don't ya?" She mumbles to herself, taming her light brown locks and freshening up.
Viola slips on her school number, tucking her stark white school shirt into a short red and green plaid skirt. Viola hates the school uniform with the burning passion of a thousand suns. She hates the way the stupid tie sits around her neck and how the knee-high socks make the outfit look anything but appropriately academic. She was sure that some sex-crazed teen boy would catch her walking down the street convinced that she was an adult film star. She shivers at the thought.
In the corner of her room stands a tall, full length mirror with a long-patterned scarf draped over it. Viola takes a deep breath, fluttering her eyes shut and gulping, her concerningly violent judgment days a little calmer this morning. She walks over to the mirror and covers the sliver she had glanced into with the scarf she purposely placed there. Her chunky black school shoes peak out at the bottom and she smiles softly.
"What you can't see, isn't there, right?" She mutters sadly as she pulls on her school jumper and matching forest green blazer, the emblem crocheted proudly into the breast pocket. She folds her red school scarf neatly around her neck and slings her bulky backpack over her shoulder, plastering a wide grin on her face before pulling open the door of her bedroom.
She hops cheerily down the stairs and pipes a hello and goodbye to her parents and manages a flick on the forehead of her twin brother before skipping out of her Victorian style home and running off to catch the bus, cursing the sun for being so damn bright on a Monday morning.
