Drift: The Blueberry Speedster.

•~Chapter 1: Aftermath~•

It was 9 months since the particle project had failed, and affected the whole city.

Renee would head outside, breathing in the cold, sharp air. It was around November, the point in where the tide of seemingly warm weather would slowly fade away, becoming colder every week. She fidgeted her hands in her pockets, walking down the cracked pavement, listening to music. The skies would be coated with gray, as droplets of rain fell onto the frigid city. She had her head tilted at the ground, counting the steps she took as usual. She would slightly look to her left, seeing other people walking down the streets, before cocking her head to the right, looking at the face of buildings, with shops occasionally popping up once in a while. She then finally lifted her head up straight, facing forward. She proceeded to take longer strides, obviously walking faster. It was as if she was in a rush, but she really wasn't going anywhere important. Renee would stop, before crossing a street, heading to the public library.

She entered, before looking around. She scanned her library card at the reception, before heading upstairs, onto the 2nd floor of the library. Renee would head down a book aisle, tracing her fingers over the spines of the books, reading the titles as she walked past them. She'd pause, looking at a book title, in which it was in bolded italics. The title was stated as ''QUANTUM ENERGY'' . Renee would pull it out of it's slot, and turn it to it's front, blowing the dust off of the book. She'd cough a bit, covering her mouth with her elbow. She'd then finish wiping the dust off, before looking at the book. She knew that the book hadn't been touched for god knows how long, due to the fact that the print seemed to be a bit faded, also suggesting that the book was pretty old. She kept held of the book, as she sat down at a table by herself, pulling out her phone, and placing it onto the table. She still kept her ear buds in her ears, while listening to music. 

She opened the book, blowing the dust off of it again. The pages were yellowed, as mini patches of ink was splotched across it. They felt thick, almost as if it was sketching paper. The ink print stood out from the pages. with bold letters appearing here and there, and a table of contents. She turned a few pages, before examining the first page. She flipped through the book, her eyes going back and forth between the blurs of equations and formulas as she flipped the pages.  She could see more dust rise slightly due to her flipping through the pages so quickly. This book was probably asleep to be honest, Renee thought to herself, before flipping back through the pages to the first chapter. She opened up a pocket in her jacket, before taking out her scruffy, black glasses. She would place them on, beginning to read the first chapter.

After about half an hour, Renee had finished chapter 1. She would lean back in the chair, stretching a bit. She had scribbled down notes halfway, when the book got over the basic introduction, and into formulas. She would then take off her glasses, before closing the book. She would then place her glasses​ away, before placing the book back in it's sleeping cubicle slot. She'd head back down to the first floor, before heading out of the front door. 

The rain seemed to get a bit heavier, as the winds would be picking up gradually. Renee would grab her umbrella she was holding, knowing before that the rainy day might've picked up on the heaviness of it's rain. She opened it up, lifting it up over her head. Bigger puddles would appear on the wet pavement, as cars would drive by, water spraying past their wheels. Her shoes would tap against the puddles on the ground, tiny droplets of water rising up before falling every time she took a step. She looked straight, heading down a street, leading her away from the library and her apartment. Renee would decide to take the long way home, since the rain brought on this calming feeling within her, easing up her cloudy mind a bit. Of course, as usual, she'd begin to count the steps she took, but restarted every time she'd hit a new block or crack of the sidewalk. She kept her eyes fixed on the cracks, and always had the temptation to walk over them. She'd start to become distracted, zoning out of the rainy atmosphere she was in, not blinking. 

A sudden jerk would make Renee snap back to reality, her jumping a bit from surprise. Her head would look up from the ground, seeing a blonde-haired woman standing in front of her. Renee made no mistake in who this woman was, and to be honest, almost anyone could know who this ''innocent'' golden teenager was. ''Helena?'' Renee would speak, almost stuttering from surprise in seeing her again. Helena would clear her throat, before speaking, ''Renee, right?'' ''Yeah, the blue haired teenager from-'' Renee would be cut off, as Helena sharply intervened, but not in a 'serious' way. ''I know who you are, I've seen your little blue hair spike here and there in different classes and hallways.'' Helena would smile a bit, knowing that Renee was a little bit tense around her. ''I wouldn't expect you to be out in the rain, walking around.'' Helena  would speak again, easing up Renee. Renee then spoke back, as she'd know that this conversation could possibly keep going for a while. ''Oh. Well, I knew that eventually it was going to rain, since i came out earlier, but I decided to take my time walking home since the rain brings on this mind-easing vibe to me.'' ''Oh?'' Helena would reply, arching her eyebrow a bit, before speaking again. ''Well uh, that's interesting to hear from you, yet again I can't judge.'' Helena would roll up the sleeve of her jacket, looking at her watch, looking back up at Renee before she could speak. ''Er...Sorry, I have to go, like right now. Maybe I'll see you another time?'' ''Yeah.'' Renee would reply. ''Alright, ciao.'' Within a few seconds, Helena turned a corner, and was gone from sight. Renee would sigh, before beginning to walk again. There was something..odd  about Helena. Why was she out in the rain too? Why didn't she have a umbrella?  The impact of when Helena walked into Renee had this..unusual strength to it. It was almost as if Helena was a wall compared to her. Renee would shake her head, dismissing the thoughts. You were out of reality, so of course the impact would be surprising. She would sigh, and turn a street corner, starting to head home.

During the walk home, Renee had went inside a coffee shop, and bought a medium sized Frappuccino, along with skipping over cracks in the ground. Her eyes had been tracing the buildings growing taller and taller per block, which always made her have a peak of wonder in how small things would look from the roofs of the buildings. Eventually, after passing block and a bit, she could see the usual apartments she resided in. She smiled with relief, as the building slowly inched closer and closer, her knowing that her cozy little confinement was inside. Renee would enter the apartments, and go through the same process any other time she entered the apartments, closing her umbrella. Her normal process was having a blast of the AC or heater go at her face, have the tiny little reception with vending machines lay beside the entrance, before heading down the long corridors with enticing hopes that they'd stop before the elevator or stairs. Renee would make her way down the hallways, before stopping in front of the elevator.  She'd click the up button of the elevator, hearing the usual ding  as it arrived. She entered, and pressed the button to her floor, the elevator doors closing. The elevator would creak a bit, before it started lifting up, the numbers highlighting down on the keypad every time it passed a floor, along with the display box blinking a new number with the same features as the keypad blinking. Renee would tap her foot, before the elevator would yet again bing when it stopped at her floor level. The elevator doors would open, as she'd walk out, heading down the corridor to her apartment. She dug out her keys from her pocket, selecting her apartment keys. She stopped in front of her the door, placing the key into the lock and turning it, the door unlocking. Renee opened the door, and locked it, before taking the key out the slot, and entering her apartment. She'd close her door, and sigh, unzipping her thin jacket. She'd hang the jacket by the door, and would walk over to the kitchen counter, placing down her keys there. She'd place off her sneakers, before jumping on top of her sofa. The sofa mattress would let her body sink into it, before rising back up. She would lay there, before sitting up. Renee really had nothing to do, and she really was bored out of her mind. She'd think about the book from before, and got up, walking over to the round kitchen table, sitting down. She'd lift the cover of her laptop, turning it on, and logging in. She would click on he internet, and would start studying about quantum physics.

Hours would fly by as Renee would blink at the screen, looking at an equation. She had notes of papers scattered everywhere on the table, as some managed to make it to the floor. Her eyes would be going back and forth with new sites, learning new information about quantum physics. She looked up away from the screen, her head aching. Her eyes would adjust to the natural light in the room, before suddenly feeling exhausted. Did I really just spend all those hours studying about quantum physics...? "Eh." Renee would groan, before closing the tabs on her computer, shutting it down. She closed the lid, and sat up, her legs trembling, as she'd lean on the side of the table for minor support. She'd gain her balance, as she'd shuffle her feet to her bedroom, entering the room, and closing the door. She suddenly jumped onto the bed, before looking at the ceiling. Her eyes would drift to sleep, as she quickly passed out into the night.