Slendrina: A Short Story (R-18+)

Chapter 2: The School

The road from granny's house was a dirt road, and it was ill maintained. Tops of rocks cluttered the road, giving it a distinguishable look. "More like a dirt track," Dareilla thought. "No one really uses this 'road' except for us. Granny never leaves her house, so mum and I are probably the main users. Out of the two of us, probably me. Dad only uses it to drop and pick us up from granny's house, and mum uses it for her occasional morning strides where she picks up berries and herbs for us to eat." The road ended at granny's house, but started at a sealed road. Not that granny owned the entire area. Granny only owned her house and yard. The rest belonged to the state. After twenty minutes of walking, Dareilla breathed a sigh of relief. This was it. The sealed road. Now for the walk to the bus stop.

The bus was very punctual as always, never disappointing its passengers. Of course, this was the countryside, where jobs were limited and in demand, so drivers had to do their job well or risk getting fired. Dareilla greeted the driver and once aboard, she chose a seat and sat down. She was always among the first to board the bus, bested only by two other girls and a boy. Not long ago she struck a friendship with them and found out that they attended her school, and after much friendly banter they became best buddies.

The boy rushed to a seat behind her. "Mornin' Rae," he said waving his hand.

"Good morning Evan," Dareilla replied. "Oh and good morning Kristen and good morning Cadence. How do you guys do?"

The pair of girls rushed forward and sat in the seat across from her.

"Quite a chilly morning," said Cadence.

"Oh yes without a doubt," added Kristen.

"It's always chilly here in Scotland isn't it?" Dareilla chuckled.

"Not when you're around," replied Evan.

The three girls looked at each other and started giggling. Eventually, Evan couldn't hold it any longer and joined them. The four of them were laughing uncontrollably and pointing at random things in the scenery outside. Seeing the puzzled look of passengers who boarded the bus later on made them laugh even more. Dareilla smacked the edge of her seat with both hands as if she were playing some drums, Evan repeatedly laughed so loud that the bus driver had to tell him to shut up, and Kristen and Cadence were laughing hysterically enough to lose every ounce of strength in their hands. When they arrived school they hugged each other before going to their classes.

The morning period of classes lasted only two hours, but Dareilla felt like it lasted six hours. The first thing that came to her mind when her second class was over was home. She honestly thought it was the end of the day until she realised that the school day was just beginning to unfold due to the amount of people still in the school enjoying their chilly recess in the complex. She met up with her group of friends, the same group which she commuted with on the way to school and started talking.

"Hello!" exclaimed Dareilla.

"Hi!" said Kristen and Evan in unison.

"Where's Cadence?" asked Dareilla.

"Oh she's on her way, she just had to ask the teacher something regarding an upcoming test," said Kristen.

"Oh right, oh wait, I think I see her! That's her! She's coming!" Dareilla said, enthusiastically waving. Upon arrival, Cadence hugged all three of them. Evan gave an awkward hug, which caused him and Cadence to chuckle a bit. Dareilla and Kristen looked at each other.

"Boys will be boys," Kristen said, shaking her head mockingly.

"And girls will be girls," Evan said in self defense. Dareilla and Cadence smiled.

"So," said Dareilla, breaking the silence.

"So!" Cadence replied.

"So I'm thinking of getting a hot coffee," said Kristen. "What about you guys?"

"Might as well," said Evan. Dareilla looked at Cadence.

"Do you want to, or..."

"Ya!" Cadence replied. "Might as well go together as a group!"

The four bought their coffees and found a place to sit in the cafeteria. Evan offered to pay because he was in a good mood, to which the girls gladly accepted. Suddenly Dareilla's phone buzzed.

One new message from mum. "Okay, if this is about what she's going to cook for dinner..." Dareilla thought.

Of course it wasn't. It was a message regarding her pickup arrangements.

"Dad will pick you today at 2:30. -Mum"

Ah, okay, at least she wasn't taking the bus home. Oh wait, maybe it was a wrong thought. She might get home earlier but that would mean she wouldn't be able to spend more time with her friends. Also, if dad is picking her up today, it could only mean one thing. His work in this part of the country is finished for now, which means they would be going back to their own house. Not granny's house. Her parent's house, the one which she spent most of her childhood.

"Is everything alright?" asked Kristen.

"Today is probably my last day with you guys for a while," replied Dareilla.

"What happened?!" asked Evan.

"My dad is picking me up today at 2:30, which probably means his work is finished in this part of the country. I guess we're going back home today."

"Oh okay," said Cadence, "you scared me for a second!"

"Blame it on Evan," said Dareilla.

"Why me?" asked Evan.

"Because of the way you reacted. You were like, what happened?!" replied Dareilla.

"Hey, I don't blame him," said Kristen. "I also thought something bad happened for a second."

Dareilla rolled her eyes. "This is probably the fifth time you've seen this happen to me, I thought you guys should know better."

"Hey, don't discount the bad things. Sometimes they do happen," said Evan.

"True," Kristen said in agreement.

Dareilla sighed. Although the day was great, she had other things in mind. Worries. Thoughts. Extrapolations. So many things, so many voices talking over one another in her mind.

"Earth to Rae!" Evan shouted in her face. Dareilla jerked back.

"Woah Evan, you're such a stunner!" Cadence exclaimed.

"Haha good one Cady!" Kristen said pointing a finger and giggling, but soon stopped when no one else was reacting. Dareilla eyed both of them. The four looked at each other. Suddenly Dareilla smirked and they started laughing again.

"Dareilla?" said Evan. Dareilla raised an eyebrow. "Are you okay?"

"Yes yes I'm fine," replied Dareilla.

Evan pursued further. "Then what was that all about?"

"I just...arghh nevermind."

"You sure?"

"Yeah."

"Alright then."

But Dareilla knew everything was far from fine. She had a secret, something only she herself knew. She knew that as soon as she was home, far from her best friends, far from granny, with not a single soul to engage in friendly banter, with nothing to distract her, to take her mind away from such deep, crazy thoughts, that that secret had a high chance of emerging. All it took was a single trigger. She had been bottling up a truckload of mixed emotions within her, and it wasn't healthy. She knew it was only a matter of time before it blew. One reason or another, it didn't matter. All it needed was the correct triggers, and once released, her life would never be the same again. The effects would be disastrous.