The Unfortunate

Prologue- Introductions

"Lise, I swear I won't do it again. I never meant to distract you, that was an accident! Please stop ignoring me, I'm gonna die from hurt, and I will not hesitate to sue you for my death!" Estelle cried, throwing a tantrum and slapping various books and supplies off her desk in order to get her friend's attention.
"I don't care, you seriously made me lose my concentration! I couldn't focus on the lesson at all." Lise fumed, somehow even managing to put anger into the simple gesture of pushing her glasses further up the bridge of her nose. Her irritation affected the way she slammed her notes into her school bag, which in itself was a huge red flag since she usually treated everything related to school with precise care. The seventeen year old gripped her bag tightly as she stood from her desk and started towards the door. Under normal circumstances, Lise was a level-headed and attentive student-a role model for nearly the entire school-she had also earned unanimous respect thanks to her diligence. She studied very hard and, although she enjoyed having fun, drew a very thick line between work and play and prioritized grades over everything else.
Estelle, Lise's exact opposite, was currently trailing after her and whining obnoxiously. Whereas Lise actually valued learning, Estelle preferred goofing off and living life the way that was the most interesting, and everything she did seemed to leak her morals. The reason Lise was so irked in the first place was because Estelle decided that it would be a great idea to sling rubber bands across the classroom and become a disturbance to relieve her boredom. However, no one ratted her out when the teacher tried to search for the anonymous troublemaker. Her light-hearted and cheerful attitude was just too contagious. Although hard to believe, Estelle was actually just as popular as Lise, only for very different reasons. Her bright personality and fun demeanor gave her the ability to charm and befriend almost any student. It was only teachers she was unpopular with, due to her recalcitrant tendencies.
That's Estelle for you.
A third girl, Dawn, smiled affectionately as she watched the drama from the sidelines and prepared to go back to her own dorm.
"I'll make it up to you! I'll buy you some... uh... how much do I have.." Estelle paused her pleads and rummaged through her pockets. "Let's see.. five, ten, thirty five, fifty," she looked back up at Lise, who had mercifully stopped to observe her annoying friend. "How does some instant ramen sound? Mm, yummy, right?" Estelle held the pitiful amount of coins in her hands proudly, extending her arm to Lise as if she were holding a valuable treasure. "My treat!" Another thing about Estelle-the careless girl always spent her money recklessly, barely having enough to buy food most of the time. It was a wonder that she was still able to pay the boarding school's expenses each month, somehow.
Lise's unimpressed face showed that she was not interested in mere pocket change, but after seeing how desperate Estelle was, her hard expression debilitated and a small grin inched onto her pale face. Estelle brightened at this alone, deciding that a smile was more than enough reassurance of potential forgiveness.
"Okay, I'll forgive you, but I don't want that change. You keep it, you need it a lot more than I do." The accusing tone in her voice didn't deter Estelle in the slightest. "As long as you promise that you'll stop being an annoyance in class, for damn sake." Lise added, turning on her heel and sashaying away.
"Oh, you're so generous! Bless you, you angel from Heaven!" Estelle jumped up and down, her short curls bouncing joyfully. She quickly gathered her things as Dawn approached, laughing merrily.
Dawn was an equal mix between the two best friends; someone who enjoyed academic success just as much as a good party. She wasn't necessarily smart, but she liked to think of herself as resourceful and intuitive, and those were just as good traits to have, in her opinion. Dawn wasn't as popular as Estelle or Lise because she was rather plain. She had no outstanding qualities, and even she herself knew it, however much she wished it weren't true. Dawn would've given anything to have a special talent or characteristic-something that would make her life at least a little more fulfilling, but Dawn knew that she couldn't be truly happy if she didn't accept herself first. So, she sucked her discontent up and focused on the things she did like about herself, such as her two best friends, who reserved an intense love in her heart.
"So you're all made up now?" Dawn asked, falling into place with Estelle in the hallway.
"I think so. Good thing I was able to bribe her with money, I'm so cunning!" The brunette praised her sophistry, shining fallaciously.
"Um, I don't think that's why she gave in, but alright," Dawn laughed along, savoring every giggle. She really was lucky to have an energetic friend like Estelle. The two girls walked across the campus together and continued all the way to Dawn's dorm, only separating once they reached her doorway. As they were saying goodbye, a boy walked casually through the hallway behind Estelle, and as soon as Dawn caught sight of him she froze, key in hand, and turned scarlet. Estelle swiveled curiously to see what perturbed her friend.
"Jack, my man, wassup?" Estelle greeted him loudly, and he stopped to glance at the two.
"Hey Estelle, heard about what you did in Mrs. Montgomery's class. Freaking savage," The tall boy complemented her, and she nodded proudly. "Sorry, but I have to go do a ton of work, so I can't stay and chat. Catch you later, ladies." He winked playfully and waved goodbye. Dawn's eyes stayed glued to his retreating form until it was no longer in her line of sight. She put her hands over her heart and dreamily sighed, to which Estelle rolled her eyes.
"You should just confess already. Nothing will happen if you don't, it's better to take a chance and risk a simple no than to never do anything! You don't want to miss the opportunity, do you?" Estelle said, serious for once. Dawn sighed again, her gaze fluttering to the floor. They'd had this conversation too many times to count in the past, and it always ended the same way.
"Yeah, but I'm just so scared. This isn't some little girl crush, I'm really in love with him. A crush wouldn't last four years. I don't even know how to confess something like that, or what to say... I'm so scared I feel like fainting every time I think about it!" Explaining made her feel more pathetic, but she couldn't help her nervousness. "However, I think I will do it soon. For real."
"Wait-seriously?!" Estelle gaped.
"Seriously." Dawn echoed, her reply sounding strange to her own ears, as if her mouth had moved without consulting with her brain first. "Maybe through text or something."
"Oh no sister, you will go up to him and say it to his face! It'll look ungenuine if you don't!"
"Yeah, maybe..." Dawn sheepishly rubbed her arm, finally turning to unlock her door and step inside. "Anyways, I'll see you tomorrow."
"Right. Bye-bye Dawn, my soap!" Estelle called, already too far away to be hit by the mocked girl in question.
"Yeah, yeah, bye, you little demon." Dawn muttered, entering the familiar room and closing the door behind her with a resonating click. "Home, sweet, home." She took a few steps forward, dropped her bag, and collapsed onto her bed, knowing full well that she could not afford to sleep while she still had mounds of homework to be done. Groaning, she shifted onto her side and let her eyes drift around her room, taking in each possession and recalling the special memories they were fused with. Dawn smiled lovingly at the picture taped to her body-sized mirror; it depicted herself, Estelle, Lise, Jack, and a few others from her small ring of friends all smiling knowingly. The picture was taken during last year's school festival, back when they were sophomores. Dawn was positively ecstatic when she received a copy, because it meant she would always have a memento of her adventures at the boarding school. She never wanted to forget any of her friends, and most importantly she never wanted to loose the hope that things would all work out perfectly in the end. Now that they were almost finished with their third year at Havencrest, they basically only had one more year to go until college.
It was strange to think that she could be lucky, considering that misfortune clung to her like a plague, but there was no other way to put it; she was just lucky to have such special people in her life at this moment. She didn't want anything to ever change.
Dawn shook the cheesy thoughts from her head, feeling embarrassed for becoming so emotional, and she checked the time.
It's four thirty-two, She thought, I have plenty of time to finish those stupid Algebra pages. I think I deserve a little hour-long nap...
So, she allowed herself to get comfortable and relaxed the tension in her muscles. Soon, her eyelids closed from their heaviness and her last conscious thought was a promise to herself to only succumb to her exhaustion for an hour. After that she'd get her work done for sure.
...
Dawn ended up sleeping a lot longer than anticipated.
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