Heartlines ||Jared Cameron||

iv. selcouth

SELCOUTH: (adj) unfamiliar, rare, strange, and yet marvelous

"There are no strangers here; Only friends you haven't yet met."

- William Butler Yeats

The next morning, Makenna lands on the ground with a groan. Instead of getting up like most people, she remains where she landed despite the blaring alarm. "Alarm!" Charlie yells from the bottom of the stairs, the prompting that Makenna needs to get up.

On hands and knees, Makenna crawls to her desk to turn her alarm off. Once she turns it off, she remains leaning against her desk while mentally bemoaning having to go to school. School itself isn't the issue, it's starting a new school when the year is nearly done in a small town where everyone knows everyone. Makenna has never been the new student but she already knows it's going to suck.

Try as she might, there's no more time for postponing. With a wistful sigh and a last glance at her bed, Makenna rises to her feet and heads to the bathroom. Although Makenna would like nothing more than to drag her feet as she goes through her morning routine, she doesn't allow herself.

While she changes, she contemplates what to do with her hair and ends up settling on putting part of it in a braid and then pinning it back. Ready for the day ahead, Makenna puts her shoes on and grabs her backpack and coat on the way out the door. She just barely remembers to grab her phone on the way out.

A laugh bubbles from Makenna when she gets to the kitchen. Charlie is wearing an apron over his uniform and placing two bowls of cereal on the table. "Charlie's special cereal-a-la-mode for Kenny's first day of school."

"Uncle Charlie, you're ridiculous." A smile stretches across Makenna's face as she says this. She drops her backpack on the floor and takes a seat at the table laying her coat over the back of her chair. "Thank you."

"You're welcome. Now eat up, one of the boys from the Rez should be here soon." Charlie takes the apron off and throws it on the counter before taking his seat.

Makenna, whose mouth is already occupied by a spoon, nods in response. She's grateful that Charlie only made cereal for breakfast because her nerves over being the new girl is causing her to stress-eat.

"I'll do dishes," Makenna says, finishing eating just seconds after Charlie. "You technically made breakfast."

It's an unfair and completely logical excuse. "Go ahead," Charlie grumbles giving Makenna a light glare. She grins back, taking both of their bowls to the sink. Charlie keeps his mug as she's still drinking the coffee, watching as she rapidly scrubs the dishes. As she's drying them he speaks up again. "I packed you a lunch, it's in the fridge."

"What?" Makenna asks startled. She turns her head to look at Charlie.

"Lunch," he says and points to the fridge, "Fridge."

"Oh." Makenna isn't sure what she's supposed to say, not having anticipated that Charlie would go out of his way to make her something for lunch. It won't be anything elaborate or difficult to cook, that she already knows, but Makenna has a suspension that it'll be healthy and filling. "Thank you."

"Mhm." He turns away from her, a clear sign that she can finish what she's doing. With a smile, Makenna turns and continues with the drying.

Just as she finishes putting the dishes away a honk comes from outside. "That would be your ride," Charlie says placing his mug in the sink and rinsing it out. "If those boys give you any trouble just let me know. I'll straighten them out."

"I'll be fine Uncle Charlie."

Makenna goes to the fridge and peers inside. There's a small bag that can be nothing but her lunch. She pulls it out.