Please, Miss (GirlxGirl) ✔️

2 | smoking & sunbathing

It was Friday, three days before the Semester started. I woke at around five in the morning, probably a mixture of jet lag and going to bed so early the previous night.

I swung my legs out of bed, heading out of our dorm with my towel and washbag to the end of the corridor, going into one of two communal bathrooms. In one bathroom were the toilets, in the other were the showers. I went down to the end of the room, heading into the shower cubicle at the end. I hung my towel on the back of the door and stripped my clothes off, doing the same with them. Turning the water on and twisting the faucet to cold, I closed my eyes and breathed slowly. Inhale. Exhale. It wasn't working to calm my anxieties. Being away from home seemed to be having strange effects on me. I didn't like it.

Once done, I left the shower, standing in front of the sink and mirror in my towel as I brushed my teeth. Even my appearance seemed to have changed since I was here. My soaking dark hair still fell to my mid upper arm, my skin was still fair, my eyes still green. And yet, something had changed. Perhaps it was the dark rings under my eyes that made me looked defeated and fatigued. I sighed, spitting out my toothpaste and washing my brush. I didn't feel like me anymore.

Splashing my face with cool water, I rested my hands either side of the sink, dipping my head as I closed my eyes.

"Oh," came a voice by the door, making me jump. "Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you. I didn't think anyone would be in here. You're up early." Miss Bowen, who was stood in the threshold of the door, was holding her towel and washbag, and took a few steps towards me. I was suddenly very aware that I was naked beneath my towel, and gripped the top with my right hand just in case it was planning a trip southwards anytime soon.

"Couldn't really sleep."

She nodded, placing her bag and towel beside a sink. "My ensuite's broken at the moment so I've been having to share this one with the students. I like to come in here early, it's always quieter."

"Sorry to disturb," I muttered, and the corner of her lips pulled into a quiet smirk.

Placing my hands behind me, I lifted myself up onto the countertop between two sinks, leaving my legs dangling over the edge. She watched me cautiously as I unzipped my bag and pulled out a box of cigarettes and a lighter. I balanced one between my lips before lifting my hand to light it. My eyes didn't move from her.

"Jesus, put that away! No smoking in here, or anywhere on school grounds for that matter." She frowned, walking closer to me and pulling the cigarette from my mouth before I got a chance to light it.

I rolled my eyes. "What? No one's going to catch me."

She snapped the cigarette in half. "I will, and so will the smoke alarms for God's sake. It's a disgusting habit anyway, you really ought to stop." Miss Bowen threw the two cigarette halves in the bin beside my feet. "And what on earth made you think I would be okay with you doing that in front of me?"

I rolled my eyes once again, shrugging my shoulders. "Megan told me you were pretty chill."

She arched an eyebrow, folding her arms. "Not that chill. Now give me the rest of those, I'm confiscating them." She held her palm out, gesturing me to give her the rest.

"And why do you think that I'm just going to hand them over to you?"

Miss Bowen folded her arms defiantly as she met my gaze. "Well would you like a detention?"

"Sure," I chirped in response, deliberately letting her know that I wasn't one to back down easily.

She lifted her chestnut eyes to the ceiling for a few moments, inhaling a breath. "Evelyn, are you intent on making my life hell?"