RavensNest

Chapter 3

I want to thank the people that commented on m earlier chapters. I really really appreciate it. This is dedicated to you! :)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Chirp. Chirp. Chirp. Chirp. Chirp.” I awake to my alarm clock blaring in my right ear. I changed the settings so it would sound like birds, they’re my favorite kind of animal. I have to admit, this alarms gets pretty annoying though.

After getting dressed in a wool dress and thick leggings I wander to the kitchen and make myself some oatmeal. As I munch down my breakfast I can hear footsteps on the stairs. “Ready for school?” my mom asks. “Good morning to you too. Yeah, todays pretty easy. No classes so I’m working on my assignments in study hall.” Our school is composed of two single room buildings and a larger library building which are all connected by a hallway. The first building is for children ages 5-14 and the second building is for the older students that need a quieter environment. The library, or study hall, is used on days when there are no classes for the students or in-between their regular classes. The school is fairly self-directed seeing as the students work on correspondence material from the province. We have general classes about some subjects such as math and there are suggested reading lists.

“How has work been?” I ask my mum “I haven’t seen you or dad in a while” She’s drinking a mug of coffee and she has a piece of toast sticking out of her mouth. After chewing, swallowing and pulling a funny face at me she replies “Really busy. The animals are acting really strange for this time of year, they’re moving in pairs instead of their usual packs. There is a lot more aggression within species too; we’re really putting a lot of hours in.” Weird, I haven’t seen my mum this stressed before. “Well good luck mum! I hope everything gets settled.” I call as I run out the front door with my bag and get on my bike. School is about a ten minute bike ride away from my house but it’s a 30 minute walk in the winter season. I love my morning rides, they make me feel free; maybe even birdlike.

As I pass Elliot’s place I notice him out working on the yard. “Pretty early to start work!” I call nervously. “Hey Blue jay!” he replies with a smile. I blush a deep red and get so frazzled I run my bike over a big root and bomb it, hitting the ground hard. Elliot sprinted over in a matter of seconds, picking me up off the ground and checking all of my limbs. “No broken bones? Are you ok? How’s your breathing?” He asks quickly. I’m more shaken by the fact that he’s holding me bridal style than the fact that I just fell. “Yeah, I think I’m fine” I mumble as clearly as I possibly can. After an embarrassing few seconds he seems to have realized that he’s still holding me and he gently places me down on my feet. “Should I walk you to school?” he asks worriedly. “I’ll be fine, no need” I say. He doesn’t appear to believe me because he’s straightened out my bike and started walking it in the direction of school. I’ve never noticed how handsome he looks when the sun is streaming in through the trees. I right myself by brushing the dirt off of my clothes and I nervously follow him to school.

I had a pretty successful school day, getting a lot of my social assignment done and finishing reading Hamlet. Penny totally helped me understand a lot of the more complex scenes from the play, gotta love best friends. She seemed kind of out of it today though, distracted maybe. I’ll have to ask her about it when we hang out tomorrow.

I get home to an empty house, as per usual it seems. I decide to have a bubble bath and relax. Maybe sort out all of this weird Elliot stuff I’ve been feeling.  I run hot water into our old, large, blue bathtub and pour in a capful of my favorite rose scented soap and slip out of my clothes. I study myself in the mirror ad realize I look older maybe. My eyes appear to be a darker green than they were just weeks earlier and I’ve filled out. My curves are more defined and I hold myself with more confidence. I feel like less of a child. After a long and relaxing bath I put on a thin T-shirt and P.J. pants and settle in my living room and decide to watch a movie. Before I can pick out what movie I want to see there is a frantic knock at the door. I creep over and when I open the door Elliot is standing on my porch, bloodied and bruised.

“Oh my god, Elliot. Are you ok?” I ask. “Are your parents’ home?” He demands. He looks horrible, his nose looks possibly broken and his left eye is swollen almost shut. There is blood covering the majority of his face and his knuckles. “Umm, no they’re not.” I reply. “Good, I have something to tell you……it has to be alone” he chokes out as he winces in pain and steps into my house.