All Roses Have Thorns

Erin II

She opened her eyes to see the bright sunlight filtering through her blinds. Erin looked at the small message from her soulmate last night. While most would smile at something that simple and sweet, she did not. She didn't have panic attacks very often, but when she did, they were always related to her soulmate. Erin would never talk about her soulmate to someone else, but she could try to admire the soulmate connection when she was alone. Other times, it just caused her more stress.

She had just returned to her quiet, but busy town two days ago. Her mother had been transferred to a local rehabilitation center where she could get help now that she was well enough to be moved.

Erin checked her clock to see 7:44 am. She was not going to be late on her first day back at school. She quickly changed into a tight, black long-sleeved shirt, with the words "I speak fluent sarcasm" on it and blue sweatpants. She brushed her teeth and pulled her short hair back into a messy ponytail. There was no time for showering in these situations. Pulling on her favorite black beanie, she ran out the door.

School had been in session for about a month, but she had no idea what work they needed to do. She was holding her tablet bag to her chest. It was a laptop case, with a laptop, of course, but she also stored her drawing tablet there. She also kept her wallet and phone in there because it was basically the only bag she owned. She had been hoping that the school had transitioned to digital work while she was gone. Luck did not usually go her way, but her father had probably talked to the school staff about her... past experiences.

Students were still filing into the school when she reached the door. Erin checked her watch. 8:03 am. Vaguely remembering the time for classes to begin from last spring, she checked the signs to look for room 114. She turned to the right and ran down the hallway. She pushed open the door and yelled, "I'm here!" as the bell rang, signaling the start of homebase.

Erin looked at the faces in the room and recognized just two out of the twenty kids, "Maggie!" Her friend jumped out of her chair and over three desks before embracing Erin in a tight hug. Maggie was quickly followed by Safiya, a small, quiet girl with black-rimmed glasses and a contagious smile.

"When'd you get back?" Safiya asked excitedly. Her long, tan hair bounced around her pale, freckled face. Not tan as in slightly darkened skin, but tan meaning the color of the pencil in Erin's bedroom. Maggie had dark brown hair and matching eyes. She also had pale features and would sometimes have the occasional cheesy pickup line from her soulmate written across her hand.

The three cut their embrace short. Safiya smiled, "Look! My soulmate started drawing on me. It's so pretty." She proudly held out her arm to show a blue dragon. "They don't talk much, but they've been drawing recently... at midnight."

Erin sighed, "Saf, I know it's your soulmate, but you need all the sleep you can get. You have insomnia! Make sure you don't spend too much time admiring their art." She looked at the drawing, "Wait..." She grabbed Safiya's arm, "No way... Saf, do you know your SM's name?"

"Um, no," Safiya took her arm back, "Why?"

Erin shrugged and laughed nervously, "Uh, n-no reason." She drew her dragons that way and she'd taught one person how to use the metallic paint for the special effect of scales, Sebastian, the boy with dark hair, deep blue eyes, and oval glasses. Sebafiya had a nice ring to it. She would text him later.

"So..." Erin smiled, "How's the first month of school been without me?" Quick change of subject, crisis avoided.

Maggie sighed, "Boooooring."

"That's not true!" Safiya quickly spoke, "We've been reading some... uh, moderately interesting books. They're not as bad as last year."

Erin looked around to see that most of the other kids were staring at her and her friends. Perhaps her sudden arrival had caused more of a stir than she had thought. A boy with curly, dirty blond hair and annoyingly bright blue eyes turned toward her, "Hey cutie." She felt her face flush. Stupid pale skin. She quickly looked at the edge of his sleeves to see no marks peeking out.

She glared at him, "Don't talk to me like that. You're not my soulmate."

"Whatever you say, love," the boy smirked.

Erin sighed. Boys...