Whispering Static

Chapter one

Every day is the same routine, the same boring old meals, and the same arguments, but the feeling in the air has changed.

Fayre - 6:19 AM

It's quite a misty day, nothing much different from the normal fog here in San Francisco. Yet on my walk to the bus, I take notice that the air was peculiar. There was none of the certain thickness that you would feel, that specific type of humidity that would leave you gasping for air on certain days. There was a tint of color to it, like a cloth once dyed blue faded away. I lifted my hand up and waved it up and down staring intently at the way the mist shifted with each movement. I repeated the actions for a few minutes before I boarded the hulky yellow vehicle that stood in front of me, the driver glaring at me with sore eyes. I looked around at the seats. Empty empty empty
Of course, she'd failed to show up to school again. Always skipping and going out with her giggly blonde friends that would offer a drink every now and then, sneaking it onto school ground and gulping it down behind the cafeteria. Recently, her companions have been inviting her out to crowded bars with drunks and alcoholics dancing their feeling away. They'd created fake id's to sneak in and every morning when she came back, she'd be too wasted to even talk, or even wake up. Her innocent parents believe that she's caught a fever, and being the nice little angels they are they let her stay home without any further analysis. I refuse to remember her name, after all, she always forgot mine even after years of the "friendship" we've managed to keep alive. I let out a soft grunt, furrowing my eyebrows and crossing my arms, shuffling down in the seat we used to share. I yank the heavy backpack off my shoulders and throw it to the seat behind me without looking.
I'm ready to put my headphones on and fall asleep when I hear a yelp and a "Hey!"
A part of me wishes I never threw my backpack and the other part of me lets out a loud cry of victory. I turn to speak to the familiar voice, closing my eyes and wearing a grin. "What now Ver-" I open my eyes and I'm taken aback. Instead of seeing a red sweater and the all famous ponytail I see something that stops my heart. Caramel skin with tiny blotches of white at the edge of the eye, an olive colored sweater that wraps perfectly around the body of the wearer, forest green eyes that seem to draw me in, black hair that's curled to perfection, and the hands of a creator. I stop, mouth hanging open and eyes wide.
"I uh"
The pathetic words stumble out of my mouth. The girl who my backpack was resting on raised an eyebrow at me, "Mind takin ya luggage off me?" She has a raspy voice and a tiny bit of an accent. I blink a few times and focus my attention on the blue backpack that seemed to weigh a hundred pounds whenever I carried it on my shoulders. I stutter, hot hands shaking and sweat rolling down my chin. "Uhm...yeah yeah yeah of course! I'm so so sorry I didn't mean to throw my backpack on top of you I mean usually no one sits there much less lay there so I'm just kind of used to it ya know. I mean I could've looked back but I was my mistake and I was stupid, but I wanna know, did I hurt you on accident? I'll pay for anything you need to patch yourself up I promise! And oh jeez have I been rambling all this time I'm so sorry, this happens all the time I always do this and I-"  I'm cut off by a tug of the ear. "Listen sweetheart, I could care less about the apologies just don't do it again, ya got it?" The girl spoke, with a soft yet strict tone. I looked up to see her nose only a few centimeters away, with her eyes locked onto mine. I immediately freeze and all the air that I had left in my lungs has somehow disappeared. My face turns a fiery red while hers seems to remain the same stone-faced frown. She keeps staring at me and I realize I forgot to even agree with her. Coming back to my senses I slowly move my head up and down. She finally moves and lets out a hum of satisfaction, going back to her former spot and launching the backpack back to its original owner, hitting me in the face when it landed. I didn't mind though, I was still embarrassed over the encounter I just had to even realize the weight on my stomach. Even when I got off the bus it still lingered in my mind. My thoughts were quick to attack with fear of hate or judgment, I grew angry at myself for the things I did but then slowly forgot about it as the hours passed by. It was only until lunch that my day soured yet again.
I ran through the doors as soon as the bell rang, tripping and knocking people over as they did the same. I saw kids falling like towers, technology, binders, and all trampled by the others. The few that luckily didn't get slammed against the floor were all walking and mumbling around with no sense of direction. They tripped and stumbled but nothing more. It was a strange sight to see. I tried asking around, trying to figure out what was going on but there was never a direct response. Even asking the teachers would give me no answers to my lingering question. Everyone seems out of it today. Theirs no other way to describe what I've encountered today, other than saying it was a big mess of nerves and absolute confusion. (Unfinished, published for test)