The Tipping Point

Trois

Caspian^^

"Do I really have to go? I don't really trust Harley at that daycare. I mean how well do we even know the owners? Maybe I should stay at home with him." I beg Holland as he zips up his bag.

He rolls his eyes and runs his hand through his hair. "No way Harper, first day of school and you're going. Go get your bag or we'll be late." Holland scolds me. I sigh and trudge up the stairs.

I walk past my father's office and see the door slightly cracked. I peek inside and see him.

His black hair is in disarray, the roots turning to gray. His glasses sat on his nose as he scribbles down writings and his brown eyes focused in utter concentration. A beard shading the lower half of his face.

I take a deep breath and open the door. "Hi dad." I say and smile at him. He looks up at me, nods his head, and looks back down at his notebook.

I sigh lightly. I'm never going to be good enough to make him proud, I think to myself. I close the door silently behind me.

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After we dropped Harley off at Little Sunshine's daycare we start to head to school. I stare out the back window watching the white stone walls of the daycare fade with distance.

"I just don't see why you like this trash music." Hayes says and reaches to mess with the radio.

Holland slaps his hand and changes the music back to his station, which was some sort of indie rock.

"It's not trash," Holland says defensively. "It's art."

"Art? Seriously?" Hanson laughs and claps his hand on Holland's shoulder. "We need to get you hearing aids."

I giggle and look out the window. I can feel my smile instantly melt away. All I can see for miles and miles is yellow fields dotted here and there with red flowers (which I learned was called Indian Paintbrush).

In some fenced off areas of the fields there are black, red, and white cows grazing in the fields. This is the state's only form of intelligent life. I think to myself.

Finally in the distance I can see trees surrounding three tall, brick and cinder block buildings, a parking lot, and a small playground where some children were playing games like red rover and red light green light.

As we get closer I see teenagers my age milling around in front of a building that I assume is the high school. I feel my stomach filling up with dread and I sink down further in my seat.

Hanson sees what I'm doing and nudges my knee with his. "You good?" He asks me. I shake my head.

"I feel sick." I say and clutch my stomach. Now for the record I was technically lying, but I was trying my hardest to get out of going to school today.

"It's just your nerves, you'll be fine." Holland says as he looks at me through his mirror. I narrow my eyes at him and turn away, ready to jump out of his car at the soonest possible moment I could.

He pulls into the school parking lot and I can see all of the students gawking at the car. They had never seen a license plate from California no doubt. I grab my bag and climb out of the car. Immediately I put my earbuds in and turn on music. Wildflower by 5 Seconds of Summer blasts through them, calming my nerves slightly.

I hold my head up high and start walking to the front doors of the school, ignoring all of the stares from the kids around me. Or at least I try to. I can feel my confidence faltering with each step. I just want to curl up in a ball and let the lyrics consume everything. My thoughts, my words, everything. But I keep pushing on into the building. I don't even wait to see if my brothers are coming or not.

"And where are you going?" I hear a male voice. I freeze.

"I-I was just looking for the office. I'm n-new here." I stutter and curse at myself for it. I hadn't stuttered since I was little when I got nervous.

I turn around to see a tall boy with black hair and the most gorgeous blue eyes I had ever seen. He was wearing blue jeans, a black shirt with what looked like some type of cat and writing on it, and a black and red letterman. I couldn't read the name on his jacket from this distance.

"It's okay, I'm just messing with you." He smiled and winked at me. I felt my stomach do a backflip.

He waved his hand at me signaling for me to come closer. "I'll show you how to get there." Said the boy.

"Thank you. I'm Harp Schuyler. And you are?" I ask him. He turns and holds his hand out for me to shake.

"I'm Caspian. Caspian Royce. Is Harp short for something?" He questions. I nod taking his hand.

"It's actually Harper-Lee, but please don't call me that. I hate when people say it." I say as we walk towards our destination. It's not that I dislike my name, I actually love it, but my mom always called me Harper-Lee. Never called me Harp or Harper, only Harper-Lee. It seemed sacred and wrong to hear someone else say it that wasn't her.

He shrugs. "I think it's pretty." I blush and hope he can't see it. I look down and let my hair fall to the sides of my face so he couldn't see the red tint to my cheeks.

"And we're here." Caspian says and sweeps his arms toward the large door with the word 'Office' printed on it. He opens the door and gestures me inside.

I enter the room and see a row of chairs on one wall of the room and desk on the other side. Posters with statements like 'An expert at anything was once a beginner in everything' and a cat poster with the words 'hang in there' printed on it.

Sitting at the desk tapping away on a computer is a middle aged woman with gray hair and black cat eye glasses with rhinestones on them. She looks up at us upon our arrival and smiles at us. I can't help but smile back. Her face was wrinkled with smile lines and her hazel eyes twinkling.

"Why, Caspian Royce!" The lady exclaims with a thick country accent. "Who is this young lady? I have worked here for thirty years and never seen this beautiful girl before in my life." She stands up from her desk and offers me her hand.

"Hi, I'm Harper-Lee Schuyler. I'm new here and I came to pick up my class schedule." I shake her hand. The woman is wearing many silver bangles that clink together.

"Oh isn't that just wonderful! I am Mrs. Alexandra Tate and I am the secretary." She says cheerfully.

"It is very nice to meet you, ma'am." I smile. I hear the door open and shut behind me. I turn to see who it is.

My brothers walk in the door and look around. Holland raising his eyebrows at me and looking over at Caspian.

"Oh hello there! Who are y'all?" Mrs. Tate asks.

"I'm Holland Schuyler and these are my brothers Hanson and Hayes. I see you've already met our sister." He gestures to me.

"Oh yes and she is just a doll, isn't she?" Mrs. Tate beams at me.

Holland returns a fake smile. "Isn't she just?"

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Hey guys, so with all this free time since this terrible virus has begun I can continue to do what I love which is writing this story for you guys! I'd just like to send out my thoughts and prayers real quick to those who have suffered from this virus. Thank you for reading and I love you all ❤️