spring || a violentine story

2 ༣ of the end

Violet stood in the empty bathroom in shock. Her body was shaking almost uncontrollably. Her hands flexed outwards, then curled up into fists back and forth. She let out a quiet sob, her chest heaving as she cried alone in that small, putrid school bathroom.

Her hands finally found a purpose as she brought them up to her eyes, using her palms to cover her face. Why? Why was this happening? This couldn't be real... everything was fine. Her head couldn't wrap around what was happening. Violet stumbled towards a stall, taking her grieving inside of one.

She slammed the door shut behind her. She slid the rusted slide lock before she leaned against the door. Her body was still shaking as she sunk down to the floor, more sobs emitting from her mouth. Violet buried her face into the sleeves of her hoodie, muffling her sadness into the fabric.

Minnie was gone. She had just... left. She had left like it was nothing. That was what hurt the most. How quickly Minnie got it over with, as if their entire relationship was just another insignificant part of high school. Violet had loved her, cherished her, tried to be there all she could... now for nothing. Why now? Why in the morning and not later? Why in the fucking school bathroom that was drenched in fake smells from vapes?

The smells were making her even more nauseous as she was crying. It was like Minnie was right there, watching her mourning over her, yet doing nothing about it. The lingering smell of a cherry vape pod was stronger than the others. It was fresher, because it was Minnie's.

Violet sat there, practically choking on her tears for awhile longer before she stood up and left the bathroom.

******

A week had passed. Violet had grown number to her situation, but every time she saw Minnie walking down the hallway, or saw her in her classes, she felt like she could lose herself all over again. Minnie was refusing to speak to her, to look at her, to even acknowledge that she still existed. Violet was suffering in silence.

News of Minnie's school change had spread like wildfire. She was going to finish up the opening semester and then go to Delta Academy mid-year. Some had been upset to hear that she was going to Delta Academy. Others, and the majority, had said that she practically belonged there. Violet clenched her fists as she listened to the people whispering about her and Minnie in the hallways.

More than ever, Violet was listening to music to keep her mind occupied. She would just focus on the lyrics instead of her surroundings. She would pick out the minuscule details about each song she blasted in her ears, breaking down their complexities to find an underlying meaning or concept. It made her think more about the songs she loved versus how shitty her school life suddenly was.

As she walked towards her history class, Violet kept her earbuds playing in her ears. She hadn't talked to many people since the breakup. It seemed that everyone around her just wanted to press her on the topic of Minnie's breakup. She didn't want to give anyone the satisfaction, but she mostly didn't want to relive the event.

Violet could never have guessed that one person could drastically ruin her life.

As she drew closer to her history teacher's classroom — room 305 — she saw an unknown man standing at the doorframe. Violet had never seen him before. He was definitely not a student, looking to be in either his late thirties or early forties. He was a tall black man with growing stubble around his jawline and chin. He had a short-all-over haircut, nicely trimmed to compliment the growing facial hair. She could surmise that the class was having a substitute teacher.

As she walked up to the door, she paused her music and took out her earbuds. The man offered a friendly smile as she approached. "Welcome. Take a seat wherever you'd like." Violet nodded in response, entering the classroom. Hopefully he wasn't a super strict substitute. She didn't really want another detention from her history class alone.

Violet took a seat by herself in the back right corner of the classroom. She usually preferred to sit there anyway, but she didn't have much experience there. The real teacher, Mrs. Leolki, had made a seating chart within the first weeks of the semester. She was not fond of Violet's particular history class. Some of the reason was because Violet was in there.

The blonde was convinced that she'd be able to get by sitting alone. Louis and Sophie were in this class with her, but Sophie had, like Minerva, made an effort to avoid Violet since the breakup. At least she still greeted her in the hallway — if a sympathetic head nod could count — and still acknowledged her. Louis was on an early winter break vacation. He and his rich family were cruising the shorelines of Hawaii — which was undoubtedly much warmer than the cold weather here.

However, as she began to silently triumph over her loneliness, she saw somebody from the corner of her eye approaching her.

"Hi." A girl fumbled with the cuff of her jean jacket in front of her. She had a darker skin tone, a color which mimicked caramel. She had curly black hair that was put up into two buns. On her head was a baseball cap with a large, blue letter 'D'. But her eyes were what caught Violet off guard — they were a beautiful amber color that seemed to trap the sun itself in them.

She regarded Violet with an appraising look, trying to get a feel on what kind of a person the blonde was. Violet had never seen her before either; she was looking at her in a similar fashion.

But she was instantly starstruck.

The girl in front of her put a hand on her hip, the other gripping the strap to her backpack hung over her shoulders. She did a once-over of Violet again before she gestured to the seat next to her. "Mind if I sit here?" She asked, though didn't really wait for permission as she slipped off her backpack and onto the floor next to the desk. She slid into the seat.

Violet didn't bother to respond, seeing as the stranger was already unpacking her materials. This had to be a new girl. Violet would have definitely noticed someone of her... character, sooner. The blonde teenager couldn't help but to stare in awe at the newcomer. Unfortunately, this didn't go unnoticed by the girl in the baseball cap.

"Oh, yeah, I'm Clementine, by the way. Just call me Clem."