Short Story Collection

☣︎ Broken ☣︎

Poppy was broken.

Her depression was consuming her small, 12-year old, acne-ridden body. Her confidence was almost gone.

To make things worse, she went to an all-girls school. Which wasn't good as her teenage hormones were messing with her... and she had gained a crush on one of her classmates, which was just great.

Poppy wondered how people could just be happy without any difficulties, and she wished she could be like them...

On one August afternoon, she was walking home with her thoughts reeling. She hadn't hd a bad day necessarily, she just felt awful. As always, she felt like crying. Like her already damaged layer was just about to shatter and fall to the floor, and her real self would be revealed. 

She stared down at the ground as she trudged along, staring at the rust and gold coloured leaves. Poppy notched, as she went, the leaves drained colour. From glorious red to pale orange, and from rich gold to barely-there yellow, until the colour faded completely and white took place on the spectrum.

It was an odd thing to happen, but Poppy dismissed it without a second thought. 

She looked up and realised she was almost home. She sighed, waiting on the other side of the road. Right before her home came a road, which she had to wait at every day.

While she was waiting, a boy, who had been laughing with his friends, waved them goodbye and stopped next to her.

He glanced at her, and wondered why she looked so... forlorn.

"Hi," he started, awkwardly optimistic.

"Hello," Poppy answered, looking straight ahead.

"How's your day been so far?" The boy asked, and Poppy glanced at him. He had soft-looking skin and a nice, softly-rounded face. His hair was black and spiky, his eyes blue as the night sky after dusk.

"Great," Poppy replied in a flat tone, not really bothering to sound genuine. "How's yours?"

After a moment of surprised hesitation, the boy answered. "As a stranger, fine. As a maybe future friend... not so great."

Poppy glanced at him, then turned her attention back to the street. "What's up, then?" She asked.

"I'm not sure. I guess I just feel bad."

Poppy nodded, and the two stared at the traffic.

After a few moments of questioning herself, she said quietly, "I wasn't being honest."

The boy looked at her. "With what?" He asked.

She refused to look at him. "I wasn't being honest about my day. It's been... awful, honestly. I just feel like giving up."

The boy sighed. "Well, I know what that feels like."

The boy brushed the hair out of his eyes. "Um... I'm Alex," he held out his hand.

Poppy smiled. "Poppy," she answered, shaking the hand. "When can I see you again, stranger?"

"I usually hang out at the Sideways Café, mostly after school."

"I live near there! What times?" Poppy asked, delighted to have made another friend.

"Well, my school normally lets out at ten passed three, and I normally make it to the café at twenty passed."

The light beeped green, and the two walked into the road.

"Cya 'round, stranger!" Poppy cheered as she turned the corner.

"Cya!"