Trinity

3

School on Monday was more eventful than usual. It started as it usually did, with Shepherd meeting his friend Simon before class. Simon's aura was almost constantly bright pink, which Shepherd found kind of funny, though he wasn't sure why. They weren't best friends, but they enjoyed each other's company.

"Why couldn't they just give us Monday and Tuesday off?" Simon complained. "It's like this school hates Christmas break or something. They want to squeeze every last drop of knowledge they can into us before we go, it's disgusting. Screw it man, I'm sleeping through my classes today. It's senior year, these teachers should be worshipping me."

Shepherd chuckled. "Well, at least Susan Michaels worships you, isn't that enough?"

Simon snorted, indignant. "It most certainly is not. Joey said he kissed her at a party once and it tasted like cottage cheese. Dream on, Susan."

Kids bustled about the hallway, preparing for first period. So many of their auras were boring and muddy, but a few caught Shepherd's eye. James Peterson had a sparkling gold aura today, which was a nice change of pace. A sophomore girl that Shepherd didn't know had a red glow that sparked and sputtered frantically as she dashed past him. The foreign exchange student, Itsuke, had a massive gray aura that almost spanned the width of the hallway.

"You think the ladies worship me?" Simon asked, grinning. "Look over there. Someone's checking you out."

Shepherd followed Simon's gaze across the hall to Whitney Thompson, staring right at him.

Oh no, Shepherd thought. I completely forgot about seeing her at the clinic!

She had to think he was crazy. Hopefully she would follow her job description, and keep it between the two of them. Not even Simon knew about the schizophrenia, and he was one of Shepherd's only friends. If the whole school found out, they would become even more distant. Having his only parent in a coma made kids cautious enough, but if they also thought he was crazy, it would ruin Shepherd's existing friendships. After she was out of sight, Simon carried on.

"Anyway, I hear Courtney's throwing a rager tomorrow. Getting drunk is just what I need right now. Merry Christmas to me."

Shepherd grunted in response, lost in thought.

"Hey man," said Simon, taking on a softer tone. "You should go out with us one of these nights. You never go to parties; it could be just what you need to get your mind off things."

The tone of sympathy frustrated Shepherd, but he couldn't be mad at Simon. He was only trying to be a good friend.

"I'll think about it," Shepherd said, forcing a smile. "I'll see you at lunch."

The day went by painfully slow. The longer it went on, the more Shepherd begged for it to be Christmas break. Christmas would be different this year, there was no doubt about that, but at least he would get to spend more time with his mother. There was an irrational excitement deep within him that he couldn't shake off, and didn't really want to. It wasn't directed towards gifts, there wouldn't be any of those. It was directed towards the fact that the holiday season was supposed to be a time of miracles. At least, that's what people liked to say.

Shepherd knew he was being completely irrational, yet he couldn't help but think that this month, of all months, his mother would wake up.

The hopeful thoughts were cut off as Whitney entered French class. She took the seat next to Shepherd, giving him a quick smile. That was weird. There were other open seats, why take the one next to him?

Please don't mention the clinic, he thought. I'm begging you.

"Hey Shep," she said, turning to him. "It was cool seeing you at the clinic."