Under Changing Tides

Chapter One: Damaged and Broken

The smell of salt air saturates the lining of her closet, nothing but baby-doll skirts and lacy leggings clutter her drawers; but the perfectly pressed blouses and vintage looking tops hang with the old dank air of longing for the person who had been the one to wear such clothes; she was not that girl, not anymore.

The idea of going back to school was beyond her; and she could only fathom how many times people were going to ask her how she was doing, how 'the family' was, and how she would lie to everyone who asks, every time. People don't ask, how you are, for you, they do it for them, to make themselves feel like they've made a difference in a poor broken girl's day.

Opting for jeans with a top and cardigan; mainly because of the ever-rain the West Quarter shore always seems to have; and heads to the bathroom. Her reflection, in her opinion, did not scream damaged; but something within the hollowness of her brown eyes, she knew she wouldn't be fooling anyone when she would tell the biggest lie over a hundred times. "I'm fine." She says to herself in the mirror, as she brushes out her long brown hair that lacks unison in the curls.

"Nora, are you still in there? Come on, other people have to use the bathroom too!" Jason, her older brother, yells from the other side of the door.

"Be right out!" she hollers back gripping the sink for dear life, and she recollects herself from the fright. Her nerves have been on end since the accident in summer, and if she isn't careful, she could go into a full panic attack without even meaning to. Shaking the thought from her head, she applies a thin layer of mascara to her lashes and flattens the cardigan against her.

She turns the knob to the door and Jason barrels through with an exaggerated haste. "You gotta learn how to move faster sis, and Amanda needs your help down stairs." He tells her before shutting her out. She stares at the door for only a moment, recollecting herself again, and she goes back to her room for her school books.

The bittersweet moment of a first day of school without her parents begins to weigh heavy within her. She carries herself down the long staircase and she meets their aunt Amanda in the kitchen going through the confines of her purse.

"It's the first day of school and I'm running late; gosh, she made this look so easy growing up." Amanda says with a slight smile at her own misfortune of a morning.

"Isn't it a little too late, what time is your class?" Nora wonders pouring herself a cup of coffee.

Amanda looks at her nonexistent watch, then to her phone in her purse. "Shit, it's now;" she races to put money on the table and gather her things. "Have a great day, tell your brother he's grounded, I don't know what for yet, but first days are his specialty, I remember from my second-Fall home from college... and here I am, back to college for the fifth." She says with a roll of her green eyes as she ruffles her red bangs in her face; she gives a huff as she leaves the house in a flurry.

Without thinking about it, Nora watches as the school bus drives past; which means the only way she would be getting to school, is if Jason drove her. The sound of him starting the shower just in that moment, told Nora she would be walking to school today, not that she hadn't before... she just hasn't gotten used to everyone really watching her outside, now, she's going to be receiving the pity stares she was hoping to avoid by sitting low enough in her seat to not cause a scene.

She hasn't driven since the night before the accident, and she honestly wouldn't want to take her family's spare car unless it was an emergency. The walk to Crest High is nothing when the sun is shining, but with the threat of rain hovering over her as she walks out the door, she only hopes it waits until she makes it to school.