Dream On Fire

II

Chapter Two

  Sitting in Haley's room brings me some peace, it's still left how it was three months ago. My water bottle filled with now room temperature water still sits on her night stand. Haley is sitting across from me on her bed, her brown eyes look at me with happiness.

  "I'm really, really glad you're back Sage." She says while grabbing my hand and giving it a reassuring squeeze. Smiling, I lean into her and give her another hug, out of the million other ones we've exchanged since I've gotten back.

  "I was scared I'd have to start high school without your crazy ass." She says before scrunching her eyebrows. "Wait, let me see your class schedule, I wanna see if we have any classes together."

  I pull my class schedule out of my back pocket and hand it to her. She unfolds it and her eyes scan left and right several times before her lips pull into a joyful smile.

  "We have Physics, study hall, and Calculus together!" She says excitedly and I feel my lips automatically pull into a smile that's possible bigger then any smile anyone's ever seen before. Somehow, the gods above have always given us the small gift of being in classes together each year. Thank you gods above.

  "I'm so excited. Wait, what're you wearing for the first day tomorrow? I mean, I was gonna wear a wrap around bandeau and a skirt but I think that'll make me look to preppy. You know?" Haley blabbers on and I nod my head, even though my ears are only partially listening.

  "You aren't listening are you?" Haley says.

  "What?"

  "Exactly, you have a listening problem. I said WHAT ARE YOU WEARING FOR TOMORROW!" Haley projects her voice and I wince and cringe inside. I put my hand over her mouth to try and muffle her loudness.

  "I'm not deaf, God. And I don't know, probably just a knot t-shirt and a pair of ripped jeans." I remove my hand off of Haley's mouth and she glares at me.

  "I guess that'll do." She says, I roll my eyes at her. Haley and I are complete opposites. She's beautiful, girly, and changes her nail color each week. I on the other hand feel uncomfortable if I'm in anything other then a t-shirt, and I can only let my nails be painted for so long before they turn into a chipped mess.

~~

  I spent the next morning shuffling around my house getting ready for the first day of senior year. After thirty minutes of showering, drying, and straightening my hair, I'd say I look decently presentable. I wipe a thin layer of chapstick into my lips before grabbing my bag and heading downstairs.

  Dad is sprawled across the armchair with a coffee in one hand and the T.V. remote in the other. His lips part into an adoring smile once he sees me.

  "You look like a gorgeous young lady, Sage Amalie." Dad says, making sure to always include my middle name. I smile and walk over to hug him. His warm embrace helps take away some of my first day anxiety.

  "You look so much like your mother." Dad says as tears welt up in the corners of his steel eyes. I give him one last hug before heading over to the door.

  "I love you dad." I say, and before he can respond, Haley's honking from outside cut him off. I give him another rushed smile before heading out and into her black chevy.

  As Haley sings obnoxiously to the songs on the radio, she certainly makes the car ride to school feel longer than usual. Thanks Haley. Not.

  "We're here." Haley says with what sounds like excitement mixed with a little dash of anxiety. We spot the only parking spot left, Haley mutters a "thank you god" to herself before slamming on to the breaks. The seat belt of her black chevy digs into my chest, I internally cringe at the unpleasant feeling.