Mind of Coraline (on hold)

Mind of Coraline

Prologue

Excited, I left school and hurried home. My bike threatened to collapse, as I out of breath, stepped harder on the pedals for a sprint on the last hundred yards to our house. I turned the last corner and jumped off the bike, tossed it in the driveway and went straight for the front door. When inside, I kicked off my shoes and hurried up the stairs to my room still wearing my bag pack lazily slung over my shoulder. Within minutes, I had messily laid out all of my homework for Monday on my desk in order after difficulty. I started working on my math, since I found that subject the hardest. After the first ten minutes of what I considered hard work, my thoughts began to wonder off in an entirely different direction.

It had finally happened! Sophie had finally named me her best friend. It had felt like it would be the beginning of an amazing and exciting friendship. It was just what I needed to become popular and wanted. I mean, she was Sophie! All the boys wanted to be her boyfriend, and all the girls wanted to be her friend only for the pathetic reason that some of her confidence and popularity might be transferred to them. Well, I wasn’t any different. I sure intended to be the most popular girl in school, no matter what it’d take. Or perhaps just the second most popular then, after Sophie of course. But that was fine. I was just so thrilled!

I was forced back to reality when something all of a sudden covered my eyes. I let out a surprised gasp before I chuckled; realizing it was two fairly familiar hands clasped over the top half of my face. “Hi Tracy,” I sang, still in way too good a mood for anything to destroy it. Or so I thought.

She let go of my face and smiled at me as I turned in the chair to face her. I sent her a small smile back. I immediately realized how tense I was all of a sudden. “The door was wide open, Cora.” Tracy sat down on my bed and shot me a teasing glance, but she obviously felt the tension in the air too. “Oops,” I said not knowing what else to say. She just shook her head at me and tried to look calm. But I could see right away something was bothering her. We sat in silence for a while.

We had been the best friends since I was five and she was six and, though we were only at the age of nine at the time, for us it felt like forever. That’s why I had such a hard time saying what I had to say.

“Wanna go outside?” I smiled and gave a nod towards the window with a view to the garden. She silently nodded and I gestured for her to go first. I followed her down the stairs and as she went outside, I went to the living room to check my cellphone. I had only had it for a little less than three weeks, but I already knew how to use it pretty well and I actually enjoyed texting. It made me feel so grown-up. One message, it said. I hit open and saw a text from Sophie. Excitement shot through my stomach as I read the message:

Sophie: Talked to Sarah :) You are now officially my best friend!

I let out a joyful laugh before answering.

Me: Cool! I’m gonna talk to Tracy now :)

Sophie: Good, come over when you are done!

I sighed happily, though I started to feel slightly nervous. I sucked in a deep breath and walked as normal as I possibly could ‘till I reached Tracy. She was sitting in the grass on the blanket we always used but instead of taking my usual seat beside her, I sat down in the hammock, my face fronting hers. With my body in the shadow and hers in the sun, I felt it would somehow be easier to get it over with. I tried to smile, but even I could tell it was more of a grimace. She just frowned at me.

“Tracy…” I slowly began. Jeez Cora, I cursed at myself. Just say it! “I don’t think I want to be your best friend anymore.” I said it almost in a whisper. I didn’t need to look at her face to see how she reacted. I knew. The snort told me I was right. She was mad. Feeling tears appear in the corners of my eyes, I knew I had to meet her gaze. “I’m sorry Tracy! I don’t know what else to say. I cannot explain it! I’m just so sorry!” I blurted out, desperately searching for words to explain, but without any luck.

We were both silent for a minute. “Is it because of Sophie?” She asked in a totally controlled voice. No sobs, no tears. Not even an angry snort. Her face was plain, though her eyes were cold as ice. Now I really started to cry. “I a-am so s-sorry Tracy! She t-told me to break it o-off with you or she couldn’t be my best friend!” I cried, trying to justify my actions. She just gave me another snort and got up on her feet, trying hard to suppress the anger lingering on her every nerve. “I hate you, Coraline! How can you be like that? I don’t ever want to talk to you again.” She spun on her heels and stormed through the house and slammed the front door when she exited. I just sat there, not moving a single muscle.

Seven years later.

It’s time for a change; I need to burst out of this bubble I’ve been living in. And I need to do it soon. ‘Cause I know I can’t dwell in the past forever, though it seems to be the easiest thing to do.

In short, I have to get my shit together.

Wrapped in my favorite blanket I sat by the window in my room, staring out at the pouring rain. The sky was as grey as ever and the cool air crept under the blanket and covered my shoulders, giving me the chills. Even though the day had just begun I lit a vanilla scented candle, knowing it wouldn’t light up anything. But the smell of it calmed me down.

I closed my eyes and listened to the sound of the rain falling down my window. I sighed. Tomorrow would be the first day at my new internship and new school. I let out another sigh. That means work, homework, teachers, noises, socializing and teenagers. Teenagers aren’t really my forte. Or people in general. I wouldn’t go as far as to call myself socially awkward but definitely something like it. Some have actually called me anti-social on several occasions. Oh, and on top of me not being a people-person, I had not attended any school for six months. To me, that meant back to zero.

“Fuck,” the faint word left my lips as a tear streamed down my cheek. I sucked in an angry breath and quickly wiped it away. I blew out the candle and kicked off the blanket as I got up and marched to the bathroom. I took my clothes off and stepped into the shower. Turning on the hot water, I let it loosen my tense body. I started to sing Teen Idle and it made me feel a bit better, so I finished the shower and slung my towel around me. Suddenly it hit me how quiet the house was. Well, I thought, tomorrow I at least get to leave the house.

A/N: This is my first story on Wattpad, so please bear with me if the plot isn't perfect. Since I'm from Denmark I know my grammar and spelling might not be perfect, but I'm doing my best, and PLEASE correct me if you find any mistakes. If this story is a bit messy it's because I'm trying to figure some things out. It's a personal matter. Still, I hope you'll read this! Show me some support; just READ, VOTE and COMMENT! Please, if you like what you read I would really appreciate a vote at least. Thank you :)

xx