His Gold ✓

1| Two canes

     "CAROLINE!"

     I hear my name, yelled through the thin walls of my bedroom. Light filters through the windowpane. Before I can get up from my mattress, my door flies open.

Whack. It thumps against the wall.

    The top of a messy, blond head of hair comes into view. I laugh at the sight- my brother. His face is pinched in annoyance.

   "Can't find your hairbrush?" I joke from my spot on my mattress.

    He sneers. "It's not funny, Caroline! I can't start the first day of school with hair like this!" He points exaggeratedly to his golden locks of hair.

First day.

My heart sinks.

I almost let myself forget...

      "I'll help you search." I pat his shoulder as I slip past him and out of my bedroom.

     "Thanks."

    We wade through waist-high moving boxes lining the halls of our new home together. I try not to feel nervous as I help Ace find a hairbrush.

I wish we had more time to unpack this stuff before today.

    "You're a life saver." Ace's voice is low. The handle of the brush, once found, turns over in his hand. He immediately flattens his hair with the bristles. "I owe you."

    I smile a tight smile. Ace returns my gaze, before letting his eyes fixate on something behind me. I narrow my brows.

     "Your Pom poms." He doesn't leave me to wonder what he sees. With a hand, he reaches to an almost-empty moving box and pulls out a pouf. He gives it a shake.

I feel my throat tighten, seeing it in his hand. Pom-poms are a relic from my past life. Ace focuses on my face, "maybe you can use these sometime soon?"

Is that what he thinks? I swallow the lump in my throat and shake my head. He thinks in the last months of senior year that I'll be able to cheer again?

With a snap, I grab the pompoms from his hands and shove them back into the cardboard container. They burn my skin long after I've let them go.

"I've got a million reasons to never pick those up again. But I only need one." My voice is low. "It's day one, let's focus on that. I still have to get ready."

"Fine." He rolls his eyes playfully, walking backwards down the hall. "Try to look nice for once."

"You wish."

Back in my room, I dress for the day. I make sure to wear my favorite fuzzy socks, as well, since we're in the cold of the winter season. At breakfast, my mom pours a glass of juice for herself while I stuff my face at the counter. "Good to see you've gotten up." She muses.

    "Mmhmm." I say between bites, getting a good view of her work uniform.

    "You know, I'm proud of you two." My mom speaks up. "I know it's hard to move schools over halfway into the year. You're champs."

    "It's nothing." I lie.

I've definitely lost sleep over this, and she knows it.

     Her thin arms are around me in a moment. Behind us, Ace grabs his backpack and runs to the door. "The bus is here!" He calls.

    The bus. Great.

   I pull away from mom, careful to hide my feelings. I don't want her to worry. In like four months I'll be done with highschool- I can take this until then.