Always With Me

Part 16- Ellie Harmon

    A few days later, the sound of the wind against my window made my skin crawl. It was a Wednesday. I didn't want to go outside, but I knew that I had to if I was planning on making it to school on time.  The puddles from last night's rain were frozen over, giving the foggy morning a much more eerie appearance.  I drove slower than usual, taking every turn with care.  The car was heating very slowly, shooting thick hot air from the vents in small bursts.  I was shivering from head to toe, but the temperature was barely a few degrees below freezing.  I just wasn't used to the cold weather.  When choosing my outfit this morning, I settled on a thick, black and white sweater and a pair of boots.  I hadn't planned on wearing a jacket, but the freezing temperature sent me running back into my house to retrieve one.          

        I sat in my car for a few minutes and then willed myself to exit the car.  I locked the doors and pushed my backpack onto my back before I made the short trek to the front door.  I walked into the school and found Dahlia and Becca standing beside Dahlia's locker.  She was fixing her hair in her mirror as the people walking past her stopped to stare.  She didn't seem to be phased, though, and she slipped her backpack into her locker and grabbed her first period book.          

         "Alright.  Let's go."  Dahlia led the way and was the first to walk into our government.  Becca and I exchanged a nervous glance before we sat down as well.  Brent moved to the other side of the room a few weeks ago, and he was already sitting in his seat with his book on his desk, cramming for the test that we were about to take.  He didn't look up when we walked into the room, though I could tell by the square of his tense shoulders that he knew that we had entered the room.  He had on a gray Patagonia jacket and work boots on his feet, and he looked like he wasn't prepared for the test at all.  Nathan took a seat in front of him and he looked as if he was about to pass out from exhaustion.  Zack came over to sit by Becca, but before taking his seat he went to talk to Nathan and Brent.  He held a long conversation with them before returning to Becca.  Through all of this, Brent and Dahlia never looked at each other.          

         I pulled out my notes and attempted one last cram before the test, but when the teacher took his place at the podium, I couldn't fit anything else into my mind.  I took the test with ease, though I didn't take anywhere near long enough on the answers.  I knew it well enough that the only person that finished before me was Dahlia.  Dahlia was a very smart girl, although she didn't have the look of being that way. She surprised everyone when they saw that she had the third highest GPA in the school.        

        I pulled my phone out of my pocket and checked it, though I only had one message.  The message was from Sam Johnson, asking if I had any plans for the night.  Since it was only a Wednesday night, I had nothing besides church.  We made plans to grab dinner and I felt my mood shift.  I was excited to be with Sam because he had encouraged me so much Sunday night.  I wanted to feel that encouragement again.        

        The bell rang and I walked to my next class, though I couldn't pay attention in that class, either.  I finished the rest of my day that way, and left the school at eleven thirty.  I pulled into my driveway and made a ham sandwich and headed back into my room to eat it.  Dahlia got home a few minutes later and ate the McDonald's sitting in front of her on her bed.  My room was a fairly large room with blue walls, and my full bed and Dahlia's twin bed still barely took up much room.  My bed was against the wall by my desk and it protruded into the middle of the room while Dahlia's twin bed sat beside the wall next to the window.  She had her own bedside table from her house and a lamp, and she and I shared my closet space.  We also shared my bathroom.        

         "How was your day?" she asked me, taking a bite of a french fry.  She had on a large sweater also, though it was a dark green color.