It's a Big World After All

Chapter One

The light, golden sun shone brightly from between cottonwool clouds. The sky was a clear blue between the sparse clumps of white fluff.

The small bus rumbled along the highway at a comfortable pace, the occasional spurt and gurgle evidence of the vehicle's ageing. Not that the few nicks in the running of the bus's engine could be heard clearly above the chatter anyway, which occurred within the bus. At least, not to the average human's hearing.

Ravyn Warde's eyes flicked to the watch she wore on her left wrist - for what must have been the third time in the past five minutes. The numbers 1:47 stared back at her.

The action wasn't out of anxiousness, as it may appear so, but rather more out of habit. Especially since she was alone here.

Ravyn gave a small smile as she returned her gazed back to the window. The rolling green hills were peaceful, the air clear and bright. The gleeful chatter of her classmates filled her ears.

She had been back just over a week now. It was nice, seeing her family and friends again. At the same time, it wasn't easy though. Once, if she spent enough time here, it used to feel almost normal. But now... It could never really feel normal again, no matter how much time she spent here. Too much had changed.

Still, that didn't mean she didn't enjoy the time spent at home.

Again, Ravyn glanced down at her watch. This time, however, she did a double-take when she noticed the small light, located at the lower corner of the digital screen, was glowing red.

Ravyn stared at the tiny red dot for a moment. She wasn't expecting a call, and they all should know that she would be unable to talk at this time.

She glanced to the side with the slightest hint of a frown. Perhaps I should check... It could be important.

With that, Ravyn unzipped the pocket of her school dress and reached in, feeling around until her fingertips touched something smooth and cool. Having grasped the small rectangular card - which was only the size of her palm - Ravyn leaned her right shoulder against the window and, twisting her body, hunched slightly over it and to the side, in order to obstruct the object from anyone's view. She then swiped her finger across the dark, shiny surface of the card, and the screen came to life. At the top of the screen was a little message, notifying Ravyn that someone had attempted to contact her only seconds ago.

Just as Ravyn was about to investigate further, she sensed someone approaching her. Her finger froze mid-movement just above the screen, and in a split second her hand had closed around the card.

"Hey Ravyn," a cheery blonde chirped as she seated herself on the unoccupied half of the seat, at the very moment at which Ravyn raised her head.

"Hey," Ravyn replied, matching the cheeriness in the blonde's voice.

The blonde cocked her head to the side with a smile, "What'ya doing?"

"Oh," Ravyn involuntarily glanced down to the closed hand that rested at her side, "Just... Checking my phone."

The blonde girl didn't hear her anyway, as she had momentarily turned her attention to the back of the bus in order to retort to someone's random comment.

"Anyway," the blonde continued, her honey-coloured curls bouncing as she swung her head back to face Ravyn, "That case sure was interesting, huh. I mean, did that guy really think he'd get away with those drugs? They get busted like, every time - I don't know why people even bother trying... I guess security's getting pretty good these days."

Ravyn just shrugged. "Too bad, it's only at the airports where it's real good..." She murmured under her breath. The blonde girl wouldn't have heard even had she been listening.