Distort the world into clarity

Chapter Two: Trying to reach the clouds

The light crept through Beatrice's dark blue curtains. The day had begun. When Beatrice opened her eyes, her first thought was that she was under water, but then she realized that her room turns blue every single morning. That's what you get for buying blue curtains and having blue wallpaper.

Pulling the blanker over her head and closing her eyes, Beatrice attempted to get a few extra minutes of sleep. Anything she could get, she would grab. Sadly, her alarm had other plans. It was already 11. Almost time for lunch.

For a moment Beatrice contemplated turning off the alarm and staying in bed all day, but the thought of missing her appointment was unbearable. She was supposed to see her best friend today, Riley.

Riley and her had been friends since the dawn of time. Before the sun and the planets came into existence, or at least that is how Beatrice felt.

The bed made an awful creaking sound when she got up, but Beatrice wasn't worried, nor did she care. She felt a rush of energy as she thought of spending the day with Riley. She got up and got dressed and ready as fast as she could. After putting on her socks, she ran to the kitchen and grabbed an apple.

She wanted to run past her mother, into the hallway, but her mother shook her head at her. "At least two apples. A good breakfast is extremely important, Bea."

Quickly, Beatrice grabbed another apple with her free hand. She gave her mother a quick kiss and then she continued her race to the hallway.

"Have fun! I'm going to work in an hour and I'll be back by seven, so we'll have to eat dinner around eight, alright?"

With a chunk full of apple in her mouth, Beatrice just made a loud, incomprehensible noise, but she knew her mother understood what she meant. There was no time to waste, she had to be there on time.

Unfortunately for Beatrice, Riley was already swinging back and forth impatiently on the swings. The playground was a smelly mess, basically a glorified cats' litterbox, but Beatrice loved it nonetheless. There was a set of two swings and a very steep red slide. The entire ground was covered in sand, hence the immense amount of cat shit.

"Hey there, Bee." Riley smiled at her. Her previously half closed eyes lit up as Beatrice took a seat on the swing next to her. "So what've you been up to?'

Beatrice didn't know what to tell her best friend exactly. The amount of anxiety she had been feeling lately was indescribable. Her new school, her parent's divorce and the inescapable fact of summer almost coming to an end... It was overwhelming to say the least.

"Hey, everything okay?" Riley stopped swinging back and forth. She turned to look her friend in the eyes. "You know you can tell me anything, right?"

"I know." A small smile appeared on Beatrice's tired face. "The thing is..." Beatrice continued, "Everything's going to change, y'know? My dad already moved out, the divorce is completely settled. High school is coming increasingly close and I'm a little nervous, that's all."

"Change is good, Bee! Don't worry too much about it. Everything always works out in the end and if it doesn't, then stressing out about it won't make the situation any better. I know how you like to overthink a lot."

"I don't like it. At all. It just happens, I can't really help it."

"Well did you listen to that Spotify playlist I made you yet? It's got really nice and relaxing songs. I'm sure that'd help you."

Beatrice grinned at her friend. She always make dumb jokes like that.

"Wow, you're hilarious. I know you only listen to metal, so no I won't listen to that playlist of yours. Metal is just not my thing, end of story."

"Oh, come on! You've never tried it. You'll never know for sure until you try. Besides, metal really helps relieving stress actually. Just screaming all of your problems away. It's highly effective."

The friends laughed and held a little contest of who could swing the highest, like they always do. Beatrice would always feel like she was almost flying. Almost. She always lost, because every time the swing got too high, she stopped. She wanted to go further, but her body physically couldn't. She was too afraid to fall and froze up every time she got a little too close to the sky.

With longing eyes Beatrice looked up at the clouds. If only her body would let her go there, she wouldn't have to deal with high school or her new home life.

Riley burst out laughing, pure adrenaline running through her body. "I win! Again."

"I don't know why I keep playing against you. You always win, Riles."

"Well, better luck next time."

The two friends looked at each other in silence for a moment. The smile on Riley's face faded away. She was biting on her lip and nervously plucking the filth between her fingernails.

"Is something wrong?" Beatrice asked. "You know you can tell me anything, right?"

"I'm sorry. I don't want to make you more upset, but..." Riley didn't finish her sentence.

"But what?" Beatrice was getting nervous. She could already feel her hands trembling. Her mind was running through every possible scenario. Maybe Riley was going to tell her that she had found a new best friend. Maybe Riley didn't need her anymore. Maybe she didn't want to be friends in high school anymore. Maybe she'd found a new clique, full of mean and popular kids. Oh no, was Riley going to abandon her?

"I'm moving to New York. My dad got a really big job opportunity there. It was kind of sudden, but my parents decided it was a good time to move. I'll be starting high school in New York, not here. I'm sorry, Bee. I really am. I tried to stop them, but it was no use. They wouldn't listen to me," Riley said.

At this point, Beatrice's heart sunk. She could feel the air was being pulled out of her lungs. She gasped for air and tried not to cry. That would only make things worse.

Her best friend was leaving. The worst case scenario became a reality; Riley was abandoning her.

First, Beatrice had to say goodbye to her dad, then to her school and now... she had to say goodbye to Riley too? It was too much. Her shoulders began to shake, with rage and sadness. Once again, her body had total control over her. Tears started pouring out of her eyes, falling into the sand. Her world was falling apart.

"Please don't cry, Bee. You know that makes me cry too," said Riley.

Riley stepped off the swing and walked over to her friend. She gave Beatrice a tight hug. "We'll always stay friends, don't worry. Our friendship is very strong, a little bit of space between us won't get in our way. Distance is nothing to us, we'll totally kick its ass. We can videochat every day, text every hour and we can meet up every vacation. Come on, it'll be fine. I promise."

Beatrice shook her head while crying on Riley's shoulder. "No. You'll find new and better friends in New York, I know you will. You'll like them way more than you like me and then you'll forget about me!"

"You don't think I have those thoughts too? What if you find way cooler friends in high school and forget all about me? It goes both ways, you know. We have to trust each other that it won't happen. I trust you." Riley pulled away from the hug.

Beatrice hadn't thought of it that way... Riley was right, however. They just had to trust each other. She wiped away her tears and snot with her sleeve. "I trust you too."

Riley smiled. "See? We got nothing to worry about."

"Aren't you scared about moving to another city?"

"I am, a little. But New York is pretty awesome. You've got Broadway there! I've always dreamt of visiting a Broadway show and now it might finally come true. That's pretty cool right? I think I'll like New York," said Riley. "I'll just miss you a lot, of course," she added quickly.

"I know," Beatrice answered. But she wasn't entirely sure. 

A slightly longer chapter. I hope you enjoyed it. Next chapter the story will officially start! Can't wait. :)