BLOODLINES: the owl house

Swing

Amity sighed and read the passage yet another time. No matter how many times she read it, it just didn't make sense. She always had straight A's, no matter what subject it was. And she knew that soon, she would have this assignment finished, and get a perfect 100. All she had to do was focus.

Focus. Focus. Focus.

The droplets of boiling rain outside her window, combined with the ticking of the clock and annoyingly loud music coming from her siblings' room was driving her mad. She needed silence, but at the same time, she wanted noise. It was so hot in her room, but she was shivering. Time moved slowly, yet it only felt as if it had been ten minutes when she realized the sun had set.

She couldn't upset her parents. She wouldn't. But when she realized she hadn't even finished the first question of her homework, her body stiffened. Amity raised her hands to her face, trying to push back the tears that threatened to spill from her amber eyes. No, no, no, no! Why couldn't she do this? The overwhelming fear of disappointment sparked inside of her. How had it been three hours already? All she did was sit there. And pace around her room. And get food from the kitchen, even though she wasn't hungry. And pace some more. All that took three hours?

She shoved her paperwork off her desk and groaned. She pulled at her hair. Pinched her skin. Scratched at her legs. What was wrong with her? Her muscles clenched as she stood from her desk chair once again. She was supposed to be the good kid. The example student. The prized pupil, the Goody Two Shoes, the Little Miss Perfect, the teacher's pet. But when she was alone in her room, it was the opposite.

Despite the cleanliness of her room, it didn't take much to mess it all up. Tears ran down Amity's face as she kicked her bed frame. It hurt her foot, but she continued anyway. She grabbed a tissue box and ripped the thin paper from inside. The particles rained from the air as she continued to tear the tissues to shreds. By this point, the young witch was crying on the floor. Her body shook as violent sobs came from her mouth. "Stop it...stop it, you idiot," words fell from her mouth without even realizing it. As the stray pieces fell to the ground, she lied back and stared at the ceiling. Her legs kicked at nothing, and her hands waved at the air. It was as if she had no control over them. The fidgets were persistent, to the point where she was mad at her body for doing this to her. She was overreacting. All this just because of homework? The Emperor's Coven would be disgusted. Her family would be disgraced. Boscha would just make fun of her. Amity would have no chance at mending her relationship with Willow. Luz would never love her.

She took a breath in. The time was now 10pm. It had been five hours.

And there was still no work done.

* 525 words (September 10, 2020)