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Ava Holloway
Ava did not sleep. And not in the quirky, I-stay-up-until-three-am-watching-weird-YouTube-videos type of way. No, in the depressed, either-I-sleep-too-much-or-I-don't-sleep-enough way. The saddest part was that everyone around her, including herself, knew that there was something off about her, something she should probably seek professional help for, but that would never happen. Though she was grateful to her great aunt and uncle for adopting her, their stance on therapy was...well...conservative and Christian. They believed that they could pray away every problem they encountered and had passed down the same technique to her and Jeremiah. Jeremiah simply ignored them, which was easy for him to do because he didn't have any problems. Jeremiah was perfect, the type of son that every parent from their exclusive town longed for while Ava was the fuck up. But could her aunt and uncle risk their imperfect niece ruining their pristine reputation? No. So what was the solution? Ship her off to boarding school. At least then she would be out of sight, out of mind.
Anyway. Not sleeping meant that she didn't have the energy to partake in classes. This wasn't like their private school back home where teachers would call your parents whenever you were even 42 seconds later to second period English. No. Boarding school worked more like college and though Ava didn't have the best attendance, she still did well enough in her classes that her aunt didn't bother her about her grades like she did with Jeremiah. And since it was the anniversary of her parents' tragic death and the weather outside perfectly reflected her gloomy mood, Ava just knew she wasn't going to make it to classes today. She probably wouldn't even make it out of her bed.
"God, I forgot how much I hate rooming with Ibbie," she heard Tinsley mutter to herself as she came out of their shared bathroom.
Rooming with Ibbie was terrible because she woke up at six am to run a few miles around the track BEFORE morning soccer practice. Ava still wasn't 100 percent sure how she found the energy to do that when most days she couldn't even get out of bed. Though Ava was usually up, Tinsley wasn't, and once Tinsley was awake it was nearly impossible for her to go back to sleep.
"I thought we were meeting Brett at the Java before classes. Why aren't you up?" Tinsley asked as she towel dried her wavy hair.
Tinsley was very annoying, the type of girl who could roll out of bed, throw on an oversized tee shirt, and still be the envy of every girl in the classroom. Tinsley was perfect too. That's why her and Jeremiah worked so well together.
"Tins..." Ava groaned, pointing towards the calendar hanging above Tinsley's desk.
Ava didn't even have to say anything else before a pout settled on Tinsley's plump lips and she practically threw herself on the edge of Ava's bed.
"Please skip classes with me," Ava quietly pleaded as Tinsley released a low sigh.
"Maybe it'll make you feel better if you did something different this year. You know, we could all ditch but instead of laying in bed we could catch the shuttle to downtown and-"
