Brittana- Invisible String

Chapter 38

Brittany was 6 years old, eating her breakfast before school when she heard her mother suddenly cry out;

"Oh dang it! I forgot to say rabbit, rabbit!"

Brittany frowned in confusion.

"What do you mean Mommy?" she giggled.

"Well honey. It's the first day of a new month, and people believe if you say rabbit, rabbit as soon as you wake up, before you say anything else, it will bring you luck for the whole month" said Whitney, before noticing the look of worry that had fallen upon Brittany's face "But don't worry, it's just a silly folk tale. It doesn't mean you will have bad luck if you don't say it".

But it was too late, Brittany had taken the superstition all too seriously, and for almost two years she made a point of following it. The months she forgot brought tears and worry, and the Pierce's were mindful not to mention any more superstitions in future to their naïve and sensitive daughter.

By 8, Brittany had learned new superstitions from her peers at school, much to the Pierce's disappointment. Soon rabbit, rabbit was replaced by not stepping on any cracks in the pavement. By 9, the new thing was making sure to not walk under ladders, and the Pierce's could be glad this wasn't a superstition that took hold as much. There weren't as many ladders as there were cracks in the pavement or firsts of the month.

By middle school she started growing out of her superstition stage, the same way she started growing out of her imaginary pet dog Lord Pawesome (her parents buying her a cat that she affectionately named Lord Tubbington may have helped this one). She still picked up penny's from the floor to bring luck, and knocked on wood in order to not jinx herself, but she didn't follow it as religiously as she used to. If she noticed it was the first of the month and she remembered to do it, she'd say rabbit, rabbit, but she'd no longer beat herself up if she forgot.

Brittany couldn't even remember the last time she had said it, but today on November 1st as she posted that all important letter to Santana, she said it vehemently.

Now all she needed to do was wait, knowing that it could arrive any time in the week. Her and Santana carried on talking as normal, and she wondered if the letter hadn't been received or read yet, or if this was just Santana ignoring the issue and carrying on as normal to preserve their friendship, as Brittany had requested if she didn't feel the same way. The more the week went on the more Brittany began to worry it was the latter, and she found herself looking for clues in her FaceTime's and phone calls with Santana. Was her tone off? Did she seem distant? It was November 4th by now, and she knew first class with UPS usually took around 1-3 days. Today was the third day, but nothing had changed. It was an agonising waiting game. Maybe she should have just text her or told her in person, but she was scared that option would put too much pressure on Santana if she didn't feel the same and cause an awkwardness. At least this way they'd never have to acknowledge it. Santana could just act like she'd never received the letter in the first place and their friendship would go on as normal, words left unsaid. It wasn't the ideal situation, but at least Brittany could be sure now that she'd said what she wanted to say, no regrets.

All she could do was wait it out and hope that Santana just simply hadn't read it yet.

It was actually November 5th when the letter made its way into Santana's mailbox, despite Brittany's worries the previous day that she must have already read and received it.

It was just a regular day in Lima, but Mila excitedly informed Santana and Dani over breakfast that it was a holiday in the UK today, Guy Fawkes Day. She was learning all about it in school, and she was excited to take her finished school project in around it. Being her creative self, she had gone the extra mile, with her paper plate Catherine wheels, foil sparklers, handprint bonfire and cardboard tube rockets.