1 New Friends

Sleep hadn’t come the night things had begun to change for me. I had been sitting on my bed with my dog Mia, lost in thoughts concerning depression.I had been diagnosed with severe depression and anxiety when I turned fifteen years of age. I had felt like a child that had been pretending to be an adult. My thoughts bounced between why I couldn’t keep a job, or the fact that my relationship history was the definition of a failure.

I glanced away from the distorted, frosty design the cold had made on the window.It looked like crystallized trees that were being set on fire in shades of auburn which faded to a bright red, followed by a beautiful shade of orange. If I had any artistic talent at all, I’d be trying to paint what I saw at that moment. The sky looks like it’s starting over, blazing forth a new beginning like I’d desired to do.

I’d moved onto my knees to give a hard press to the cold window frame, only to hear a loud crack which made me flinch in worry at the thought of having broken the wood or making a crack in the glass. To my relief, it was perfectly fine. Instead, the window had easily slid up to allow the suffocating cold to fill my lungs. The air was startling to me at first, but it also felt refreshing at the same time.

Taking in a much needed deep breath before resting my chin against the wooden frame of the window. I felt I needed to take in this moment for as long as I could. The scene in front of me made it feel as though that was the first time I had felt entirely at peace in a very long time. The sky on fire, freshly fallen snow that glistened like a billion stars that reflected the blaze the sunset held, along with the soft touch of the cold to my face with each gentle breeze. I could hear birds wake, and smaller critters scurry about to gather what they could before the real winter started.

Like all good things, my bit of peace came to a quick end. A blue tinge to the sky followed swiftly, only to have put out the fire that had started my day like a bucket of ice water. The sun would also melt away the star-like snow leaving behind mud and flattened dead grass.

The cold that was lightly brushing against my skin was slowly beginning to chill my whole room. Usually, I would just turn on my little space heater to fix that, but I shut my frosted window. Gathering the surrounding blankets, I would curl up to keep warm. As much as my heater helped me, I hated how dry it made the air. Most of the time, it was dry enough to give me a bloody nose, especially when I fell asleep with it powered. Only to wake up feeling as if I couldn’t breathe, my tongue like a cotton ball in my mouth.

I lay in the safety and warmth of the bed, hidden under heavy blankets for about an hour, contemplating what I should do for the day. My mother would probably ask if I could do some shopping as soon as I step outside my room. Usually, I didn’t mind but I felt too exhausted at the moment. Curled up in a smaller ball, I tried to hope that sleep would finally claim me. Yet it didn’t. Frustration setting in, I threw the blankets from my body, rolling out of bed as soon as the cold air hit my exhausted form.

“I need coffee,” I huffed muttering to myself as I forced myself up into a standing position, “Now for the hard part, picking what to wear...” I’d grumbled out loud while making my way into the walk-in closet. Part of me felt like I couldn’t even call it that. Yes, you could step into it, but the walk-in-closet was a lot smaller than you’d typically expect. I pulled on the long string that hung from the light above me; the small area flooded with an orangish-yellow light. I somewhat hated the standard light bulbs and how they tried to mimic the sun’s warm glow. The thought of this morning’s sunrise came to mind again, instantly calming my already irritated mood.

I’d grab a light pink off the shoulder sweater and lightly place it on my bed. This shirt is my favorite to wear. Especially when the weather was becoming chilly. That shirt worked well with my light gray leggings, which I had over three pairs of. Moving to my dresser next, I’d pull out two socks, underwear, a tan bra, and my gray leggings. Then, looking at everything I had now neatly laying out on top of my messy bed, I would give a nod of approval before hurrying into the bathroom.

Once in the bathroom, I’d plug my phone into the bathroom’s stereo, moving to the music playlist, and pressing play. The song “Over The Rainbow/ Simple Gifts” piano music played. A small smile lit up my features as I’d spin around to turn on the shower. The feeling in the music was bringing out my inner child, making me want to spin and dance around the room, which I did. Pulling off my clothes in the most ungraceful dance in existence, I’d turn about my bathroom with a soft giggle before stopping to look in the mirror.

I had long white hair that rested just below my hips; which I usually had tied up in a messy bun. My skin was like porcelain with a hint of a natural pink to my cheeks, also covered in freckles. My blue/green eyes, which changed to a beautiful deep green in natural light, reminded me of the forest. “Not the prettiest, but at least I have friendly eyes,” I’d say to no one in particular.

After the shower and struggling to pull on the tightly fitted clothes, I’d grab my book bag, phone, and triple check to make sure I had my wallet. Finally, making my way out of the room and down the hall where I’d grab the shopping list off of the bulletin board. “I’m heading to town! Got the list!” Without waiting for a reply, I slipped on the faded brown shoes and left.

The air had blown the freshly fallen snow up and into my face, making me squint slightly as my eyes adjusted to the brightening light. The temperature today would be up to seventy degrees this afternoon, melting everything that had fallen the night before. The temperature was more bipolar than any man or woman I had ever met. I had seen it rain and snow without a cloud in the sky. There could be a snowstorm one day and the next it could be over eighty degrees outside. It was no wonder I always ended up sick.

Making my daily walk to town, which was only about twenty minutes. I decided first to get the shopping done, which only took me about two hours. It was easy for me to find everything on the list my mother provided because it was always the same thing. When I finished and was feeling less awake than before, I made my way over to The Witch’s Brew coffee shop. It was where most went to get their caffeine fix, from writers to musicians. Some, if not everyone, called it the hipsters place to hangout at. I couldn’t help the fact that I cringed at the thought of ever hearing that spoken out loud.

I spent most of the walk spaced out; gazing into the shop through the large glass window. Checking to see how busy it was today, not that it ever was. Inside sat the usual people I saw there. A couple wearing glasses and what I’d call old people’s clothes and toupees, the guy in the back that listened to music and quietly hummed along to it while he pretended to read the newspaper, and a small group of new people.

I made my way to the glass door, and would push it open so I could get a better look at them. There were only three, two guys and one girl. One guy was taller than everyone else in the shop, maybe standing at six foot? He had on a white t-shirt and blue jeans. His tousled blond hair reminded me of what a sandy beach looked like, and his faded leather work shoes added to his attractive look. The next guy stood maybe two inches shorter than the sandy-haired guy. He had on a teal blue t-shirt and faded skinny jeans which matched his greenish eyes and dark brown hair that had the same style as the other sandy-haired guy fit him just. The girl with them was shorter than everyone, standing at maybe five-five. She had long red hair and piercing blue eyes that could probably cut a diamond if she glared hard enough. She had on a long white sundress that fit her form perfectly.

The sandy-haired guy must have caught me as I checked them out because he smiled and waved me over to them. I looked around myself to make sure he didn’t mean someone else. I let out a small embarrassed sigh and walked over. My cheeks tinged pink as I quietly said hello.

“Hey! I’m Kyle, and this is my brother Nate and our friend Raye.” The sandy-haired guy said in a cheerful tone. Nate gave me a small smile while Raye rolled her eyes at them and continued to sip her coffee.

“I’m Kasslynn. You can call me Kass if you’d like...” I said uneasily; I was about to ask Kyle if they had recently moved to town when Nate, his brother, started talking.

“Kasslynn, that’s an unusual name. After who were you named? If you don’t mind me asking.” He quickly added on the last part, giving a curious tilt of his head as he spoke. I looked down in thought of how I would answer his question, while Nate’s brother lightly punched his shoulder and muttered something about him being rude.

“It’s fine! My mother named me after the goddess in the town’s myth. So, did you guys just move to town or just passing through?” I could hear the eagerness in my voice. ‘God, I need more friends.’ I’d thought to myself. This town was small, and everyone knew everyone else. Many of the people in town stayed away from my family though, because of one myth the city took seriously.

Kyle was the one to speak this time. “We are just passing through waiting on our dad.” He chuckled at the word dad as if it was an inside joke I wouldn’t get.

“Not like we come here often,” Raye grumbled under her breath, which I was sure I shouldn’t have heard.

“We live outside town a few miles... However, we might go to college here this year!” Kyle continued and seemed to be genuinely excited for school, which I couldn’t help but chuckle at. “We were all homeschooled until this year, so we only know the people in our families.” He gave a nervous chuckle as Raye gave him an irritated glare.

“Well, if you end up going, I can show you guys around to your classes. If you’d like...” I smiled uneasily at my offer, hopeful they would accept even though I didn’t exactly know where everything would be. “I should go get my drink. Have a good day, guys!”

“Yeah! Sounds good, Kassy!” Nate replied with another one of his broad smiles. After I said goodbye to them, I went up to get my regular vanilla bean iced coffee, grabbing it once it was ready, before going to the window seat away from the others. I pulled out my favorite book from my bag and read, startled about twenty minutes in by the shop’s bell above the door.

The group I had just met was now outside; the two brothers playfully tackled a new guy that had been waiting outside. I couldn’t seem to see his face, his back facing me. Thanks to them. However, from what I could see, he was taller than them, his dark hair looked black and was cut short. His build was muscular, but not overly. He had on a black shirt, along with black jeans and shiny black shoes. Something about this new guy was drawing me in, and after a long moment, I couldn’t stop myself. Quickly shoving my book back into my bag, I grabbed my things and made my way outside, only to see it was too late. With a deflated sigh, I made my way back towards home.