Chapter 1: Where's that treater spirit?
Veda woke up in her tall bunk bed sweating, with tears streaming down her face. She wiped her cheeks, and began to stretch. She always woke up like this, it was just how life had become. She lifted herself over the rails on her bed and hopped down.
She walked to her dresser, and reached for some clothes. Jeans and a sweatshirt, what had become her everyday attire. Veda changed and looked in the mirror, there were still decorations from her 17th birthday celebration that her brother threw for her. That was 2 months ago now, but she couldn't bring herself to take them down. She turned, and stared at the bottom bunk of their-no, her bed. The sheets folded nicely, like he always made them. The pillows were gone though, Veda had been using them for emotional comfort when she slept. They were just about all she had left of him now. She looked down to her hand. It was the ring he gave her, after their grandfather had given it to him. He said he didn't do jewelry, and that Veda could keep it. She hadn't taken it off since he had...passed. She felt another tear coming, and wiped it away before it could stream down her face. Veda turned around, and left the room.
As she walked into the kitchen she could hear the beginning of an argument. Her parents liked to claim that they didn't argue in front of her, but it was entirely false. The two hadn't married by choice, but by force. Now, that was backfiring. Arranged marriages ran in the family, so Veda was ecstatic when her parents told her they wouldn't force her into one. That was five years ago now, but it felt like it was just yesterday.
They had kind of branched away from their family now though, because no one else agreed with their parents' decision. Her parents didn't want Veda trapped in this cycle too. Little did they know she'd be trapped inside a murderous and never ending cycle of her own. Veda tended to block them out and just do her own thing. She grabbed a paper bowl and filled it with cereal, and then her backpack and coat.
She was halfway out the door when her mother began, "where are you going? Have you even talked to your parents today?" Veda sighed and thought, can we just not right now? I am so mentally tired and I don't really don't have the energy to do this with you. Then she turned around and gave a small fake smile. "No, I'm sorry. You know we have those tests and-" Her father cut her off. "Just go sweetheart, it's okay. Don't be late for class now." Her mother scoffed but Veda thanked him and headed out the door.
This was how most of her mornings were, spent by herself until her tense encounters with her parents before school. Since her brother...passed on, things had been a lot different around Veda's home. It was uncomfortable, but she could still manage. Veda headed towards the school building. It was a large cathedral looking building. It was originally a Catholic school, but became a public school when all of the religious leaders passed on or ended up moving away for unknown causes. Veda walked through the large doors in the front, and stopped to notice something new. Those disgusting gargoyle statues were back.
Ignoring this fact, she made a left and headed for the girls bathroom. When turning through the open doorway, Veda came close to colliding with a girl. "Oh my gosh I am so sorry. I'm Isi, who're you?" The girl asked. "Um, Veda. Can I just get through here?" Veda asked apprehensively. "Oh, of course. Come on Sarah!" She turned and saw an excited looking girl behind "Isi". They left Veda alone in the bathroom, and she stared at herself in the mirror. She took notice of her hair, it was looking darker again. It was once a bright orange, but was beginning to fade as she aged.
That's what her father reasoned, but she concluded that maybe everything about her was becoming darker, just like her hair. She pressed her shirt down, fanning out the wrinkles, let out a sigh, and joined her peers in the crowded hallway.
She was greeted by a man wearing a pumpkin head. "It's almost Halloween! Just 3 more weeks, where's that treater spirit?" He teased. Veda just shook her head and shouldered past him. All she wanted to do was avoid everyone, just for today. She knew she couldn't ditch, but all she wanted was to have some alone time. When her first period was over, Veda was supposed to be on break, socializing "like normal kids do". Instead, she tucked her geometry folder back in her bag and rested her head on the desk. She let out a long sigh and tried to organize her thoughts. Two more tests today, that's all she had left.
Veda lifted her head up when she heard someone snoring. She looked around and noticed that she was now alone in the classroom, other than the snorlax two seats ahead of her. All she could see was the back of his head, he had dark brown hair that Veda immediately took notice of. Black hair was not a well-intercepted trait in today's world, since the last devastation. The entire clan of Taria were dark haired, with slim figures and tall builds. They were the ones that burned down half of the town, and just about all of them were executed for it.
Now, that was around 200 years ago but people in this town kept grudges, it was what they were best at. She caught herself thinking about the obstacles he had to have everyday for a little too long when he stood up and turned towards her. He stretched his arms up in the air and yawned, before stumbling over his chair. They made eye contact for a brief moment before he shot her a dirty look and walked away.
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Veda sat in the cafeteria annoyed. It was so loud, so, so, so very loud. She recalled a time in elementary school when the teachers would give her ear-plugs to wear at lunch because she would start screaming and crying if the other kids and their conversations became too much for her.
Sadly she wasn't allowed to do that anymore, because apparently it was against the "rules of the lunch hall". Veda's head began to pound, and she felt a wave of dizziness. Something wasn't right, her heart began to beat faster and faster. I have to get out of this room! Veda thought in desperation for the noise to leave her alone. She stood up, folded her lunch box in her hand and quickly walked to the large doors that closed off the cafeteria from the rest of the school. Someone placed an arm on her wrist and she turned around.
"Student, where in the world do you think you're going?" A tall, intimidating man asked her. "Uh, to the counselor." Veda lied. "Oh, do you have a pass?" He asked politely. "No, it's-it's an emergency." She lied again. "Alright, if you do say so. Let me escort you there." He opened the large door and motioned for her to walk through. The man led her around the corner and gazed back at her every once in a while to make sure she was there. Veda didn't even know where the counselor's office was, but she was about to find out. She began to think of some excuse for why she couldn't stay in the lunchroom, her real reason was the complaint of a child.
When they reached a crimson colored door, the man told Veda that this was her stop and left her there. She thought, if I wait for him to leave I could just go home, or wait in the classroom and say that I'm sick. She turned away from the room, still not sure which of the options she was going with when a voice called out to her. "You know you want to give in. Those noises are your weakness, crush them like they want to crush you." Veda shivered, and looked around to see who was taunting her but there was no one there. Not a soul.
She stood there, trying to rationalize what was going on. The crimson door opened in front of her and she jumped, startled at the sudden break of silence. "Why don't you come on in, sweetheart?" There was a middle-aged woman standing on the other side of the doorway, motioning for Veda to join her in the room.
She did so, and was ushered to sit on a small cushioned chair on one side of a large mahogany desk. "I don't think you've been here before, have you?" She asked. Veda shook her head and placed her hands in her lap. "Well, what's your name?" She met Veda's eyes, "Veda. Veda Cartelr." She answered. "Very well, give me just a moment." She typed into her old-school computer and seemed to have pulled up Veda's student data. Veda cringed at the school picture. The one that her mother had insisted on doing her makeup for. The bright orange eyeshadow was too flashy, and not blended at all. It made her embarrassed by just looking at it. "Well, my name's Karen and I'm the counselor here at school. This is a safe space, completely confidential. So why don't you tell me what's going on today sweetie?" The woman smiled at her, fakely.
"I was just feeling overwhelmed, that's all." Veda stuttered. "Oh, from the cafeteria? Too many people?" The woman asked her. "Yes, I get claustrophobic very easily. So, it freaked me out quite a bit." Veda fibbed. "Oh, that's unfortunate. Well how about this, I'll write you a pass so you can come and have lunch in the office for a week. It'll revive your mind from all of that worry. Does that sound okay?" She asked warmly. "Yeah, thanks."
Veda stood up and grabbed her folded lunch from the armrest of the out-dated chair. Karen bid her a good day, and told her to eat her lunch in class today because she didn't have a whole lot of time before the next period was going to start. Instead, Veda tucked her lunchbox in her downstairs locker and hurried back to her geometry class to grab her bag.