Chapter 3
Katharyne's eyes snapped open. She lay in her bed, waiting for her mind to catch up to an ever-puzzling reality. She seldom ever sleeps for more than 3 hours at a time, and last night was no exception. With as little effort as possible she heaved herself up and searched for time. She groaned inwardly. 6:27am. She had over an hour to kill before she could even start getting ready. As her mind slowly clicked back into place, she realised there was something she missed. Something she could almost touch and see but yet a feeling so unfamiliar. With a sudden jolt, she realised she had dreamed.
She let out a short, sharp giggle raised her hands to her burning cheeks. She sat on her bed trying to contain her laughter as she mused over what her dream could possibly be about. All she knew, judging by her struggle to contain fits of embarrassed laughter, was that it had been a good one. Finally making her way to the kitchen, feeling surprisingly light-headed, she started the task of getting ready, very slowly, feeling more like a schoolgirl than she has ever felt for decades.
7:25. She couldn't wait any longer. She had to have something to keep her mind occupied by anything other than the screaming. Despite the school's gates not opening for another 45 minutes, there was nothing to do to distract her racing mind. Slowly, she got up from her kitchen chair, grabbed her bags and left her flat.
Katharyne was careful with every stair, every step she took, making sure she went as slow as her legs could possibly allow her. The early day air was cold and dry. It clung to her face like a second skin. She vaguely took in what she was wearing, throwing anything on that would keep her remotely warm, each piece as dark and as plain as the next.
With carefully applied steadiness, she rounded the last corner onto the sad and desolate little road on which Rathbourne High sat. Since the incident barely 3 years ago, Rathbourne High has become a source for misery and trouble that appears to expand even beyond its own walls. The school, if it could still be called that now, was on its last legs. To Katharyne, she had seen this happen all too many times before. Something that is built up will always crumble down and it is your choice whether you'd be foolish enough to stay inside to try and hold it up when it does.