Chapter 2: Violet

Monday had gone by quickly enough, but as Violet walked home she wished for nothing more than to be able to curl up into her bed for hours and not have to wake up for school tomorrow. She smiled as she thought about Friday night, where she went to bed at 7 pm and didn't wake up for 15 hours. She had woken more refreshed than she probably ever had.

Violet gave a rare toothy smile as she pondered her memories. The smile was especially rare when she did that. But Saturday was a good day. She woke up a little after 10, and slipped into some pajamas. Then, without haste, she ate some cinnamon rolls, one of her favorite childhood breakfast treats. Before long, she was curled up on the couch with blankets encompassing her and Vampire Diaries at low on her laptop.

Violet closed her eyes and hummed lightly, a soft, cheesy grin on her face as she strolled through the great neighborhood. Her house was still another 10 minutes away, so Violet continued to file through her brain. Louis. That boy… Violet nearly facepalmed in the middle of the sidewalk. Violet knew what it was like to be a party animal, and Louis still was not out of that phase. It was different for him, he was pretty popular. And his mansion, his money, his expensive alcohol… Violet shook her head. Then her mind wandered to why she hadn't gone in the first place.

She wasn't lying to Louis, exactly. She had sort of an idea for what she was going to do for college. Likewise with her career. Things were already mostly laid out for her… but it was the excuse. College stress is a simple fallback for seniors, and no one can question that. It's easier to say that then the truth. Especially when the main stressor is… personal. Violet was used to shoving that shit down as soon as it arose. Her feelings weren't a subject of conversation, and she made that evident. Instead she focused on said college stress. That helped relieve the… other tension. Her mind came back to the conversation they had in the hallway.

Even if anyone called horse hockey on it, Violet really liked Louis. He had her back, and she trusted him. She was grateful for his perpetual help, and was actually excited about going to his place on Wednesday.

She was here. Her chipped white door stood in front of the least impressive house in the great neighborhood surrounding Ericson's Academy. She hastened herself up the concrete stairs and kicked off her shoes as soon as she stepped in the door. The light dimmed as the door shut itself behind her. In fact, the only light came from the white buzz of the TV. Violet didn't bother to check the room; she already knew her father was drunk asleep on the couch. The white Ford was not in the driveway, signaling her mother was still working. Violet swallowed and crept up the wooden stairs to her room of solitude.

Violet creaked open the door to her dark bedroom. A few clothes lay strewn on the gray carpet, and her window was closed with the blinds shut. Violet closed her eyes and took a deep breath, taking a moment to rest. She placed her backpack on her bed and went through her agenda. It was tearing at the seams after endless counts of her removing it and shoving it back into the pack, filled with books and binders. She ran her fingers over the tearing edges of paper before flipping it open to today. She had scrawled a few notes over what she needed to do. Just a math worksheet. That was a relief.

Without much hesitation, Violet ripped her math binder out and placed the worksheet, a calculator and a pencil with dull lead on the desk.

Before long, Violet had finished the grueling calculus and packed everything back into her backpack. A second later, she was curled up in her bed, absentmindedly scrolling through her phone. An idea overtook her. She opened up her photos and scrolled through, feeling a wave of nostalgia.

A photo of Minnie appeared. Her ex. Violet's throat closed as she analyzed the photo. They were smiling together, Minnie's arms wrapped around Violet's waist, her bright blue eyes piercing through the camera lens. Violet scrolled away before her heart could grip the cold stone of loneliness that would overtake her.

She saw pictures of her and Louis partying; wild selfies with beer cans, a few photos of groups, and many, many blurred pictures of events she had already forgotten. A video of Louis appeared. A smile wrapped her face as she remembered the time. Louis had lost a bet to Mitch, and now he had jumped into his frigid pool. She clicked play.

Music shook the phone speakers, and lights flickered in the background with voices rushing in and out of tone. Louis stood in the center, and Violet could be heard cackling in the background. Louis made a snarky comment about the cold temperatures. And sploosh. He dove in. Violet roared with drunken laughter, as did many guests as Louis frantically splashed to get himself out of the waters. After a second of struggling, he pulled himself out. The video cut off.

Violet closed her phone and set it beside her, rolling up into her blankets and trying to fall asleep.

Louis was even less anxious to meet the new history teacher then Violet. He was actively dreading it throughout lunch. Aasim and Omar, who already had him, kept telling him that the new teacher wasn't all that bad, but it just went in one ear and out the other with Louis. Violet stabbed at the crusty noodles from the pasta line. They had history next, and Louis, while it took a while, eventually stopped vocally exclaiming his concerns.

The bell rang and students hurried from the cafeteria to their various classes. Violet slung her backpack over her shoulder and started to leave, Louis close behind her.

"Moment of truth?" Louis said with mock hope as they approached the door. A few students had already filed in, and Violet stopped him outside the door.

"Just chill okay? It's not that big of a deal."

"Mark my words, Vi. He's gonna be a hardy hard hardass and we're actually gonna have to like… pay attention in that class. I hope you understand that I am not prepared for that."
"Louis," Violet facepalmed. "Just calm down. We haven't even seen his face, much less the class. Maybe he's a chill dude and you're gonna make it worse for yourself with all this… preimposed drama about him." Louis glanced from the door to her to the door, nostrils flaring.

"Fine. But if we have a huge paper on our first day… you are writing mine."

Violet simply closed her eyes and wished for his mouth to stay shut for like five minutes. Please.

"Whatever. Let's just go." She huffed and wheeled on her heels, entering the classroom with Louis on her trail.

They were met with a stocky African American man, with scruff and a goatee, and deep brown eyes. He wore a white shirt with a blue tie and long brown slacks, and a kind smile. Violet gave Louis a slight nod and sat in her usual spot, two seats from the back, with Louis following her and sitting right behind her.

The bell rang and a few more students shuffled in, getting out notebooks and pencils and whatnot. Violet pulled out her scratched up binder, while Louis made no moves. It was then that Violet noticed the seat next to Louis had been filled. Under their last teacher, that was an open desk. Now, though, a girl with a white and blue baseball cap sat there. She was scribbling in her notebook, not paying any attention to anyone. She had a caramel skin tone and smooth features. Her bushy hair was wrapped in a hair tie and Violet noticed how aggressively she wrote, like she was attacking the paper.

"Hello class!" The teacher spoke. Her head snapped back towards the front of the room. Neither the girl nor Violet noticed she was staring. "As you all probably know, Mrs. Hunt has been relieved of her position. I am your new history teacher, Mr. Everett." He had a deep voice, gentle. Violet's fears diminished by the second, but Louis seemed more hesitant. Mr. Everett paused and stepped towards the front of the room. "I was recently a history professor at UGA, where I taught students who wanted to sleep even more than you all do." He cracked a smile and even earned a few chuckles, however doubtful, from the other students. "So!" He shuffled towards his desk. "If I was informed correctly, you all just learned about the effects of industrialization on the economy?" A few students nodded their heads. After a second, he continued "Great! Now we-" Violet cut off her own hearing to glance back towards Louis, who seemed to be analyzing the teacher. But with accepting eyes. Violet could tell his fears had dissipated. As she turned around, she caught the eye of the new girl. They locked for just a second, but Violet saw her brilliant golden eyes and her button nose, her smooth cheeks and a little scar on her forehead and her vibrant lips. They formed into a slight smile before turning back towards her paper. Violet's face grew slightly warm as she swallowed and looked back to her own.

"What'd you think of him, Vi?" Louis asked as they trudged their ways through the hallways. Violet glanced back over her shoulder one more time, to get a glimpse of the girl in the baseball cap as she wandered down the hallway opposite them. "Violet!" Louis snapped his fingers under her nose. She whipped to meet his eyes, huffing.

"Umm…" Violet looked down and gripped her left arm as she walked. "He's pretty nice, I guess. Doesn't seem like that hardass you so expected."

"You never know." Louis even gave himself a slight grin as he said that. "So. More importantly, we both noticed a new girl."

Violet felt herself slink away from him defensively. "Oh, her. Yeah."

"Yeah?" Louis questioned. "I saw you look back at her at least 5 times after y'all had that fleeting moment of destined eye contact."

"Doesn't mean anything," Violet grumbled. They rounded a corner.

"Uh huh. Do you even know her name?"

Violet hesitated. She didn't. "No…" Louis gave a facepalm.

"You need to talk to her silly. And to be honest… so do I." Violet stepped away from him, a slight look of shock etching her face. "What? We don't know her name, much less which way she swings."

"You are unbelievable." Violet stormed into her next class.

"Talk to you later." Louis called as she walked away. "Wednesday!"

After school that day, Violet didn't have time to say goodbye to Louis. Tuesday was a day she reserved for getting home extra early, just to admire the afternoon sun for a few moments before locking herself in her room. Honestly, the routine didn't differ that much from Monday, or Wednesday, or Thur - yeah. Violet walked again through the muggy streets, glancing at the concrete and foliage and clear blue sky. When she rounded the corner to her house minutes later, she was surprised to find her mother's car in the driveway.

Hesitantly, Violet opened the door. Flinging her shoes off, as usual, and slumping out of her backpack and coat, she gently set them down. A ruffle came from the kitchen, with snoring coming from the couch. Her father, as she guessed. She crept past him so as not to disturb his ever important sleep.

Her mother was cleaning the kitchen.

"Mom." Her mother swirled around. She wore a bright pink shirt with an orange stain on the shoulder, and her blonde hair was tied back in a bun. Her green eyes instantly brightened when she saw Violet. "You're home early." Violet's lips curled into a slight smile at the sight. The kitchen still lay a mess; she mustn't have been here long. Rags and old stains littered the counter, with pots and plates stacked in the sink.

"Yeah! I got off work early, so I figured I would do some housework." Violet approached her mom and rested her arm on a tabletop. Silence echoed throughout the house, interrupted only by her incompetent father's snoring. "How are you? How was school."

"I'm good. School was fine."

"Anything new happening? It feels like it's been ages since I've talked to you." Her mother slowly walked towards her.

"Nah. There's a new teacher, but that's about it." Her mother gave a slight smile and looked around.

"Oh! Are you hungry?" Her mother started shuffling towards the cabinets.

"No, I'm good, thanks." A pause. "Do you need any help around here?"

"No, I think I can handle it."

Violet nodded.

"Can y'all fugging keep it down!" A drunken roar from her father on the couch. "Can't a man gettwo winks in this dan-damn place without all this... noise!" He sat up and glared at both his kin.

"You've been-" Violet was ready to yell. Anger ignited inside of her, but her mother placed a hand on her arm. Her father's glare was hardly intimidating, but her mother spoke up in defense anyways.

"Sorry sweety. We'll keep it down!" Her mother gave him a sheepish smile.

Her father groaned and muttered some choice words before rolling back into the couch.

"Know when to engage with him." She whispered to Violet, her face inches from her. "He's tired right now, so he'll get angry. Just be calm."

Violet clenched her fist and looked at her mother's pale face, trying to get a reading. She knows where she got her poker face. "I've got work to do." Violet pushed away from her mother and retreated to her room.

She slumped on her bed, contemplating for a moment. FUCK! She screamed in her head. I hate him, I hate him, I hate him. She buried her face in her hand.

Her backpack was open and laid across the floor, but he made no moves to check her agenda. Silence. Her mother was downstairs, cleaning the kitchen while her father slept on his ass. Violet itched her chin. Before a second thought, she sat up and reached into her bedside drawer. She dug through her panties before settling on the wooden bottom of the drawer. There, she found the small electronic device and multiple smaller ones littering the bottom. She took a singular pod and the battery.

She vowed to only use this at parties, but it had sat at the bottom of her drawer collecting dust for long enough. She plugged in a pod to the vape and held it in her palm for a second. She stuffed it in her pocket and went to one of the two windows lining her bedroom. She cracked one open, feeling the cool breeze brush her pale skin.

After a second of more contemplation, she stuck it in her mouth and took a deep inhale. The smooth smoke traveled into her lungs, and she exhaled just as calmly, feeling the nicotine rush through her body.

She laid down, feeling the buzz wash over her body, numbing what feelings she stored. Like ice coating a pond. She took another inhale.

Violet didn't stop that night until a full pod was gone. The numbness placated on her bones. When she went to take another hit, and realized it was empty, she angrily stared at the pod before chucking it in the garbage and stuffing the battery into the drawer, slamming it shut. It was 8 o' clock.

Violet lay still on her bed for ten minutes. Fifteen. Finally, she moved her arm to her further than her side, feeling the other side of the bed. Emptiness. It lay a void inside Violet. A void she had just stuffed with nicotine, that, like smoke, had vanished. And the void still lay inside of her, draining her energy and sapping her strength. Violet slammed her eyes shut in a desperate attempt to close out the voice that told her how lonely she really was. You have no one it said. No one and nothing. You'll die like you live… alone in your bed. Violet shot up and leapt out of bed, immediately pacing angrily.

Her mother had probably made dinner, but Violet didn't care. After pacing and breathing with vigor and clenching her fists over and over again, she made a move towards her agenda.

Violet pulled out her binders and started on her homework.

Dinner sat cold on the messy table.

Hey everyone! I decided to release this story I'd been working on for a while. I'm excited to keep posting, and know that a new chapter should be released this time next week. As always, feel free to review, I'm open to criticism. And stay safe out there! Thanks