Ever since I was a little girl, I would have these dreams. Vivid dreams. Ones where I could taste and smell and touch, dreams that would completely surround me until morning where I would awaken with only the lingering sensations of what I had experienced. Sometimes the memory would linger for longer, and for that brief ephemeral moment between sleep and awareness, I would recall the smell of the ocean and see the lapping azure waves upon a golden shore, iridescent and vast beyond my imagination.
It was always the ocean, I dreamed of nothing else. Like, ever. For a while I thought maybe I had this weird internal obsession with the ocean, but although I like water and don't mind the beach, I'm not all that interested in going there often. I hate sand, plus I can't even remember the last time I went into the sea willingly. Who knows what kind of crap is in there, at least with a pool I know it's clean and hygienic. So, I just chalked it up to being one of those things and never once questioned it. By the time I woke up and had gotten out of bed, I would have forgotten all about any dream I might have had and simply carry on with my day. Sometimes it would come back to me, sometimes it didn't.
Going through my usual morning routine, I groaned when I heard my alarm clock, nose buried deep into my rather superfluous collection of pillows with the cover twisted between my legs somehow from all my moving in the night. I seriously hated Mondays. Just the thought of Monday was enough to make me cringe knowing that I would have to face an entire week of school. Not only that, but the first day back. School didn't really do anything for me, I wasn't much of an academic, but at least I can get all dressed up for the occasion.
After dragging my butt out of bed and kicking aside a few random debris on my floor such as discarded books, clothes, shoes and god knows what else, I pulled open my wardrobe and inhaled the scent of fashion. "I hate Mondays, but I love my closet." Smiling to myself dreamily, I began to pick out what I wanted to wear as my phone began to buzz, signalling I had a text. Of course it was Lydia, my one and only best friend in the entire world, texting me to tell me what she planned on wearing so that we could coordinate our outfits and make sure that we didn't clash or, worse, wear something too similar.
Starting with my shoes I selected a pair of suede ankle booted heels with fishnet tights, a very cute purple dress with floral skirt and a dark blazer jacket to complete the look. After laying everything out on the bed, including accessories I skipped into my bathroom in order to shower and get ready, taking my time under the steaming water as I let it wash over my face. The water always seemed to soothe me, easing away any distress or worries I could ever have. I enjoyed being in water so much that I was the captain of the diving team, gold medallist of the swim team and had the fastest record for the one hundred yard course to date and could hold my breath the longest underwater.
My impressive lung capacity was owing to the fact that as well as swimming and diving, I also sang in the school choir. My voice was, without being too supercilious, very impressive and one of the best in the county, if I do say so myself. Along with my good looks and obvious charming appeal, I had a lot going for me. Quite frankly, I felt like I had everything. Since my parents had money and I was an only child, I never wanted for anything and usually got my way, though I had to be careful not to push my parents too far. They were quite relaxed most of the time, being devoted to their jobs and research so let me have full rein of my life, but if I ever got into trouble then they could be fierce. Seriously, you do not want to see my dad blow a gasket, it can get ugly.
Once dressed and styled with my hair straightened neatly to lay perfectly against my shoulders, I strutted towards my door with my large purse over my shoulder, carrying all my necessities with my car keys to head downstairs for a bite to eat. My mom was already at the table with her bowl of granola, or whatever it was she was eating these days in a bid to be healthier, books piled high next to her as she worked on her next paper. "Hey mom." Smiling as I leaned over her shoulder I pecked her cheek with a kiss, squeezing her shoulders lightly as her focused gaze shifted from the history books she was studying.
"Morning. I thought you hated Mondays, what's with all this cheeriness?" She asked me with a small laugh, lowering her book to watch me as I picked up an apple to eat on the way and making up a lunch for dad to take to work as my usual routine set itself in motion.
"Just a good feeling I have, that's all." Shrugging noncommittally, I quickly packed up the lunch for dad who was probably still asleep and started making fresh coffee. Both of my parents were historians and although had met at university when they were both studying for their doctorates, married late and started a family even later, meaning that newer technology was sometimes completely lost on them. My mom swears the coffee machine simply hates her and that's why she can never get it to work. "Okay I'm going to school now, I'll be back late."
"Take care sweetheart, drive safely." Kissing my mom one more time on my way out I then took a large bite out of my apple, humming to myself as I went out the front to my car which my parents had bought for me the summer I got my license and having worked with several volunteer programmes for the entire vacation. It was the reward we had agreed upon for my effort in doing something for other people, and although I admittedly was not very good at being a selfless person, I sure loved my car and it was worth every second picking up litter and volunteering hours across town.
It was bright red and loud, something that I felt suited me perfectly but also had room for five people in case I needed to take my parents somewhere or had other guests. Of course it wasn't as fancy as Jackson's Porsche, but it was all mine and I had earned it, so I loved it all the more. The drive to school was like clockwork, though I heard mention on the radio about the recent discovery of a body in the woods, so I cranked up the volume in order to listen. It was rather nondescript and vague, merely stating that the cops were investigating the suspicious body with a view to it being a homicide.
"Great, just what this town needs. Another crazy person." This town had enough craziness to warrant several psycho hospitals, I swear to god. You come across some of the strangest things here in Beacon Hills, and I swear if someone doesn't start getting those wild animals under control sometime soon, this place might just become an open graveyard with all the attacks that had happened over the years. Switching the radio over to another channel I listened to music instead, singing along quietly as my musical voice seemed to thrum through the air.
A small crystal ball hung from my mirror, swinging prettily as it caught the light. It had been a gift from Lydia when I'd first got the car, a rather thoughtful gesture from her considering recently her time and attention had been solely devoted to her beloved Jackson. Now I knew that I was not perfect by any means, I had a tendency to be rather vain and a little insufferable at times, but Jackson completely blew me out of the water in that sense. It was like looking in a mirror whenever I saw Jackson and it was probably the only reason why I wasn't worse than I already am. In some ways, I guess I should thank him.
Pulling into a parking space I put the car in neutral then pulled the handbrake, taking a moment to check my reflection in the mirror to ensure that my makeup hadn't smudged. After a top up of lipstick and gloss, I rearranged my hair to suit my aesthetic before sliding elegantly out of the car, purse in hand. Immediately I began to draw attention with my bright red car, long legs and pronounced features, I couldn't help but lavish in the attention. Smirking to myself in satisfaction, I began to head towards the school, heels clicking away as I accentuated my hips and allowed myself a full catwalk down the path where all eyes drew themselves naturally towards me. I couldn't help it. I wanted them to look at me, wanted them to notice me and see just how beautiful I was. Why shouldn't I? I was nothing short of spectacular.
This was where my relationship with Lydia sometimes became a little strained, because although we had known each other since kindergarten, both of us liked to be the singular person of interest and sometimes our desire to be pretty, popular and perfect overshadowed any love we had for each other. It never broke us, but sometimes we would hate each other for no reason at all other than we were both pretty and popular. Secretly, I liked to think of myself as slightly superior because of my extracurricular activities, whilst Lydia merely supported her boyfriend Jackson at Lacrosse.
He and I were in contention, actually, over the fact that he was captain of the swim team which was a position I felt that should belong to me, but I was still arguing with the coach over that small matter. Oh well, I'll get my way sooner or later. "Lydia!" Lifting my manicured hand to flutter at my friend her strawberry blonde head turned to look my way, eyes traversing my appearance to study my look before she smiled back at me.
"Hey Cordy, it feels like it's been forever." She said to me as I reached her, standing a good few inches taller than her even when she too was wearing heels. "This Friday, keep your calendar open because a certain someone will be throwing a back to school party." I do love a good party and Lydia does throw the best.
"Well then, I shall look forward to Friday and use it as an incentive to struggle through this long…boring…totally lame week back at school." Humming in agreement as she began to pack her locker with her books, I went to my own locker a few down from Lydia as Jackson found her, sidling up beside her in order to catch her in a kiss, earning a bright giggle and an eye roll from me. Honestly, those two can be so disgustingly cute that I didn't know if I wanted to vomit or squeal in girlish delight at their displays.
"Cordelia." Jackson finally greeted me in his usual mocking tone, knowing full well that I hated it when someone used my full name. Closing my locker with a little more force than necessary, I shot him a wry smile which did not reflect in my eyes.
"Jackson." I returned in a similar tone, grimacing as he smirked at me then began to nibble on Lydia's ear as he held her from behind, arms wrapped securely around her middle. "If you could refrain from devouring Lydia, we have class to get to." Reminding him no so subtly that we had places to be, I turned around in order to stride off with a toss of my hair, leaving Jackson and Lydia to their lovey dovey nonsense. Reaching for my phone I set a reminder for Friday so that I would have plenty of time to prepare an outfit for the evening, completely unaware of my surroundings but, me being me, I was so used to people simply parting way for me that I didn't expect to run into anyone.
I just clipped their shoulder but it was enough to pull my purse off my arm and it clunked to the floor with a heavy thud, the offending shoulder butting against mine and causing me to rebound off of it in turn. "Hey!" I was annoyed, mostly because of the fact that my purse was now on the floor and my shoulder felt like it was bruising. What? I am a tender and delicate young maiden. I bruise easily. "Are you blind? Watch where you're going next time." Completely ignoring the fact that it had been me texting on my phone which had led me to not watching where I walked, I glowered hotly at the guy who'd bumped me.
"Sorry." A rather adorable boyish smirk turned on me as the guy stopped, a heavy bag on his back with a lacrosse stick poking out the zipper. I arched an eyebrow expectantly, wanting a little more than a half-assed apology. I troubled over his name, recognising his face as one of the members of the lacrosse team, not that the stick didn't give it away at all. Gingerly he reached down and picked up my purse for me, seemingly catching onto what I wanted as I stood there with my hand on my hip. Just as I snatched the purse back, his name popped into my head. Isaac. Isaac Lahey. "My bad." He was shifting a little, seemingly uncomfortable from my glare so I eased off a little, satisfied that he had acted like a gentleman should.
"It better not happen again." With my admonishing complete I walked away with my haughty attitude, fully aware of the fact that Isaac was staring after me with a little star struck look in his eyes. Cute, but not exactly my type. Now, where was I? Class, right. Can't be late for that, I don't exactly have the best reputation for being punctual and I had been warned that if I continue to skip, dodge and miss class, I was going to be in trouble and my parents would have to be called.
I just hated class. The uncomfortable desks, the rigid school system, inflexible teachers who wanted nothing more than to simply throw us kids under the bus both literally and figuratively, I just detested the entire experience of it. My grades weren't great, turns out I'm not a great academic like my parents because I struggled to focus for long periods of time. Also, most of the time I just didn't care enough to learn. It was a different story if the subject proved interesting and I was in an environment where I could work in comfort, such as my room.
Before first class had gotten fully underway, I got a text off Lydia informing that there was a new girl in school. Now this piqued my interest, much better than math anyway. I immediately responded, wanting to know everything about the girl. Was she pretty? What was her name? Where did she come from? I had a plethora of questions and Lydia supplied the answers she had available, leaving the rest for us both to begin digging up some research about her. Of course, being on my phone caused the teacher to get a little miffed that I wasn't paying attention, so after the first warning I had to wait a while before I returned to texting Lydia, but then some kid grassed on me and my phone was confiscated with a second warning.
One more and I'd be in detention on my first day back. Thanks kid, whoever you are, you damn nerd. I had to wait until the end of the lesson before I could get my phone back whereby I called Lydia for a little more news. "So? What's she like?"
"She's okay I guess, was kinda quiet in class, didn't talk much but she's pretty. Her hair could do with a little management and her taste in clothing is a little…lacking, but her jacket is cute. I think it's designer." So designer jacket but mismatched or unimaginative style. Interesting. I think this new girl deserves a little more attention. I am nothing if not curious, after all.