Next instalment for you Sorry if it's a bit boring, I'm still trying to establish characterisation/main focusses at the moment but I promise the story will start to go somewhere/more RB characters will come into play soon. Thanks for reading, feel free to let me know what you think!

XXXX

Gail groaned as the rising sun squeezed through the gap in her curtains, the streams of light grazing over her now tightly clenched eyelids. She shuffled down under the warmth of the covers trying to escape the intrusion, wriggling around in the new found darkness while stretching out her legs. She guessed it must have been only 7am, but in the relative silence of her bedroom she could still hear the faint sounds of her mother bustling around downstairs. Of course Elaine Peck was awake this early on a Saturday. No point in 'wasting the daylight' as her mother would say whenever Gail tried to negotiate a sleep in.

She waited contemplatively under the covers for a little longer, trying to detect the sounds of her mother's presence which had seemed to disappear. Deciding her mother had probably left for the day by now she slid out of bed and made her descent to the kitchen. She pulled her sweater sleeves down to cover her hands, scrunching the excess fabric in her fists as she sat down at the kitchen island, poking her cereal with her spoon while she waited for it to soften a bit. She hated crunchy cereal. Her trance with the little sugary blobs swirling around in the milk was broken as she heard a door close and watched as her mother entered the kitchen dressed for tennis, her hair styled smartly despite the fact she was about to go spend hours hitting a ball around the court in the sun.

Elaine was humming something vaguely cheerful as she opened the fridge, retrieving a bottle of water before turning to face Gail, tilting her head to the side while she scrutinised her daughter. Her mother reached across the island to run her fingers through a lock of Gail's hair, smiling to herself.

"Your hair looks so much better when you actually take care of it," she mused referring to the hair appointment her mother had dragged her along to last night. For about a year now Gail had opted for a stark platinum blonde over her original shade, and ever since that first day she'd sat in her bathroom for hours bleaching away the ginger colour her mother had passed down to her, Elaine had insisted on interfering. Gail assumed most girls her age would love it if their mother took them along to get their hair dyed professionally whenever their roots needed touching up but Gail knew this gesture was not merely one of kindness. Rather, it was her mother's way of reclaiming control over something Gail had decided to do by herself and for herself, crippling Gail's small attempt at independence.

Gail recoiled slowly from her mother's touch, rolling her eyes at her mother's backhanded compliment and returned her focus to her bowl.

"I'm off to the tennis club, I don't expect to be back any time soon," her mother informed her as she scooped up her keys and turned to face Gail one last time. "Must you always eat that junk for breakfast, Gail?" she asked disparagingly, "there's plenty of fruit in the fridge."

Gail sighed and shrugged half-heartedly, not really up to debating her poor nutritional choices this early in the morning

"You know it's a lovely day outside Gail, you should go for a jog or something more productive than just swanning around here all day," her mother suggested thoughtfully from where should stood at the front door, her eyes giving Gail one last appraisal before stepping out and swinging the door shut behind her.

Gail shoved the bowl away from her and stood up, no longer hungry. She dumped the cereal into the sink, turning on the tap and watching as the milk diluted slowly before escaping down the drain. Now that her mother had ruined any chance at a pleasant start to the day Gail decided that a run actually didn't sound like such a bad idea. Running was one of the few physical activities that Gail didn't detest and found in times like these, where she was tense with frustration that it was quite cathartic. The fact that her mother had suggested she do it slightly dampened her enthusiasm but since it was quite rare that both her and her mother's desires matched, she found herself able to reconcile with this fact.

Gail pulled her laces tight before standing up, looking at her reflection in the vanity mirror while she threw her hair up in a ponytail. She found herself frowning at the vibrancy of her newly dyed hair, hating that her mother had managed to corrupt a part of Gail that she had actually really liked. She tried to rid herself of those toxic thoughts as she slowly warmed herself up, making her way to the park and eventually picking up the pace. Instead, she focussed on the sound of her feet lightly smacking the pavement as she placed one foot after the other and the rhythm of her breathing as she inhaled through her nose and exhaled through her mouth.

XXXX

She'd completed several circuits of the park when she came to a stop at a water fountain, bracing her hands on her hips as she regained some composure, attempting to ease the burning sensation creeping into her lungs. She leaned over the fountain and pressed the lever down expectantly when she was met with a strong burst of frigid water to the face, as the water pressure on the fountain completely overshot its requirements. Gail spluttered indignantly and pulled the bottom of her shirt up to wipe her face while a vaguely familiar laugh rang out from behind her. Gail spun around quickly, her shocked expression quickly transforming into a deep scowl when she saw Holly, of all people standing there with a smug grin on her face. Gail could feel Holly's eyes begin to crawl up and down her body and quickly pulled her now drenched shirt back down, stepping back onto the running track and completely ignoring Holly.

She started jogging away from Holly, hoping that she wouldn't, but kind of expecting that she would start following her.

"You know," Holly said matching her pace, "I think the water's supposed to go in your mouth."

"Maybe I wanted water all over my face," Gail replied mater-of-factly, trying her best not to look at Holly.

"Right," she said with fake reassurance, "let's just hope you're a better runner than you are water fountain user."

"Who said you were allowed to run with me?" Gail asked rhetorically, butting in before Holly could give her some witty reply, "and anyway, are you sure you should even be out here running? Aren't all of you nerds asthmatic and riddled with allergies?"

"Aren't you sickly, pale kids supposed to stay out of the sun?" Holly countered.

At this Gail slowed slightly, allowing herself to look at Holly properly. She looked like she'd stepped straight out of some gross women's health magazine in her bright blue tank top and tiny running shorts and unlike Gail, seemed unfazed by the physical exertion with barely a hair out of place. Holly met her eye contact and raised an eyebrow curiously, causing Gail to shake her head slightly before looking back at the track that lie ahead of her, slowly increasing her speed and completely blocking the other girl out.

Surprisingly Holly accepted Gail's unspoken plea for silence and for three more laps of the park they were caught in a subtle competition, each girl continuously edging to run a bit in front of the other. Her determination to stay one step in front of Holly had resulted in Gail pushing her limits a bit and with her legs and lungs screaming, she reluctantly admitted defeat. She pulled up by a set of rails and benches designed for stretching, furiously trying to catch her breath without gasping and wheezing. She propped her foot up on a rail, straightening her leg and stretching it out while Holly approached out of her periphery.

"What makes you so adamant that I'm a nerd?" Holly queried from where she was sprawled out on the bench opposite Gail.

Gail snorted at this, "Have you seen yourself lately? Plus I read your thesis; if that doesn't say nerd then I don't know what does."

Gail's weak insults rolled off Holly's shoulders though, with her deciding to focus on another part of Gail's statement.

"You read that?"

"I tried to. I don't speak nerd though. What are you even studying?" Gail cursed herself silently as the last part slipped out; she didn't want Holly to think she actually cared about her life.

"That's a shame, it was really good," Holly retorted with a smirk that seemed to permanently grace her features, "and I'm in my last year of a Bachelor of Science, going to med school next year."

"I rest my case," Gail said, slightly impressed but not at all surprised. Holly seemed to be near perfect in all aspects of life and not particularly modest about any of it either.

"What about you, off to the police academy?" Holly asked with a degree of genuine interest that confused Gail.

Gail switched legs and looked down, "I'm actually finishing my last year of high school not that it's any of your business," she snarked, expecting Holly's relentless teasing to target her age.

"Really?" Holly's voiced rose an octave causing Gail to shoot her a questioning glance as she finished her last stretch.

"It's just you look older, is all," Holly reassured her, her irritating smirk now replaced with a fond gaze and a slightly more sincere, lopsided smile.

Gail felt uncomfortable now that their mutual ridicule seemed to have come to a close, no longer sure what to say to the girl who she had to admit somewhat intimidated her, not that she would ever let her know that. She twisted the toe of her sneaker in the dirt, eventually looking up to shoot Holly an awkward half-wave before excusing herself.

"Well, uh I'm going to go now," she managed somewhat coherently before walking off in the direction of home.

"Hey, Peck," Holly suddenly called after her causing Gail to pause momentarily and swivel slightly to acknowledge her, "what's your name?"

At that Gail realised they'd never really formally introduced themselves which seemed strange considering how comfortable they felt mocking each other relentlessly.

"Gail." She informed the other girl, turning and continuing her walk home.

"See you around Gail," Holly replied before leaping up off the bench and settling back into a steady pace on the running track.

"Don't count on it nerd," Gail tossed over her shoulder, determined to have the last word though by the way Holly breezed off into the distance she wasn't sure the older girl had actually heard her.

XXXX

Gail winced as she stood up from her desk later that night, her muscles complaining loudly from her earlier lack of regard for their wellbeing. She shut her history textbook with a sigh, her brain too overwhelmed to process much more about the Cold War. Fatigued, she clambered into bed and curled her legs up to her chest, her muscles to protesting further which caused her to cast her mind back to the cause of her pain. She was now wholeheartedly regretting her pathetic little attempt to one up Holly, but she had been largely compelled by her desire to not appear weak in front of her. She couldn't decide whether this urge was due to the fact that their previous encounters had all seen Gail in a moment of vulnerability or the more alarming way that Holly seemed to see through her front better than most, clearly not afraid to point out what many would leave unspoken.

Gail rolled onto her back at this realisation, all of a sudden finding her bed uncomfortable and finally allowed her brain to engage with the thing that had been bugging her most after her encounter with Holly. It was Holly's assumption that Gail would be off to the police academy that had really rattled her. Sure, it was a logical enough conclusion considering her lineage but it was also extremely confronting to have a near stranger confirm how set in stone her future was, that there was a very clear path her life would follow. She'd always kind of known her destiny though, and for a large majority of her life she had even aspired to it but it was now that the reality of her future was becoming more tangible that the legacy she was expected to uphold felt like a suffocating vice rather than an anticipated future.

She internally scolded herself for allowing her mind to consider these thoughts just as she was attempting to drift off to sleep. After a few moments more of anxiously fiddling with her comforter while staring blankly at the ceiling, Gail huffed and turned the lamp on, opting to scour the pages of her class text for Literature then dwell on things she'd rather not confront.