Raven

With the sun burning my pale skin and no wind to cool me down, I could tell this was going to be a bad day. It made the fifteen minute walk from the city train station to my university seem so much longer. I’d always much preferred the summer heat over the freezing winter months, but gees, sometimes it’s just too darn hot in Australia. I guess my dark attire wasn’t really helping me though, I’ll admit. Or my jacket, the zip up Green Day one I practically live in. I lightly scowled at a few girls entering the lecture theatre as I finally came free of the desert-like weather, wishing I was confident enough to stride around in short shorts as they were.

University was all new to me. I was in the first week of my first year. I guess so far, things weren’t going too bad. I’d decided to do a science course because it’s all I was really good at in school, and as I didn’t know exactly what I wanted to do, the broad Bachelor Of Science course seemed to fit me perfectly. I sat down somewhere near the back of the theatre and got out a pad and pen. Lectures really did bore me for the most part, but I wanted to pass this course. Someone sat down beside me, someone I immediately recognised to be Mark as soon as he dropped his books with a slight thud on the desk. They were covered in random doodles and sketches, some quite detailed and others rushed with smeared ink. He was quite the artist.

“Hey Elle!” He greeted me with his usual cheery voice and wide smile. His smiles were quite contagious.

“How are you always so happy?” I questioned, smiling across at him.

“Well let’s see...” He marked each reason off on his fingers as he told me. “My car decided to work this morning, I’m finally out of the heat in a lovely cool theatre, and I’m sitting next to a gorgeous young lady.” He winked at me, and I blushed lightly. Over the week I’d known him for, he’d so far become my best friend here. That probably had something to do with him being in every one of my classes, and me always being one to find more comfort in a familiar face. Mark and I had been to both the same primary school and high school, but never really talked. I had few friends and kept myself distanced from the social crowd.
“Fair enough, I guess,” I replied. “It’s always nice to see someone smiling.” I surveyed the class and as I had expected, no one but Mark was smiling. Not even the slightest curve marked the face of anyone else in the room. What a crap day. Our lecturer arrived, and then the sounds of shuffling paper along with clicks from pens filled the room as conversation slowly died.

The trek back to the train station was worse than the one from it this morning. I guess I could have caught a bus, but the exercise would do me good. Besides, I wanted to enjoy my personal space as much as I could before I stepped onto the busy train packed with all sorts of people trying to get home. I took a seat beside a window and immediately put my iPod on loud enough to drown out the annoying voices of random people that were either complaining too loud, or simply just babbling on about nothing important. More people crowded the already full train before the doors closed and it was off. I laughed inside at the lady who ran all the way to the train, yet missed it by a second. It’s mean of me I know, but damn, it was pretty funny.

About half way through the trip, I noticed that someone was sitting next to me. It didn’t surprise me, seeing how full the train was, it just shocked me that I’d been sitting next to someone who hadn’t yet bumped me, coughed on me or worst of all, attempted to start up casual conversation with me. They had with them a guitar case covered in random stickers for bands, gigs and the like. I’d always wished I’d learnt guitar. Nothing interested me more than music did, and guitar for some reason was the first thing I’d listen to in a song. I tried to learn a few years ago, but I just wasn’t musically talented I guess. After several months of lessons I was still getting nowhere with it. I sighed to myself and looked back out the window to see where I was. My stop was the next one. I turned off my iPod and winded the earphones around it, shoving it back into my book bag. As the train came to a halt, I was glad the passenger beside me was also getting off, as it saved the awkward climb over them to escape. In a rush I had somehow managed to catch my book bag on the guitar case of the person sitting beside me, so as we got off and headed our separate ways I fell butt first to the floor, as did they. Musical laughter sounded from behind me. So, it was a guy. I turned around to apologise but as I found myself faced with a pair of gorgeous blue eyes, I forgot why I was on the floor in the first place.

“I’m sorry, we seem to be attached,” he laughed, working to untangle the straps. Once he had managed that, he got up and offered me a hand. I noted the chipped black nail polish garnishing his short fingernails as I accepted the offer and helped to pull myself up.

“It was my fault. I was way too eager to escape,” I said softly. “I’m sorry.”

“Well, no harm done.” He smiled, revealing a set of small white teeth. I smiled back. “See ya around sweet,” he said, and then began to walk away. I was left standing in the heat with a stupid grin on my face. I still had my damn jacket on. I’ll die in it, I swear.

I sat in my favourite cafe sipping a coffee whilst reading some stupid teenage magazine someone had left on the table. Honestly, who cares what the latest fashion trends are, or who the best dressed celebrity this week is? It’s all just drivel to me. I loved this cafe for many reasons, namely because it was halfway between the train station and my house. It was the perfect place to forget about university and home and have a little ‘me’ time. I continued to sit at my table in the corner away from all else and sip my coffee, not paying the slightest attention to my surroundings. I just simply didn’t care. I was in my moment, and if it weren’t for my coffee mug being suddenly empty, nothing would’ve dragged me out of it. I sighed and decided I’d better get home and study a little anyway. I had an assignment waiting to be read and started.

That night, I couldn’t sleep. It was so hot and sticky in my room, as I always refused to open the window. I couldn’t even remember why I never opened it, just that I didn’t. Every time I thought about it I laughed, thinking of Colin, Mary’s cousin in ‘A Secret Garden’. He never opened his windows, either. It had something to do with spores in the air causing death, or so he thought. I had a few strange manners I wish I could live without. I got up and found that Katie was also still awake. Katie was my twin sister. She was the prettier one, although we were practically identical, leaving me to be the evil one. I can’t say I wasn’t happy with the way that turned out.

“Hey sis, can’t sleep?” she asked knowingly.

“Spot on,” I replied.

“What’s on your mind?”

“I dunno. University, boys, and I’m pretty sure there’d be a song stuck up there somewhere.” She laughed.

“Yea, that sounds about right for you.”

“I have to get some sleep if I plan on going out tomorrow night, you know, to that gig.”

“Have fun with that.” Katie was never really into music.

“Ohh I will. I’ll tell you all about it, seeing as you’ll be dying to know!” She laughed at me.

“You know that’s not true,” she said. I poked my tongue out at her.

“I’m still blabbing to you about it, if I even wake up for it.” I groaned and turned around. “Night sis. Love you.”

“Goodnight,” I heard her reply from behind me. After grabbing a glass of water I crawled back into bed, feeling somewhat cooler than before. I hadn’t seen a live band in a few months so thinking about how awesome it’d be, I soon fell asleep, dreaming far and wide.