Untitled

A/N: I know that there are a lot of mistakes in this story, so please help me out by pointing them out to me.

The temperature seems to get colder for every day that passes by, and yet it's still a beautiful autumn morning. One might even say that it’s just like any other day, with everyone going off on their own ways; the adults to work and the kids to school. They didn't take notice as the brown leaves that have fallen were carried away in different directions by the gentle breeze. Or the sweet scent of autumn that permeated in the air. Everyone continued their morning routine without any delays, and as far as they were concern, nothing seems to be out of the ordinary.

"Bye, mom," Kathryn said as she picked her bag up from the ground, and she groaned as its weight was suddenly on her back. She reached for her pocket, and turned her iPod on once her headphones were in her ears. The loud music blasted through the plastic headphones, and she jumped a little having been caught off guard.

"Bye," her mother said as she slowly closed the door behind Kathryn, but she didn't hear her; she walked as the breeze blew her hair away from her face; she didn't look back.

Kathryn continued to walk away from her house while the cool breeze brushed against her bare skin, causing her to shiver and the hair on her arms to rise. The thin fabric of her black cardigan didn't do much to protect her against the cold, but she ignored the protests that her body was making. She kept walking with her iPod on full blast in her ears, and she walked to the slow rhythm of 'Born' sang by Over the Rhine. She hummed the melody to herself for a little while as her eyes looked everywhere. One moment they would be looking up in the gray sky, watching as the birds fly by, and loving the fact that they could be so free. The next, she would be looking straight ahead of her, thinking of what would happen next as the clock continued to tick. Questions flooded her head. There are so many possibilities that something could go wrong, and she could feel the bile rising up from her stomach just thinking about it. Her breath became short and fast, but it only lasted for a minute. Her brain, however, was still in frenzy, but she continued to walk.

After walking to the bus stop for what seemed like hours, she finally slowed as she reached the street corner where students were already waiting for the bus. They stood there, talking amongst themselves and waiting in the cold morning. Kathryn stood behind them as if she was hiding. She watched as the first yellow bus passed by from behind a tall scrawny boy with shaggy brown hair. She looked up at him, but when her neck started to hurt, she looked down. The boy didn't notice her just like how the other students didn't notice her; she was perfectly hidden behind the sea of students standing in front of her. Even if they did notice her, they didn't care. They ignored her, like the way they would ignore a homeless man in the street.

~o~

The bus ride to school was twenty minutes long. Kathryn sat next to a girl who had long blond hair with too much make up on. She wanted to sit by herself, but it was the only seat available in the crowded bus. She shouldn't be complaining. At least she had somewhere to sit, unlike the other students who were standing in the aisle.

She was quiet the whole ride to school, but she can't really say the same to the other student. They were talking loudly about nothing in particular. She tried to ignore them by making her iPod louder, and the song 'Falling in the Black' by Skillet played in her ears. It worked for a little while, but the noise somehow found a way to work their way through the headphones. After that, she didn't try anymore. She just sat there quietly and hoped that they'd get to school faster.

After the bus had dropped her and the other students at the front circle of the school, she walked as fast as she could to her locker, without caring about the looks that she was getting from the other students that walked pass by her; she would bump into them, and she would mutter an apology. The bell hasn’t rang yet, but she felt the need to hurry before the hallway became crowded as the students try to get to their class.

Once she was in the quiet hallway that leads to her own locker, she turned the little device I her pocket off, and slowly walked towards her locker at the end of the hall. She took a deep breath before reaching for the lock. Her hand was shaking, like she was afraid of what she might find in it. It took her many tries when she finally opened it, but only to find it empty, just like the way she left it Friday after school. She breathed out a sigh of relief.

"Good morning, Kathryn," one of the teachers greeted her, and she jumped up a couple of inches in the air. She clutched her chest with her right hand, and she looked behind her to see a tall woman smiling at her.

"Mrs. Barber! You scared me," she said as her heart pounded loudly against her ears; loud enough to drown the noise. She plastered a fake smile on her face as she looked at her old English teacher. She likes the teacher; there's no question about it, but lately, she found herself faking a smile for everyone. Sometimes she would wonder whether someone notices, but then she would realize that it would be a waste of time.

There was an awkward silence between the two of them, and they stood there uncomfortably.

"Well, it was nice seeing you again," the teacher said before leaving.

Kathryn sighed softly.

The day went by slowly, but repetitive. She went to class, left an hour later, and walked to her next class. She wanted it to be over before the day even started. She could have gone home, but she didn't. She stayed. She could feel the other students looking at her, maybe it’s just her, but she certainly felt it. She doesn't have to be them to know what they're thinking about because she already knew, but she ignored them.

~o~

The house was empty when she got home, just like it always is. She could hear the echoes that her shoes were making as she walked on the hard wood floor. She looked around her, and realized that even with the sun shining through the window, everything looked dark.

She reached her room, and she sat on her bed. She's all alone. Her mother works late, and her father...she doesn't know where he is; he left when she was younger. Her brother is still at school, hanging out with his friends. She, on the other hand, sat silently in her room. She listened to the silence, it was deafening. She'll be home alone until late. She'll be the one stuck doing whatever it is that her mother left for her to do, but she doesn't complain, she never does.

As she continued to sit there quietly, her hands wanted to open her drawer by her bed. She needed it, and it was calling her. She knows that she shouldn't, but it gives her the pleasure that no other thing has ever been able to do. She knows that it's wrong, but it's the only way she could escape her world for a little while--at least that's what she thinks. For months, it's the only thing that could make her feel better.

As much as she didn't want to, she gave in to her needs. Absentmindedly, her hands opened her drawer. It was full to the top with papers and notebooks where she had written her secrets on. They weren't big secrets, but secrets nonetheless. She had to dig around for a little while; she threw the papers and pens all over the floor. Once she saw a pink notebook, she didn't have to look further; it was under it. It's small, and it shone as the sun's light hit it. Her heart was pounding loud in her ears, and it was all that she could hear. For a second, she smiled; the first real smile in her face in days. All of a sudden, everything was forgotten as she got up from her bed and she walked towards her bathroom. She locked the door to make sure that no one could get in, but it was stupid. No one was home, and no one is going to be looking for her anytime soon.