Luna's Descent

Just a normal day

Ruby arrived at school, stepping out of her dad’s car with her backpack slung over one shoulder. The crisp morning air greeted her as she adjusted her jacket and glanced back at her father, Chris, still sitting behind the wheel.

"Don't forget to pay attention in class, don’t skip lunch, and—"

Ruby cut him off with a knowing smile, finishing his sentence for him, "— say hi to Michelle for me and tell that blonde boyfriend of yours to be careful. I know, Dad. You tell me every day."

Chris smiled, shaking his head. "I just want you to be safe. I know you understand, but I can’t help worrying about you." His voice softened as he looked at her.

She leaned into the open window, squeezing his hand gently. "I got this, Dad. You don’t need to worry."

Chris nodded, clearly reluctant to let the conversation go but trusting her. "Alright, alright. Just remember"

"Handshake?" Ruby said, cutting him off again with a grin.

He laughed, reaching out to complete their signature handshake—a routine they’d done since she was little. The moment brought a familiar sense of comfort to both of them. "Love you, kid."

"Love you too, Dad."

With that, Chris pulled away from the curb, and Ruby watched as his car disappeared down the road before turning and making her way toward the entrance of the school.

Before she could even take more than a few steps inside, she felt a familiar hand smack her shoulder. "Hey, b***h!" a voice called out from behind her.

Ruby turned around with a laugh. "Hey, Mitch!" she said, greeting her best friend Michelle.

"Ugh, you look way too happy this morning. Jeremy, right?" Michelle teased, waggling her eyebrows.

Before Ruby could answer, she spotted Jeremy walking toward her with his easy smile, his tousled blond hair catching the morning sunlight. He reached her in a few strides, his hand sliding around her waist as he pulled her into a quick kiss.

"Morning, beautiful," he murmured against her lips.

Michelle rolled her eyes dramatically, arms crossed. "Seriously, get a room, you two."

Ruby felt her cheeks heat up, but she couldn't help but smile. She held onto Jeremy for a moment before they parted. "Good morning," she said softly, feeling a little shy under Michelle's teasing gaze.

Jeremy smirked at Michelle’s comment. "Jealous much?"

"Oh, please," Michelle retorted, waving him off. "I don’t need a boyfriend to roll my eyes at couples being all cute and gross in public."

Jeremy chuckled, planting one more kiss on Ruby's lips before pulling away. "I’ve gotta get to class. See you later, babe."

Ruby smiled up at him as he left, but Michelle was already tugging at her sleeve, pulling her toward the lockers. "Come on, lovebird, we’ve got to get to our lockers before the bell rings."

As they reached their lockers, Ruby stashed her backpack inside, her thoughts lingering on Jeremy’s last kiss. She felt a hand nudge her side, pulling her back to the moment.

"Hey, what do we have first period today?" Ruby asked Michelle as she spun the combination lock on her locker.

"Social studies," Michelle answered nonchalantly, already walking away toward her classroom.

Ruby blinked, frowning. "Social studies? The last time we had that was in, like, third grade!"

"Well, you can find out when you get there," Michelle said over her shoulder, clearly amused.

Ruby opened her mouth to reply but stopped when the sharp, shrill sound of the school bell echoed down the hallway. "s**t," she muttered under her breath.

Panic set in as she rummaged through her locker, looking for her timetable. She had been sure it was in her bag, but now, of course, she couldn’t find it. "Where the hell is it?" she mumbled, shuffling through the contents of her locker as quickly as she could.

There was a small victory when she finally grabbed the timetable from under a pile of notebooks, but she was already running late. She glanced at the clock on the wall and cursed again. "Great, just great," she sighed, slamming her locker shut and hurrying down the hall.

Ruby jogged past groups of students who were leisurely making their way to class, some giving her weird looks as she practically sprinted down the hall. She could feel her pulse quicken with every second, the anxiety building in her chest. She hated being late—especially on days like this when everything seemed to go wrong from the start.

Her footsteps echoed against the tiled floors, and she made a sharp turn around the corner, narrowly avoiding a collision with another student.

"Whoa, watch it!" the girl said, glaring at Ruby.

"Sorry!" Ruby called back without stopping. She turned another corner, finally spotting her classroom door up ahead.

Just as she was about to reach it, the door started closing. "No, wait!" Ruby yelled, picking up her pace, but it was too late. The door clicked shut.

Out of breath, Ruby groaned, slowing to a stop. She reached for the doorknob and hesitated for a moment, taking a deep breath before opening it. She stepped inside and felt the weight of the entire class turning their eyes toward her.

"Miss Greyson, you’re late," her teacher, Mr. Collins, said, not looking up from the attendance sheet in his hand.

"Yeah, sorry, Mr. Collins," Ruby said, avoiding eye contact with the other students as she made her way to an empty seat near the back of the room.

Mr. Collins glanced at her briefly, his glasses perched low on his nose. "I hope this doesn’t become a habit," he said, his voice dry.

Ruby gave a sheepish nod as she sat down, sinking into her chair and pulling out her notebook. Her heart was still racing from the dash across the school. The rest of the class had already settled into their seats, and Mr. Collins had moved on, addressing the topic on the board.

Ruby let out a small sigh of relief. She’d made it—barely. Glancing sideways, she noticed Michelle giving her a pointed look from the other side of the room.

"Don’t say it," Ruby mouthed to her.

Michelle smirked and whispered, "Social studies, huh?"

Ruby sank further into her seat as Mr. Collins continued writing on the board.

“Is there a problem, Miss Ruby?” Mr. Collins said without turning around, his voice sharp.

Ruby straightened up quickly. “No problem, sir,” she replied, trying to sound as composed as possible.

From across the room, Ruby heard Michelle stifle a chuckle. She shot her best friend a warning look, but it was too late.

Mr. Collins turned around, his gaze landing squarely on Michelle. “Another word from you, Miss Michelle, and you’ll be spending your afternoon in detention. You’ll have plenty of time to chat with Miss Ruby there. Am I right?” His eyes gleamed with that familiar, dry sense of humor that left students uncertain whether to laugh or stay silent.

Ruby felt her stomach twist. "We apologize, sir," she said quickly, her voice joined by Michelle’s as they both answered in unison.

“Good,” Mr. Collins said with a curt nod before turning back to the board. “Now, as I was saying…”

Ruby threw a glare across the room at Michelle, who just shrugged nonchalantly, a smirk dancing on her lips as if the idea of detention was a mild inconvenience at best.

The rest of the class passed without much incident. Ruby tried her best to focus on the lesson, but her mind wandered to what Jeremy might be doing, and she kept casting glances at the clock. The day seemed to drag on forever.

Finally, after what felt like an eternity, they reached their last class of the day. The classroom was buzzing with the quiet energy of students who were mentally already halfway out the door, waiting for the final bell to set them free.

Ruby tapped her pen against her notebook, not really listening to the teacher as she half-heartedly jotted down a few notes. Michelle was sitting beside her now, doodling on the corner of her paper, seemingly just as eager to leave.

And then it came—the sound they had all been waiting for. The bell rang, loud and clear, echoing through the halls.

Ruby let out a sigh of relief, quickly stuffing her books into her bag. Michelle was already on her feet, stretching as if she had just finished a marathon.

“Finally,” Michelle said, rolling her neck. "I thought today would never end."

Ruby smiled as they gathered their things and joined the flow of students heading for the doors.

#vote#