The Good Friend

She watched the uncertain dance of a lonely autumn leaf which finally landed on a cold puddle after its long undecided quest of finding a perfect spot. The leaf created waves in a puddle that made it sway a bit before it finally stopped at the edge of it. As she watched the unstable descent of the leaf, a rueful smile twisted her lips a bit, whether it was the leaf or a thousand different thoughts rushing through her head that made her smile, even she couldn't tell. "Look, Cicily's here again!" The loud shout snapped her out of her little bubble and into the real world, with awareness came the stabbing sensation of cold, she rubbed her hands on her legs, a hopeless attempt at reducing the numbness of her freezing hands, she stood up and started for her dorm. Everything around her was cast in a soft golden hue by the sun just about to bid farewell to the earth for the day. As she headed towards the dorm, the wind picked up and started to bring life to her coppery curls. She winced at the cold wind and instinctively brought the lapels of her coat closer. *** Once inside her room, she turned on a lamp and drew the curtains together, suddenly it was all dark in the room, the light of the lamp playing with the shadows of various objects, unsatisfied by the amount of light, she was in process of lighting the second lamp when she heard a creak, the voice was faint enough to be ignored by any unobserving person but not Lorica Stark. She immediately stilled and quietly grabbed her room keys, meaning to use them as a weapon, prepared for the attack. #### Lorica took a deep breath and quickly turned around to face the door,"Skylar?", her annoyance gave way to surprise. Although Lorica and Skylar had been friends for a few months now, she would have been less surprised had zombies shown up at her door. Skylar was so uptight that her sudden arrival confused the hell out of Lorica. Normally, Lorica was the one initiating contact hence she didn't know how to react. Skylar was her only friend here, at St. Claire, an all girls boarding school. Lorica never liked moving in large groups, a good friend or two were more than enough for her.When she noticed a few similarities between her and Skylar, she was quick to befriend her. But now she questioned her decision every other day. Lorica likened Skylar to a moody turtle who only came out when she felt like it and immediately retracted into her shell even under slightest pressure. As far as Skylar was concerned, there was no such thing as social obligation. It was difficult for her to step out of her comfort zone. Lorica finally sat beside Skylar, fidgeting her fingers because she was unsure of what to say yet hating the pregnant silence and Skylar for putting her in an awkward situation. Lorica should have been ecstatic that Skylar was making effort but instead, she was annoyed because this felt more like a test of her own social skills with Skylar just sitting there quietly.Normally a bit more is expected of a person who initiates contact but the arrival of Skylar made Lorica feel like a confused hostess instead of a happy friend. "Nice lighting Lor," she said while looking about the room only lit by dim lamps. Lorica shrugged and raised a brow, almost daring Skylar to continue but finally remembered that it was one of her few chances at making their friendship something solid "yeah, I just don't like twilight very much" she said while making elaborate gestures with her hands,"the sun sets, another day comes to end, everything gets a sad, hopeless glow, people still reeling from the losses of the day, uncertain about the promises of the next day" she continued while watching the warm shadows of her books "to me, the quiet it carries is too heavy to like it". "Wow, that's deep," Skyla leaned back on the bed, resting her weight on the heels of her palms," so, what's up?", the question was typical Skylar. "Ummm-nothing really". Lorica had managed to make only one friend since she came here some 10 months ago but both Lorica and Skylar were so closed off that most of their time was spent in silence, sometimes awkward, sometimes comforting. The thing that initially drew Lorica to Skylar was her collected personality, she didn't like explaining things and Skylar never pushed her to reveal more. In the beginning, it seemed like a perfect arrangement but Lorica couldn't help but hope for something deeper, something raw that would make her hold onto the friendship. They talked about a few random things and finally, Skylar decided to end their awkward meeting.Lorica was thankful when she went away. She felt like she was the only one working for their friendship which made her yearn for friends who won't make it so hard for her. That night, Lorica stayed up for most of the night. She was struck by this urge to turn her social life around because she was tired of living so cautiously. She was ready for a friendship that'll make her feel alive, she even tried to prepare herself for a potential betrayal which was the only thing that had held her back till now. After working out a happily ever after in her head, she finally went to bed around dawn.A smile on her lips. The next day she woke with a spring in her step, grabbed her uniform and went for a quick shower. She stood before the mirror and finally decided to simply dry her copper locks into a heap of waves and curls.