Learn To Like It

Havermouth High School, Five Years Before

The sky was heavy and overcast, the rain a fine mist that was absolutely inescapable, chilling the air and soaking through Aislen’s jacket, beading in the fur trim of her hood. The school yard was empty, students choosing to huddle in the hallways, sheltered corners, and the cafeteria rather than get wet.

Rhett had come by the house that morning in order to pick her up, despite their argument the day before, but she had refused to answer the door. It had made her late to first class and earned her a reprimand by the teacher. She had already been the focus of sniggering and behind the hands murmuring as she’d entered the class, therefore she had endured the reprimand without flinching as the lesser torture.

Her first four classes had been Triquetra free, and she had hidden in the nurse’s office at recess. She had chosen the library for lunch, thinking that the Triquetra were more likely to be in the music rooms, and that the library’s shelves