Tiffany's Story- Day 4

The sun is bright in enough the streetlamps flicker off; Tiffany races to school, the hounds howling speeding her on as she attempts to ensure she is not late. Her morning runs save her: she is fast enough she can afford to slow down and walk the last block to school to avoid the stares of passerby.

A chemistry lab is scheduled, the first thing in the day. There is a new student in class, but another student is sick, so she need not endure a lab partner: the partner of the sick student grabs the new kid before he could even come close to her. They hunch over their project, gossiping over her- she feels their stares. Ignoring them, she makes sure to finish after a couple of the other teams are done. During the day, she finds he is in half her classes. He tries to be friendly, but she continually gives him the cold shoulder. She doesn’t understand why this new student is fascinated with her- he wears the trapping of an outcast, but she never does, and he is friendly enough he has many student socializing with him.

Tiffany doesn’t see him during study hall. With no homework assigned that day, she writes a glimpse of her dream.

“Send out the lifeboats, NOW!” The one who says that knows they are all doomed, but feels compelled to give her crew hope. The thin, hard face, hidden by shaggy blond hair, forms into an expressionless mask as she prays one last time… she prays to the gods of her homeland, rather than the god she adopted when she found a new place to build her empire on. A flash of light, burning her eyes, and then darkness for the rest of eternity…

Study hall has ended, and she goes to her chess team practice. The new student, Justin, is there; he wishes to try out for the team. Despite her efforts to be invisible, she is called to be his tester; they play, and he wins, even when she steps her game up to her full capabilities. She is not distracted by his attempts at chatter, but she does not feel the need to answer him. Their match lasts long enough that everyone else has left but the coach, and even she leaves the moment he checkmates her, leaving them to themselves. Tiffany ignores him, walking off without a word.