The Beginning of a New Life [open]

[TABBATHA JARETT]

Tabbatha yawned, walking with new-found purpose towards the towering gates of her new school. All she had with her was a suitcase full of books and clothes and CDs. She looked behind her and watched as her friend Hikari followed along slowly, rubbing sleep out of her eyes.

"We won't have to wake up this early every day, will we Tabby?" She complained sleepily, her soft voice almost too quiet to hear.

Tabby smiled and shook her head at her friend, choosing to ignore this comment, as she knew her friend wouldn't like her answer. She stopped inside the open gate and stretched, looking up at the morning sun, which reflected off of her blue eyes like a light off of a frozen lake. When she looked in front of her once more, the view almost stopped her in her tracks. She could hear her friend give a small gasp from behind her. 

The building which loomed ahead of her looked like a regal castle, almost, but more scholarly. A bit run down, it was made with stone and brick, and could have been the school for nobles. To add to its splendor, it had a backdrop of snow-capped mountains and a frame of gorgeous forests. She'd never seen a more beautiful place.

"Woh." was all she could say.

[HIKARI YUREI]

Hikari walked slowly behind her friend, wary of any other students who may be nearby. She yawned softly and rubbed sleep from her eyes with one hand, the other holding a very small bag filled with her few belongings: clothes, a notebook (she writes down any snippets of memories in here), and a couple books, along with a stuffed bear Tabby had given her.

She sighed, wondering why they'd needed to get to the school so early. She was really tired...Tabby'd kept her up all night the day before, so excited about the new school. She didn't really see the appeal. It was likely just another place full of people who would wish she weren't on earth. That's how everyone saw her, except for Tabby.

"We won't have to wake up this early every day, will we Tabby?" She pleaded to her friend, dread filling her as she foresaw all of the early mornings in her future. She wasn't much of a morning person...

She waited for her friend's reply, but gone none as Tabby was too busy looking at the building which towered before them through wrought iron gates. Hikari peeked over her friend's shoulder, eyes widening as she took in the place before them. A small chill went down her back. It was a big, old building surrounded by gardens and forests, and backdropped by mountains. However secluded it looked, it gave her the creeps. Such a big school must house a lot of people. She shook her head, stepping back a bit and running a hand through her wavy hair.

"Tabby...this place doesn't seem too friendly..." She squeaked softly.

Let's just hope they have a good library... She thought to herself.

[MATTHIAS HUNTMEN]

Matthias was walking up the faded and heavily used path up toward where the school was told to be. He had little sleep that past night but was used to it by now from his long journey with some worn clothing and boots but his leather over coat was well kept despite the journey. Jake padded beside him confidently purring softly, the two of them having a conversation going. Matt's sword was in its sheath, the hilt barely showing from his large napsack full of camping gear and some bare essentials. He could see the school off in the distance from where he was and both he and jake began to speed up bit by bit before they reached the entrance to the grounds. The site of the school struck his fancy and he chuckled to himself and knelt down slightly for jake to ride his shoulder. After looking around he noticed two girls to his right, they both apeared to be new and sleepy. Waving at them he walked over to them with jake on his shoulder. Jake is a thick built tom cat with black and white mix pelt but a cute bright pink nose. "Hey im Matthias and you are?" he said in a polite calm manner and put his hand out to shake their hand, jake watches them as he does so.

[HIKARI YUREI]

Hikari was about to suggest to Tabby that they should get going, to find their dorms and stuff before people started showing up, when suddenly, she heard a voice calling out to, she assumed, them. With a small yelp, Hikari scurried over to Tabby and hid behind her as her friend turned around, eyes narrowing, hands placed on her hips. Hikari made herself fade a bit, her ghostly form becoming a bit mist-like, so that the young man wouldn't see her as easily.

She watched warily as he came closer to the two girls, and she was about to shut her eyes and hide completely behind her friend, when she spotted a cat. Her eyes widened, and her image flickered a bit into visibility. A cat? Her heart warmed a bit, but then she caught herself. Usually, she was afraid of animals. But....but....IT WAS SO CUUUTE!

She tried to keep her cool, and looked back at the boy's face, trying to avoid looking at the adorable, fuzzy animal on his shoulders. She shied away again, however, when the boy, named Matthias, she presumed as he spoke, held out his hand toward her. She faded a bit more, and a blush would have lit up her cheeks if that were possible in her current, faded pale state. Why was that boy holding out his hand toward her? No one did that...and why, on this big, green earth, was her heart speeding up? She caught a glimpse of his kind eyes and squeaked a bit. No....

She couldn't have a crush on a boy this quickly, could she?
Crap.

[TABBATHA JARETT]

Tabby turned to her friend, about to offer her hand and lead her towards the school's dormitories, when she heard footsteps and glanced towards the sound.

Oh great, a boy.

Tabby sighed deeply as she turned to see a boy walking towards them, hand outstretched in welcome. She placed her hands on her hips and narrowed her eyes. She never did like boys, especially when they were forward and flirtatious, as she presumed this boy was. She smirked as Hikari ran to hide behind her, a familiar chill running down her spine as her friend faded into slight, cool mist to hide further. She chuckled, then focused on the boy.

She glanced at his hand. Did he expect her to shake it? She cleared her throat.

"Hi. I'm Tabbatha. That's Hikari. What do you want?" She said shortly, flashing him a fake smile. "Also, call me Tabby and you'll regret it. That's a nickname for friends only." She looked away, trying to seem bored. "Just thought you should know."

She continued giving him the cold shoulder, feeling a bit bad that she was being so rude to the first person they'd met, but he was a guy. She'd had a history of guys being jerks to her. It was only a precaution. She rolled her eyes a bit as her friend squeaked, knowing how prone Hikari was to falling for guys. Hikari was a sucker for romance novels, Tabby'd noticed. She didn't see the appeal.

However, she did see the appeal in furry animals. More specifically, cats.

Which is why it took all her power to keep from squealing like a fangirl when she noticed a pudgy, fluffy, adorable cat on Matthias's shoulders. Her eyes widened, and she felt her heart speed up a bit. A cat, on school grounds!!! She made plans to kidnap this furry creature in the future. He was too perfect to hang around a smelly boy like Matthias. That cat needed the loving of two teenage girls.

Tabby cleared her throat again, giving the cat one last elongated glance before turning back towards the school with Hikari in tow.

"Come on, Rii. Let's go figure out where the dorms are." She said, trying to give Matthias the memo that it was time for them to part ways.

"Ok...." Hikari said a bit reluctantly, offering Matthias an apologetic glance as she re-materialized and turned to follow her friend.

[MATTHIAS HUNTMEN]

Matthias chuckled softly easily being able to read Tabbatha's emotions as she avoided the handshake and lead the other girl towards the school. Jake jumped from his shoulders and began to follow the two girls. "hey jake get back here" Matt said as he began to follow jake who was right behind the girls. Making sure to keep his blade secure and that he didnt drop his bag he quickly matched Jake's speed. "Jake what are you doing?" he asked and in return Jake meowed talking back. "yes i know its a new place and new scents but you cant just go wandering off like that" Matt continued and jake meowed back a few times before he ran off past the two girls. "Jake!" h Matthias called out. "hey can you two help me get jake back?" he asked as he caught up with the two "i dont want him getting lost in such a big place compared to our old home" he said and as he asked and was close enough it could be slightly noticable that his eyes were a bit cloudy signifying he was blind yet could see.

[Deleted]

Freya did not want to be here. Sure, her life hadn't been great before, but it had been her's. She knew the rules of that life, the ones she could break and the ones that you always followed. The streets were tough and dangerous, but predicable and comforting, especially with friends around. Here, everything was different, more different than she could even imagine was possible. Magic and faeries? That was such bullshit. Yet here she was. It wasn't that far fetched, she guessed. She'd always known she was different. But a fairie? And there were all these other... things she'd never known existed.

She got out of the car that had been sent for her, and the driver got her one suitcase out of the trunk. She didn't have much, just some clothes and a stuffed owl her first foster family had given her. The foster family she'd lived with most of her life had only given her what she needed. She didn't even look at the driver, who promptly got back in the car and drove away. From her pocket she pulled out a half empty pack of Camel Crushes and put a cigarette in her mouth, using a worn old Zippo to light it. Then she picked up her bag and walked toward the rather intimidating school, using her empty hand to take the cigarette out of her mouth while she exhaled a puff of smoke.

In front of her was a group of people, although one of the girls looked a little... not there. She didn't know how else to describe it. Maybe they knew where to go. "Excuse me?" She called, "Do you guys know where the dorms are?"

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[TABBATHA JARETT]

Now's my chance! Tabby thought as she suddenly spotted the cat taking off towards the dorms. Now was her chance to catch it and keep it as her own!

She took off running, but skidded in her tracks as she heard another voice behind her. A girl! Finally, she'd meet someone in this school who wasn't brain dead. She reluctantly turned towards the voice and smiled. She nodded to Hikari.

"Hikari, can you please go catch that cat?" Tabby pleaded to her friend. She saw Hikari's hesitation and knew it was from her fear of animals. "For me? I promise that cat won't hurt you. We need him!"

She watched as Hikari reluctantly took off towards the cat, and then turned back to the girl. She shot her another award-winning smile.

"Hi!" She said warmly, extending her hand. "I'm Tabby! That girl who just went after the adorable cat is my best friend Hikari. She's a ghost."

She studied Freya closely, as if to size her up and see her reaction to the fact that Hikari was a ghost. This was a sensitive subject, for she couldn't befriend someone who didn't accept ghosts as people, or who hated them. She cleared her throat, then answered the girl's question.

"The dorms are over that way." she stated, pointing in the direction Hikari and the cat went. "We were just heading that way ourselves. I'll show you the way."

Words: 234

[HIKARI YUREI]

The kitty's getting away! Hikari noticed, her eyes widening. She didn't leave her place at Tabby's side, however, until her friend broke off into a run. When her friend stopped, though, and she heard a voice behind her, she darted back to her friend's side, hiding from the new person. Oh, no...not more people.

Tabby nodded to her, and she glanced at her friend.

"Hikari, can you please go catch that cat?" Tabby asked her.

Hikari hesitated, contemplating the request. The cat was adorable, and she didn't think she wanted to be around this new person. The girl intimidated her a bit. But what if the cat didn't like her, or hurt her? She didn't really know how to deal with animals...

"For me? I promise the cat won't hurt you. We need him!" her friend pleaded to her.

With a small sigh, and a nod to her friend, Hikari made up her mind and took off after the kitty. She adjusted her bag on her shoulder and took off as quickly as she could manage. She wasn't much of an athlete, but she glided across the ground easily, being incredibly light due to her ghostly form.

"Kitty, wait for me!" She called after Jake. She sure hoped this ended well. She didn't want to be away from Tabby for too long in this new place. What if people showed up and Tabby wasn't there to help her?

Words: 234 (haha, that's weird. It's the same word count as Tabby's xD)

[MATTHIAS HUNTMEN]

Now in the POV of Prince Jake

Jake had caught the scent of something he had only seen once and jumped off of Matt's shoulder bolting towards it. He ran right past the two females whom he had logged in his head as misty and tiger based off what he got from their first meet. It felt good to run as fast as he could through the grass feeling the wind against his pelt. The scent got stronger but he could also sense that misty and Matthias were tailing him so he jumped up onto some higher ground and continued after the scent. He noticed how large the place he was at and how many people were here as well as he was able to smell many scents he was unfamiliar with but he kept his mind focused on the scent at paw. Searching for it he had come to a medium sized stone wall and began to climb it and jump down onto the other side getting excited as the scent grew at every pawstep. Finding the scent spot he ran into a softdrink machine and looked up and saw what he was looking for. A MNT DEW!!! He pounced at the machine and climbed into it as he tried to climb up to the bottle not caring about his surroundings.



(215)

[Deleted]

The group she had just tried to talk to seemed to be very interested in something else. They were chasing something, though Freya had no idea what. The dark haired girl turned to look at her, and Freya was happy that they'd at least herd her. Wandering around the school in search of her dorm did not really seem like a fun idea. She'd thought the driver who picked her up would show her around, or she'd meet someone there whose job that was. She guessed menaces like her didn't warrant such treatment. She snorted inwardly. Menace, yeah, right.

The dark haired girl extended a hand and introduced her and the other girl, who was apparently chasing a cat. She was very friendly, almost annoyingly so. There really wasn't anything to be excited about, and what the hell did she care about a cat? Her brain did a double take, though, realizing Tabbatha had just introduced the other girl as a ghost. Weren't ghosts dead? Why would she need to go to school if she was, you know, dead? Could she even write? Freya raised an eyebrow and just looked at her for a moment, taking another long drag from her cigarette before replying. "Name's Freya." She muttered, then let out a puff of smoke. She could tell there was a lot she was going to have to get used to. "Ya don't really need to show me, I can find it."

Words: 241

[TABBATHA JARETT]

Tabby's smile immediately vanished as Freya shrugged her off, and she narrowed her eyes. She coughed and waved her hand in front of her face when she blew smoke. Tabby was easily getting ticked off at this one, and she wanted to know more about this girl before getting entirely pissed. Her eyes turned a slight shade of purple as she got a wave of the girl's 'aura'. First off, she was basically a naive jerk who didn't take well to her situation, and secondly, she was a fire fairie. Now that she got a closer look at the girl, she realized that she'd been too quick to stretch out a hand. A fire fairie.

"Fine." Tabby replied shortly, her fingers curling inward a bit as she condensed the moisture in the air around her hand. She formed a small ball of water in her palm and focused on the girl's face, then hurled the ball straight at the cigarette hanging loosely from the girl's lips. She then turned and stormed off after her friend.

"No smoking in school. Just a heads-up." She flicked her hair over her shoulder and picked up her bag, fuming a bit. She'd just tried to help, for goodness sake. A fire fairy...good lord. So much for making a new friend.

words: 216

[HIKARI YUREI]

Hikari continued to chase after Jake, keeping her eyes locked onto his furry head as she ran/glided.

"Wait up, little kitty!" She called out, albeit softly.

She paused when she saw the kitty leap up onto the wall and jump over. She paused, sighing, and looked around nervously. What she was about to do, she didn't want people seeing. With another sigh, she took a nervous step further, closed her eyes, and made herself dissipate as she literally walked through the wall, coming out on the other side before solidifying again. She looked around, saw no one, and took a relieved breath she didn't know she was holding. (She technically doesn't have to breathe, but she likes to, and it makes her look more human.)

She saw the kitty over near a drink machine and gave a small chuckle. Did the kitty like soda? That was odd...

She walked over slowly, silently as her feet hovered ever so slightly over the ground so that she wouldn't be heard. She stopped breathing until she got right behind the kitty, then fully solidified, dropping to the ground and scooping up the fur ball.

"Hi there" She said quietly, smiling at the cute cat and rubbing its belly. "Want a soda?"

For some reason she wasn't afraid of the fluff ball, and she found him incredibly adorable, which is why she walked over to the drink machine with him. "Which one?"

(Sorry Justin, if I'm powerplaying. Is it ok that she picked Jake up?)



Words: 238

[MATTHIAS HUNTMEN]

Jake grunted softly as he was picked up and looked at the one who held him. He pawed the girl he knew as Misty and gave a small lick on the nose before pawing at the mnt dew in the machine meowing a few times showing interest.

Matthias after chasing Jake though the school grounds he found him in the arms of Hikari and was pawing at the dew. He chuckled a bit as he got closer. Re-adjusting his pack and blade he put his hand into his pocket and brought out some change putting it into the machine. "If you're wondering mnt dew is what i pretty much raised him on when i found him as a kit. I honestly don't have a clue on how it could be as good as milk for a kit his age back then but i don't question the workings of a cat." he said smiling and chuckling at the memories from back in the day. "oh and we haven't been properly met, Im Matthias Huntmen and you are?" he asked as he took the soda from the machine after it was released and since last time he was interrupted by Tabbatha earlier.


200-1

[Deleted]

Freya could see Tabby's enthusiasm change to irritation. It was a sudden transition that honestly didn't make any sense to Freya. It was stupid to get butt hurt about something so little. So what if she didn't want to be escorted to the dorms? She wasn't a child. It was a silly reason to get upset, and it made Freya think less of this girl.

Tabby started doing something with her hands, and water started to form. The process fascinated her. She'd always thought there had to be others like her and her fire, people who were different. She couldn't be the only one. But she hadn't thought she'd actually get to meet any of them, or if she did, she assumed she wouldn't know because they guarded their secret as closely as she did.

Then suddenly there was water in her face. Her cigarette was drenched and the water was dripping down her shirt. "What the fuck?" She fumed angrily. What the hell was this girl's problem? She said something about not smoking and started to walk away, but Freya grabbed her arm. It took all her will power not to just punch her in the face then and there, she could probably break her nose. That's how these sort of things were settled where she was from, although normally it wasn't for something so dumb. However, she didn't particularly want to get in trouble her first day, and Tabby seemed like the snitch type. But this bitch had started something over nothing, and Freya was sure as hell going to finish it. "I don't give two shits if smoking is allowed." She growled. "Don't mess with me, bitch. It ain't gonna end well for you."

Words: 287

[HIKARI YUREI]

Hikari chuckled as the little kitty licked at her nose, and she was just about to get Jake a mountain dew when she heard footsteps approaching and fought the urge to fade into mist, as it would make Jake slip through her like a pebble through water. She avoided his gaze and let Jake drop down and run over to Matt, where the mountain dew was.

Raising a cat on soda? Sounds unhealthy.... She thought to herself, backing away from Matthias a bit. She would have gotten a soda, but it really did nothing for her, as she didn't need to eat or drink. Instead, she just stood there awkwardly, looking at her hands.

"Uh..um, I'm Hikari. N-nice to meet you." She replied quietly, her voice almost breathy as she nearly whispered it in her shy state. Oddly enough, she wasn't turning very pink, only a slight, pale shade from her timid self, but it was the shade that she usually was, being constantly shy unless she was alone with Tabby, in which case, she had no pink tink, more yellow or gray, happy and calm.

She noticed a small caterpillar and watched it as it crawled over a few blades of grass, and she calmed down as she focused on it. How simple its life must be, but oh, so scary and short. Her eyes clouded with sadness. Why had her life been so short, and why could she remember next to nothing about her life before she became a ghost. A spirit floating on earth with no memory and no real purpose in life. It made her sad, and a bit frustrated. Sighing, she almost forgot Matt and Jake were there, she was so lost in thought. She did that often, as her thoughts became an escape from the present, at times.

She dared a quick glance back at Matt, and then she politely excused herself and walked towards the dorms, where she figured Tabby was heading as well.

"I'm sorry, but seeing as I've failed my mission, I must return to Tabby. We need to find our dorm and unpack..." She blurted out hurriedly before she took off, fading through the wall without realizing Matt could see.

Words: 364

[TABBATHA JARETT]

Tabbatha tensed up when she felt a warm hand on her arm, and she quickly turned around, a flash of fear in her eyes. The fear quickly dissipated, but she was still on edge as she looked into the eyes of the other girl. She immediately felt kind of bad for getting ticked off so easily, but for some reason, deep down at her core, she felt she couldn't trust or even remotely like this girl. Was it her mermaid genes talking? She didn't know. But this girl seriously frustrated her.

Her eyes still tinted purple, Tabby condensed the water around her body to create a weak shield lest Freya attacked her with fire. She doubted that would happen on school grounds, but you never know. The shield wouldn't hold up during a strong fire attack, for it would evaporate the water, but it would keep her from getting seriously burned.

Upon hearing what Freya said, her eyes narrowed again, but this time, it was more in pain than anger. Her words struck a cord, and she almost felt like she couldn't breathe. She gritted her teeth and yanked her hand from Freya's grasp.

"Why don't you watch your language?" She snapped, shaking a bit. "This is a school, after all."

The words had truthfully shaken her, for they were exactly what she'd heard her whole life, growing up, and it unnerved her.

"It ain't gonna end well for you if you don't drop the attitude!" She shot back. "Start calling people b*tches, and you won't make any friends, and if you're just going to ask for help and then shrug off any hand reaching out for you, you're going to have a bad time. Have fun finding the dorms by yourself."

Again, she tried to walk away towards the dorms, not caring whether or not Freya followed. If she tried to touch Tabby again, however, she would probably do something she regretted.

Words: 323

[Deleted]

Tabby turned and Freya smirked at her. She could see the fear in her eyes, and she saw when it mostly dissipated. Living the way she had for so long had taught her some non-magic tricks, and she was very good at reading people, when she was trying. Knowing whether or not someone had dangerous intentions was a very important aspect of survival. Tabby wasn't dangerous, not to her anyway. Freya was very sure of that.

Something began forming around the girl, and it was a second before Freya realize what it was. It was water, as if Tabby was trying to form some sort of shield. Perhaps it would hinder her fire, but she had no intention of using her power to hurt Tabby. She made a point of only using deadly weapons, such as the knife in her pocket, when she was being seriously threatened, and she liked using magic even less. She had only ever burned someone once, and that had been a very good cause, and also the reason she'd ended up at this stupid school with naive brats like this.

Freya noticed that her words had bothered Tabby, and she couldn't help but laugh. She wasn't laughing at Tabby's pain, but at the fact that such simple words could bother her so. They were just words! And swearing was an integral part of her speech pattern. It was the way she'd grown up, everyone around her swore like there was no other way to speak, so that's how she talked. And no, she wasn't about to change 'because this was a school'. Ha. Nor was she at all worried about making friends or finding the dorms. She certainly didn't want to be friends with people like Tabby. And the girl had pointed in the direction of the dorms, how hard could it possibly be to find them?

She stopped laughing for a moment as Tabby began walking away. She didn't follow, but said, "Pathetic, naive little girl. My attitude has gotten me this far, and I'm doing just fine. You, however, are going to have to grow the fuck up eventually. Oh..." She grinned in her direction, and added, "And don't mess with me, dearie, I don't need magic to fuck you up."

Words: 378

[MATTHIAS HUNTMEN]

Matthias smiled. "nice to meet you Hikari" he said politely as he knelt down to jake and formed a small bowl from the stone and a semi-thin layer of ice to chill the soda as he poured a small bit in for him. Twisting the cap back on he stood up and looked around the grounds and what the area was like. The school seemed fairly simple in design defiantly that of a older time period for sure even though he didnt remember much of his studies.
Jake after being let go went over to the bowl and lapped up the dew inside it with a loud purr coming from his body as he drank. They both noticed when Hikari left but wernt surprised too much by her walking through the wall. Jake looked up at Matt and gave a look that Matt could understand and chuckled. "i swear jake you better be on your best behavior with them okay?" he said to jake whom nodded in return. They both hopped over the wall and walked towards Hikari to try and catch up. "Hey HIkari wait up" Matt called out to her as they got closer, Jake slightly ahead of Matt. Once they caught up with HIkari Matt handed her the soda and made sure to give it a very faint charge that even if she were to fade holding the bottle wouldnt be a problem. "Jake want to spend some time with you and your friend and he would feel bad if you failed your mission." he said chuckling and Jake sat infront of Hikari and nodded in agreement. "Now Jake does like to sit by the window and that bottle should last him a week or so, and if you need anything about him or in general im in dorm 128" he said as he readjusted his pack.

310-11

[TABBATHA JARETT]

Tabby grimaced, ignoring Freya as she walked off towards the dorms. She needed to meet up with Hikari so that they could finally go unpack in their new dorm, and she doubted Hikari liked being by herself in a strange place like this for too long. Poor girl...Tabby really cared about her, and she wanted to be there for her always, but she sometimes hoped the shy ghost would gain a little more confidence to talk to people. It must be lonely, being so scared of everyone around her...it made Tabby sad.

She shook off these sad feelings, however, as she contemplated whether or not her friend had captured that cat. It'd be great to have a little pet for their dorm room. Even if she hadn't caught the cat, however, she would be ok with it. She just really liked furry animals.

As she walked in the direction of the dorms, she didn't see any sign of Hikari, so she figured her friend was already waiting for her in the lobby. However, once she found the dorm building and walked into the lobby, she still didn't see Hikari waiting on her. Maybe she was still trying to find that cat.

Tabby shrugged and decided to wait for Hikari in the lobby, because if she left, the ghost may not be able to find her. She sank down into a comfy looking chair and took in the room around her. New students were bustling past her to their dorms, and she saw a mixture of emotions. Some excitement, anxiety, anger, frustration, relief. It seemed many people were there for different reasons, be it a new start, a refuge, or a containment cell. Either way, she was eager to meet all of the new people, and to get aquainted with the school, to learn as much as possible about the world around her and her own powers, which still baffled her. She was a mutt of sorts, being psychic, a mermaid, and a necromancer, all mixed in and diluted, so she wanted to get a full grasp on her powers and strengthen them. She was a bit scared, since she wasn't fully any species, and she didn't know fully what she had from her different bloodlines, so she wanted to get started learning from seasoned teachers.

After she was done observing the room, she leaned her head back against the pillow and closed her eyes, waiting for her friend to arrive.

words: 408