Thinking Clear on a Foggy Day

Lindsay learns that weather and one's surrounding can greatly alter their mood. For the better, or worse.

Chapter Two
Thinking Clear on a Foggy Day

      Brisk autumn air swirled around Lindsay like the angry thoughts in her head. Droplets of dew were frozen on the leaves of trees, making them shimmer like diamonds.

      How was I supposed to know he had to wake up early? Calling me irresponsible! He can't even keep track of his own work days. What am I? His maid? She hissed as she watched her warm breathe spin out of her mouth. Lindsay took a second away from her irritation to observe the morning. Grey clouds covered the sky, and a thick fog engulfed the streets. Lindsay couldn't hear or see a thing, only the sidewalk below her. It was like she was trapped inside a sheer box. She became hypnotized by the metallic mist. She couldn't stay angry on a day like this; the lonely silence was so calming, so... tranquil. Her head cleared of all thoughts. Mornings like this were like her own personal sedative.

     She inhaled the sweet air. It smelled of freshly cut grass and rain. Lindsay wished she could bottle it up and use it as perfume.

      After keeping a steady concentration on the ground to make sure she made the right turns, Lindsay's eyes got tired and her head felt dizzy from staring at the moving ground. Eventually, she heard the familiar sound of her heals clicking on the tarmac.

     She struggled to open the frosty door to the school, and then got thrown back onto the ground when it opened itself. Bewildered as to what had just happened she was yanked into the school before she could think of a logical explanation. The school's harsh lights were blinding against it's blinding blue and mustard yellow walls, and it took a few seconds for Lindsay's eyes to adjust. As soon as she blinked, those funky coloured dots appeared.

     "Lindsay!" Her breath was quickly jerked form her chest as someone embraced her. "Ooof," Lindsay heaved.

     "Sorry, I didn't see you all this weekend, so I had to bottle up all my hugs and give you one great big one!" It was her friend, Kiki. There was a huge beaming smile across her face, which lit up all her features. Her dark olive skin clashed with her hazel eyes, making them stand out. She had auburn hair which was always up in a perky ponytail, which bounced up and down with her every step. There was something odd and out of place about her face, not in a bad way, it made her look exotic and strangely beautiful.

     Lindsay felt relieved to be in her friends warm arms after the icy previous events that morning. Talk about your fast acting aspirin! Kiki could make anyone happy, she was always bubbly and full of energy. You just had to smile as you saw her skipping down the halls. Lindsay always believed Kiki was her exact opposite.

      Before she could greet Kiki, another familiar voice welcomed her from across the hall. It was another one of her friends, Derek. He walked across the hall and gave her another hug, not nearly as rough as Kiki's but gentle. His hugs were awkward, yet strangely comforting.

    "I haven't seen you since last week!" Derek's nearly six-foot-figure looked hilarious standing next to Kiki's petite four-foot-eleven figure. Lindsay was right in the middle, tall for her age, about 5'5, and very slight. She had knobby knees and bony elbows, and no matter how hard she tried, Lindsay could never put on weight.

      Derek had pale skin and teasing brown eyes, his hair was straight and sandy blonde, always perfectly straight. He had braces and a crooked smile cracked upon his face.

     These guys had always been in her circle of friends, with her best friend Blair. But when Blair lost a battle to cancer about 3 months back, they'd became even closer. Derek and Kiki weren't near as close to Blair as Lindsay was. They had always thought they were long lost sisters, no, they were closer then sisters. They told each other everything. There was nothing that they didn't know about each other. She got a warm feeling in her stomach whenever she thought of her. No one would ever be as close to her as Blair, no one would ever replace her. Ever since Blair's passing, everything else in her life seemed to fade. Lindsay felt incomplete and empty. Like a huge chunk of her character was ripped out and forgotten. She'd become socially damaged since then.

      She glanced at the friendship bracelet Blair made her in grade 2. It's smooth, gold-green beads reminded her of her lost friend's eyes. Sometimes she believed that she really was still with her, in spirit. The bracelet was like a protector, a reminder, that she would always live inside her mind. A sad breeze crossed Lindsay's face, but she swept in away before anyone could see.
 
      "How was your weekend?" asked Derek.

      "Did you do anything exciting?" asked Kiki with a hopeful look in her bold puppy eyes.

      Lindsay felt suddenly strange. Her friends had always been so nice to her. Like they were catering to something she herself didn't know about. As if they liked her for some trait she doesn't have. Yeah, they were kind of close, but not that close. She would never walk up to them randomly and give them a hug. Lindsay abruptly felt suspicious. She didn't understand why they liked her so much, she wasn't sweet and mild like Derek, and she wasn't fun and outgoing like Kiki. Is there something I don't know about?

      The bell rang, and Lindsay just shrugged it off. Maybe someone in this world likes me for who I am, maybe somebody actually cares for me.

     

Author's Note

Kindly point out any spelling or grammar problems. I am very inexperienced, so any helpful tips or constructive critisism would be great. Also, I would love if you gave me a review of my writing so far, what you like, what could be added...etc., etc. Thank you very much for reading!

Reviews

[spence]

The first part of this chapter is written absolutely exquisitely- I flowed along through every one of Lindsay's footfalls and emotions as you used succint vocabulary to ascribe the surroundings to a conversly clear head. I admit to getting a bit lost during the whole greetings and introductions thing that followed, but this is nothing to do with the writing- the quality doesn't falter- I just have no true frame of reference to such scenarios. The building of Lindsays character is well crafted however and you used bereavement and self-loathing to describe her capacity for empathy, caring and understanding. Isn't it always the way that those who care the most don't understand their own qualities and think no-one should like them? In any case, the ending was a nice way to hook the reader along in concern for the increasingly likeable main character.
I will read more when you post! Take care, spence

[RunsWithCats]

I think this story is very well written. There is so much detail and description that just adds wonders to the piece. You gave a very good look into each of the characters too. Great job! Can't wait to read more! - God Bless XD