once upon a . p u n k [open]

[heather]

Early afternoon sunshine fingered through the cab window, playing in Heather’s bright red hair, warming her chalky face, brightening her expression. She closed her eyes and rested her forehead on the cool, glassy window, sighing. With every second she was another footstep away from home, and yet another footstep closer to the unfamiliar place she was headed to.

Opening her eyes, she watched the endless sea of yellow grasses fly past her window, a ceaseless, rolling, golden brown blur. Every so often an oak stood in solemn solitude against the grassy hills. Their long, leafy arms spread out and stroked the sky.

Heather sighed and closed eyes once more, all sound slowly fading from her ears.

---

“Miss? Miss!”

Heather snapped awake, propping herself straight against the seat. She blinked groggily, pushing her sunglasses up against her forehead. The taxi driver was staring annoyed at the young woman’s face, eyebrows raised.

“We’ve arrived,” he told her, “it’ll be thirteen bucks.”

Heather puffed out her cheeks and slowly exhaled, rummaging through her handbag for her wallet. Once she found it, she pulled out a ten and three ones and tossed it to the driver, giving him a brief thanks, and stepping out into the blinding sunlight. Instantly the hot air wafted up toward her face, causing her skin to prickle against the fishnet tights she was wearing. Eddies of dust billowed up around her as the cab drove off, bouncing over the bumpy dirt road.

Heather turned and contemplated her surroundings. A certain sense of prestige hung in a blanket around the ranch, and a tall stone building stood in front of her. Large gold letters over the door read, “Administrations,” and she walked in, sighing in relief as icy air greeted her once she was inside the lobby of the building. Honey-colored wooden paneled floors welcomed her boot-clad feet, and she eyed a file sitting on a large wooden desk placed in the center of the room. She identified her name printed in neat letters on the top of the file, and she opened it.

DORM ROOM: 4
HORSE: CINCINNATI

Heather sucked in a deep breath and opened the door again, in search of the dorms.

word count ; 366

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[Kaylee O'Connor]

Abby sat on her bed that sat in her second story bedroom. She flipped through a book that she had read to many times to count, trying to pass the time till it would be cool enough for her to go out and ride her mare. The sun beat through the half closed blinds that laid over the window that looked out into the yard. The ground and some of Abby's bed had a striped pattern over it, making it look like jail cell shadows.

Closing the book, she laid it on her bed side table and leaned her head against her wall. She sighed and then closed her eyes, willing herself to fall asleep. Even though as was as far from tired as one could get, she wanted to sleep to get the time to pass.

Her eyes fluttered open when she heard a car come driving up the drive towards the house. She had slid down a bit when she had zoned out. Pushing with her hand, she propped herself up. Cracking her neck, she looked at the clock. She'd been out of an hour with out even realizing she had fallen asleep. Abby groaned and ran her hand over her neck, trying to get rid of the soreness.

Abby heard the car down slam. Getting up off the bed, she walked over to the window and looked out. She pushed the blinds over and looked out. She saw the car go pealing down the drive, causing dust to billow around the figure just standing there.

Letting the blind drop back into place, Abby slid her feet into a pair of navy colored flip flops. They matched her navy and white striped shirt and white shorts that were crumpled from sleeping in them. Abby reached down and tugged at her clothes, trying to get them to lay flat.

Stepping out of the room, she heard the front door open and then close. Looking down from the top of the stair, Abby watched a girl walk into the "office" like part of the house. She could hear the girl's boots hitting the wooden floors as she walked further into the house. It seamed as though a file laying on the table had intrigued her. She watched the girl pick up the file and read it.

By the look on her face, Abby was pretty sure that it was this girl's file. As the girl turned and left the building, taking the file with her, Abby stepped lightly down the stairs. The sound of her flip flops slapping the skin on her heels was all that could be heard as she walked towards the front door.

Once she reached the front door, Abby reached her hand out and grasped the door handle. Turning it, she opened the door and stepped outside into the heat of the day. The sun beat down relentlessly onto the ground, causing heatwaves to be seen if one looked out far enough. Trowing her hand up to block the sunlight. Abby closed the door behind her, not wanting to let any of the cool air to leave the house.

Looking around, she spotted the girl looking around. She seamed to be looking for something. Keeping her hand up, Abby walked over to the girl. Smiling, she stuck her hand out that wasn't blocking the sun. Hi. I'm Abby, owner of this little place. Might I ask who you are? Abby was sure she knew her name, but couldn't quite remember it at the moment. After all, she had been able to look at the file that the girl was holding in her hands. Normally she gave each of the new comers their file of all the papers they would be needing.

There's a map in the folder if you are looking for one of the buildings. She told her. Abby blinked against the sun as she lowered her hand. Her blinking grew more rapid as she tried to get the girl in front of her to come into focus. Once she did, Abby looked at her better. Her hair was a fake red. It was way to bright and unreal looking to be a natural hair color anyways.

She was dressed like many people would call punk. She had the boots and the fish nets to add to it also. If Abby hadn't been used to seeing people like this a lot, she would have been slightly scared by her. She was almost half a foot taller then Abby, and she had always been told she was tall. Abby brought her hand back up so she could look up at the girl. Turning slight, she motioned back towards the house. Lets go back inside and get a drink or something. This heat is killing me.

[heather]

Heather flopped down in the nearest armchair and leaned her head against the wall, sighing. She opened the file and flipped through the papers, smiling in relief as she saw a map of the campus. She decided to go look for the dorms, since she still needed to unpack. She rose and opened the heavy oak door, stepping back out into the blazing sunlight.

“Hi. I’m Abby, owner of this little place. Might I ask who you are?”

Heather spun around on her heel, staring at a bright, cheery looking woman with an outstretched hand. The girl arched an eyebrow and slipped her pale hand into Abby’s, giving it a quick shake. “Heather,” she replied, “Heather Williams.”

Heather’s eyes quickly took in the tall - well, short for her - woman, wearing a casual navy-and-white striped shirt, paired with a wrinkly pair of white shorts and navy, rubber flip-flops. She immediately felt overdressed in her boots, fishnets, zebra-print skirt, and her three-layers of tank tops, not to mention the numerous amount of jewelry loosely flowing up her arms.

Abby spoke again, lowering her hand. “There’s a map in the in the folder if you’re looking for one of the buildings.”

Heather crossed her arms. “Yes, I saw that,” she murmured curtly, eyebrows raised. Abby shielded her eyes from the unforgiving sun, squinting.

Gesturing toward the house, Abby spoke again. “Let’s go back inside and get a drink or something. The heat’s killing me.”

“Agreed,” Heather said, and, without waiting for Abby to lead the way, she crunched through the dusty ground, re-opening the hefty door, emerged into the cool lobby. She instinctively pushed her sunglasses onto her forehead, revealing her dark, sapphire blue eyes. Out of the corner of her eye she stared at Abby.

“I hope you know that I’m a total dunce when it comes to riding,” she said matter-of-factly, not embarrassed at all. “I’ve only ridden once, at the County Fair, and all I had to do was sit.”

word count ; 332

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[Kaylee O'Connor]

Abby leaned against the wall that made a landing off the stairs. She lifted her arm up and placed her elbow on the railing of the wall. Leaning her arm towards herself, she rested her chin on her palm. Looking down, she watched the girl go and sit on an armchair near the wall.

She looked down and saw she was flipping through the folder that had been sitting on the desk. She wasn't sure who's folder it was, but she knew that it was one of the new girl's. She just really hoped that it was the own girl's folder and not some one else's.

Abby looked closer, trying to figure out what which papers she was looking at. When she closed the folder and stood up, Abby frowned. She hated not knowing something, she now she had to. Once the front door shut, Abby sat down on the banister and slid down. Landing lightly on her feet, she headed towards the door.

Opening the door, Abby stepped out. She smiled when the girl spun around, facing her. She saw her eye brow shoot up when she offered the girl her hand. After a moment, she took her head and shook it. Abby firmly shook her hand then released it.

Heather, Heather Williams. Abby smiled again and spoke. Nice to meet you Heather. Welcome to BroadView. She saw Heather looking her up and down, and did the same. She was way over dressed. Her boots, fishnets, zebra-print skirt, and her three-layers of tank tops, and jewelry were not something you would wear on a farm.

She saw her cross her arms after they had looked at each other. Yes, I saw that. Abby nodded and then shifted her hands, having the opposite hand shade her eyes.

Agreed. When Abby heard that, she turned and head back towards the house. When Heather opened then front door, Abby reached out and caught it before it could close. Pulling it open, she stepped into the house. Pushing the door closed, she walked towards the door that led further into the house.

I hope you know that I’m a total dunce when it comes to riding. I’ve only ridden once, at the County Fair, and all I had to do was sit. Abby bit her lip, and then replied. Well you'll just have to learn. I'll teach you. Pushing open the door, she motioned into the room behind it. Come on, its more comfortable in here.

[heather]

Heather, still out of the corner of her eye, saw Abby sink her teeth into her soft lower lip, just for a nanosecond, but caught the act all the same. She smirked and tossed a stray strand of vivid red hair over her shoulder.

Haha, she thought, a soft smirk playing on her lips. That's right, Abby, I can't ride. Too bad for you, huh?

"Well you'll just have to learn. I'll teach you," Abby offered before promptly opening another door, smaller this time, to a sideroom. "Come on, its more comfortable in here."

Heather nodded slightly before pushing past Abby and into a spacious room. A huge flatscreen TV was plastered to the soft yellow wall, resting slightly above an ornate stone hearth. Across the room was a long, L-shaped sofa, it's immaculate white leather surface looking rather inviting. Next to it was an armchair, embossed with a light floral pattern, and the eastern wall was completely window, looking over a breathtaking view of the Sierra Nevadas.

Heather didn't hesitate before flopping down in the armchair, absentmindedly playing with a random thread of hair, endlessly twisting it around her pinky finger.

"So..." she said, inclining a cherry-red eyebrow. "I guess I might as well tell you about myself, since everyone here is supposed to be, like, mental or something? Anyway, I was born in Britian, moved to California when I was three, and then moved again to New York, where I live now. When I was five - no, six - I first started seeing things, like people, or sometimes animals. Well, I was considered 'mentally ill'"- she made quotation marks with her fingers - "until they realized that I was having hallucinations due to a small electric mishap in my brain." Heather paused and looked Abby in the eye. "But I'm not, you know, crazy. Anywho, I've tried everything; gels, pills, tablets, and don't get me wrong, they taste like crap and their only affect is an upset stomach and a really bad aftertaste." Heather laughed quietly to herself. "I went to a special school where people have problems, but, my case was very minor at the time and I really didn't need to go to a special school. So, in fourth grade I switched to a normal elementary school, but by the time sixth grade rolled around, I was hallucinating left and right. I was teased, picked on, made fun of... and when highschool started, the first person who thought it was funny to say 'Hey, Heather, am I really here?' got a fist to the mouth and a knee to the gut." She flashed Abby a wide grin, as if she enjoyed relishing the thought of violence. "When I was fourteen I died my hair red, changed my style, and my attitude. I was actually supposed to come here, like, three years ago, but... I didn't really want to come here and sit on a sweaty horse. No offence."

Abby sighed and leaned her head back on the back of the chair. "And I had to leave everything I knew back at home. My family, my friends, my dog, my home.." A lone tear rolled slowly down her cheek and splashed onto the ground. It was followed by another, which she quickly rubbed away. "So, Abster, where's the dorms?" she asked, voice cheery again. "I mean, I still haven't unpacked or anything. And also, do you guys have any stores around here? Because I don't think I'll last without a shopping trip."

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[Kaylee O'Connor]

Abby saw Heather toss a stray piece of red hair and smirk lightly. She blinked her eyes slowly and opened the door wider. She stepped into the room and headed away from the door. She saw Heather smirk again and Abby turned her head away. Rolling her eyes, she reached down and picked up pencil that had fallen on the floor. Straitening up, she tossed the pencil onto the counter.

She felt Heather push past her into the room and Abby scowled. So much manners. She looked past her and into the living room. The sun shone directly into the glass wall. It turned the walls a sickly color and showed each dust moat as they floated past it. So much for a great color for my walls. she thought.

Abby furrowed her eye brows as Heather went and flopped down on the lazy boy arm chair. She twirled her finger through her hair with her single finger. Abby though that the only thing that was missing was a bubble of bubble gum and two pig tails.

Abby listened to Heather speak. As Heather raised her red eye brow, Abby raised both of hers. She knew why Heather was here, but oh well. Better to let them tell you then let them think that your a 'stalker' or something. She inwardly sighed and waited for Heather to finish her little monologue. She watched her talking, not really listening to what she was saying. She caught a few words here and there, air quotes made by her fingers as talked about a 'mental illness'.

Abby shifted her position, trying to get a bit more comfortable. The corner of the wall poked her in to back and rubbed against her spine. When Heather started talking about the trouble she caused, Abby perked up a bit. She didn't really like the sound of it, but it was something that hadn't been on her bio.

Abby caught her grinning out of the corner of her eye, and smirked back. When she said she was supposed to have been here three years ago, Abby frowned. Normally, if the student didn't show up for when they were supposed to, they weren't able to get back into the stable. How did you get back in then? she asked as Heather leaned her head back against the back of the chair.

And I had to leave everything I knew back at home. My family, my friends, my dog, my home.. Abby saw a tear run down her cheek. One splashed down onto the carpet, and the other she wiped away. As soon as the tear was gone, her voice went back to its normal cheeriness. The dorms are just past the that way. She pointed behind the house towards her left. They're not that hard to find. Once your in your dorm, you get get all your stuff unpacked and places into the closet or into the drawers. Abby almost groaned when she heard her last question. There's a village not to far from here. Theres a few stores there, but not very many. And we only go to the village every few weeks.