Among the brambles ch. 1

Instructions

Chapter 1 In the Flowerbox pt 1 Juniper stepped on the bus. The lighting was dim, very different from the brightly lit bedroom that she practically lived in 24/7. Kids scattered across the seemingly hundreds of seats, all chattering noisily. The air smelled of dust and sweat. This would have been a very uncomfortable experience had it not been for her friends. As she walked through the isles, she could see an arm stretching into the air, and the person on the seat bouncing up and down, calling her name. This person was Juniper´s best friend in the whole world. They had short, stylish brown hair, circular glasses, enlarging a few freckles on their face. Their pinecone earrings waved through the air, and their other pair of earrings clung frantically to their ears. They wore a grunge core kind of shirt with large dragon wings on it, and wore a spiked collar similar to her own. They also wore a black punk skirt, gray shorts, and fishnets. ¨Hey Sam!¨ Juniper called to her friend before sitting down beside them, stuffing her backpack below the seat. ¨Oh my gosh! Have you seen the new mask I posted to the group chat?¨ Sam asked. ¨I woke up late today, so I didn´t really have time to check,¨ She replied, brushing her hands through her long, curly hair nervously. ¨I just have to show you!¨ her friend bent down to dig in their backpack, pulling back out a small phone. They thumbed through the apps until they reached the group chat, scrolling to the image of a mask. It was a black cat mask, with short fur, no eye mesh, and hard-to-distinguish, great detailing. ¨That looks really good!¨ Juniper looked at it excitedly. ¨Thanks!¨ Sam´s face lit up. The two continued chatting about gear the rest of the way to school. She loved to yammer about gear with Sam because they were both enthusiastic about it, and liked to go public gearing a lot. Finally, the bus slowed to a stop in front of a large brick, average-looking school. The rest of the buses were starting to arrive, though the bus Juniper took was usually the first one there, like it was today. She slung her backpack over her shoulders and joined the line that was parading out of the school bus. She hopped off of the last stair, breathing in the fresh, cool air that greeted her. Sam joined her outside. The two walked over to the school doors, where other middle schoolers stood. This was the last year she would stand outside of these doors, because she was in eighth grade, so only next year she would move to the high school building, which stood just a few yards by the middle school. But now she would enjoy her routine of searching for her other friends every time she stood here. But Same had found them first and had grabbed her arm, dragging her towards a group of four people. ¨Hi Wren, hi Caspian, hi Zephyr, hey Everen.¨ She waved at her small group of friends. Wren wore a beige t-shirt that had the therian theta-delta on it, a long green skirt, and an explorercore bag. Caspian wore a large baggy sweater, with cutecore picturing on it, and jeans. Zephyr basically wore a kidcore aesthetic, and Everen was pure grungecore. ¨Hey, Juniper, hi Sam!¨ Wren exclaimed, which the rest of the group echoed. ¨Why do you always get here so fast?¨ Sam pretend-whined. ¨Car is better than bus. Does that answer that question?¨ Zephyr laughed. Suddenly they heard a kind of bell that signaled that the doors were now open. The group split up, all going to their own cubbies. The rest of the school day went by normally. Class class, break, class, lunch, class class. The only good parts of the day were lunch and break. Finally, the school day was over, and Juniper had gotten off the bus, and walked to her house.