Decieved

The sky roared with sodden rain, crying huge teardrops of cold water. The ground was flooded with the immense amount of icy, chilling rainwater. It covered the houses and rushed past the roads rapidly. It smothered the windows and dripped like blood onto the damp ground. Draped across some cars were thick, grey bits of hail that resembled lifeless entities smothered all over the last living beauty of the world. 

Storms brewed on the emotionless horizon, promising nothing but winds to level even the mightiest of trees. Torrential rain poured down in icy sheets like needles upon my face. The wind didn’t howl, it screamed. The rain was not falling, it was driven, hard, merciless, torrential. The trees didn’t sway, they creaked, bent and moaned as their fine limbs were ripped away and their autumnal leaves become not confetti, but ammunition in the gale.  

---

JAZZY'S POINT OF VIEW

A car came out of nowhere and drove right through a puddle that was not doing a very good impression of a miniature lake. I was jolted out of my reverie and was dazed and drenched to the bone.  

Great. 

Now I must spend the entire day like this. The added weight of the water was enough to drop my emotions to a new low. I packed my umbrella away. The outline of my school was barely visible even within its proximity. Its church-like structure loomed over the rest of the surrounding buildings, as if it was wanting to make its presence known. 

I opened the gate to find the vast area eerily quiet. Silence – well apart from the heavy rain. I crossed the grounds to the entrance where the sounds of life emerged. The heavy bustling of the multitude of children leaked through the open doors. I entered only to be slapped in the face by the warm heat of the school. 

I walked into my form room, taking a seat by the window. A thin coat of condensation lined the windows which I wiped immediately. The power of the storm could be sensed, even from the safety inside. This storm was considered one of the worst to hit Britain in a long time. Warnings were sent across the country ensuring everyone was prepared. This was only the beginning though. The worst was yet to come... 

The weather was at breaking point during my final lesson. It was as if God had discovered a new dial on the weather machine to create havoc.  

 Unsteadily, I rolled out of my bed, my body still paralyzed from the events of what happened yesterday. It was like I was being ignored – no one seemed to even notice me, not even Eliza. Baffled, I ached my head to know what was wrong. It was not common for people to disregard me...  

I shook my head in response, in disbelief as I replayed the memories in my head. How was yesterday different to any other day?  

A few things.  

Every time I tried talking to Eliza, it was like I was nothing. She would completely ignore me and start conversing to other people. There was nothing wrong my voice, so it had to be something wrong with her – but I'm not sure what.  

I amble, still sleepily, towards the bathroom, still confused, still worried, still invisible to my only friend.       

As I walked through the gritted, grey roads, my hands shivered in response to the brutal weather, the strength of the mighty air tightening its grip onto my eyes. Do I really want to go to school today?  

The heat of the building immediately smacks me in the face as icy chills dissipate into the atmosphere. Eliza sat by the windowsill, barely taking notice of me as I settled in into the room and sat beside her.  

“Hello? Eliza?” 

No response, as usual. I Let out a sigh and pondered about what to do. Why isn’t she talking to me? My heart dropped to my stomach as I wondered about all the possibilities. Has the connection between us been broken by what I did to her? But...what did I do to her? I must call myself a bad person – a bad friend too – for not remembering.  

The ice on the window spread to cover the entire sheet of cheap glass with cold fumes. My vision was blurred by the avalanche of snowflakes stopping me from seeing whatever was outside.  

 ---

ELIZA’S POINT OF VIEW

If we could only see more closely, each raindrop is a kaleidoscope. As I walk, I wonder how time will stop, suspend this watery gift, and peek through each one. Perhaps it would be fun to sit inside the raindrops and take a gravity-driven trip to the planet, as I imagine I feel my inner self laughing a little bit at the insane daydream and a little bit at my own stupidity. On the cars, on every leaf, and washing my outstretched fingers, I see rain beads. They're going to pull together soon, shape puddles, open a whole new avenue of rain. Maybe enjoying a rainy day too much isn't usual, but who cares about normal anyway? I'm positive that "normal" is a thing made up. 

My nose twitched as the air around me became into an igloo that incapacitated me within its diameter. I could not move at all, my feet frozen to the spot. But it was not just the cold, it was the long list of events that occurred yesterday which froze my brain, blocked my thoughts, and tormented my muscles. 

What happened? 

I cannot recall a thing – most of it has been washed away by the acts of something unknown, something I cannot remember. I have been trying to talk to Jazzy all day, but she was...ignoring me, and for reasons even I don’t know.  

Trudging through the wet, hail-filled ground, I felt lost. Even though I have been living in this place for my whole life, it somehow felt different, like a world I've never visited, like a place I've never known.  

As I approached the road by my school, I saw Jazzy.

'Jazzy! It's me, Eliza!'

Nothing.

I entered the warm building, running to my form room. Jazzy took a seat beside me, but said nothing. What was wrong with her? Or maybe...

What was wrong with me?