Snippet #2457992

Behind a medium-sized traditional Japanese house sat what looked to be an abandoned greenhouse. Vines crawled up the sides of the clear walls roaming freely over the structure. The grass grew in large tufts and was uncut for the most part save for a path leading to the greenhouse doorway from the house. The area was covered in a glossy sheen as the clouds above released a heavy shower of rainwater. Nevertheless, the sound of pattering raindrops on top of the greenhouse didn’t affect the girl inside.

The tall girl moved around inside the greenhouse, only seen as a blurry image from the outside. Her electronic music was pleasing to the ears as it played from rock-shaped speakers in two corners of the room closest to her. She had long slender legs and a shapely waist that was accentuated as she leaned over the birch desk in the corner of the single room. Her gloved hands fidgeted restlessly, sometimes typing on the desktop computer that sat on the surface in front of her. Her messy hair was uncombed but it fell around her face in straight silvery strands that was in contrast to her red eye color. Her lips moved as she mumbled under her breath. The bottom edges of her pajamas pants leg were wet showing that she hadn’t completely escaped the rain. Vivianna typed a bit more into the logbook then stood upright and peered over her shoulder at the flowers in bloom behind her. She stared for a minute more then sighed complacently. She pulled the wooden chair away from the tables supporting the potted plants and set it in place beside the desk. With her bottom firmly in it, she leaned back in the chair and smiled. “A good days work…” She murmured as her eyes closed in relaxation.

Her nap was interrupted by a sharp command. “Anna. Wake up, this instant.” Vivianna opened her eyes to reveal the woman who had spoke. Her mother. Vivianna raised her left hand to wipe sleep out of her eyes. The frustrated mother spared her daughter a look of disgust and sighed, placing her hands on her hips. Vivianna harrumphed as she raised herself out of her chair. She noticed that her mother, Susan, was wearing a pink apron that suggested she had been cooking breakfast. Vivian glanced to the greenhouse walls to see how long her nap had lasted. The rain was still going so it must have been no more than thirty minutes. Most likely less. Susan tapped her foot on the tiled floor to grab her daughters’ attention, which succeeded because Vivian pulled her gaze over to her mother’s cross face.

“Yes?” Vivian responded after a long silence where she had simply stared at her mother in open confusion. “Vivian. Don’t you have school today? It’s your first day and I hope you're not going in your pajamas. Look at you; your hair is a mess. Stop fiddling around. You need to take a shower and get ready.” Susan scolded her. Vivian shrugged and avoided her mother’s blue gaze, stubbornly holding her ground. Susan was having none of that though. “You know it takes you forever. C’mon.” Her mother approached but didn’t take hold of her hand, just extended the invitation. After a tense moment of uncomfortable suspension, Vivian lightly took her mother’s hand. She only did so because she was wearing her gloves and could put her worries aside. Susan smiled as she tugged her daughter out of the greenhouse and into the house to get ready.

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Vivianna towel dried her hair as she faced her reflection staring back at her from her vanity mirror. The girl was pale and her eyes startling even to Vivian herself. She peered closer, seeing that her eyelashes were decently long yet being the same color of her hair went unnoticed. Also that she had no laugh lines or crows feet. Vivian scoffed at the idea of wrinkles since she was young but she expected to have some indication of having been a happy person. She wasn’t depressed. So where was the indication. Vivian smiled at herself, scanning her lips and face for some sign but to no avail. She scowled and turned away from the mirror, pacing over to her dresser that lay in disarray from her mother pulling clothes out for the day already. Vivian ignored the dress on her bed and pulled out some jeans from the bottom cabinet of the dresser. Just as she was slipping them on, her mother’s familiar voice stopped her. “What are you doing?” She questioned, unabashed by her child’s state of undress.

“I’m getting dressed?” Vivian asked in return, playing innocent. Susan frowned and marched into the room, lifting the dress off of the bed and shoving it towards Vivian. “Why can’t you wear this?” She inquired insistently. Vivian regarded the dress then transferred her regard to her mom's face incredulously. “I don’t want to.” She responded briskly. “It’s nice-looking and it’s your first day; you need to make friends.” Susan supplied in reply. Vivian’s tolerant gaze turned sharp, her red gaze piercing her mother’s smile causing it to wilt. She didn’t retort, instead turning to the dresser and pulling out a skirt. “No dress. I’ll settle for a skirt.” Vivian spoke carefully, hoping not to let her mother her wounded dignity. Her mother clapped her hands and tossed the dress back onto the bed with a revitalized grin. “Thank you sweetie. Come down for breakfast when you’re done. And hurry.” With that, Susan left the room. Vivian watched her mom’s flowing dress skirts until she was out of sight. She could admit to herself that she didn’t have friends but she had hoped her mother wouldn’t press the issue. After all, didn’t she know best why that was the case?

Finally finished getting dressed in a loose black knee-length skirt, pink tank top with flower-printed lace trim, and her alternative cotton black trench coat; she sat down at the dinner table across from her mom who stood washing some dishes that had piled up. “Thanks” She softly directed towards the woman. Susan looked over her shoulder long enough to show that she was smiling before returning to her task. Vivian ducked her head and finished her meal in silence.

She exited the house and followed the directions in her head to the nearest station. Once she arrived, she boarded the crowded train and put on her headphones to drown out the passengers’ voices. Trance blared over the speakers numbing her emotions, allowing her to keep the thinnest control that she could manage on her magic. But it did whatever it wanted, regardless of the exterior circumstances. She felt people brush her shoulders as the train became more crowded, and she stepped aside-putting space between herself and the others. She pushed the other thoughts away and pictured her flowers instead, letting her mind focus on caring techniques and others tips. It was better than the painful incessant worry that always at the forefront of her mind otherwise.