Light gradually filtered through the very thin curtains of Aofie's room in the morning. She had finally woken up, familiar sounds of her favorite tunes filling the air while she sought her phone. A soothing ballad composed a gentle melody which comprised the ideal soundtrack to start the day. Stretching her arms above her head, Aofie let out a happy sigh, the warmth of the sun brushing against her skin.
After washing up quickly, Aofie slipped on a warm sweater and headed to the kitchen, where freshly brewed coffee mixed in with the aroma of toast into a savory and nicely diffused perfume. She turned on the stovetop, and the boiling-and-hissing sounds of the kettle were instantly part of her comforting morning routine. She took some eggs from the refrigerator and began to scald some fresh herbs and cheese in the pan to make scrambled eggs.
Having made breakfast, Aofie sat down to a solitary table, lost in her thought for the day to come. Over breakfast, thoughts of friends and lunch plans crept into her mind; a small smile would cross her lips, as she and her friends had gotten close here at the Minnesota Academy, they all having their quirks and personalities that meshed together rather nicely over the years.
She tidied up the kitchen within lightning speed after completing her meal, got into her favorite pair of sneakers, grabbed her backpack, and headed out the door and into the crisp morning air. The path to school was familiar; she had walked this route hundreds of times before. Hillsborough was a town that thrived on routine and Aofie enjoyed that predictability within her daily life.
When Aofie entered school, a burst of sound from her friends greeted her-welcomed laughter. Kiara was very animated in narrating a story about her latest adventure with great energy. Elliana listened while Fitz interjected an occasional remark at appropriate times. Aofie joined their circle where their laughter mixed, given by the warmth that stirred deep within her chest.
The trip to class is full of conversation as they walk: from the exams she has coming up next week to what they each plan to do over the weekend. "Yeah, we can definitely get lunch in the park tomorrow," Aofie suggested, the excitement building in her chest. "I think it's going to be nice."
"Absolutely," Kiara agreed wide-eyed, seemingly ravenous not only for the food but for the activity itself.
"Me too! I need to try that new café," Elliana added, looking in the direction of Fitz. He let out an airy playful roll of his eyes. "Sounds good to me," he shrugged, though his smile betrayed his enthusiasm.
They soon switched to topics of the mean girls at school, a topic which they loved to laugh about. Kiara pressed closer to me as she whispered in an excited voice, with that grin spreading out across her face. "You see what they wore yesterday? Like, have they ever set eyes on a mirror?
Aofie giggled as familiar warmth spilled over her while sharing gossip with her friends. It was what made this time so much worth holding onto all the more: friendship. They knew that the after-exams darkness was waiting above them like a dark cloud, but for now, they could feel free again in laughter.
With the conversation veering off toward teachers, they all agreed that Mr. Carson was most stern but the most fair. "He really does seem to care about us," said Aofie when someone reminded her about how he always seemed to incite the kids to ask questions, no matter how ludicrous they might come off as. "It's kind of refreshing."
"And Mrs. Kline? Ugh, don't even get me started," Elliana groaned. "I swear she has it out for me."
They continued talking, holding discussions about family and their exams to sit the next week. Kiara spoke of her family with endearment, telling someone how her mom would always prepare her favorite foods every time she was having a terrible day. "I will be so glad it is the weekend! Mom said she is going to make lasagna," she said, looking so eager that her eyes sparkled in the dim light.
And that would yet be the topic of family again, breaching her heart. There was a little pang for the longing that she had. "What about you, Aofie?" Kiara asked. "What's your dad like?"
Aofie hesitated slightly with that question, surprised to be asked such a thing. She used to keep this part of life back because she never wanted to discuss her father and his absence. "Oh, my father? He works abroad," she said with a light laugh, brushing off the subject. "I haven't seen him in years.".
"Wow, that must be tough," Fitz replied with concern, his expression changed.
"Not really," Aofie assured them, forcing a smile onto her face that didn't quite make it all the way there.
The bell rang to remind them all that it was lunch break time and to go back to class. Hesitantly, the friends gathered their stuff. More time spent with them the following day and heading out to the park filled Aofie's heart with waves of anticipation at the growth of their connection with each passing moment.
As Aofie made her way home, the sun went beneath the horizon. The palm of the blue sky was laced with a resplendent silk thread of orange and pink on the western horizon. Along the way, there were trees whispering their secrets to a gentle wind. Aofie stopped for just a little while, attracted by something shimmering in the undergrowth. Curiosity got the better of her, and she stepped closer, peering into the shadows.
Suddenly, creeping chill ran up her spine; she let it go, called it just a play of light, but something inside her was urging her to leave, to get home. Her heart beating fastly, Aofie picked up her pace, cutting through the familiar streets to escape from a sudden grip of foreboding that had seized her.
The week slid by in a haze of classes, bursts of laughter, and comfortingly familiar school routines. But that Friday was different. Aofie didn't turn up for school, and worried glances passed back and forth between her friends all day. They sent messages hoping for a return that never came. As the day drew to a close, a worrying unease hung in the air. Their laughter turned to whispers filled with concern.
As dusk fell that Friday evening, the school itself stood like a closed, hushed shell in its usual bustle, and anticipation lay heavy over the atmosphere. When Monday morning rolled around, it seemed as if everybody waited with bated breath. Whispers went round among the boys in the corridors when they congregated for assembly, eyes snapping nervously about.
It came as a bolt out of the blue, cutting through chatter with icy finality. Aofie was dead.
The news had its murmurs reverberate through the walls and into the halls of the Minnesota Academy, leaving behind an overwhelming silence. Shocked, and believing in all that was vivid, the students could hardly muster a coherent reaction to the loss of someone as vibrant as him, who was an integral part of their daily lives.
Kiara, Elliana, and Fitz were buried together in dust, with heavy hearts full of woe. Reality pressed down in on them to make spines shiver with chills. How could anyone so full of life just disappear into nothingness? Their heads reeled with questions, but no answers would come. Everything around them tilted on its axis; nothing would ever be the same again.
Aofie's absence left an aching space in their hearts that would take a long while to heal even after the shock had subsided. They could just cling to each other as they try to find comfort in themselves amidst the chaos of their emotions, grappling with the haunting reality that life as they knew it would never be the same again.