Behind Her Mask

The sun shoots in through the window of my bedroom, only dimming slightly when my sheer curtain moves in the soft breeze that wafts its way through the opened and screened window. Not wanting to wake up just yet, mainly because my body feels like a thousand pounds but in a comfortable and hazy way, I nuzzle my head into my soft pillow blocking the light from my face. I hear a knock from the door of my tiny home. Groaning I reach over to my right to find an electronic pad.

Luckily my eyes were adjusted so it wasn’t a pain to see who was knocking on my door this early. The screen showed a woman with long and straight black hair that billowed to the small of her back. She wears a flowing summer dress the draped her curves perfectly. Her features radiated elegance and yet her gaze was full of anything but. I frown a bit as she makes eye contacted with the camera, with me. “I know you are watching me, Vera.” I sigh loudly and roll out of my kotatsu.

The floor came with an unwelcome coldness that was only eased by the soft and warm breeze the open windows provided. I sit up and make my way down the stairs and off my loft. As I open the door and look up at the visitor I say, “What do you want mom?”

She frowns at me. "I told you yesterday that you’d have school this morning. You need to wake up early to prepare for it!”

I look over at the clock on the wall next to me and then back at her, “At 6:52 in the morning? What. Am I having the bus pick me up.”

She shakes her head. “No, but you still need to take a run, study, and get ready.”

I look at her blankly. “And I have all the time I need to do every one of those and then some.”

She scoffs and begins to walk away. “Only because I woke you and reminded you.” With that, she walks off into her and dads tiny home next door to mine. As I turn around and slide out a drawer in the stairs that hold my leggings and do the same with another one that holds my hoodies. After gathering the two I find myself walking to the bathroom and pulling on the two items. I had slept in my sports bra to save time wrangling it on.

After getting fully dressed and getting my short black hair brushed back and put into a low ponytail I slip in my contacts and bolt out my door for a run through one of the trails the lake we are staying at has. The best part for running through trails in the mornings is the different smells. They get amplified with the morning dew. Pine, sweetgrass, the sweet smell wildflowers, and the damp and cool earthy smell that rain brings. Nothing can compare to the smell of nature mixed with the slight chill of early august.

As I open my eyes I see that the sun has risen over the top of a peak of a small mountain of the chain of mountains we are staying on. It never gets old to see the water evaporating on the trees, looking as if they alone were the ones creating the clouds in the sky. The trees creating clouds and all of the dew sparkling under the sun. It’s a shame that anyone would have to miss this. It’s part of the reason why I wanted to live in a tiny home. You have to move nature to nature instead of city to city.

I stop jogging as my watch beeps. I look down and see that it is telling me I’ve reached halfway for my step count and that I should turn around. So I do and you know what the most amazing thing about a tree is? That from the other side they don’t look the same. It’s a whole new painting. A whole new landscape yet it keeps its surreal beauty. Have you ever seen a tree devoid of beauty? No. It simply doesn’t exist. A tree could have fallen, been struck by lightning, had its roots up and tipped, it could even be dead or baren. And yet its beauty stays. Unshaken by the elements around it and unafraid to bare itself to the world. Pure beauty. Humans do not share the same characteristic of beauty as nature. They choose to have false beauty instead.

Hide behind makeup, and clothes, scared to show the beauty they were born with and even opt to change it altogether. It’s.... sad. It is sad but only because of the truth that lies with it. I find myself jogging in serenity as I let my thoughts run wild and let each gust of chilly air push the thought that I had away. The wind cleanses me and fills me with peace with each breath I take. The sun provides me with a constant warmth and the smells around me calm me. I sigh lightly, people need more of this.

I finally arrive at the door of my home. As I step inside I check the watch on my wrist. Telling me I had reached my morning step count and telling me that it is now 7:46. Making good time If I do say so myself. Now I just need to shower and study, I head to my shower but not before getting a towel to bring into the bathroom with me. I do my business and come out all clean and dressed at 7:57. I look at myself in the mirror attached to my bathroom door. All looks like it checks out, standard skinny light blue jeans with a light hoody, no bra and nothing under my hoody. 1. because bras are hell and should be burnt unless you are wearing a thin shirt and its nippy. 2. Wearing a shirt under a hoody is a sin because its too hot and too uncomfortable.

I don’t wear makeup because its uncomfortable. Plus I think I don’t need it. I brush through my wet hair one more time and then move to my dining room/living room to study. I sit down and grab the college-level English textbook from the shelf behind me that my parents have me study. They thought that since we moved all the time for the family business I wouldn’t be able to get the right education so they started teaching my things a few grades above what I am supposed to be at. Right now I am studying things a junior in college would be studying.

It causes a lot of distress for the teachers who have to teach me because of how advanced I am. My parents don’t bother to tell them that I’m extremely ahead so they always assume I am cheating until my parents have to explain to them that I am not and why. In the end, I always have to take a test to prove that I know what I know. I complete an assignment or to in English and move on to the next one, Chemistry and Applied Physics. I lump the two together because it’s just quick and easy to do them together. After I’ve finished a chapter and a few lessons in both of those I quickly move onto math. I look at the watch on my hand I finish the last question on the assignment in math, it reads 7:45. That gives me enough time to rush through history and I’ve studied. I guess I’ll have to wake up earlier tomorrow.

Fifteen minutes later and I close my textbooks and organize my papers before placing them back in their proper places on the shelves. A car honks three times outside signifying it’s time for me to leave. I grab my phone, a book, a charger and one of my pocket knives before running out and jumping in the black car that’s waiting for me. My mom is sitting in the front passenger seat and my dad is driving. Thank goddess he’s driving, I didn’t feel like dying today. “Say, mom, dad. Ever think maybe a fancy black car with fully tinted windows is, I don’t know, a bit suspicious?” I shrug sarcastically as if to say, ‘I don’t know’.

My mom rolls her eyes at me through the rear mirror. “Psh, no one will notice. Plus you always keep your head down and you did somehow convince your dad to get an electric vehicle. Unluckily for you, they are all fancy looking.”

My dad finally speaks up, “Oh come now honey, she’s just getting me super ‘woke’.” He raises his fingers off the wheel, brings his shoulders up and raises his eyebrows as he says, ‘woke’.

I cringe a bit, “No, no dad. Please stop.”

He looks at me through the rearview mirror confused. “What? Is that not the right phrase. I’m just being ‘hip’ with the ‘fam’ ‘yo’. You got me super ‘woke’ ‘fam’.”

I’m deceased. “Dad no, really please stop no one my age does that I promise.”

He looks at me unconvinced. “Really? Are you sure I just didn’t... ‘snatch your weave’.” I groan. Good lord. I don’t think I can take much more of this.

Mom finally steps in out of amusement. “Okay don’t kill her yet. She’s still got to deal with school.”

Dad laughs out loudly. “Okay fine, I’ll stop.”

After singing with my parents to songs on the radio we finally get to the school. This one looks a lot better compared to the last school I went to. There are windows everywhere and not to mention they are huge ones that let in a lot of natural light. From the looks of it there is a shit ton of plants inside of the school and just off to side of it along a slope in the mountain is a fucking greenhouse! Oh, goddess, I think I’m getting excited about this school. Not because of the curriculum but because of the amenities.

Both of my parents watch the excitement grow on my face. “I knew she’d love this one.” My dad says.

“Yeah..” My mom replies happily.

Dad looks at her evilly, “Now wheres my fifty dollars at.”

My mom groans before saying, “Ugh, fine.” She looks away disappointed at losing a bet. Wait. They’re betting on me??

“Guys! What the hell! You’re betting on me now??” They look at each other for a second before both busting out in laughter.

My mom wipes away a tear as she says, “Hun, we’ve been betting on you since before you were born.”

I look away and purse my lips. “Rude.” They ignore me and give me my bag instead.

“At least try not to sleep through every class okay?” My dad says as I step out of the car.

“Mmmh, okay I’ll try but no promises.” With that, I walk up the steps into the school and my parents drive away. I’ve got five minutes to check-in and get to my class. I follow the signs to the office and meet the secretary and principal who were seemingly waiting for me. Which is rare if I’m being honest. I shake hands with them and introduce myself. They tell me they are Principal Walss and Secretary Venn. Secretary Venn is a short lady with mid-shoulder-length curly blonde hair and eyes that are so big they look like they belong on an owl not to mention her makeup makes her eyes seem even bigger. She has long acrylic nails to look a bit like talons to me. She wears a black pencil skirt and cream blouse with extra fabric in the front that looks like puffy frills the same adorned the cuffs of the blouse. This only made her look even more like an elegant owl. Principal Walss, on the other hand, is tall and thin like a tree. His eyes look kind and he has green hazel eyes. When he moves it looks very nimble and treelike. I begin to wonder if they are even human at all...

After introductions, they both hand me a paper at the same time. I take both of them with each hand and they take turns explaining to me that one of them is my schedule and the other is the rules of the school. I thank them and they lead me to my locker and first block which happens to be History. I step in to find everyone is already sitting quietly at their seats. Confused I look at my watch it reads 9:05. Oh, I see I’m five minutes late. Well, this is a bit awkward. I look to the side and follow the two leaders before coming to a stop at the front of the room with Mr. Walss and Ms. Venn.

“Class I’d like you all to meet Vera Montie, she is a new transfer student. Would you like to introduce yourself to the class, Ms. Vera?”

I look up at my new history teacher. “Erm sure.”

I raise my head to the students and put my hands in my hoodie pocket. “Well, you’ve already heard my name. I love nature. I move a lot because of my family business because of that, I don’t make a lot of friends, I hope you’ll understand that.”

With that, I look directly at the teacher to signify the end of my introduction. She notices and points to a seat at the window.

“That seat will be your new and permanent seat for the year.” I say thank you and take my seat at the window.

I look out of the window as the principal and secretary leave and the teacher begins her lesson. Suddenly the breath is knocked out of me. The landscape is absolutely beautiful the wide window gives a perfect view of two mountain peaks. The leaves on the seasonal trees turning orange, yellow, and red. The ferns and evergreens only getting a deeper green. The sun rests just above the too mountains. Filling the room with sunlight.

The warms the sun gave was incredible, I just want to take a cat nap right here. That wouldn’t be good to do on the first day though so I just grabbed the sketchbook my dad slipped into my bag out to draw the landscape. I finished the sketch just as the bell rang for my next class. I was about to leave before the teacher stopped me.

“Hey Vera, I noticed that you were drawing all class from the moment Mr. Waals and Ms. Venn left to when the bell rang. I understand that you may not know what we are working on well because other schools are either farther back or further ahead on the courses. If you need help catching up to where we are let me know.” I smile at her.

“You were discussing the topic of tsars reign of Russia. Right? The civilians were getting ready to overthrow Tsar Nicholas II, the causes were famine and several other things. The biggest cause was famine though. The other cause was that they thought Rasputin was too much of an influence on the Tsar and especially Alexandra. In the end, they were overthrown and the whole family was killed. Later there was talk that their daughter Anastasia had lived and was now grown. This was soon found that she was an imposter and simply looked like the Princess. The latest discovery is that this woman must have believed she was indeed Anastasia due to her mental illness.”

The teacher looked astounded and impressed. “Well. Looks to me you may very well be ahead in this class and have researched a lot on it too. Even I didn’t know that last bit.”

I laugh. “Well, you could say I’m ahead.”

She looked confused but brushed the comment off. “I’m sorry for doubting you, Vera. I look forward to our classes together.”

I smile, “No need to worry about it, it happens more often than you can imagine. I look forward to your class as well. Bye!”

I wave to her as I leave the classroom and rush to my next class while looking at the sheet. The next one should be... Chemistry. Well damn. It’s really hard to sleep in Chemistry because your always performing labs. I run to the classroom because I have nearly a minute left to get there. Luckily I get there right as the bell rings.

I find my seat at a lab table and to my dismay, they’re all set up for a lab. A girl with dyed orange hair and shocking blue eyes looks up at me with a smile.

“Finally a lab partner! I haven’t had one all year. I’m terrible at this. I hate it with a fiery passion.” She laughs out loud. May I say a bit too loud.

“Okay calm down girls!” The male teacher at the front of the class says.

“Class this is our new transfer student, Vera Montie. She will be working with Sicily for the remainder of the year.”

I wave to everyone who is looking at me and then the rest of the class turns around as they get their name called for attendance.

“So, my name is Sicily Conti. Nice to meet you. Are you good at chemistry?” She says in a very hushed tone.

I laugh softly. “Yes, I am great with chemistry.”