Ephemeral

3rd Person POV:

It had been a full week since Aurora was given time off school, and she had spent every weekday with a prickly Damien at his car studio. Every evening was spent reading in the library with Cassian while he did homework, a much more favorable activity. She finished the book he had been assigned for class and started a completely new one she found in the 'Dystopian' section.

The weekend was quiet, and she spent most of her time in her room reading or watching Grey's Anatomy with the twins. Calix had said the show was boring, but she caught his attentive gaze focused fully on the theater screen whenever they watched.

Cassian finally gave her a tour of the massive mansion. They spent around two hours walking around, avoiding the third floor and basement.

At meals she was hassled for not eating enough, and at night she was riddled with terrors.

Today was going to be even worse because today was Monday.

Her first day of school.

Aurora hardly slept the night before due to the amount of anxiety she had about her new school. Every time she shut her eyes, scenarios of how the next day would play out, making her strain under the stress of overwhelming dread.

It was difficult to sleep when your heart was pummeling inside your chest to the intensity you assumed it was attempting to escape your ribcage.

She had no friends at her previous school; people would make fun of her and the way she looked. Her naturally shy and skittish personality made her the perfect target for ridicule. Now, she was going to a fancy private school in New York with snobbish rich kids.

In her mind, that meant they'd be even worse than your average bully.

Trust funded teens were ruthless and cruel.

It was six thirty in the morning on this gloomy Monday, and Aurora had been awake for hours. No amount of tossing or turning could ease her restlessness. She had already showered, brushed her teeth, tamed her hair, and gotten dressed. Atticus informed her the middle school had a no makeup policy. 

Great. 

Her one chance of looking as normal as possible was gone. 

Aurora was sitting at her vanity and staring into space. The only thing she had left to do before school was eat breakfast and tie the tie around her neck. She had no clue how to tie a tie.

After a while of tired dissociation and zoning out, her bedroom door opened without warning. Atticus, who was usually great at knocking, walked in and scanned the room, immediately finding his sister awake and sitting at her vanity.

"Good morning," he chirped and strolled towards his sister. Aurora mumbled a greeting and stood from her seat. She had packed her bag the night before and checked the supply list. 

Thrice.

Everything was in its spot.

"Are you ready for school? Your breakfast is downstairs," Atticus asked Aurora, who was gathering her backpack in her hands and swiping her phone off the table.

"Could you... uhm, tie my tie?" She asked sheepishly, embarrassed that she couldn't tie it by herself. Atticus's face lit up, and he beamed at her request, "Of course, hun." Aurora stepped forward and allowed Atticus to work the fabric around her now fully healed neck.

Her brothers went crazy about applying ointment to the previously broken skin.

Atticus sensed her embarrassment and lightened up the mood. "Y'know, Kieran has been attending this school for years and still can't properly tie his tie." The boy had been thoroughly scolded by teachers for his failure to comply with dress code on multiple occasions.