The Sheets document glowed a glaring green. Bleary-eyed on a muggy March Monday, she continued to type, her legs folded under her. The tinted seminar room windows blunted the day; it was hard to tell what the world outside looked or smelled like, though she could catch the occasional strains of the roosters, desperate to impose their presence on the unremarkable morning. 

 

Her cup of coffee had cooled, the imprint of her lip gloss sticky on the recycled lid. The air conditioning was stuttering, its hum a low breath that would occasionally stagger into silence, and she could feel the perspiration pool in small droplets of ennui on her forehead, the back of her shirt, gluing her like cement into the cadence of another week. 

 

"Yo!" Nic's shout shot into her skull like a bell, jolting her out of her stupor. Blinking, she swivelled around to see her pink-faced college mate, crashing into the day with enough exhilaration to shame all the golden retrievers of the world. 

 

"Hey," She offered a wan smile, too tired to muster even envy. 

 

Nic all but hurtled over, grinning widely. 

 

"I'd like to introduce you to one of my best friends. She's from Archi!" Nic turned, and she followed her gaze. 

 

"Hello."

 

 

Tall, wide-shouldered, clad in a faded Slipknot tee and faded jeans, the stranger's voice was low but gentle. The stranger smiled at her shyly, and she felt the room brighten, as if the rays fought to illuminate this very moment. The dull, dreary March suddenly sang, harmonising with the adamant roosters, blending with the crisp scent of freshly cut grass, before swirling into a waft of perfume that seemed to lift her from her chair and throw her right back into -

 

A searing blue slice of sky. 

 

Set against the yellow sun and the rich, rust red of the track, they walked, the soles of their shoes scratching against the ground as they made their way out of the school, cutting through the field, their messenger bags slapping against their thighs. 

 

Dimly, she heard her friend speak.

 

"... I heard some of them had jumped into the pool, uniforms and all. Someone even opened a bottle of champagne. Mr. Alex had to drag them out, he was so pissed off. Graduate already but still kena booked and detention all. Damn idiotic."

 

 

She could feel it building in her chest. The words. The fairies shimmered at the edge of her eyes, grinning mischievously. The noontime sun seemed to be melting reality as they walked, and as she fought herself to say the words that have been buried for over a year.

 

And why not? One of the fairies seemed to say, perched upon the very tip of her nose. Your A-Levels are done. You are free. 

 

She could see the future, stretched out before them, shining with possibility, a dazzling glitter, a mesmerising invitation. She had only to say it.

 

They stopped at a traffic light. The red man glared across from them, stout and resolute. 

 

 

"Do you think," her friend suddenly said, and at the sound of her voice, she turned to her with a panicked, rabbity look, "that we'd be friends forever?"

 

 

And she was ready, the words were straining out of her mouth, her heart thudded with the urgency of it all as her best friend, her favourite person in the entire universe, turned and fixed her with a clear-eyed look. She knew. 

 

But unease. That familiar, unwelcome visitor. It crawled, planting goosebumps along her collar with practiced ease. You're overthinking this. You're just delusional from the exams. You're going to freak her out. There's something wrong with you. Come on, this is enough, whatever this is. Be normal. This is normal, this is good enough. 

 

And through the fog, she could feel the telltale shame start to curdle in the pit of her stomach, beneath her feet, fixing them into the burning asphalt.

 

An impaled butterfly in a dusty taxonomy room. 

 

A butterfly that would sit in that display case for years to come, the colour on its wings flaking off slowly, collecting dust, forgetting what it felt like to fly. 

 

The traffic light switched to green, but she could not move - 

 

"Hello? Earth to Scottie!"

 

She blinked. Nic and the stranger were looking at her expectantly. She couldn't help noticing that the stranger had lovely, doe-dark eyes. 

 

"Sorry, I zoned out. What were you saying?" She turned to face them properly. 

 

"The art exhibition. Happening next week. You in? Want to join us?"

 

Nic was grinning at her. And the stranger, the stranger was smiling encouragingly at her too. 

 

In her mind's eye, the fairy perched on her shoulder poked out its shimmery little head and sniffed the air hopefully. There was potentially a community here, and who knows, maybe another slice of azure sky. 

 

And Scottie could see the future spread out before her, bright and brave. All the butterflies took flight, soaring out of their bottles and into the breezy March day. 

"Oh yes, I'm in, I'm all in."