Rain on My Wings by Juliet Rose (chrysanthemum read aloud .TXT) 📖

about the other me, not necessarily a benefit, but more of a consolation prize. I knew it wasn’t all a dream when I saw the tinges of gold.
I splashed a handful of cold water on my face and let out a yawn of satisfaction. I had finally done it; a dreamless sleep. I gave a smirkish smile and patted myself on the back for a job well done. I’d accomplished the first step in forgetting about a boy; quit dreaming about him.
I decided to make my way down to the kitchen, I bet Mom was just dying to feed me her masterpiece. I took the stairs one at a time, trying to appear sleepier than I actually was. When I finally reached the bottom, I saw the magnificent feast. Bowls of colorful fruits were outlaid with accompanying plates of pancakes, sausage, and dark, meaty bacon. She had even pored me a glass of fresh-squeezed orange juice to wash it all down. Mother was standing over at the counter washing something in the sink when she saw me. “Oh! Honey, there you are.” She quickly put down whatever she was washing and did a little skip over to where I was standing, granting me with a warm hug. “Surprise!” she squealed with bright eyes. I hugged her back and let out a pleasantly surprised laugh. “Mom, this looks amazing. What’s the occasion?” She walked back over to the table of lavish food.
“I just thought we should have a last-week-of-summer celebration. Make the most of it, you know?” I joined her at the table.
“Well sounds great to me. Thanks mom, seriously it’s amazing.”
I flopped a fluffy pancake onto my plate. “Where’s dad?”
“He’s up at the hospital, he had to go in early this morning to get some paper work done.” I stuffed a bite dripping with syrup into my mouth.
“Oh, well I’m sure there’ll be plenty left for him when he gets back.”
“I should hope so, I made enough to feed an army!” We laughed and then kept eating in silence for a few minutes. Then she broke the silence.
“You slept in pretty late today, Have you been sleeping okay?”
I suddenly got nervous, but remained calm. I hadn’t done anything wrong.
“11:00 really isn’t that late…”
“For you it is, your usually up at seven or eight. Is something bothering you?” Whenever anything started to hint at my secret I got outrageously uncomfortable. But of course it had happened before, and I was good at hiding things. Its not like I enjoy hiding them, its just that I happened to be good at it. Like when a kid is unfortunately really great at some sport that they hate to play, but are forced to anyway.
“Yeah, I guess I kind of had a rough night last night.” I was hoping to keep it vague, yet mostly truthful.
“Don’t you mean last couple of nights?” I set down a slice of apple that had just almost made it into my mouth, but had stopped short at her question.
“What..?” In an effort to remain calm, I picked up the uneaten slice of apple and shoved it into my mouth. Maybe I wouldn’t have to talk if I was chewing.
“Mothers know everything, honey. Eyes in the back of our head, and ears like a blood hound.” Well, not everything… but I decided to leave that part out. She gave me an inquisitive look, waiting for me to say something.
“Yeah, I’ve been having this really weird dream over and over for like a week.” That was about all I could give her.
“Oh what about?” Crud. I struggled to form a sentence as close to the truth as possible.
But wait. This was a dream that I was telling her about, right? Anything is possible in dreams. She wouldn’t even think twice about it. I could tell her the truth and she wouldn’t even know it.
“It’s kinda crazy. I dreamt that I turned into a butterfly.” Her eyes brightened and she shot me one of those “well that’s… interesting” looks.
“Oh did you now?”
“Yeah, it was pretty cool. Never felt anything like it.” I swallowed my food as casually as I could. “It was even in the rain.” This felt like a test, as if I was reassuring myself of how oblivious she really was.
“Well that sounds like a fun night to me, being a butterfly can’t be that awful.” She smiled to herself as she took a mouthful of melon. I let out a chuckle, responding to my own inside joke. “It would seem that way,” I murmured under my breath.
Chapter III

The last week of summer passed rather quickly, filled with much sleeping and eating, a last minute photo shoot by the lake with Analise, and zero percent rainfall. Only once was my sleep interrupted by the recurring dream that thirsted for my attention.
After breakfast, I was ready for school- well, physically anyway. Mentally, not so much.
“Mom?” I called, not knowing where she was in the house. “I’m leaving.” She emerged from the hallway with bright eyes and a wholehearted smile.
“Oh, honey. Have a great first day.” She gave me warm hug. Mom hugs are always the best, because they are always sincere, and their meaning could never falter. I hugged her back.
“I’ll see you afterschool. Tell dad I said bye, okay?.” She pulled back, still holding my shoulders.
“I will honey, drive safe.” I stepped outside and was greeted by the cool August air. I got in my Corolla and cranked the engine. I backed out of the driveway and began my journey to school. Laid out in front of me was my junior year of high school, supposedly the hardest year at Chamberlain High.
After a five minute commute, I was there. I carefully scanned the parking lot for an easy space close to homeroom, and landed my eyes on a perfect spot two rows away. Cars and students were everywhere, scrambling to find their first class, or meeting up with old friends they hadn’t seen for weeks. A car jutted out in front of me, nearly scraping my headlight. I slammed on the breaks, pressing my whole body suddenly back into the seat. Jeez. Pay attention people. After taking a few calming breaths, I proceeded to my destination with much stopping and starting, and a few more near misses with both students and cars.
And then it hit me. From the side I was shoved by an enormous bulk of steel. I let out a shriek and then stared blankly at my steering wheel with my mouth gaping wide open. You have got to be kidding me. After a few brief moments of shock, I heard a taping on the window. There was a boy standing there with a face full of remorse. I opened my door and stepped out, still not looking him in the eye. He spoke first. “I am so, so incredibly sorry. I didn’t even see you there. I promise I’ll help pay for the-“
“No, no It’s okay. I wasn’t really,” I glanced up at his face for the first time. “…paying attention.” I continued to stare, eyes wide and mouth agape, studying his features. It was if I had seen them many times before. Or was it only once? The same piercing eyes, the same soft skin and darkened hair, the same everything; only older and more mature perhaps. They reminded me exactly of… My longing gaze was broken by the sound of his voice.
“Gosh I am so, so sorry, I’m kind of new around here, and I didn’t really know where I was going.” He signaled to the side of my car. There was a significant dent in its right back door.
“Oh my,” I gasped as I saw the damage for the first time. “Well maybe we can-“ The first bell rang. We both turned towards the school building, “meet afterschool about it?” Good solution. We both had to get to class.
“Sounds good. I’ll see you later then.” He smiled a crooked smile and then turned back to his car. I stared at him all the way. I tried to be discreet, but I don’t think that was very possible. I couldn’t help recognize those identical eyes... But it couldn’t be, that was impossible. Its been six years, I would have seen him by now if he was still here.
It wasn’t until the second bell rang that I began to think straight again. I was already late to first period- U.S. History. I absolutely hated walking in front of the entire class to find a seat, especially on the first day. I hated standing up in front of people in general. My stomach turned a full summersault inside of me. My pace slowed as I thought about my grand entrance that was only a few steps away. I took a deep breath and laid my hand gently on the doorknob. Come on Aeryn, it will be over in a couple seconds, no big deal. I turned the knob and opened the door rather slowly, as If that would help ease my entrance.
“Well good morning Miss Rivers, nice of you to join us.”
“Morning Mr. Garcia.” I found a seat on the far wall and sat down as nonchalantly as I could. Mr. Garcia was a pleasurable person, he always kept an apple on his desk and a pair of glasses in his shirt pocket- though I had never actually seen him use them. My eyes scanned the classroom for people I knew. Though I tried to ignore it, there was that hope looming in the back of my head that the boy would be in this class too. But as my eyes made a full circle around the room, I discovered no trace of him. One person I did recognize, however, was my neighbor Hunter. Sitting three rows away from me, he sat doodling on a folder, paying no attention to Mr. Garcia’s first-day-of-school talk. We had been neighbors nearly our entire lives, and our parents were old friends. We’d taken baths together, and we