Ambiance of Gloom {open

[Laurel Sinclair]

Something about that day was just... off. It was one of those days- for Laurel, at least- when you woke up and new from the very first moment your eyes fluttered open that the day ahead was just not going to be a good one. Now, Laurel was never one to take that idea very lightly; if anything, on days such as this one she usually tried extra hard to make the most out of each breath she took. But on this particular day, she could barely even motivate herself to do even that. Perhaps it was the weather; dull gray clouds blanketed the sky, and though they appeared to be threatening to rain on everyone, they held back, leaving a moist, uncomfortable, humid atmosphere smothering them. The weather certainly did appear to have a monotonous air about it. Or maybe it was the fact that it was just another normal, boring day. While that was an excuse often used, it was probably the one that was most correct; just another boring Tuesday. Nothing to do but work later on that night, and maybe pick up groceries later. She had already gone to her classes for the day, as all of her classes were in the early morning, leaving the rest of her day to be spent as she pleased. Of course, it wasn't as if Laurel was normally a busy person; on the contrary, it was a rare sight to see much of anything on the calendar that hung in the kitchen of her house, the one with different kittens for each month. The only time the tip of a pen ever touched the surface was to cross out days as they went by, making it a rather depressing object in her home, spare the kittens. Yet Laurel could never bring herself to take it down. Just this morning she had stared at it for a good thirty seconds before Poppy broke her train of thought to complain about the fact that she couldn't find her favorite pair of jeans. Unlike Laurel, it seemed as though Poppy always had some social event to attend. One night it was a party, the next a football game, the next a concert. Laurel often found herself realizing that her younger sister was doing more than she had in her entire high school career, and Poppy was only a freshman.

Laurel resisted a sigh from escaping her lips, reaching up to her long brown hair and pulling it up in a ponytail, locking it in place with a blue hairband. She wasn't normally the type of person who would go out walking, but a lot had changed over the past few months, so why not change her activities as well? It was certainly better than staying at home watching the news or studying for an exam that was still a good two weeks away. Besides, she had been told by someone- who the informer was, Laurel could not be sure- that exercise was the best way to deal with mental stress and depression. And while Laurel was not all that stressed or even depressed as she had been a few months ago, she still felt underlying melancholy feelings, and what better way to shake them off than to go out for a walk? Well, truth be told Laurel could think of hundreds of different ways, but that wasn't important.

The cool autumn air nipped at the back of her neck, but after the summer heat she welcomed the change in temperature. She had done quite a bit of hiking when she had been in Georgia, but ever since she had returned she had neglected to return to the pastime, and was now sad to say that she was a bit out of shape. Time would fix that. The padding of her shoes meeting asphalt was a steady tempo, and she subconsciously matched the beats up with the music that was playing through the earphones. She had lost her music player, not an uncommon occurrence, so she was borrowing her brother August's instead. The unfamiliar music wasn't much to her taste, she had to admit, but it was better than silence. Anything was better than silence, Laurel had found. Unfortunately, silence made it much easier to pay attention to what was around you; music, on the other hand, made it a bit of a challenge, especially for an air-headed woman such as herself. This resulted in what was perhaps the most cliche way of meeting someone: literally bumping into a person. Her short stature and light build were no help, and instead of quickly regaining her balance like any normal person would, Laurel wound up on the hard asphalt, with her elbow scraped and bleeding slightly. Slightly disgruntled, Laurel couldn't help but think about how the embarrassment the was gained from such an occurrence was so undermined in books. Her face betraying how mortified she was at such a mere accident, she quickly apologized to the victim of her obliviousness, "I'm so sorry, I wasn't paying attention!" she gasped.

Notes: I wrote this at 1 in the morning, apologies for any mistakes >.<
Tags: Open!
Words: 865
Outfit: Click!

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