The clouds were thick and heavy in the sky as well as a disgusting gray color. It was a depressing sight and made her feel worse as she stumbled out of a rundown house. Hair astray, trembling hands smoothed down her wrinkled uniform skirt and her blouse which was missing the two top buttons. Glancing back at the house, she stumbled forward when she noticed a figure watching her through the dirty glass. Turning back around, she shook her head as if to erase the image from her mind.

She started walking forward until she reached the path that led to the main street. Flinching when something hit her forehead, she looked up and blinked as another rain droplet splashed against her cheek. A moment later it started pouring. It was almost as if a switch had been flicked but it didn't matter to her. She kept up her unusually slow pace, stumbling every few steps as she struggled to ignore her splitting headache that only got worse when flecks on sunlight slipped through the heavy, almost taunting grey cloud.

Rushing inside the bus shelter once she came across it, she pressed her back against the glass, trying to avoid getting any more rain on her. Already, she was soaked and her school uniform was plastered to her thin form. Her hair was sticking to her cheeks and neck, the water dripping off the strands. Swallowing as she felt tears coming on, she clamped her eyes shut and shook her head violently. No! she screamed in her head, taking a shaky breath as she opened her eyes a few moments later.

She had just found some change when the bus finally pulled up. Averting her gaze, she ignored the questionable gaze of the bus driver and the other riders. Slinking into the back, she slid into the second seat and fixed her gaze out the window. When she saw her street coming up, she pulled the rope to signal to the bus driver that her stop was coming up. Quickly, she hurried off the bus and once again ignored the stairs, grateful her house was on the same block as the bus stop.

"Aya is that you?"

Wincing as she shut the door quietly behind her, she had tried desperately to enter the house without waking her mother but being that the woman practically lived on the couch with a bottle always in her hand, it was impossible to do. "Hey mom. Sorry I got in late."
The only response she received was a snore and she knew her mother had fallen back to sleep.
Kneeling over the sleeping woman, she gathered up the bottles and threw them in the garbage. Casting one last glance at her mother, she headed up the stairs and into the bathroom, shutting the door behind her. Quick to strip herself of her uniform, she kicked it in the corner and happened to catch a look of herself in the mirror as she unhooked her bra, one of the straps broken and dangling uselessly over her shoulder.

The sight staring back at her was pathetic. Her hair was a wet, matted mess and her skin a sickly pale color. The mascara she wore which was the only makeup she used was smudged and staining her cheeks. It was no wonder everyone on the bus had stared at her like she had two heads or something. Opening the cabinet, she slammed it open which blocked any more sight of her reflection.

She turned the shower on and had the water nearly scalding hot. As she climbed in and it hit her body, she sighed in relief and didn't care about any pain it caused. Soon, she felt her shoulders shaking as she desperately tried to push back the sobs that were threatening to break through. Once the dam broke she was afraid she wouldn't be able to put it back together and stop the water works.

When she finally stepped out of the shower, her skin was a bright red and felt raw. She had scrubbed herself until her skin started to burn and she would've continued if she had a higher tolerance for pain. Stepping out of the bathroom, she snatched her school uniform from off the floor and padded down the hall, straight into her bedroom. Opening the door she threw the clothes into her garbage and sat on the edge of her bed, hand clutching the towel to her chest.

She never expected a night out with her friend would end up the way it did. She couldn't recall all of the night but what she could remember made her chest tighten and a sob escape through her lips. Reaching for a comb off her nightstand, she brushed the tangles out of her hair as thoughts of the recent night came at her full force.

"Aya?"

Jerking in surprise when her mother shouted from downstairs, she stood up and swallowed before speaking. "I'll be there in a minute mom."

"I'm hungry, Aya!"

"I know mom!" she called back, stifling a sob as she fall back onto her bed. Burying her face in her hands, she took a shaky breath and stood up again, pulling off the towel as she slowly got dressed. On her way out of her room she paused at her trash can and let out a sudden scream, taking the thing and throwing it at the wall.

"Aya?"

"I'm coming!"

Running a hand through her hair, she headed downstairs and barely gave her mother a glance before heading into the kitchen to start breakfast. Her movements were shaky and clumsy because making breakfast was the last thing she wanted to do. All she wanted to do was go back up to her room, curl up in her bed, and pretend that night never happened. She wanted to be the same old Aya again.

The way she was acting was so unlike herself. Her mother, as she shoveled the food in her mouth and complained about it being to burnt, didn't seem to notice at all but she never did.