Chatterbox: Pudding's Place

Colors of the Stars

Chapter 1: The Cry of a Raven

Nora
slowly opened her eyes, the bright sunlight giving her lavender eyes a striking
glow. She yawned as she pulled off the covers and checked the time. She hurried
as she shoved a waffle in her dorm’s toaster, brushed her teeth, and pulled on
her clothes, grateful that she had picked them out the night before. She shoved
the textbooks she had scattered about her room into a large tote bag, grabbed
her laptop and her waffle, and hurried out of the door. As she stepped out of
the dorm building, a 90s Buick station wagon came roaring down the street.

“Yo,
Noraaa!” A girl whooped as she pushed her torso farther out of the car’s
window.

“Lunaaaaa!”
Nora hollered back, running to greet the car. She slid open the middle door and
clambered in.

            “You guys are so loud,” Andi said,
rolling their eyes affectionately. Nora shoved her stuff on the seat next to
her, and reached for Luna’s hand, completing a confusing and complex handshake.

            “Nora, what happened?” Luna gasped
scathingly, slapping the back of her hand to her forehead, and pointing
dramatically referring to Nora’s ruffled white hair, the outfit composed of
school branded sweatpants and an oversized hoodie.

“You know how
hot it gets on campus, and how cold it gets out here!” Nora retorted, rummaging
through her bag for a hairbrush. As she began to run it through her hair, Andi
turned a corner, revealing a castle-like school, topiaries of fish, bears,
birds, and stars lining the walkway. This was Polaris University, the ninth ivy
league school, located in Juneau, Alaska. Andi pulled into a parking spot, and
the trio climbed out of the car, and started towards the doors.

Nora
started up a spiral staircase, taking in the majesty of the building. Old brick
walls, the exterior laced with ivy. Windows unveiling a glorious view of
towering mountains, crystal blue-green lakes, and pine trees as far as the eye
could see. As she strode through the corridors, Nora stopped at one of the
windows and promptly thrust it open. She dug through her bag, pulling out a
small jar of nuts and dried berries.

“Edgar!”
She called. At the sound, a ravishing, lustrous raven soared in from the north,
landing on Nora’s outstretched arm. “Good to see you too, you goof!” Nora laughed
as the bird began to peck at the jar. Nora popped open the lid and poured out a
handful of seeds. The bird eagerly pecked at the treats, swallowing berries
with a human like expression of satisfaction.

“Don’t
eat them all at once!” Nora shouted as she made her way down the hall. As she
meandered down the carpeted hall, gazing at the tapestries on the walls: elk
and wolves, forever sewn together in a battle that would never end.

She
turned the corner and entered a restroom. She stepped into a stall and hung up
her bag; and though the day had not yet started, and the bathroom still smelled
of bleach, Nora did not trust the cleanliness enough to place her belongings on
the floor. She began to undress, replacing her school hoodie and sweatpants
with a plum-colored shirt with a heart-shaped keyhole in the front, and a small,
black, pleated skirt, insolated leggings underneath. She threw on a short chain
coat, and swiftly exited the stall. She stepped into her first class of the day
and took her seat.

“For
homework tonight, read pages forty-five to sixty, and answer the questions I
assigned online,” Mr. Fergeson noted. As the students scuffled to leave, Nora rolled
her head back and sighed. Memories washed over her like a tidal wave floods a
town. It had only been a few months since she was sitting on her couch,
anxiously waiting. Since the doorbell had rung, a pristine envelope carrying a
waxy star engraved into it. Since the car wreck that left her mother without a functioning
heart, and her without a sister who won’t wake up, and will never be able to
walk again if she does. She brushed away these thoughts as she slid her laptop
into her bag, grateful that she had no other classes for the next two hours. As
she got up, her phone buzzed in her pocket.

“Hey,
Luna,” Nora greeted as she waved a quick good-bye to her teacher.

“Hey! Wanna
come to the cat café on seventh street? My class got canceled…”

            “Sure! Sounds good,” Nora spoke back,
“I’ll be there in around ten minutes,"