[center][img]https://i.imgur.com/5ogDIiq.png[/img]

[img]https://i.imgur.com/N7PgM8u.gif[/img][img]https://i.imgur.com/iry5bFW.gif[/img]

[img]https://i.imgur.com/rCor60K.png?1[/img][/center]
[indent][color=e7c7ba]A fresh start. 

Could you even call it that when it was your second time doing so? Today’s start felt about as fresh as day old bread. Tough, sharp, hard to swallow. Liberty was meant to be a fresh start, and look how [i]that[/i] turned out. Niki’s thoughts ran a mile a minute as they blow-dried out their caramel blond locks. The ghastly person staring back at them in the mirror looked about as confident as they felt — not at all. Nik had barely slept a wink last night, their head spinning about what their first day at Rosefell would be like.

Would their fellow Liberty classmates remember them? Would they stare? Would they ask prying questions? Were there rumors about why they disappeared half way through last spring semester? How could this be a fresh start when Niki had [i]no idea[/i] what stories had been flooding the halls of Liberty at the end of sophomore year, stories that might bleed into the locker rooms of Rosefell as well. But maybe they were overthinking this, it was more likely that nobody but his sister and two best friends even noticed that they were ever gone.

A dash of concealer under the eyes was an attempt to cover up both the dark circles and the anxiety that put them there. Best not to show up to their first day of school looking like a drug addict. Hell, that might be one of the rumors. Niki wore the lightest of make-up, just enough to cover their many flaws, but not enough to look too flashy… or too feminine. That could be saved for instagram, after school. Despite Emily’s best efforts to embolden her bestie, Nik was still cautious about being their true self in the public eye. That felt like being naked… embarrassing, and dangerous.

That said, Niki decided to get a little daring, adding a coat of mascara to their eyelashes. It was hard to wallow in self-doubt and criticism when [url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SmbmeOgWsqE&ab_channel=LizzoMusic]Lizzo[/url] was singing at them to get ready to walk their fine ass out the door. Maybe after getting dressed in the [url=https://imgur.com/Fsm3DWL]outfit[/url] they bought on a recent shopping trip with Emi, Niki could try “feelin' good as hell”. Speaking of that feeling, there was someone recently that was helping them get close to that.

[i]Wade Quinn.[/i]

Just the thought of their secret, shaggy brown-haired lover was enough to send a rush of dopamine through their system. A warm pulse tinged their cheeks pink in a blush as they bit their lip. Looking up at their reflection, for the first time this morning, Niki Zabrecky smiled. For the first time this morning, they felt pretty. Pretty enough to snap an outfit of the day selfie and open up their DMs with Wade, sending the picture along with a caption.

[quote]To: [color=sienna][b]@FreeWadey[/b][/color]
[color=E9967A][b]I hope you have a good first day! ❤[/b][/color][/quote]
With that message sent and the dopamine-infused confidence boost that followed, Niki made their way downstairs where the aromas of first-day-of-school breakfast greeted them. Their mother, Anna, had made chocolate chip pancakes — a particular favorite of Niki’s, especially with some sliced bananas on top. Niki ate mostly in silence until Alina arrived in the kitchen. They would be relying on their sister for rides to school, since hospitalization had gotten in the way of their driving lessons last year. [color=E9967A][b]“Mornin’, Ali. I’m ready whenever you are.”[/b][/color] [/color][/indent]