Chapter Text
“Noel! Get up for school you’re going to be late!”
Noel hesitantly rolled onto the left side of his bed to check his phone. 6:48AM. He wasn’t going to be late, she always did this. Noel’s mother, Janice, always woke him up earlier than he needed to. Any time he asked for a lie in she would always say “No! I have to get up at 5, be glad I don’t wake you up then!” Every single time.
He slowly dragged himself off of the bed as he was too lazy to get up. He ended up laying on the floor for a solid 6 minutes before he decided he should probably get ready for school.
A feeling in Noel’s stomach told him that today was going to be a good day. He didn’t know why. Why would anyone have a good day in Saskatchewan? It’s almost always raining.
He sat himself in front of his vanity mirror before starting with his daily skincare, a habit he never let anyone other than a few people know about. If anyone ever asked him how his skin stayed so clear he’d always reply “Oh, just genes!” or “Just lucky, I guess!” If anyone other than his friends knew about it he’d definitely get bullied for being a ‘gay boy’. Sure, he’s definitely gay! But in a small town you always have to dial it back. Especially in Uranium.
As soon as he finished his skincare, he started to get changed into his school uniform. The tag of the shirt always scratched at his neck which definitely annoyed him more than anything. He’d cut it off but the sharp edges always scraped at his neck. If the tag on the shirt wasn’t enough, his sweater was also a pain. It wasn’t scratchy, it was itchy.
Noel finished getting ready and went down for breakfast.
“Morning love! Sleep well?” His mother asked, sipping on a cup of coffee.
“Yeah but I’d be able to sleep better if you didn’t wake me up so early every morning.”
“Aye, you should be grateful! Not everyone gets woken up by their loving mother. Anyway, I’m off to work. I’ll be home by 5 alright love? Have a nice day!”
She left as she placed down her empty coffee cup and tied her hair up. Noel contemplated just going back to bed but even he knew that his attendance couldn’t afford that. He packed himself a small lunch before stuffing it into his bag and leaving the house.
He waited outside his house for another 6 minutes before the bus arrived. He boarded and sat down in his usual seat, the second to last row on the left window seat. No one sat next to him so he used up the empty seat by placing his bag on it. He reached into his coat pocked and pulled out his phone before playing music in his headphones. He ended up using all his skips and landed on a song he absolutely despised. Beautiful by Christina Aguilera. He scoffed and shoved the phone into his pocket before looking out of the window and surveying the raindrops sliding down the glass. He sighed. Why did it feel like today was going to be a good day? He has absolutely no idea but he’d be happy with getting over 3 marks on a math quiz. Today was going to be a long day.