WHERE BOREDOM LIES

Swish. Swish.

Michelle's hair was a morning bramble that the brush could not seem to get through. "Ouch!"

"What's wrong?" her mother inquired.

"Is this a tangle from Hell, or what? I can not believe I have not shaved it all off yet. Having no hair means no more issues." It looked like Shannon was about to throw the brush out of her hand as she sulked.

"Hang in there. First, let us see if we can come up with an alternative solution." It was the gentle care of Kathy's hands that helped her daughter's dreadlocks form. After spritzing some water on it, we will try again.

Michelle slammed her eyes shut and clung to the mahogany dresser with a resolved inhale.

In spite of her best efforts, she could not bring herself to let out a whimper. "Finished? No, not yet."

"This is getting close… and then we are done!"

Michelle's smooth hair, which had seemed impossible just moments earlier, was now in the palm of her hand. "The most amazing of all the amazing, a miracle to behold. Mom, thank you."

"If you used the conditioner, I bought you, we wouldn't have to go through this every morning."

Shannon gave a sigh and rolled her eyes. "My hair becomes greasy as a result. I am starting to resemble the Ring girl." As her daughter's frustration grew, Marie matched it. "You have gone over the top now. To avoid ripping out your hair, this is a much better option. That is a no-brainer, is not it?"

"Nothing about this is acceptable to me! I would rather bear the pain than avoid it. Because of my pale skin, it looks as though I have just crawled out of a graveyard. Adding to the image is unnecessary."

A snort of laughter erupted as maternal arms encircled her. "You are not a dead body. Do you know why you are so beautiful?"

Kathy gently kissed her on the top of the head. Because "we care about you and God cares about you.""

Michelle's grin was subdued. "Yeah. I have to go. Goodbye, Mom."

When the warmth of her daughter's embrace faded from Marie's arms, she felt a void. It took all she had to keep a fake smile on her face, in spite of how miserable she was feeling.

With her backpack in tow, Shannon waved from the passenger seat of her blue Hyundai as she sped away down their driveway.

The pace was a bit much for Kathy's liking. When she remembered for the tenth time that this was her daughter's last year of school, her heart ached. Her rapid maturation was baffling to her.

Singing along to her morning playlist, Shannon navigated the twisting curves of the country roads with the same level of volume as she always did.

After pressing the window-rolling button, she slid her hand out to check the air. The day was looking warm.

It is not as if going outside would be necessary anyway. For the most part, it was chilly and cloudy, with only a brief respite from the rain when the clouds parted.

She slowed to 25 mph, the outlanders' "common sense" speed limit, and caught a glimpse of sleepy Myrtle Shores. This location has never seen any action. Same faces waved to one another, same shops opened their doors, same restaurants prepared the same meals as they had for the past fifty years, with no alterations to the menu.

Rural living was created to serve as an incubator for new life and an environment conducive to the elderly. Residents had been exposed to the dangers of the outside world and had retreated to their safe havens. What is the point of moving to a new location if you have everything you need at home? Why would not you marry your high school sweetheart, work in the shop his parents owned, and produce little brainwashed hellions to keep the cycle running?? It all makes sense now.

Shannon arrived at the town's lone traffic light, which was flickering intermittently due to the rain. She waited for the light to turn green despite the fact that no other cars were present, as if this would be the day it worked.

After what seemed like an eternity at a stop sign, her car finally made it into the school parking lot and parked itself in the only spot that belonged to her.

Since she was a senior, she had earned a number of privileges, including the ability to cut in line for lunch, to leave campus unaccompanied, and to designate her own parking space, which she embellished with an enormous glittery treble clef.

To the untrained eye, such details may have appeared insignificant, but to her, they represented an important milestone in her development as an adult. She had every intention of going to college, and she had no doubt about it.

Michelle shuddered when a hand slammed on her window. Her gaze was drawn to the movement of a curl of blonde hair outside her vehicle.

She put the car in park and sneered at her friend through the car door as she waited for her to get out of the vehicle.

She and Alice walked to lockers together, with Iris chatting about the gasps of disbelief she had received that day. There is a new guy in town, is not there? Despite Michelle's valiant efforts, she could not stop pressing the locker door open.

"What is going on? It is hard to imagine a sick parent bringing their sick child to this town voluntarily."

To examine the jammed lock, she yanked the metal door open and twisted the combination under Alice's tutelage. "Surely this is not a brand-new student! There is a new teacher in town, and word on the street is that he is sexy."

"Sexy?" Michelle inquired as she neatly arranged her novel collection in her obstinate locker.

Iris's face lit up with a wide grin. "Sexy, freaking sexy and hot. As of yet, I have not seen him, but that is what everyone's talking about."

Michelle retrieved her purse and slung it over her shoulder with a final slam of the unpleasant door. "When I see it, I will believe it! I think this is a hoax."

For orientation, the two girls walked together to the gym, exchanging tales of their summer vacations. While Iris was out working on the ranch, Michelle was stuck in her room writing scholarship essays. Her departure from this town would necessitate the help of an alumnus who would be kind to her. Her parents could never have saved enough money to send her to a reputable university.

She was about to respond to Iris's story when she was hit in the back and nearly fell over. "Watch it, freak!"

Michelle bent down to pick up her purse and wiped the dust from her skirt as she rubbed her bruised shoulder.

"The only way to deal with them is to ignore them".

There, she led her enraged friend to the gym. Her eyes scanned the crowd, recognizing every single one of the students, most of whom she had known since kindergarten, with the exception of the freshmen.

A voice interrupted the murmur of no more than 400 teenagers. "Students, welcome back to another school year. We extend a warm welcome to our newest members".

"If you have noticed, this school year we have a new teacher on staff. Mr. Raymond has retired as a result of ill health, and I know his absence will be felt, but I want you to band together and make our newest member feel at home. Mr. Xavier, we are so happy to have you here!"

In a whisper, Alice tapped Michelle on the elbow with her hand. "You need to see him. This time, the rumors are accurate."