Chapter 1 - Mondays.

Tranquility. Serenity. Repose. Nothing but positivity existed as Nicole swam through her mind. Only the loudest of sounds could rouse her from her untroubled state of puppies and lasagna-

‘NICOLE HAMILTON-CAMPBELL!!!!!! IF I COME UP THERE AND YOU'RE STILL TUCKED IN BED I SWEAR I WILLTAKE AWAY YOUR DUVET!!!!!!!!!!’

The ‘loudest of sounds’ being her mum’s incessant hounding. The aggravated teenager, in an attempt to get up, rolled over, and then rolled over again, until-

THUD!

Her front side met the rough texture of the old, white-stained-creme rug.

‘ARGH!!' she cried. Well, at least she's out of bed now. After debating whether it would be time-efficient to crawl to the bathroom, Nicole got up and plodded her way through her morning routine. 

She brushed her teeth, washed her face, pulled on her wretched school uniform; the restricting shirt, unstylish skirt, and don’t even get her started about the blazer! It's unnecessary shoulder pads made her look like a square! No wonder she was a laughingstock at school. Self-conscious now, she glanced at the time and her eyes widened.

'Eight o'clock already???'

She practically leapt down the stairs into her kitchen where her dad was sitting. Her mum had already left the house for work, per usual, and had left it to her dad to make sure she got to school on time. However, eyes shut, head on the table and mouth open, Dad was clearly fast asleep, dreaming of hot dogs and the time he still had a hairline.

There's where Nicole got her sloth demeanour from.

Nicole felt like banging a pan in front of his face, but instead opted for the calmer option:

‘Daddd??? Dad!'

With a snort, he shot up, almost dazing himself, and blinked at her stupidly.

‘Hm?…. Ah yes, time for school, isn't it? Well, off you pop, have a good day, sweetheart.’

And with that and a hug, she was off, into the cold, gloomy streets, to start another week of her bland life.

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Mondays. Arguably the worst day of the week. Everyone misses those 48 hours of carefree: getting up whenever you want, lounging in pyjamas, going out to eat, not having a care in the world about assignments or grades. Then this state of leisure all comes crashing down Sunday night when you’re rushing all over the place, doing last-minute laundry, packing lunches, and doing the assignments you put aside for six whole days. All to end up back in your uncomfortable uniform at eight in the morning, eating sad sandwiches and cardboard cookies, and sitting detentions for not completing the assignment you fell asleep while doing last night at 11 pm.

However, Nicole didn't get how all the negativity is focused towards Monday. It's just as bad as any other school day. And it's not it’s fault we decided it'll be the first day after the work-shy weekend. Say, who even came up with weekends and weekdays? Was it just one man? Or a collection of people? How long did it take for everyone to follow this schedule? Did anyone disagree with it-

CRASH!

‘Oi! Watch where you're going, silly cow!’

Nicole snapped back to reality, to be met with a hundred eyes on her in the school courtyard, giggling maliciously at her clumsiness. Paralysed with embarrassment, Nicole felt her face heat up, and her cheeks change from their natural pink to a deep crimson. Her lips trembled, and tears welled in her eyes. Thank god for the scrawny boy jogging towards her.

“Nicki- I’ve- been- looking- everywhere- for- you-“ he huffed, “I- have- something- really- importa- a-are you okay?”

It was at that moment Ollie looked around and realised the situation he ran into. Thinking quickly, he dragged the hyperventilating girl into the nearest corridor and into the music room.

The music room. It was like a second home to Nicki. It was the only place in school where she felt safe. The room itself was like paradise; gorgeous guitars lined the walls, their polished surfaces gleaming invitingly in the dim light from the closed blinds. Ollie sat Nicki down on a chair and went to take a seat at his drummer's stool. They sat in silence for a minute, the only sound being Nicki’s soft sniffling. Then, she picked up a guitar; her favourite guitar, a cherry-red Gibson SG, with a floating bridge. It had a chip on its headstock and scratches all over the pickguard. Nicki thought it was the most beautiful thing in existence. It's slender, light body, smooth fretboard, and harsh humbuckers were to die for in her opinion. At that moment, her brain turned off. All her worries melted away as her hands met the strings of the guitar. It was as natural as breathing to her. Her left and right hands worked in sync, coordinating to create something heavenly and harmonious. She made a piece of wood and metal yell in anger, cry in pain, whisper lustfully. The effect on Ollie was subconscious. Like a wind-up toy, he burst into striking snares, keen kick drums and sizzling cymbals. The upbeat punches vitalised the music, collaborating with the squeals from Nicki's guitar to construct a captivating cacophony.

They couldn't play for long, however, because, before they knew it, they were five minutes late to their first lesson of the week. 

'Ollie,' Nicole started, while sluggishly strolling to their classrooms, 'What were you going to tell me earlier that was " really important "?' 

'OHHH YEAHHHHH!' he bellowed, eliciting a shhh from the girl; if the teachers find them truanting from lessons, they'll get detentions.

'Sorry! Ohhh yeahhhhh... I bumped into Ms. Stanley earlier, and you'll never guess what- there's gonna be a battle of the bands!!'

'Really??' Nicole commented in amusement.

'Yes! A bunch of schools across the city are partaking in it! She asked me if we want her to sign us up, and I said yes, of course-'

'You WHAT!?!?' It was Nicole's turn to shout now. 

'Shh-'

'Don't shush me! Why the fuck would you agree to that??? We're not even a band! Where's our singer?? Where's our bassist?? Oh, that's right, we don't have one!'

'We can find one!' He reassured. 'There's lots of hidden gems in this school.'

'Despite Ollie's endeavours soothing Nicole's worries, she was adamant about the fact they weren't ready to start a band. 'And who would want to be in a band with our lame-arses?' 

'Ummm... someone really desperate?...'

Nicole just sighed and walked a bit faster. Soon, they were outside Ollie's Computer Science classroom.

'Well, we better keep our eyes open for potential members. Talk to you later. And I still can't believe you picked this stupid subject.'

'Not as stupid as history!!' He retorted while stepping through the door.

And with that, Nicole suddenly had a new thing to worry about in her bland life.