abience (n.) || the strong urge to avoid someone or something

out a sigh of frustration.

Although she loved homeschooling, there were some disadvantages. First of all, everything was text book material and old school. Second of all, when she would get stumped on a problem for math, she didn't have a teacher she could ask to help her.

She glared down at the problematic math question, cursing its search for 'x' into the heavens. All too many times she'd been told that she'll use math someday in her life and she eagerly waited for the day to come. She wanted to know exactly what someone would use Calculus for and why. Somehow, people always overcomplicated things, instead of simplifying them.

Another glare and she rolled off her bed to venture downstairs. She decided a short break was best or else she might lose her mind. She'd rose early this morning, split all the wood she'd need for today, and dove right into school, but somehow it was still kicking her butt.

She drank a glass of milk, munched a few cookies, and returned to her bedroom with a few crisp bars that she had made the day before. She was determined to figure out the problem but the more she looked at the instructions and sample questions, the more she became confused.

At last, an hour later, she rolled over and picked up the phone. It was time for last resorts. She doubted her Dad was any good at math and he wouldn't be home until tomorrow evening anyway. She dialed the number and listened to the phone ring.

"Hello?"

"Hi, Mrs. Marson, this is Mikica. I was wondering if I could come by today and study with Avery?"

"Oh, Miki, yes, of course! Do you need me to pick you up? Avery won't be home for another hour."

"Oh, no, that's okay. I'm going to walk, but thank you. See you at three?"

"We'll be waiting."

She hung up with a relieved sigh. With one glance down at her math, she grinned at the thought of finally accomplishing the pesky formula. She had twenty minutes before she had to head out so she finished the other math problems and wrapped up the rest of her english lesson.

She always did better in english than she did in math or science. She was told that it was typical, as guys usually fared better in the latter than they did english.

Eventually, she found herself embarking into the cool afternoon air with her text books clutched to her chest. It was a half hour to get to the Marson's house, they lived on the west end of town, and her mind wandered for most of the walk. She didn't even remember walking most of the stretch until she ended up in front of the Marson's door.

With three gentle knocks, she waited to be let in. She heard a voice shout and then footsteps coming to answer the door. She smiled as she came face to face with a flushed and breathless Avery.

"Uh, hi?" She said, raising an eyebrow in question.

"Hi, come on, I gotta tell ya something." Avery tugged her inside and barely let her get her boots off before they were running up the stairs. Avery slammed the door to her bedroom and spun to face her.

"Is this about a boy?" She asked, watching a shadow move from beneath the door.

Avery laughed, "Oh god, no," The girl shook her head, "Listen. Okay so, today I overhead that our school is going to be doing another Christmas play this year. They want to do the Nutcracker again and I want to be Clara. All the other girls want to be Clara, too, so what do I do?"

"Uh," She mumbled, "Well, be yourself?"

"That's a question."

"Well..."

"Do you even know who Clara is? Or the Nutcracker?"

"Yeah, I do. You wanted us to audition last year."

Avery smiled, "Right. So, how do I get the part?"

"I mean, practice your ballet but just make sure you are yourself."

Avery flopped on her bed groaning, a bit loudly, "Miki, that isn't helping me at all! I really want to be the ballerina this year! Brandon is the Nutcracker Prince!"

"So it is about a boy!" She grinned.

"No, its not!" Avery sputtered, her cheeks reddening.

"It definitely is."

Avery buried her face in a pillow, "Stop it. I'm embarrassed now."

She didn't stop grinning as she sat down next to her friend and patted her shoulder, "There there, you'll live. Speaking of which, can we study now? I really need to get this formula figured out."

"Alright, fine, but pinkie promise you won't tell anyone about this." Avery sat up beside her, sticking out her pinky finger with a face full of seriousness.

She rolled her eyes, locking their pinkies together, "Whatever. Your brother already knows, though."

"What? How do you know?"

"He's right outside the door, I can see his shadow," She said, nodding her head and Avery shot off her bed like a jack rabbit, "Busted boi."

"AXEL!"

She chuckled as Avery threw open the door to see a retreating blonde head. For a moment, she could have sworn Avery would fly after him and threaten him with raw eggs again, but to her surprise Avery simply closed the door and returned to the bed.

"Not gonna chase him?" She asked.

"Nope."

"Why? You hate him eavesdropping."

Avery held up a finger and she listened to a distance shout of pain, then Axel screaming through the house about something to do with a mouse trap and his toe. She shook her head, grinning at her friend, and Avery returned the grin before pulling out her textbook and notes.

Finally, an hour and a half later, she understood how to solve the stubborn math problem. Avery had struggled a little bit with the concept, too, so in a way, they helped each other overcome their weak areas. She always enjoyed study sessions with Avery, even though they could be interrupted by her younger sibling, but she loved indulging herself in the family atmosphere.

She thanked Avery for another great study session, and after a few more minutes of debate over the Nutcracker play, she headed towards the door.

"Miki, you girls are done?" Mrs. Marson spoke from the kitchen as she passed.

"Yes, I was just heading home."

Mrs. Marson dried her hands on her apron, "Oh child, its dark out there. Let my husband drive you home. Stay right here."

She didn't argue, because she knew she wouldn't win, and she found herself seated in the passenger seat with Mr. Marson driving the pickup. It was silent as Mr. Marson was a very quiet man and they arrived at her house in no time.

"Thank you, Mr. Marson," She said as she hopped out, "I could have walked but a ride is nice every once and a while."

"No problem, Mikica, take care." Mr. Marson replied.

She padded through the snow and stepped up onto her front porch. She paused as Mr. Marson turned his pickup around, making sure he was okay to get out of her unplowed driveway, and then she watched the tail lights retreat into the dark. She found the reflection of red on the snow quite interesting.

The night was eerily silent around her. Usually, she'd savor the sweet silence and gaze over the glowing snow beneath the moon, but the silence was disrupted when a wolf's howl conquered it. She instantly froze, her heart beat accelerating in her chest. The howl sounded way closer than it was yesterday, much more sinister, and suddenly her skin was ice itself as she shook in fear.

Her numb fingers fumbled to open the front door, it popped open but the blanket of snow prevented it from opening any further and she couldn't squeeze through the little opening. She blindly kicked the snow away from the bottom of the door but grew still when she heard noise coming from within the forest.

Despite her fear, she was curious for half a second, and she glanced back over her shoulder. Her eyes surveyed the land, the shadows dancing behind the trees in taunt of her fear, the noise of paws dashing through the snow growing closer.

Without a second thought, she ripped open the door and rushed inside. She might have slammed the door a lot harder than she needed to but it didn't matter. She quickly flicked the lock and then rushed to the window to peek out from behind the curtain.

Maybe it was her tired mind playing tricks on her, or maybe it was her fear forming hallucinations, but she swore that she saw them. Out there in the dark, racing across the snowy land, and they were very close to her house. Yet, more than one wolf.. several of them.

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