Okay (Trigger Warning:Semi-Intense Themes)

Annora sat at a table in the far right corner of the library, quill in hand. In front of her lay a small notebook that had been given to her by her grandmother a few years ago. Engraved into the brown leather cover were the words,

The world is made up of billions of people, but all it takes is one

She smiled at the words. Her grandmother had always loved to buy anything with a quote on it that she could find and give it to Annora whenever she saw her. She had always believed that in a world that seemed to be turned against her, the only hope she needed was the right selection of inspiring words.

It had hit Annora especially hard when her grandmother had passed away. It seemed like all of the air had escaped from her body and she was slowly being pushed further into an ocean of loneliness. She no longer had anyone to turn to. Yes she was loud and "happy" at school and in public, but once she entered her home the glass shattered into a million jagged pieces and she fell apart.

She would walk into the kitchen to see $100 and a note explaining her parents' latest vacation spot waiting for her and then she would run into the bathroom and sit crosslegged on the floor for hours on end, silvery tears streaming down her face.

She would glance upward towards the silver razor that resided on the counter. Some days she would choose to be strong, but other days the razor won, digging deep into her pale flesh until she could no longer wear shorts in public without being interrogated or asked if she was okay.

What even was okay?

Was okay a state of being or a figment of the imagination?

Was it even possible to be okay?

"Hey!" She heard, suddenly being pulled back into reality. She took one look at the notebook and decided it would be best kept hidden away deep in her bag for now.

Ana hadn't been at Aniva for very long, but she already knew that her favourite place inside of the beautiful building was the library. The reasoning was beyond her, but she had always loved to read. She was mesmerized by the idea that by opening something as small as a book, someone could be transported into a million different worlds and live a plethora of different lives. She could experience love and loss, happiness and anger, hope and hopelessness all in under an hour without leaving her bedroom.

She wandered around the library, exploring the different rows, until her gaze finally rested upon a figure in the far right corner of the room. A girl whom she recognized from her spells class seemed to be upset by something, her usually radiant blue eyes glassed over by salted tears.

"Hey!" She called over quietly. "Are you alright?" She watched as the girl quickly wiped the tears from her eyes and shoved something into her bag. Ana couldnt quite make out what it was, but it seemed like a book.

Annora saw a girl appear out of no-where it seemed. The dim lights of the library danced around her chocolate brown hair, reflecting into her blue eyes. She remembered the girl from some of the classes they apparently shared. What was her name? Andrea? Annabelle? She decided she would ask later. The girl seemed to have said something that had been muffled under the racket of Annora's mind.

"What was that?" Annora asked.

"Are you alright?" The girl repeated. "You looked like you were about to either pass out or burst into tears. Neither of which would have been good."

Annora raised an eyebrow. She didn't think it had been that obvious that she had been in a state of pain moments ago. She thought she had hid it well enough.

"I'm fine," She lied. "Thank you though. I'm Annora."

"I'm fine," The girl had said. She hadn't been fine, Anya was sure of it, but before she could pry further, the girl had already moved onto the next topic of conversation. She stated that her name was Annora, the pain still in her eyes but retreating ever so slightly.

"Nice to meet you, Annora," she smiled. "Меня зовут Анастасия!"

A puzzled look appeared across Annora's face.

"Oh!!" Ana laughed gently. "You're American, right?"

Annora nodded.

"That's okay. I believe Russian is a class offered here. All I said was that my name is Anastasiya. Don't worry, I didn't put a plague upon you and your family or anything crazy like that. Most people call me Ana or Anya, so you could too if you wanted."

"No plague," Annora let out a quiet laugh. "Good to know and nice to meet you, Anya. You can pretty much call me whatever. Annora, Nora, Ann, Anna..." She trailed off.

"Oh and by the way, I am American," She responded to Anya's original question. "I grew up in New York, around the city." Anya seemed to be scanning Annora's profile, making sure to analyze every movement she made.

Annora had never been so nervous or tongue tied around people before she arrived at Aniva. She had no clue what had changed.

"I figured you were from a city," Anya told her. "The way you hold yourself gives off the feeling that you know your way around people. You have street smarts and you know how to use them." She paused for a moment. Street smarts was the correct term, right? She hadn't had much reason to practice her American slang seeing s she lived in Russia.

Saying "Swag" to a Russian would probably be a strange occurrence.

"I do?" She asked nobody in articular. Annora had never thought of herself as having street smarts. She remembered one time in particular when she was walking home from her job at a small boutique a few blocks from where she lived. She had just turned a corner, when a girl who seemed about her age appeared in front of her.

"And where are you going?" The girl had asked, twisting a finger around her bright red hair that complimented her faint freckles perfectly.
"H-home," Annora had responded, suddenly tongue tied. She hadn't felt so tongue tied ever again, until she had gotten to Aniva. Every now and then she was so awkward, and she didn't know why.
"But why?" The red head laughed. "The night has just begun, miss!"

She remembered nothing after that except for the sounds of loud music, and the pain of the headache she had gained the day after when she somehow awoke in her bed.....

An image suddenly appeared in her brain and Annora immediately shut it down, hoping that if she tried hard enough to forget it, it would go away.

"It didn't happen," She said.

"I didn't"

"I'm not"

Anastasiya looked puzzled.

"I-I have to go," Annora could barely catch her breath before she grabbed her bag and dashed out of the library.

"You will never speak of this again. No matter what you think right now, THAT IS NOT WHO YOU ARE. IT IS WRONG AND YOU WILL ALWAYS DO WHAT IS RIGHT" She remembered her mother yelling at her the day after. Of course right when she needed a mom, her mother cared more about reputation then feelings.

"It is not who I am"