The Beginning of the End by Lorana Hoopes (readict txt) 📕

out from the corner of her mouth and eyes. “I can’t see how one piece of fruit will fill you up until lunch. You need some protein.”

What her mother didn’t know was that one piece of fruit didn’t fill Lily up until lunch, but her best friend Katie always had snacks and because she loved Lily so much, she always shared. That generally held her over until lunch, and on days when it didn’t, she would break down and purchase a muffin from the kitchen during morning break time. Yes, the calories were unfathomable, but she always made sure to run an extra mile as well as attend the gym on those days to balance it out. “I’ll be fine, Mom.”

She set her mug and orange down on the counter and opened the pantry. “Look, I’ll even take a protein bar if it’ll make you feel better.” Lily held the bar up for her mother’s inspection and sighed with relief when her mother threw her hands up and shook her head. She had won the battle. For now.

Before she had a chance to enjoy her meager breakfast, the alarm on her phone began chiming, reminding her it was time to get going. After shoving the bar in her pocket - she’d have to remember to put it in her backpack in the car or she’d have a melted mess when she got around to eating it - she took one last swig of her coffee and gave her mother a quick peck on the cheek. “Be back at five,” she hollered as she made her way out the front door.

Lily slid into the seat of her slightly used Ford Taurus. It was not the car she had wanted for her birthday, but it was better than nothing. She fished the protein bar out of her pocket and tossed it and her bag on the passenger seat. Then she turned up the music and backed out of the driveway. She didn’t live far from the school, but the drive jamming out to her favorite music was the perfect way to start the day. If she had to attend school, she might as well do it right.

Her best friend Katie was waiting for her as she pulled into the parking lot. She generally made it to school before Lily did. In fact, there had been times when Lily wondered if she slept at the building some nights. Katie loved school, and not the walking-the-halls-and-seeing-friends side of school. No, she was the nose-in-the-book-studying-and-learning type of student, so she generally met Lily before she made it to her locker each morning. However, waiting at her parking spot was new.

“Did you hear?” she asked, handing Lily a cup of coffee as she climbed out of the car. Katie was a Starbucks snob and she ordered one nearly every morning, but Lily didn’t mind since coffee was partly how she got her fuel anyway.

She took a sip of the proffered cup, enjoying the warmth that spread down her throat. Though no longer winter, the cold seemed to hang around a lot longer in the state of Washington, and it was still chilly this morning. “Hear what?” Lily didn’t watch the news and Katie knew that. If it didn’t involve Lily directly, it didn’t usually end up on her radar.

“There’s an outbreak in China of some virus.”

“Seriously?” Lily’s ears perked up. Though current events were not her forte, a pandemic was her one morbid curiosity. Ever since the day she’d read The Stand by Stephen King, she’d been fascinated by pandemics. It wasn’t that she wanted one to happen, it was more like she wondered how one could happen, how it would affect the world, and what it would be like to live through one.

“Yeah, seriously.” She flipped her long brown hair over one shoulder as she fell into step beside Lily. “I can’t believe you don’t watch the news. I bet Mr. Higgins makes us study it.”

Mr. Higgins was their science teacher, but he must have taught at a college once because he was the hardest teacher in the school. His papers were the bane of Lily’s - and every other non-studious student’s - existence. “Ugh, I hope he doesn’t make us do a paper on it.” Papers were the quickest way to steal her interest in any subject.

“He probably will. Plus, I bet he makes us research the disease and track the possibility of it reaching over here. Maybe he’ll even let us dig more into viruses and how they work.” Her eyes lit up as she rambled off the options. She was such a nerd that Lily sometimes wondered how they stayed friends, but it was probably because they’d known each other since birth.

Their mothers had met at some prenatal yoga class and become fast friends. As they lived near each other, their friendship had continued even after the girls were born with playdates and get-togethers. Katie and Lily had been destined to be friends no matter what they did. Thankfully, they seemed to balance each other well. Katie was more studious and helped keep Lily academically focused, but she also had a tendency to believe crazy theories, and Lily kept her more grounded in reality.

“Yeah, well, let’s not give him any ideas. I don’t mind talking about it, but I don’t want to research it for the next month. The Spring Fling is coming up, and I have much more important ways to spend my time.” Like slow dancing in Bryce’s arms, she thought to herself, picturing the moment in her mind.

Bryce was a senior and one Lily had set her sights on since Freshman year. She hadn’t thought he would ever notice her, but somehow, miraculously, this year he had. She didn’t know if it was the fact that she finally had a class with him or the fact that she’d ditched her oversized tunics and leggings for skinny jeans and tighter shirts. Whatever the reason, she’d caught his eye, and two