gracelyn ·· if you can't sleep ...

[aspen magnolia martinelli]

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it was near two in the morning, and yet aspen martinelli was nowhere close to sleeping. she was dressed in gray sweats that spelled bouscher in varsity letters from top to bottom of one of her pant legs, a white spaghetti strap, and a tight orange jacket that was only zipped halfway up. as she walked, her arms stayed crossed, but she wasn't cold. she had probably made three laps around the academy's campus by now in her purple knitted house slippers, but she wasn't tired at all. fuck, fuck, fuck, she thought as she saw the time on the clock tower that sat in the center of the north quad. at eight in the morning the next day, aspen had a japanese ii class that she really couldn't miss. they were learning kanji, and the whole idea of that really just didn't float aspen's boat. when it came to japanese in general, aspen found it rather difficult to follow. which was why she was ready to tear her hair out – she couldn't afford going to japanese without being ready to learn. that is, if she wanted to pass the class.

she sighed, and walked up to the lucella fountain. aspen dug into her sweats pockets to check for any coins. "balls," she expressed her frustration to no one out loud when she came to the conclusion her pockets were empty. aspen began to pace around the fountain, hands still in her pockets. aspen began to whistle the tune to party in da club by fifty cent, spinning around in circles every now and then. she was tempted to dive into the lucella fountain, but knew that that would only wake her up. it was all too tempting for aspen to tear of her clothes and jump into the lucella fountain.

however, for now she resisted. aspen had all night to perform such a feat, that is if she stayed awake. she didn't want to postpone her sleepiness by jumping into a probably freezing-cold fountain of water. she sat on the stoop around the fountain, resting her elbows on her knees and her chin in her palms. if only she had brought with her something to smoke. she had never lit up at the fountain before – mostly because she had never had the perfect opportunity to – and would have liked to add it to her mental list of accomplishments. she inhaled, and then let out a large sigh, blowing a raspberry to the darkness. this sucked. maybe she would have to jump in the lucella fountain to stay up all night, grab a coffee from the digital bean once it opened, and be wired on caffeine for her japanese class.

[gracelyn shae grammar]

nearly screaming in frustration but quickly remembering where she was and that her roommates would not be too happy if she awoke them by screaming as loud as she could at two in the morning, gracie rolled out of bed and sighed. the sixteen-year-old slammed her bare feet into her warm, soft uggs as she grabbed her iphone and her keep-a-breast lanyard. she slipped the iphone into her right boot and slung the lanyard around her neck, hearing the satisfying jingle of her dorm room keys. it was so frustrating being up at two am, completely awake. it wasn't as if it was any special night, either. it was a boring tuesday - well, wednesday now - morning, and she could hardly stand the fact that she couldn't sleep. to top it off, she had a huge exam in poems and prose at eight am, and exams were never something that came easy to gracie.

sighing as she peeled out of the building to her dorm room, gracie instinctively headed toward the fountain. since arriving at bouscher, insomnia had been her best frenemy. while it had robbed her of many good grades and countless hours of sleep, it allowed her time to think. she was able to reflect on the amazing experience she was receiving here at bouscher. plus, it had given her plenty of time to come up with new song ideas, and she had written about six songs in these wee hours of the morning. maybe she could think up a really good one now that she could use for the essay portion of her exam in poems and prose.

reaching the fountain, gracie could immediately tell that something was off. the fountain had an interesting smell to it. like some girl's perfume. gracie wrinkled up her nose as she began to slowly circle the fountain, looking for the person who had intruded on her sacred hiding place. nearly giggling to herself as these thoughts entered her head, gracie realized how stupid she was being. obviously this wasn't her spot. it was a campus place, a public area for all the students to go to. it was probably just some other girl that couldn't sleep. gracie could understand that. the least she could do was be nice to the girl. after all, being unable to sleep and being freaked out on all in the same night would probably be too much to handle. gracie was nearly certain she herself would never be able to handle that.

nearing the quarter mark of her trek around the fountain, gracie glanced down at herself. in her blue sport bra, cow-print pajama pants, and uggs she was definitely not a sight for sore eyes. adding to that, she could feel the tangles her hair must have been in and was nearly positive her makeup was running down her face. gracie grimaced and hoped this girl wouldn't look so great, either. the hope quickly faded when she saw the girl. even in her bouscher sweatpants, the girl clearly had put much more time into making herself look presentable than gracie had afforded. gracie grimaced, but still continued heading in the girl's direction. "hey!" she said, hoping the girl had seen her and gracie hadn't scared her. "can't sleep either?" she asked sweetly.

OUTFIT

[aspen magnolia martinelli]

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if you're not bored, you're boring! aspen repeated to herself, trying to figure out how she could occupy her time until her japanese class. she pulled out her cell phone, staring at the unlock? screen as she considered whether or not she should call kenan, or jane. "fuuuck," she whimpered, shoving her phone back into her sweatpants pocket. she decided she would have to try making a night without them, after all kenan was such a little fart when he was tired. he bitched and moaned more than aspen did when she was pms-ing. aspen laid back, letting the tips of her curly brown hair touch the fountain water. maybe she would be able to fall asleep here. surely, if she did, she would wake up once the sun rose. after a few moments of laying there, aspen sat up again. god, she was such a drag. she couldn't even keep still for more than two minutes. this was why aspen hated taking baths; she found them quite the opposite of relaxing, but rather irritating with how long you had to sit. with music playing, her bong, or kenan in the tub, baths were okay. but alone in the silence with only her tits and bubbles to play with… aspen just couldn't handle that kind of thing.

aspen looked up at the stars, admiring them sparkle in the sky. now, this was something aspen could do. she pretended like she knew certain constellations, guessing that a few that she saw in one spot were the big dipper and some others were the little dipper. aspen had never taken astronomy before, but figured those were easy enough to spot out. she squinted her eyes, trying to look out for the north star. hey, an unfamiliar voice said. aspen quickly turned her head, surprised to see someone walking around campus at this time of night. honestly, aspen was just happy that the person who approached her was a girl rather than some kind of rapist. "oh, hey," she greeted the stranger with a wide smile, wondering if she looked tired. "yeah, it's shitty," she answered the girl's question. "i have japanese in the morning, and that class kills me. i think i'm going to stay up for the rest of the night and just grab a cup of joe at the digital bean before class." aspen took this time to look at the girl, dressed in a blue sports bra and mismatching it with cow-print pajama pants. god, aspen liked this girl already. she tended not to judge people based on how they dressed, but she liked how this girl rolled. "i like your pajamas," she commented. "sorry if that sounds weird, or something. they're totally classy, though."

aspen pat the spot next to her on the stoop and adjusted her body so she was facing the stranger's direction, sitting like an indian. she tried making conversation. "the campus is so weird on school nights. there's barely anyone around and it's so dull. it's weird not seeing anyone around, you know?"

[gracelyn shae grammar]

the girl smiled sweetly as gracie approached. she commented that being unable to sleep was shitty before complimenting gracie's pajamas and patting the seat next to her. gracie sat down and turned to face the girl, one ugg boot tucked comfortably under her butt, the other - the one with her phone in it - flat on the cement. gracie smiled as the girl talked about how weird it was to not see anyone around. she giggled, "i've gotten used to it. for some reason, i've been hit with this major bout of insomnia since i came to bouscher. by the way, i'm gracelyn grammar, but everyone calls me gracie. i'm a first year music major. what about you?" she smiled, letting her introduction ease itself into the conversation. at two 'o clock in the morning the worst thing possible - both for herself and this other girl - would be to be too hyper or eager. both their heads would be screaming in pain and frustration within twenty five minutes. typically gracie was as bubbly as a blonde, but right now she was tired. all she wanted to do was climb into bed and sleep, but she knew sleep would elude her right now, as it had been doing for the past three hours, so making friends was a much better choice.

taking her hand, gracie splashed the surprisingly chilly water in the fountain. for some reason, she had made the assumption that all water on ehu island except the water in the cafeteria was always and forever warm. it just seemed natural from the warm air. if she had even thought of going outside in a sport bra back in new york she would have died of hypothermia. the weather in new york just wasn't something you messed around with. but it was different here. here it was consistently sunny and warm and wonderful. here it never dropped below seventy. even in the coldest days of january, gracie was walking around in jeans, flip flops, and a t-shirt. gracie loved this weather, and it was for that reason that the cold water in the fountain had surprised her so much. but it was a good kind of surprise. dipping the rest of her hand in, gracie surfaced with three quarters, four nickels and a penny. she placed the four nickels next to the girl, beckoning for her to join. she stood up with her back facing the fountain and tossed the coins one by one back into the fountain, making wishes with each coin.

i wish for great friends. i wish for fun times. i wish for a marvelous boyfriend someday soon. i wish to live life to the fullest. the penny that she threw last clinked to the bottom of the fountain, and gracie giggled as she sauntered back to her perch, sitting in the exact same position she had been seated in before. it wasn't so much that she believed the fountain would make her wishes come true. it was more that she felt like thinking the wishes in the frontmost part of her brain would give them room to grow and flourish. great friends? she already had quite a few on the island. fun times? she couldn't count the number of them that she'd had since arriving. a boyfriend? no prospects yet, but she could have one the second she willed it, and she knew it. live life to the fullest? she was doing it every day. so, to be honest, gracie's wishes held no ground. she was already living them out every single day.

OUTFIT

[aspen magnolia martinelli]

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ASPEN

[/color] nodded as the girl in front of her spoke, eventually introducing herself as gracelyn grammar. gracie, a first year music major here at bouscher. aspen leaned back a little, careful not to lose her balance so she wouldn't fall into the fountain. "my first name is aspen, like the tree. and my last name is martinelli, but i can't even begin to count the amount of times it's been pronounced as martini. i've even gotten mail with 'aspen martini' on it." she rolled her eyes. people were so funny when it came to names. "grammar, though, that's a unique last name. what's its origin? is that even a proper question? anyway, what kind of a last name is grammar? british, canadian, greek?" aspen rocked forward, and then backwards, her arms still holding her legs towards her chest. she yawned a little. great. of course she would start getting tired when she finally had company, someone to keep her out of her boredom. aspen couldn't just ditch her, now. might as well take this as a sign from whatever deity there was and try making friends.

she remembered the girl had asked her what her major and year was. it was such a wonderful obligatory question here at bouscher academy. she loved hearing about what each person was most interested in. "oh! and i'm a second year photography major," she said. she wasn't sure if she should go on. soon enough, with four nickels beside her, aspen decided she could save that "boring stuff" for later. at first, aspen watched gracie throw each coin into the fountain. when gracie finished, aspen closed her eyes started throwing each nickel into the lucella fountain one by one. she wished for kenan and her to be forever happy together. she wished for someone recognizing her name from the bottom of one of her portraits one day. she wished for more customers. and, she wished for a kitty. growing up, aspen had always wished for a kitty, whether it be on a star, at 11:11, or with a coin. sadly for her, it had never come true. maybe, since she was wishing with a "gifted" coin, the fountain gods would work their magic.

oh, how aspen wanted to ask gracelyn what she wished for. but, she knew that was inappropriate. instead, she asked, "have any of your wishes ever came true?" aspen wished she believed in something, like wishes coming true. however, she had little faith in that. growing up, aspen also wished for some kind of attention from her parents, something she had never received. her past was pretty pathetic and dark, but she made up for it by being rather bright and happy now. for some of her friends, aspen was too bright most days. she was normally extremely eccentric, having belching contests with her boyfriend, kenan for fun. aspen leaned back again, her feet centimeters in the air. something about rocking back and forth was comforting to her. she looked up at the stars, keeping her eye out for a shooting star. eh, nothing.
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[gracelyn shae grammar]

aspen introduced herself and then went on to ask gracie what origin her last name. gracie's eyes widened and she giggled to herself. "honestly, i have no idea," she said. "i think it was a really long, eccentric name at some point and they just shortened it to grammar. it's probably welsh because i'm mostly welsh, but it might be something else. i honestly have no idea." she wiggled her toes and tapped her fingers on her pajama pants. the cool, crisp night air wasn't exactly doing wonders for putting her to sleep. it was so different from the warm, summery feel of the island during the day. but it was nice. overall, the island had the most perfect weather in the world, and gracie loved it. there was just something so amazing about this island. it was like nothing about the place could be bad. gracie didn't know why she felt like that, she just knew she did.

before throwing her nickels in the fountain, aspen stated that she was a second year photography major. gracie nodded. as a second year, aspen knew the ropes around this place. that's when gracie realized. this was the girl who was throwing the pool party at the hammond recreational center. gracie was totally psyched for the party. the six bottles of tequila she would be bringing with her - one strictly for her own use - were already in her favorite pool bag. gracie giggled. she knew there would be drugs at the party - which she wasn't totally fond of - but as she got drunker and drunker she'd forget the smell was even there. gracie grinned to herself. she knew there was a reason she had liked this girl the second she had gotten near her. the girl just screamed party and she was obviously mischievous if she had managed to get the keys to the hammond recreational center. that was some serious digging.

aspen asked gracie if any of her wishes had ever come true. gracie thought about the question for a second. in order for wishes to come true, you would actually have to believe that it was the wishes. but gracie didn't really feel like explaining her extensive thought process at two thirty in the morning. it was too much deep thinking for anyone, including herself, to handle. so rather than explaining her deeply-rooted logic, gracie just turned to aspen. "i don't know" she said plainly before dropping the topic. she giggled as she reached back down into the water and splashed aspen with it. it was the only thing she could think of and water fights were insanely entertaining at two thirty in the morning. besides, if they ended up freezing from the water and the cool air they could both go home, take warm showers, and maybe get some sleep.

OUTFIT

[aspen magnolia martinelli]

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"a welsh name would be pretty cool," aspen spoke almost mindlessly as she stared into the nighttime sky. "if you couldn't tell my last name is italiano," aspen emphasized 'italiano,' saying it in her best italian accent. "but i'm probably the most unauthentic italian you'll ever meet. i visited my relatives, who are totally the prime examples of loud italians who feed you until you can't button your pants, but my parents for some reason don't like embracing our culture." aspen may have been a fifth generation italian, but she loved everything about italy and its culture. when she had children… eh, if she had children, she would absolutely love to raise them to be as true to their italian american heritage as she could push onto them. and, unlike her parents, aspen wanted to be involved in every aspect of her child's life. she wanted to really be there for them through everything.

the curly haired brunette's thoughts were interrupted by a splash of water hitting her neck. aspen looked over at gracie with the most serious face she could muster. this was a challenge. "oh, girl, it's on." aspen laughed, and tossed her cell phone into the nearest grassy area and jumped into the fountain with her knitted slippers still on her feet. with both hands, she splashed gracie with water. aspen ran around the center of the fountain, using the statue as a shield from gracie. her back hugged the statue, and she kept looking over her shoulders, ready to defend herself with water when the time came.

[gracelyn shae grammar]

when aspen jumped into the water, slippers still attached to her feet, and used both hands to fling water at gracie, gracie knew she had officially made a friend for life. not worrying about her currently straight hair, gracie pulled her uggs off her feet and tossed them a good twenty feet away before jumping into the fountain herself. immediately, she felt the cold water cling to her pajama pants, but rather than jumping back out and attempting to dry herself off, she just pulled off the wet pajama pants so they wouldn't slow her down and flung them somewhere. now in a sports bra and spandex shorts, gracie knew she would never live this one down if someone of authority caught the two of them, but she just didn't care. her father gave too much money to the school for them to even consider getting rid of her, so she had nothing to worry about. the water stains all around the fountain would be hard for the faculty to explain in the morning, though. gracie shrugged it off. it wasn't worth thinking about.

gracie used her whole body to lift up a pile of water and toss it in aspen's direction. the soakage drenched the girl from her head to where her feet touched the water. gracie ducked, expecting a huge comeback. she didn't mind, though. water was one of gracie's favorite things in the world, and getting drenched at two thirty am would honestly just help her sleep a little better. she laughed as she twisted and turned, ducking various shots from aspen and throwing some of her own. water fights were definitely the best. she kind of wished she had brought her favorite super soaker from home. her friends back home often teased her because the water gun was one of her most prized possessions. it was something she loved and there was not a person in the world who could convince her to love it any less.

OUTFIT