Disclaimer: Black Lives Matter.

Author's Note: Sorry for the delay. Busy.

Today is Friday, May 13th.

I didn't even realize it was Friday the thirteenth until like halfway through today but honestly with the way today went I should have figured it out sooner.

The signs began appearing right at the beginning of the day when I was having an amazing dream about being a wizard – or a witch, I guess – that lived in a house on the corner and sold potions to other witches but then I was discovered by the bad people (it wasn't really clear who they were, but they were obviously villains) and we were about to have a big magic fight but my alarm went off and I woke up. I barely had time to write it down before it was completely wiped from my brain. I really hope I have that dream again.

Anyway, since I was now reluctantly awake, I went downstairs and let Zwei out but noticed out of the corner of my eye that the gate was open, so I had to go out and close it so Zwei didn't get lost. The ground was still wet with dew and looked gross with a bunch of dirt and sticks all over the place, so I really didn't want to go out in my bare feet but I could already see Zwei heading straight for the gate, so I tippy-toed out, avoiding as much gunk as possible, and closed the gate. Then on my way back I stepped on a really sharp rock, lost my balance, and fell into the dirt. Looking back now, it really wasn't anything terrible, but I was so annoyed about it this morning. My hands and pajamas were messy and it made me grumpy. Also my foot still kind of hurts :(

Once I went inside and washed my hands I went to get milk for my cereal and saw that we were out of orange juice. Although it's really not a big deal, there's nothing that really completes my breakfast like a cup of orange juice. I had to substitute with apple juice and really there's no comparing the two. I felt better once I was able to eat something, but then when I went to get ready for school after I showered I realized I forgot to do laundry and so all my favorite clothes were dirty! I had to wear the clothes that I always keep way at the bottom of my dresser that don't fit quite right and smell like dusty wood for some reason. Probably because they're always at the bottom of my dresser. I just put that together.

Another sign of suspicious spiritual activity today happened when Yang and I were walking to school. A black cat crossed our paths! I didn't even think about how that was 'bad luck', I just ran to pet it as soon as I saw it. It rolled over onto it's back and let me pet it's belly! It was so fluffy.

When we got to school I ran into Blake's arms (she was waiting for us as usual) and said I was having a bad morning. She said, "Oh no! Tell me about it." and gave me a consoling hug. I started telling her about my dream and stuff but when I got to the part where I stepped on the rock the bell rang so we had to start heading to class. When we got to the room I was telling Blake about my ordeal with the orange juice and the apple juice and she suddenly snorted, so I asked her what was so funny and she said, "So you're saying that... you can't compare apples and oranges?" It was such a weird, silly joke I couldn't help but laugh but I also accused her of being too much like Yang.

History was almost boring, but in the middle of class there was a fire drill so we all got to outside! Lucky things like that are why I didn't suspect anything about it being Friday the 13th. I had like twenty extra minutes to talk with Blake! We got to sit under a tree while we waited for the drill to end, and I picked a flower and stuck it in her hair. She's so pretty and cute and I love her.

English, unfortunately, was completely boring. We were supposed to be learning something but Mr. Port got distracted and just told a particularly long-winded and rambling personal story for the entire period. Jaune and I had a doodle competition in the margins of my notebook. I won, because I am a great doodler. It's because of all the practice I get in all my classes!

Bad luck struck again in Math class – I had to do a problem on the board and I wasn't paying attention so the teacher had to walk me through it. I felt really stupid. On the bright side I don't think anyone else in the class was paying attention either.

In Science, I don't know if it was lucky or unlucky, but that was the period when I got called in to my counselor's office so we could talk about the classes I wanted to take next year. I kind of just wanted to chill and do the lab we had today with Weiss, Sun, and Blake, but I guess it is important to get some help with my class schedule. But why couldn't it have happened during Math class?! That's the real unluckiness!

Anyway, I grabbed my stuff and went down to the counselor's office which is down by the front office. At first I wasn't sure where to go, but Weiss told me how to get there before I left. Mr. Lionheart (my counselor) was pretty nice, but he kept 'hmm'-ing and 'hahh'-ing about my classes. He was like "Are you sure you want to take Chemistry? It's considered hard for sophomores" and I was like, "Yes." and then he'd ask, "Are you sure?" again. Kind of annoying. It was like he was scared for me. The whole process ended up taking a lot longer than I thought. I expected it to be like, "Hello, I'm Ruby. Here is my sheet with the classes I want to take. Thank you." and I'd be able to go back to class or go to lunch early, but instead it took almost 45 minutes! But I ended up being able to convince Mr. Lionheart that I could make my schedule work. He said, "You are an advanced student, after all."

I signed up for all the classes they force you to take – English, Gym, a foreign language, Math – but also chose World History (with Weiss!), Chemistry (with Jaune!), and then chose Yearbook as my final elective. Blake told me that Yearbook is basically a photography class until later in the year when they partner with the Journalism class to put together the yearbook. I thought that sounded perfect for me so I really hope it's fun! My backup options were Journalism (even though I hate writing, Blake made me a little interested in it), TV studio (but I didn't want to be on TV) and Engineering (sounded boring, but I like making stuff).

Then I was finally able to leave and go to lunch. I barely had time to sit down, shovel my lunch into my face, and get filled in on the lab by Blake before the bell rang! In a sort-of-lucky twist, though, I finally managed to grab Pyrrha before she escaped down the hall and ask her why she's been looking so down this week. She said, "Oh, I didn't realize I was acting different, but I suppose I must have been. Sorry to worry you, it's just some family stuff." so I asked her what was going on and she said, "My dad's job is trying to move him to a new location. He's going to be gone for the rest of the month, and if the move becomes permanent I probably won't be able to see him very much." which sounds like it really sucks. I'd be pretty upset too if I couldn't see Dad for weeks at a time. I gave Pyrrha a hug but then had to run to my next class so I wouldn't be late.

The moment I remembered it was Friday the 13th was after school when Yang and I were walking home. Before we left school I thought it looked like it was going to rain, but Yang said that it would probably be fine. We made it maybe halfway home before the sky got really dark really suddenly, and Yang and I looked at each other and both our faces said, "Uh oh." I like rain, but really only when I'm able to watch it through a window and definitely not when I'm running through it trying to get home after a long day of school. By the time we got home, Yang and I were drenched. Yang's hair was hanging completely straight down across her face and was dripping everywhere, which was a small consolation for the whole experience.

After I changed clothes and dried myself off, I didn't really do much until Dad came home. Just a little homework for Science and started laundry so I won't have to wear more crummy clothes tomorrow. Once Dad got back from work he said that Uncle Qrow was coming over for dinner, so I helped get that ready. Uncle Qrow always seems to show up my bad luck days. Dad made lasagna and I made some biscuits and the salad! Yang had a paper to work on so we let her have the smaller responsibility of setting the table. Uncle Qrow showed up almost on time – he's never on time – so we started eating right away because the rest of us were pretty hungry.

It was a good dinner – it's always fun to talk to Uncle Qrow because he always has the funniest stories and sometimes he'll tell stories from back when he and Dad were growing up or in college and I get to see who my dad was before he was my dad. With some of the things I hear, it's hard to believe it's the same person. Like how apparently Dad knows karate?! Also the food was delicious, especially the biscuits ;)

After dinner Yang went back to her room to work on her paper and I watched TV while Uncle Qrow and Dad had a couple drinks. I couldn't hear what they were talking about over the TV – probably just boring adult stuff like taxes or commuting – but at one point I saw Uncle Qrow go into the fridge and then he shouted "Tai, why don't you have any orange juice? Who drinks apple juice?" and I thought, 'Finally, someone who gets me.'

It started to get late, so they decided it would be best if Uncle Qrow just stayed the night and I helped Dad gather some blankets and a pillow so Uncle Qrow could sleep on the couch. Dad went to bed, saying that the drinks and food made him sleepy, and I was going to go up to my room too but Uncle Qrow said it was too early to go to bed on a Friday night so instead he and I hung out and watched some dumb old movies on late night TV.

Eventually we both seemed to decide that it was time to go to bed, so we turned off the TV and I got up to go to my room, but Uncle Qrow said something that made me stop. He said, "God damn, it's great getting to come over and see you kids and Tai! Raven doesn't know what she's missing!" and it made me think about when Aunt Raven was here. Her visit was kind of similar to Uncle Qrow's – the food, the drinking, showing up kind of unexpectedly – but the whole tone was different. And I wanted to know why.

I sat back down next to him and asked, "Uncle Qrow, what happened between Dad and Aunt Raven?" and he looked at me and didn't seem as drunk as he was before I asked. He sighed and said, "I'm not sure I can tell you the whole truth of it, Ruby. Only the two of them can tell you what really happened. All I know is that one day it was working, and the next it was falling apart. Then it looked like it was going to stitch back together, but then it unraveled even further. I guess in the end they both decided it was better to cut it off." and he slipped out his flask and took a sip. He also said, "Wrong people for each other. I just wish it was easier for Yang. Poor kiddo."

Then I asked him, "Why doesn't Aunt Raven want anything to do with Yang? What did she ever do to her?" and Uncle Qrow said, "Saving the hard questions for when I'm drunk, huh?" and I said, "I just want to know, because it doesn't make any sense to me." and told him about what I heard when Aunt Raven visited.

He was shaking his head and said, "It's really heartbreaking, isn't it, kid? My sister hasn't really ever been able to see people as people. I think she's always seen them as either tools or obstacles, useful until they're not or just to be avoided. She's very goal-focused, and always wanted to be at the top." Then he looked at me very intensely, and I could tell he was going to say something serious. He said, "Ruby, the world – as it currently is – does not like powerful women. It wants to tear them down and shove them into a little pre-cut box and never let them out. Raven fought hard, incredibly hard, to get where she wanted to be, and was right about to really take off – and then Yang came along. So she had a choice – stop what she was doing, stall her progress, and take care of Yang, or keep climbing to the top." He took another sip from his flask and said, "Her loss. Yang's a great kid. Kind of makes me want one of my own."

Which prompted me to ask, "Uncle Qrow, why aren't you married?" and he said, "Sure having fun throwing out those curveballs, aren't you, Ruby?" and told me he was going to bed. I decided it was probably time for me to go sleep too, so I went upstairs and brushed my teeth and climbed into bed.

If I wasn't so tired I'd probably stay up even later trying to wrap my head around what Uncle Qrow said about Aunt Raven. I can't imagine ever being in a position where I would choose a career or a job over my kid. It's not right. I can sort of understand divorcing Dad since it's kind of obvious they aren't right for each other (not that I have that problem with Blake!), but seeing people as obstacles? I don't want to ever have to sacrifice the relationships I have with the people closest to me. I would rather suffer together with friends than prosper alone.

It feels really good to finally put an end to this weird day.

Goodnight!

XOXOXO

Stay safe. Keep moving forward.