Her Miracle

My mom didn’t bother to wake me up before she left for work. She works so much that she forgets she has a 16-year-old daughter. One of my brothers had the initiative to bang my door to wake me up which I internally am thankful for. If they didn’t, I could have overslept and missed the first day of school. I don’t know why but I prefer going to school on my own rather than getting a ride with my brothers. It’s stupid. I’m supposed to be the younger sister, the person who should be cared for. I walk towards my best friend’s house who’s going to give me a lift to school. Her house was a couple of blocks away from my house which I am so grateful for. The entire neighborhood we were in, somewhat looked alike. All houses had modern designs. The only difference was the color schemes. Castle Rock, a town in Washington has been my home for as long as I live. Every year for the past 16 years, I’ve seen this town flourish from the seasons down to the evolution of the town’s technology. Time might have changed but the people? They’re the ones I grew up with, only to realize how toxic this town is. The trees started to sway, as wind gushed. I’m sick of Castle Rock’s rain, my family, and the rest of the people in here. My outfit looks normal. Well, I'm a highschooler. A simple shirt, jeans, and sneakers are already fine with me. Who dresses up on the first day of school? Not me. I ain’t impressing anyone. Nobody gives a damn anyway. I rubbed my tired eyes, as I halted in front of her house. “ANDY!” Speaking of the devil. My eyes glared at the beautiful brunette, blue-eyed best friend of mine who just got out of her house. She’s the one that dresses like it’s fashion week. A skirt and top that hugged her body to perfection and AF1 shoes. Whenever Izzy smiles, she could be the front page of a magazine. She had the beauty of a model. I rolled my eyes at her as I slung my bag on one shoulder. And I started to run towards her as if it’s the first time I saw her in years. She hugged me tight, making both of us gasp for air. “I missed you too!” I grinned at her. Isabella Lenyx has been my best friend since grade school. Today was our first day of being Juniors. Another year of torture. Another year in high school, the usual prison. Going to school was bearable because I had her and Kai. I haven’t seen her the entire summer since she spent it in Australia. Kai lived on the other side of Castle Rock so it was hard for the three of us to come to school together. Besides, he has his own car. “First day and it’s a Monday! All set?” “Yeah, I am. You look more beautiful than the last time I saw you. Australia did good to you,” “Australia really did. I got to see Koalas and was able to rescue animals. How was your summer?” Izzy’s dad works for an animal shelter in Australia that’s why she gets to visit. I get jealous sometimes that she has a dad. I frowned at the thought but replaced it with a quick smile. I realized that she asked me a question. “It was fine. Mom is busy being the best surgeon in town. My brothers have parties and trash the house, I clean it all up. The usual.” “One day, you should come to Australia with me.” Yeah, I hope that one day comes, I wanted to answer. Instead, I averted my gaze to her car, “Shall we?” “Right!” She laughs it all out, covering her face. She’s happy and I’m happy for her. Her tanned skin meant that she really enjoyed the sun in Australia, meanwhile I’m rotting in this s**t hole place in Washington. One of the places that rains so much. We both got inside her car, and she immediately played her go-to music, One direction. I left the front seat vacant and opted for the back seat instead. I wasn’t complaining since they were one of the best. Her face lightened up as she started the engine and pulled out her driveway. I glanced at her and gave her the sweetest smile. She taps her fingers unto the steering wheel to the beat of What makes you beautiful, as her body lightly moves to the beat of the music. “Are you ready?” I furrowed my brows at her question. I stuttered, “Ready for what?” “Being a junior... We’re 16! We can date hot jocks and just enjoy high school!” She answered, wiggling her eyebrows at me. I thought to myself, I don’t think my brain works like a highschooler. High school is filled with unnecessary bullshit. My life is already a mess, I wouldn’t want to add fire to the flame. “No, I want to graduate as soon as possible. That’s it. I don’t want to deal with high school crap. I’m planning to work at Eleanor’s… the cafe that’s a walking distance from school?” “With how much your mom is making, you don’t have to work. And I heard, there’s a new guy in town.” “She’s earning a lot but she is barely home and doesn’t give a crap about me. It’s time I do something for myself. Something I’d be grateful because I did.” I stammered, “New guy? And besides, what hot jock? There’s no hot jock in school. All they do is hook up with random girls every week and leave them crying. No, thanks.” “Hey, Miss! Ryder has been posting his workout pictures on **. Haven’t you seen it? He’s like the top hot dude in school. Maybe he’s trying to work out for Lacrosse games this season. I haven’t seen signs of the new guy in town yet. There are rumors going around.” “I do have a phone, but no. I don’t follow conceited people on **. I’m done with people who are too full of themselves.” I sassed at her. “And not to forget your brothers… yummy… Aiden? Zachary? Ryder? They’re all eye food once they’re on the field. ” She bit her lip. My eyes bulged as I took all her words in. “Oi! My brothers are off-limits! We’ve talked about this.” She laughs at my comment, trying to be the caring and good sister to my older brothers. Zachary Miller and Aiden Miller, my older twin brothers who were a year older than me. They were one of the famous students in school since they were a part of the school’s Lacrosse team. “Don’t you ever want to have a crush?” “Do you really need to go to school just to learn?” “Uh, yes?” The music that started to play was Night changes. I can listen to One direction all day if it meant that they’d come back and reunite again. I cleared my throat, trying to make a point, “Wrong! Some famous billionaires or millionaires haven’t finished school and still were able to be successful. The important thing here is an experience in the real world.” “What does it have to do with having a crush?” She frowned at me. “I mean, having a crush is not important. Not that I’m saying going to school is not important for learning. There are also other ways to learn. So having a crush? It isn’t a necessity. It’s not water or air. I can live without that.” She turns her head away avoiding further discussion knowing where this will end. Izzy and I were the ultimate opposites. She was famous, I was a no one. She was well-liked by the people, I was the most hated and loathed in school. I liked being a nobody. I got used to it. I mean, people knew my mom was the best surgeon in town and my brothers were famous jocks. I was labeled to be my mom’s daughter and my brothers’ sister but I never really had a label for myself. I’m done with labels. She took a turn, straight at our school's parking lot with kids with their groups huddled together. The view of Willoughby High sitting right ahead in front of us with its orange and yellow paint. It’s the first day of class anyway, all students catch up with their squad. The school was just a 10-minute ride from home which wasn’t far. The empty lot beside us was now filled with a Black Wrangler Jeep. I didn’t need to ask who it was. We knew who it was. He jumped out as he turned off his jeep’s engine. Meet Kai Waters, my hot best friend. Kai was the best friend who held me and Izzy together. He was our glue. Kai proudly looked at us. He had his hair freshly cut that made his jaw sharpen more. His neatly combed brown hair complemented his green eyes we’ve always been jealous of. I think he has been working out. He’s now more bulky than the last time I saw him and more tan like Izzy was. He lived near the beach of Castle Rock so he can just swim almost every day. “What’s up, lovelies?” I rolled my eyes at his statement. “Lovelies? Seriously? Come on! We don’t want to get late for class.” We walk together side by side. Izzy faced Kai, “Are you ready for this school year?” “Heck, yeah! I’m planning to apply for the Lacrosse team this year to add some good credentials to my name in applying for college.” “Holy s**t! Our best friend is going to be one of the hot players in school!!!?” “Ew, You sound like you’re sexualizing our best friend, Iz. God, ew.” I made a face like I was puking. Well, it really is disgusting. She just laughed at my comment and rolled her eyes at me. “Well, we don’t know if I’m able to play this season.” He teased. “We believe in you. You have the potential to see that you’ve been working out and buffed. Just make sure you won’t be sitting on the bench the entire game.” I joked. “You’ll see!” He winked at us. Izzy just rolled her eyes again with Kai’s charms. Kai was sweet since he was the youngest of seven brothers. He was also a momma’s boy. The lands where they live have been passed down by generations to generations. Their family really lived out values, most especially loyalty. It stood out in their family. Pretty cool since they’ve preserved the beauty of the forest. The Waters family protected it. The hallway of Willoughby High School is the usual highschool. Nothing new. Messy with the ‘Welcome back to School’ banner with confetti on the floor. Our principal must have woken up early for this. Flyers posted on the walls, lockers cramped up with people gossiping--Nerds, Jocks, Goths-- whatever groups you are in. But with this small population, there weren't many groups. There are factions but those are a basic group of friends. Mainly, the only one who had the right label was the Lacrosse team that included both my brothers. I don’t even know what group I was in and I don’t give a crap anymore. We stopped at our lockers to put everything in place and grabbed what we needed. The timing was right, the bell for classes rang. Students start rushing inside their classroom with all the buzz. Thankfully, Izzy and Kai managed to have the same classes as me and not only in certain subjects like we used to. We got inside our classroom for our first subject, AP English. Great. We settled on our preferred seats and went over to our phones. The room was still filled with noise and blabbers. I guess gossips are now everywhere for the newcomers in Willoughby. Some of these students who were gossiping in the corner were my classmates in grade school but all they did was talk s**t to me. I stopped caring, that was the only way to survive. Heels started to clank the tiled, polished floor, taking all our attention. The rest of my classmates ran to their seats, trying to make a good impression. This teacher was new. I haven’t seen her before. Red heels, Red lipstick, and a black body con dress. She was too glamorous for an AP English teacher. Kai’s eyes widened when he saw her cleavage. I nudged him who was seated beside me. I mouth, “Stop it! What the f**k?” He made a facial expression. I repeated, “Stop it!” She started to write on the board, ‘Melissa Perri- AP English’ She then faced us and started, “Good morning everyone! Welcome back to school. Today is your first day and I’m your teacher for AP English this school year. I’m Melissa Perri.” A student who I think was a known vlogger raised his hand. He was my classmate in some classes before. His name is Luke, I think. Ms. Perri nodded at him, trying to stay kind and acknowledge questions. He called her out, “How old are you? 21?” The entire room filled with laughter. I frowned. Highschool people disgust me. His question wasn’t even funny. I whisper to myself as I shook my head as I bowed my head down in shame of the people I’m surrounded with, “Ugh,” Ms. Perri silenced the class. “For your information, I’m married and I just moved here. I’m 27. So now, let’s have an introduction since I don’t know these faces staring at me or my outfit right now. State your name, Nickname, and your goal in life.” Here we go again with introductions. People already know me. I faced Izzy who grinned from ear to ear with excitement to introduce herself. If she was made for this, I wasn’t. She gave a pause, as she looked around the room. “Hmmm… Let’s start from you, the blondie at the back,” Izzy looked at me and smiled. I frowned at her that she was called. I felt a grip on my arm, I face Kai. What the hell is wrong with this dude? I hissed in a hushed manner that only he could hear, “What?” He didn’t need to answer me. I realized all eyes were on me. They were waiting for me. I point at myself. “Uh, me?” “Yes, you dear.” Oh my god. I wanted to scream all profanities in the world, but I managed to breathe and put on my best smile.“Everybody knows me already. I’m Andrea Mallori Miller. People call me Andy. My goal in life is to get out of this town as soon as I can, thank you.” Everyone laughed at me once I finished. I sat on my chair, with my palms drenched in sweat, I looked down. Except for Ms. Perri, Kai, and Izzy. One of the reasons why I want to leave this town.