Rivalling Sides

Chapter 4: Wet Morning

"MORNING SUNSHINE!"

A wave of water cascaded onto Michelle's face like Niagara Falls. Her eyes sparked open as she was suddenly pulled out of her sleep. A shriek rushed out of her lips as she gasped out for air, with droplets sliding off her lashes. Grace was stood beside her, with a bucket of water as she burst out laughing at her shook expression.

Michelle spat out some water and peered over at her cousin through her soaked eyelids. Her mind was confused because one minute she was dreaming peacefully, and now she was completely drenched.

Grace was still in fits of laughter, so Michelle slapped the bucket out of her hands and lunged out of her duvet towards her. Unfortunately, her bedsheets tangled around her feet like vines and caused her to land on the floor.

"HAHA!" Grace exclaimed.

"FAM!" She screamed and hissed, while crawling across the floor, her nails dug into the grey carpet.

"Ayo relax! Just tryna wake you up you know, so we won't be late for school!" She put her arms in front as she backed away from the angry cat hissing on the floor.

"Why you gotta pour water on me though??" Michelle managed to stand up and spread out her arms like tree branches.

"It's quicker and a whole lot funnier!" She couldn't stop laughing, as seeing Michelle's crossed eyebrows and her agitated fingers just made the situation even better.

"You're so *jarring man," she mumbled and wiped her face with the duvet.

"Yeah yeah, anyways, I'll meet you downstairs, don't take too long getting ready!" She twinkled her fingers and then left the room. Michelle inhaled deeply before stumbling towards the door with her damp and sticky feet.

She cleaned herself in the bathroom and then took a quick shower which made her feel so much better.

She then went back to her bedroom and then changed into her uniform. She did her makeup and unravelled her braids from her scarf. She tied it into a high bun and redid her edges in case they got wet.

Once everything was set, she grabbed her bag and then dragged it along as she descended the stairs. She was still grumpy by being woken up so rudely and it was unlikely for her mood to change since this happened too early.

She went into the kitchen and then poured herself some Nesquik. Her eyes burned a glare into the chocolate balls that resembled her eyes as if they were the ones that upset her. She still could feel some damp residue on her bright cheeks and that made her more irritated.

She snatched the bowl off the counter and went into the living room. Joshua and Grace were sat with her dad on the three-seater leather couch, and her mum had her own chair near the door.

Good Morning Britain was playing on the TV as she walked past everyone and sat on the leather chair that was farthest away.

"Thank you for getting her up Grace," Mariah said.

"It's no problem Aunty," Grace replied with an angelic smile and a secret smirk towards Michelle.

She slowly kissed her teeth and ate her cereal quietly.

"Michelle, make sure you wear your coat today, they said it will be very cold this morning," Mariah said.

"Okay mum," she mumbled. Although she was sure her mum was exaggerating. She probably opened the door for a few seconds and decided that it will be cold for the whole day.

When she was done eating, she washed her plate and then got her light coat with a hoodie. With a heavy sigh, she said bye to her parents and then left with her friends.

The bright, morning sun shone between two houses and sprayed its heatless glow like a supernova. It lit up the pavement that Joshua and Grace were on. Their shadows stretched out to Michelle who was a bit behind.

She frowned while tapping on her phone as she wasn't in the mood to converse with them. Meanwhile, her cheeks kept getting caught on the hook of her brace which just made her madder and more wanted to rip them out.

"Hurry up Michka!" Joshua called out.

Her eyes began to rise slowly. They were looking back at her so she increased her pace to catch up. They took a few steps back and linked arms with her.

"Do you want to buy food before we go to school?" Grace asked as they reached the main road.

"Sure, let's go Sainsbury's."

"Okay," Grace put one arm around her shoulder.

They got to Summerfield by bus and went into Sainsbury's. They all got some bakery and chocolate. Michelle got a packet of chocolate cookies and a bottle of Pepsi max. Soon, her mood started to disappear into happiness like clouds parting ways to reveal the sunlight.

After they paid, Michelle strode out with a beat playing in her head. "That gyal unruly, I can't lie she a cutie. And all the *mandem wanna chase her..."

"Cause that gyal bad and boujiee!" Grace joined in.

"Aye!" Michelle exclaimed and high-fived her. They began to sing the rest of the lyrics to Bad and Boujie by AJ and a few others, as they went back to the bus stop.

When they got to school, they went into the canteen and while the others sat down, Michelle joined the queue for some food. She was feeling a bit better, knowing that she was going to have some hot chocolate which was like her morning coffee.

After some minutes last, she managed to get it and went back to her friends. She slid her bag off and then sipped it in peace.

"Hey Michelle," James said to get her attention. He then passed her a packet of mini yum yums from Greggs.

"Thanks, bubs," she opened it and then started stuffing the square glazed treats into her mouth. Usually, she would be uncomfortable eating them because of the sugary glaze, but she enjoyed them regardless and hoped her teeth won't be affected that much.

"Michelle," her friend Ciara tapped her shoulder.

"Yeah, babes?"

"Look at this." She gave Michelle her phone which had a video on Snapchat of a girl in their year getting some juice poured onto their heads.

"Is that Hannah?" Michelle asked.

"Yep!"

"Little snake got what she deserved," she smirked.

Hannah used to be their friend but betrayed them by causing an unnecessary fight with Putney Way so now it's *on sight whenever they see her.

When they heard the bell, they packed their stuff and went to their form rooms.

After registration, her tutor group went to their History class on the third floor. They had to wait a couple of minutes before going in.

Michelle sat in the front row with Rhea. They got their orange books out and wrote down the title.

"Good morning 9A7, how are all of you today?" Their teacher, Mr. Jones, said.

"Fine," everyone murmured in their tiredness.

"I hope all of you have had a good week so far, there's a little activity sheet that I would like you to do as a starter please."

They were learning about Nazi Germany, and they had to separate some statements into boxes for the role of women during that time.

Michelle and Rhea began cutting the paper and gluing them down. Rhea's face started to burn with nervousness as she could sense that Michelle was staring at her.

"Do you think you're pretty?" She asked out of the blue.

She froze at the sudden question and slowly turned to face her. "Um... I don't know."

"Why?"

She shrugged which just made Michelle look at her with a suspicious look.

She asked another question which caused Rhea's eyes to widen as she thought Michelle asked her something very dirty.

"No!" she immediately said in alarm.

"You don't think your mum's pretty?!" She rephrased her question with surprise which made Rhea calm down as she just misheard her.

"Oh yeah yeah, I do," she said with relief.

"Do you want some advice?" Her tone was softer and lighter.

"Okay sure..."

"When you get home, get a brush, make sure you brush all your hair up and then tie it into a bun."

"Okay, thanks." She looked down in embarrassment. She knew her hair wasn't currently looking its best and was rather messy and unkempt.

"Do you have a brush on you right now?" Michelle was happy to do it for her since she sometimes did people's hair in her spare time.

"No."

"Okay just wait till you get home then."

After their lesson was over, the students went in different directions to their English classes.

Glossary:

Jarring: Annoying

Mandem: Boys

On sight: Fighting as soon as you see the person