Motorcycle Babe

Waking up for School

Gabriella

Ugh. I hate waking up early.

My alarm buzzes and I groan, rolling onto my side and staring at the ceiling like it personally betrayed me. First day back. My head still feels strange sometimes in the mornings—like my thoughts are a second behind where they're supposed to be.

I push the feeling away. My boyfriend will be here soon, which means I need to get moving.

I stand in front of my closet, arms crossed, trying to remember what I usually wear. That thought alone makes my chest tighten. I know who I am... mostly. It's just the details that feel slippery, like trying to hold water in my hands.

Jeans. Band tee. Black Converse. Safe. Familiar. Me.

I grab my jean jacket too. It's still hot during the day, but once the sun dips—especially during practice—the air cools fast. Sharp. Real. Coach already warned us there'd be no mercy this year. He wants us in shape if we're making it to finals. No easing in.

I sling my bag over my shoulder and head outside. Kyle texted me earlier—something dumb and dramatic—but he couldn't give me a ride. Typical Kyle. Still, he's the only one who stayed. The only one who didn't look at me differently after everything.

I wait by the curb until the sports car pulls up. Tyler steps out with that same confident smile, running a hand through his blond hair.

"Hello, beautiful."

"Hi, baby," I smile back. He kisses me and pulls me into his chest, possessive. He's the school's star quarterback. Everyone knows him. Everyone thinks we make sense.

We head toward the car—and then I hear it. The roar of a motorcycle ripping through the street. My stomach drops before my brain catches up. I don't have to look.

Raven Rider.

That sound hits something in me that doesn't have words. Something old. Something I can't quite reach. She’s the school’s rebel—reckless, untouchable, magnetic. And every girl she hooks up with has the same story: Amazing. Intense. Over.

I'm not gay. I've never been. I have a boyfriend. A future. So why does my chest tighten every time I see her? Why does my pulse kick up like my body recognizes her before my mind does?

Raven wasn't always like this. Kyle told me that once—how she used to be student government, good grades, ambition pouring out of her. Then something happened sophomore year. No one knows what, except that her dad died. After that, she changed.

We stop for coffee, our usual place. And of course—she's there. Flirting shamelessly with the barista.

"Man, that girl is such a player," Tyler mutters.

"She's not that much of a player," I say, distracted.

I glance back at her. She’s beautiful in a way that doesn't feel fair—curls slicked back, a jagged scar beneath her eye no one ever asks about. She catches me staring. She smirks, whispers something to the barista, then looks straight at me and winks.

My heart stutters. Heat coils low in my stomach. She hasn't said a single word to me, and somehow, she’s already undone me. When we pull up to order, the barista smiles. "It's already been paid for. She said it was taken care of."

Tyler’s grip on the steering wheel tightens. He doesn't say anything until we get to school.

"I'm going to thank her," I say, opening the door.

"No, you're not," he snaps. "I don't care. You're not going."

That tone. Sharp. Final. Something in me bristles. "You don't get to tell me where I can and can't go."

"If you do, we're done!" he shouts.

I don't look back. Coffee in hand, heart racing, I walk toward Raven. Maybe she'll say something. Maybe she'll smile at me again. Or maybe my body remembers something my mind still can't. Either way... I don't think this first day back is going to be as simple as I hoped.