Aurora Book 1: Soitera

Dad attempted to make it to his bedroom last night. He almost made it to the hallway. I step over his lifeless body and make my way to the kitchen. We have nothing but beer and a few old take-out boxes. The mold smell forces me to slam the fridge shut. Tomorrow is trash day. I'll deal with it then. He snores as I grab my bookbag. I guess he's not dead after all. The weeds tickle my legs as I cross the yard to the woods beside our property. I planted a secret garden in it years ago. It does well, considering it's in the woods. I grab a cucumber and start my walk to school. It's a 25-minute walk. That's 50 extra minutes per day that I'm not at home. I'll take every minute I can get. The walk is peaceful and cool. I finish my cucumber as I get to school. I'm an hour early. I'm always early. Every other student drives their own car. They seem to forget about me walking, until one of them sees me walking. Then suddenly it's a big deal. I'm so tired of these childish people. They live in their perfect bubbles and look down on anyone slightly different. My locker door bounces back at me as I try to shut my bag in it. Little lockers suck. I stuff it in better and go to the study hall. "Good morning, Aurora. Would you like a cookie? I made too many, once again. They're for my daughter's class. It's her birthday this weekend. She wanted to take in a cookie treat." She doesn't have to ask me twice. She is an amazing cook. "Thank you, Mrs. Young. Tell your daughter I said happy birthday." "I will and you're welcome. Now you better get to studying. Those college prep tests are no joke, and they are coming up quickly." A shiver goes through me. "One week. Yea, I'm going to study." I grab a desk and shove my nose in the calculus book. It seems like two seconds later, she touches my shoulder. "Time to get to class." "Thank you. I was into that." "I could tell." She giggles and roams off. I'm the only one who uses the study hall before school starts. The other students think they're too amazing to study or something. I guess it doesn't matter for them. Their parents will pay for college. I need to ace the tests and hopefully a college will notice me. Mrs. Young and the guidance counselor said they sent letters to a few colleges. Hopefully the letters help. I do not want to be stuck here. The door creaks as I shut it behind me. Mr. Walker glances over his papers. "Almost late, Ms. Aurora." "That's called being on time." Brock, the class stud, smirks. The girls giggle like that was the funniest thing that's ever been said. They bat their eyelashes at him in unison. Mateo pats him on the back. "Right you are." As ridiculous as this is, I'm exceptionally grateful that he took the heat off me. Mr. Walter is glaring at him now. "Just for that, we'll have a pop quiz this morning. Everyone shut your books." There's a collective, "UGH" throughout the classroom. Brock laughs. "Don't blame me. Aurora's the one who was almost late." And just like that, the heat is back on me. "Stupid trash." Holly says it just loud enough for me to hear. My eyes nearly roll to the back of my head. Some people never change. 5th period is lunch. It's not my favorite, but I'm always hungry by then. The only free option is a peanut butter sandwich, a piece of fruit, and milk. This is what I've eaten for the last twelve years because my dad said that was good enough. He's horrible. And it's not that he doesn't make money. He has a job and pays the bills. He just spends all the extra on alcohol or drugs. Food for me never made the list of things that are important. "Hey." I throw my apple at Everett. "Sorry, I was lost in thought." He catches it and hands it back. "This is weird, but you're on the football boosters, right?" "Yes. I have been for six years." "But you never went to a game?" He actually seems curious. I don't think he's trying to be mean. "I help where I can. I couldn't help at your games. That was all you guys." He smiles. "You take the uniforms apart too?" "Yea. We're doing that tonight." "I know it's weird." He stares off into space. "Just say it." "I was wondering if I could get my name badge from the back of the jersey. Being my senior year, I won't see it again. What do they do with them?" "The letters are placed on a black panel and that panel is sewed onto the uniform. When we take them apart, the letters are put away for next year. I doubt if I'll be able to get it. Lots of teachers help with this part. They're not going to hand them over." "That's true. Figured I'd ask. Thanks anyway." I finish lunch and go to study hall. Mrs. Young hands me a book. "This is a practice test. Try it and I'll see how you do. It'll give you an idea about what to work on." "Thank you." I can't believe this. Someone had to have paid for it. These aren't cheap. "Do your best. You have 2 hours. Mr. Nelson signed a pass for you to be here the rest of the day." I almost can't see. Tears are trying to fall. "Time starts now." I wipe my eyes off and open the book. "I'll do my best." Even when the periods change, Mrs. Young keeps the room quiet. I work until I hear the alarm on her phone go off. I think everyone in the room jumps. "Times up, Aurora." She takes my stuff. "We'll go over it in the morning." "Thank you." I blink a bunch. My eyes don't want to work anymore. "15 minutes left. You can stay in here." "Ok." I spend the time trying to get my eyes to focus on anything. That was some little ass print. When the bell rings, I move to the gym. There are only ten students in the football boosters. We help with the patches on the uniforms, stickers on the helmets, cleaning, passing out food during special games, and any other random thing the school can think of. It's better than being at home. I've done this every year they've offered it. Today the gym has five extra teachers in it. They are expecting this part to take a long time. Since football season is over, the jerseys have to be made ready for next year. There is a mountain of jerseys on the table. Everett's is on top. I guess that's a sign. I grab his and a few more and take them to my table. The letters are sewn on a black fabric. Then the fabric is attached to the jersey. The fabric comes off super easy. The patches not so much. We have to take them off one stitch at a time. I 'accidently' knock Everett's name off the table. It lands perfectly in my bookbag. There are no cameras in here. But even if they put a hidden camera in here, it'll look like an accident. I did good and nobody noticed anything. It's a boring, painful, process. I stabbed my finger so hard, it bled on a letter. Stitches are not fun to pull out. 2 hours later, my locker opens with a groan. It probably feels like my back after sitting on hard chairs all day. "If it isn't Aurora." Brock winks. Him and Everett are coming towards me. They're sweaty and in gym clothes. "Football season is over." "Basketball season is starting." Brock shows off the muscles in his arms. "We're doing some lifting." "Seems like running would be better for basketball." It takes an extra yank, but I get my sweater out. "We do that too." They keep going. I catch Everett's eye and point at my bag. "You actually got it?" "Yea, but..." I motion at the camera. "I'll take you home. Come on." "No. I can get home." My heart starts beating faster. I've never let anyone come to my house for any reason. I'm not going to start now. "It's going to storm." "I like the rain." "You're going to get hit by lightening." He crosses his arms. "That's actually very rare. And it's not storming. It's not even raining." "It's supposed to start storming." "The weather people never get it right anyway." Everything he says, I have my comeback ready. "Why are you arguing? Let's go." Brock holds the door. "Kids, it's supposed to storm. Be careful driving." Mrs. Young is always so pleasant, but it's a three-minute drive and it's not raining. I get outside and run for it. In hindsight, this wasn't the best idea. He knows where I live. He pulls up beside me a block away. "Get in the car." "No." "Just get in." "NO." I drop my bookbag onto the passenger seat. Then I get the fabric out and drop it on the seat. "Have a nice night." "Just get in before it rains." He drives beside me at about a mile an hour. "You can be really annoying. I did something nice for you, and you won't leave me alone." "You need to get home before it storms." I roll my eyes and get in. "Just stop in front of my house." "Fine." I stare out the window until he pulls into my driveway. "This is not what you..." "HEY." Dad is working on his car with John. His favorite drinking buddy. "Shit." I grab the door handle, but it doesn't open. "Let me out." I feel like I'm about to die. "What are you doing?" Everett hits the unlock button. "It's supposed to storm. I gave her a ride home." Dad laughs and staggers backwards a step. "You get her pregnant, it's $500 for the abortion, and I'm not paying for it." "I would definitely pay that." John winks at me. I hate that man with a passion. I run to my room and slam the door. They'll pass out eventually. Hopefully, Everett got out in one piece. It's his fault though. I told him to stop on the road.