Chapter One: First Day and Birthday
1270 Words
BEEP!
BEEP!
BEEP!
Today started the same as every day. The blaring alarm going off before the sun even had a chance to wake me.
It was the first day of senior year and also happened to be my birthday. Heck of a birthday gift, eh? I slammed my hand on the alarm so hard it went flying off of my nightstand.
"Good riddance!" I mumbled as I threw my pillow over my head.
Suddenly I felt the impact of something soft hitting me above the blanket. Without moving my head, I reached from beneath my cozy fortress and felt....denim. It was clothes. Ughhhh.
"Rise and shine, love of mine!" A chipper voice shouted with too much enthusiasm for this time of day. "Let's start this birthday off right!"
Dad meant well but no way was I ready to function yet.
"There are apple cinnamon pancakes!" He said while walking away down the hall.
Now THAT peaked my interest. I slowly lifted the pillow from my head and felt the static cling zapping my red curls. The smell eminating from the kitchen and directly into my nostrils was worth all of it. Apple cinnamon pancakes were a birthday tradition in this house.
They were the one dish she had truly mastered as they were a family recipe. My mom is what you would call a workaholic. She is an accountant and genuinely seems to enjoy her job. She puts in bunches of extra hours and is always home late but on days like today, she managed to make time for me.
She isn't my biological mom but my mom died shortly after giving birth to me so she has been the only mom I really knew. I asked my dad about my birth mom a few times but my dad didn't say much. Just that she was lovely and smart as a whip. It seemed to hurt him to talk about her so I didn't push too much. I know she died in a fire but that is all I know.
My dad is the opposite of my mom in basically every way. He is best described as a dorky hippy. Armed with a sweater vest and a smile. He always tried his best to connect with me but he didn't quite get there. Don't get me wrong, he is still my best confidant. We even share the same crazy curly red hair and mischevious spirits. He tries with me and I feel bad that I cannot reciprocate.
It isn't his fault really. I haven't been able to really connect with anyone. I feel like an alien in a human skin. No one really interacts with me outside of this house. It is literally like I don't exist. It is so weird.
Speaking of interaction, time to get ready for school. I slowly pulled the pillow off of my head and immediately smelled the delicious cinnamon. That smell worked way better than that obnoxious alarm clock ever would.
I crawled out of bed and threw on the clothes that dad has tossed at me. Thankfully I had taken a shower last night. Gave me extra time to sleep in today. I am far from what you would call a morning person. I have always been a night owl.
I lumbered down the stairs, rubbing the sleep out of my eyes. The smell of those pancakes drew me to the dining room, where a stack of them were already awaiting me on a plate at the head of the table. Two purple balloons were tied to the chair.
"Happy Birthday Jade." My mom said quickly as she left her mess in the kitchen to finish getting ready to work.
"Happy Birthday sweet pea. You ready for your first day?" My dad asked me as he was starting to scrub the pans my mom left behind.
"As ready I will ever be." I mumbled witha mouth full of fluffy deliciousness.
"You will rock this, pumpkin. Don't let it get you down."
How does he always remain so optimistic?! I took a quick peak at my phone. I had half an hour until the bell rang. I quickly ran up the stairs into my bathroom. As I started to brush my teeth, I gave myself a final look.
My crazy curls weren't manageable. Not like anyone looked at me long enough to judge my hair anyway. My eyes were a jade green with a violet ring around the outside. A light sprinkle of star-shaped freckles crossed my nose. I don't consider myself supermodel gorgeous but I am definitely attractive. I am pretty tall for a girl and willowy.
Shoot! Don't have time to waste. I quickly grabbed my backpack off of the chair in my room, bolting down the stairs and out the door. Running down the driveway, I unlocked my Kia that was parked my the mailbox. It was a gift last year as my mom got a new company car for her work so she gave me her old car. I threw my backpack in the passenger seat and off I went.
As I got to my assigned parking space in the school parking lot, I let out a deep sigh.
"Brace for impact." I muttered to myself as I gathered my stuff and got out of the car.
As I walked up to the doors, it is so much different than they make it look in high school movies. Reality was a bunch of sweaty teens cramming through a single set of double doors trying to get from point A to point B on time. A claustraphobic and stress filled nightmare.
I managed somehow to find my locker and threw my stuff in, grabbing my books for my first period history class and my schedule paper. As I looked at the schedule to try to figure out my heading, someone shoved into me from behind and I faceplanted the floor and my books skidded away. Reorienting myself, I attempted to get up and got as far as crawling on all fours before a hand was offered to me.
Wait....someone ACTUALLY noticed me? Without hesitation, I grabbed the small hand and was pulled up swiftly. I looked up and saw the prettiest set of violet eyes I had ever seen. They were attached to a girl with olive skin and raven black hair. My heart thumped against the back side of my ribcage and for the first time I felt....present. Not going through the motions, I was here...in this moment. The girl flashed a giant, gorgeous smile and giggled at what I am sure was the dumb look on my face. She spoke with a voice like windchimes that said,
"You must be Jade. I have been looking for you."
- Writer
