Fifteen Feet Ahead

Chapter XII

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Chapter XII
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My alarm rang and shook me awake. My first thought that morning, Dani. My first sensation that morning, a stomachache, a sickening stomachache. I knew from the moment my head lifted off the pillow that today was going to be a rough day. Something bad was going to happen, and I could just feel it in my gut.

I clopped down the wooden staircase and poured myself a bowl of my daily frosted flakes along with a cup of two percent milk.

Minutes later my dad came into the kitchen, dressed in his tie and work clothes, drinking his daily cup of coffee. He didn't even say good morning.

He said, "You should stop eating those for breakfast every morning." Gesturing to my cereal, he took one last final gulp from his mug.

"I like frosted flakes."

"But there's no nutritional value in them. You should start eating oatmeal, Special K, or even a bagel with cream cheese is better than that." Like there was any nutritional value in his coffee. At least I ate breakfast, unlike most of the kids at school who would rather sleep in or spend time putting on perfect makeup instead.

I rolled my eyes, "So."

"Don't you look at me like that. I happen to know somethings." This day already sucked.

I climbed back upstairs, threw on a pair of jeans and an old t-shirt, brushed my teeth and hair, covered up my acne, tossed on my thirty pound backpack, and headed to the bus stop.

I listened to music like I did every morning, but I found myself listening to darker stuff like Lana Del Rey or The Neighbourhood, rather than my usual Walk The Moon. I couldn't listen to happy summertime music right now.

I saw Duncan on the bus that morning like I always did, we didn't talk much.

"Today is gonna be a bad day," I told him with one bud plugged into my left ear.

He frowned, "It might be, and even if it is, trust me. Things were return back to normal in a week or so."

"I sure hope so,"

"I promise you,"

"Thanks, Duncan." I forced a smile as we headed inside school.

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By fourth period, it began to rain, and every fifteen or so minutes low rolls of thunder would rumble outside the window. I was in Spanish Class, and I always caught myself watching the rain, daydreaming. My mind wandered back to that day Sanders and I ran together through the storm, thinking about how much I would give to go back to that day and relive it all over again.

The sky was dark, and the Palm trees were blown by the wind. I knew the storm would probably be over in thirty minutes or so, it would be sunny again soon. That's how it worked in Florida.

"Miranda, can you tell me what the answer is for número seis?"

"Huh?" I mumbled, shaking myself out of my wonderland.

"Número seis, por favor," Mrs. Fernandez was shaking her head from side to side.

My face instantly heated and turned a bright red, "Uh--I'm sorry, what page are we on?"

She rolled her eyes, "Quince en su paqueta."

"Oh," I was frantically flipping through the pages, and I swear the entire class could hear my racing heart beat. I could feel them staring at me, just like they did in the cafeteria yesterday.