Vienna

chapter ten

Do you ever wake up and know you're gonna have a bad day?

From the moment my alarm went off this morning, I knew it was going to be a bad day. My mind was clouded by sad thoughts and my limbs felt like a trillion pounds.

I made the executive decision to stay home from school today, figuring my dad won't get the call until school is already out.

I used to feel like this every day, but once I reached high school my new friends helped distract me. Daisy tried her best to help before that, but I had just wanted to be alone.

My dad tried getting me a therapist, but I've never been very good at talking about my feelings. My dad made me keep seeing the therapist for a year until he realized it wasn't helping. At that point in time, I thought nothing would.

But freshman year I met Hannah and she introduced Daisy and I to her boyfriend and all their friends. It was like a little sunbeam finally peaking out of a cloudy sky.

I hadn't had many friends until then. Daisy was basically my only friend that stuck around through my little isolation phase following the accident.

We met in second grade when she shared her gummy worms with me on the playground. We've been inseparable ever since.

That's what I love about Daisy. She's the most fiercely loyal person I have ever met. Once you show her you trust her and she can trust you, she'll stand by your side forever.

Of course she had other friends that she tried to introduce me to, but none of them were able to bring me out of my shell much.

That's where she and I differ. Daisy is the most outgoing person I know. She could make friends with anyone anywhere.

There was this one time she befriended a French girl on a family vacation, and they spent the entire day hanging out together. She didn't even speak English.

Eventually my muscles felt sore from laying in bed for so long, so I dragged myself to the bathroom. I decided to light some candles and take a relaxing bubble bath.

Baths are my guilty pleasure.

While I was in the bath I decided to call Melissa and see if she needed an extra volunteer at the rescue today. Luckily she did, so I was added to the schedule.

If there's anything that can salvage my day, it's working at the rescue. It's practically free therapy.

Daisy had called me right when I got out of the bath to check in since I wasn't at school. She offered me a ride when I mentioned I was volunteering today.

I quickly threw on leggings and an oversized sweatshirt. I decided against wearing makeup since It'd probably just rub off. I slipped on my white chunky tennis shoes and ran out the door.

"Hi V!" Daisy exclaimed when I got into her car. 

I gave her a hug and we chatted all the way to the animal rescue.

"Are you sure you can't make it tonight? It'll be super fun!" Daisy wiggled her eyebrows excitedly as I stepped out of her car.

Ellie was hosting another party tonight even though there was no football game to celebrate. However, after the day I had I decided I'd rather just stay home. 

"Sorry," I pouted. "I promised my dad I'd go out to dinner with him," I lied.

I felt bad for lying to Daisy, but I didn't want her worrying about me all night. She deserves to have a fun night without having to deal with me and my issues.

I waved goodbye to my best friend and headed inside. 

The rescue was swarmed with people when I walked in. I'd never seen it so busy, Melissa must be overwhelmed. No wonder she agreed to me coming in so quickly.