DISCONTINUED ‼️ 𝗡𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝗦𝗮𝘆 𝗡𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿 || Adam Banks

one || the first morning

Scarlet was still laying in bed, dead asleep. At least, until her oldest sister Ariana walked in. Ariana had one week until she had to head off to her sophomore year of college. Out of the three sisters, Ariana was the responsible one so Scarlet was happy that Ariana would be there for at least her first week of high school.
"Wake up, sis!" Ariana called out from the other side of the room, switching the light switch on. Scarlet was not a morning person at all but was a very light sleeper. Those two things did not work well together.
"Ugh! 5 more minutes, Ari! Please?" Scarlet pleaded.
"Nope! It's your first day, Scar. That means you have to look real pretty, which you always do anyways but you should dress nice and it means you need to be on time." Ariana rambled.
"You act like I give a shit about what a bunch of rich prepsters think of me." Scarlet said in a very annoyed tone.
"Just get ready, Scar."
"I hate you." Scarlet said, rubbing her eyes and sitting up.
"No you don't." Ariana said smiling and earning an eye roll from Scarlet. "Get ready." She left the room, leaving her sister to get ready.
Scarlet put on an old, pre-ripped jean skirt, a solid and plain white tank top, and a black leather jacket. She wore the jacket most days. It was comfortable, really cute, and slightly sentimental. Emma had given it to her for her birthday. She already always cherished things from Emma but she knew this particular jacket was even more special. Emma had saved up all year to get it, knowing her parents couldn't afford it and it's basically all Scarlet wanted. It was a bit too big at first but it was perfect because then Scarlet would be able to wear it for longer. She had time to grow into it. Scarlet loved the jacket and Emma loved that she loved it.
Scarlet paired the outfit with her favorite white sneakers and some silver jewelry. Then, she put on her typical makeup which was a natural look plus eyeliner and lashes. Scarlet then did her typical hairstyle (brushing her hair and leaving it down) and was finally ready. She grabbed her new bookbag and school supplies and ran downstairs.
"Oh, you're finally ready?" Scarlet's mother asked.
"Yup, I really didn't take that long, mom." Scarlet replied.
"Took long enough. Let Ariana take you to school now, hun."
"Alright. See ya later, mom." Scarlet said and turned away, towards the door. Then she realized she had forgotten something, "Where's Emma?"
"Still in bed. Doing online school this year, she can wakeup whenever she wants and start her work. I was planning on getting her up soon. Did you want to do it before you leave?" Mrs. Scott asked, sympathy in her voice. She knew the bullying towards Emma had taken a toll on Scarlet too. She also knew Scarlet would want to talk to her sister before leaving for school.
"Yeah, sure." Scarlet said sadly, going up to her sister's room. "Em?" She knocked softly, earning no answer. So, she opened the door and went over to Emma's bed. She shook her awake and when she noticed Emma's eyes begin to open, she spoke. "Hey, Em."
"Hey, Scar." Emma replied with a tired, morning voice.
"It's the first day!" Scarlet said.
"You're first day. I've been doing this shit for a week already." Emma said with a slight laugh. Scarlet rolled her eyes smiling. "Well, listen up, Sis. Don't and I mean don't talk to those dumbass varsity boys. They might try to talk to you, bother you, but don't listen to them. I wanna let you make your own high school decisions, be dumb for yourself, but that doesn't mean I wanna see you hurt so I want to tell you this one thing to protect you and your feelings."
"I got it, Em. I promise you the only way I'd talk to them is to tell them to screw off." Scarlet said.
"Scar, don't even do that much. I don't want them to hate you and start treating you how they did me." Emma said.
"Okay, fine." Scarlet slightly rolled her eyes.
"Promise me." Emma said, a stern tone and serious look in her eyes.
"I promise, Em." Scarlet said, just as seriously.
Emma hugged her sister and Scarlet headed down the stairs, ready to leave. Ariana turned away from her mother, noticing Scarlet.
"Alright, ready to go?" Ariana asked her little sister.
"Yeah." Scarlet smiled weakly. Ariana got her keys and the two girls headed out the door.
They were driving when Ariana suddenly spoke, "Scarlet?"
"Yeah?" Scarlet questioned, confused.
"Well, I'm sure Emma's whole 'first day of school pep-talk' was all about the varsity team." Ariana began.
"Yeah, it was." Scarlet said, slightly amused by how obvious her sister could be.
"Of course. Anyways, I wanna tell you that maybe you should try to lose the mean girl thing a bit. I know Emma losing herself has been hard on you and it made you lo-" Ariana got cut off.
"Made me what? Made me lose myself?" Scarlet asked angrily.
"No... just try to be you. Don't put on an act and block everyone out."
"I'm not putting on an act! Maybe this 'mean girl thing' is just who I am now. Maybe seeing the way my sister was treated turned me into this 'mean girl' that everyone hates."
"No one hates you, Scar. We just miss when you were happy, when you were you."
"Well, that doesn't sound like you like me!"
"Scarlet, just listen to me. Don't block people out, you won't make friends that way."
"Yeah, I'll just be vulnerable and get hurt like Emma instead."
Scarlet wasn't expecting such a serious and angry conversation that early in her day but at least she didn't think the day could go down from there. She was wrong when she thought that, but it was a comforting feeling at the time.