Gravity

                Gravity. It’s the thing that binds us to the Earth. It’s also the thing that makes things fall. Which is what I am currently doing. Falling. Into a dark, cold, smelly cellar.

                Okay, let’s rewind a little bit. I’m Bekka Morgan, 15-year-old girl and current high school freshman. I would say that I was gorgeous and popular, but in all honesty, I’d be lying. I’m 5’ 3” tall, with dirty blonde hair and brown eyes. My closest group of friends consists of Shayne, and Logan and Ellie, the twins. 

                Shayne is the most popular one of us. He’s 6’ 2” with shaggy brown hair and blue eyes, and he plays football, basketball, and baseball. Logan come a close second. He’s 5’ 11” with shaggy blonde hair, blue eyes, and dimples. Yes, I said dimples, as in baby dimples. Logan  plays basketball and baseball, and he was on the football team in middle school. Last but never least, Ellie. What can I say about Ellie? Well, she’s very pretty. She’s petite with short light blonde hair and blue eyes, and she has dimples like her brother. She’s very smart. She’s in all honors classes, as all of us are, and she’s a dancer. She has danced competitively since she was three.

                My friends are great, but I guess you could say that out of all of us, I’m the “runt of the litter.” I’m not extremely attractive. I mean, I’m not fat, but I’m definitely not skinny. I’m smart, in all honors classes, but I’m not athletic at all. I’m the girl who trips up the stairs when there’s nothing in the way. I tried to take a dance class with Ellie, but by the end of the month, I had more bruises than skills.

                We all go to Westdale High School, home of the Bulldogs. We’re all freshmen, and all of us are relatively new to Westdale. I moved here four years ago with my mom and two sisters from Madison, Alabama. Shayne moved here from Kentucky three years ago, in sixth grade. Logan and Ellie moved here about two-and-a-half years ago from Louisiana. We met in our American History class in seventh grade. We had a big exam, and Mr. McCloud (our history teacher) assigned study group, and the four of us ended up in a study group together. We bonded over the Civil War and the Industrial Revolution.

                Anyways, rewinding to where it all started: the first day of freshman year.

                “Bring! Bring! Bring!” the stupid alarm clock blared in my ear.

                I groaned and threw a pillow at the annoying contraption. I got up and rubbed my eyes. Looking over, I shook Ellie to wake her up. She and I’d had a sleepover last night. As usual, she just mumbled incoherently and turned over, ignoring the wake-up call.

                I slipped on my favorite Elmo slippers and padded into the bathroom to wash my face. I was in the middle of brushing my teeth when the delicious aroma of sizzling bacon and pancakes wafted up from the kitchen. I finished brushing my teeth and walked sleepily down the stairs.

                “Morning, sweetie!” Mom chirped from the stove. “I made breakfast.”

                “Thanks, Mom. Coffee?” I groaned, getting a mug from the cabinet.

                “I just made a fresh pot.”

                “You are a lifesaver!” I sighed, pouring myself a cup of coffee and going to the fridge for some creamer. I stopped when I heard forks scraping across a plate and food being shoved into someone’s mouth. Turning around, I saw Shayne, Logan, and Katie, my younger sister, snarfing down the pancakes and bacon like there was no tomorrow.

                “Yeah, two questions. One, what the heck are y’all doing here? And two, why the heck are you wolfing down all my food?” I asked, putting a hand on my hip.

                “Well, one, your mom let us in.” Shayne began.

                “And two, she offered us breakfast. Thanks, Mrs. M!” Logan smiled, shoveling another bite of pancakes into his mouth.

                “So y’all don’t text anymore? A little notice would be nice.” I asked, getting my own plate of breakfast.

                “We did text you. At least three times. Logan’s dad couldn’t take us to school, so Mrs. M said we could ride with you guys.” Shayne explained, taking a bite of bacon.

                “Whatever. I just need my coffee. It is way too early for me to be awake. I don’t know how anyone does it.”

                “Good morning, all!” Ellie bounced into the room. “Ooh! Coffee!”

                “Nuh-uh. No, ma’am.” I said quickly, taking the coffeepot out of Ellie’s already hyper hands. “The coffee is mine. The orange juice is for you.”

                She pouted and gave me a look, reaching for her orange juice. Logan began laughing at his sister.

                “Oh, shut up and eat your pancakes.” I glared, taking a sip of coffee.

                “Still too early, huh?” Shayne chuckled.

                “It’ll still be too early until noon.” I groaned. “Thank God school doesn’t start until 10:00 today.”

                “Yeah, it would be great,” Logan smirked. “If it wasn’t 9:00 right now.”

                I choked on my coffee. “Are you serious?”

                “Yes, honey. It’s 9:00. You have about thirty minutes to get ready.” Mom said slowly.

                “Oh, my gosh!” I yelled, running back upstairs.

                Twenty-five minutes later, I had showered, scrunched my hair, and gotten dressed in an outfit Ellie and I picked out last week when we went back-to-school shopping. Ellie had dried her hair and was applying her new mascara when the boys knocked on the bathroom door. I groaned and finished tying my shoe before answering.

                “What?” I asked, cracking the door.

                “Five minutes until we leave.” Shayne said quickly.

                “Okay. Is that all?”

                “Yeah. That’s it.”

                I rolled my eyes and shut the door. He’s so weird. Ellie was zipping up her make-up bag when I turned around.

                “You ready?” she asked.

                “I have to grab my bag, and I’ll be ready.”

                “Kay, I’m going down to the car.”

                “Kay.”

                I ran into my room and grabbed my bag, spritzing some perfume before running downstairs and going down to the car.

                The car ride was long and uneventful. There hadn’t been enough room in the back, so Shayne had called dibs on the front passenger seat, much to the chagrin of the rest of us. We joked and laughed, until the car rolled to a stop at the last red light. The school was only a few hundred yards of road away. What a terrifying thought.