Little Miss Popular

01

CHAPTER ONE: PUDU HAIR

Cerise

When I woke up, the only thing on my mind were corn dogs and Liam Hemsworth judo-flipping Chris Hemsworth in the shopping center. What was that about?

I lifted myself out of bed slowly, putting my foot down on the ground and biting my lip with my eyes still closed.

Oh frick.

An icy feeling struck my foot faster than McDonald's could say, May I have your order? Even in summer the floor still hadn't lost it's Elsa powers. I yelped, nearly tumbling out of the bed with the rest of my body.

Trying to blink the sleep out of my eyes, I blindly staggered across the room. The sound of a car horn blasted from out of my bedroom window, earning a few barks from my neighbor's Great Dane. 

Schist, am I that late?

Limping towards the elevator, I jabbed my finger against the G level button repeatedly. When I reached the bottom, which seemed to have taken at least five thousand six hundred and twenty-three of my dad's snores (which, by the way, sounded like an earthquake so loud the people in Australia could feel it), I sprinted out of the elevator while its doors were still opening.

The kitchen finally came to view, and I snatched a box of Froot Loops, stuffed it down my face, grabbed a carton of milk and chugged it down, having them spill carelessly onto my chest.

I wiped my mouth, still chewing madly. I bounded up the stair case, unwilling to take the elevator if it meant I had to do all that waiting again. Yes, I was reasonably sporty, but that still didn't stop me from making my legs burn as I hurried up the long winding steps. Why did we have so many stairs?

I entered the bathroom, took a shower so fast the Flash would be jealous, brushed me teeth and rushed to my room. My grey hoodie was lankily splayed on the floor, strewn aside carelessly after finishing my calculus homework last night. Textbooks were also scattered around, so I bent down to pick them up and shoved them on my desk. I changed into a boring white t-shirt, jean shorts (I never got bored of those), and grabbed my hairbrush, running it through my dark brown hair. I took a peek of my reflection in my vanity mirror.

Stormy grey eyes sparkling with determination met me when I looked. My messy and tangled hair made a bird's nest look neat and soft. A light spray of freckles were visible on my nose, a few brushed lightly on my cheeks. I broke my gaze, looking down and feeling ashamed. Why couldn't I be as pretty as my mother and sister?

After about four strokes, I threw it on my bed, tied my hair back, and pulled my oversized hoodie over my head. The homework I had been doing last night was nestled in the pile of fresh new clothes on the floor. How did it end up there? I shoved my socks on and kicked my feet into my sneakers.

I shoved my homework in my bag, took a last fleeting look of my room, and proceeded to very neatly and gracefully thrust my bedroom window and climbed out, not caring to close it and twisted my way onto a tree branch, letting it carry me down to the ground. 

Ouch. I never tried that before. Due to my eyes fixed onto the Tesla that awaited before me, I did not see the rose bush I barely avoided. It pierced my skin, making me want to look up and ask whoever was out there why the world was conspiring against me.

The car horn shook the air again, so I yelled, "Coming!" to prevent any further damage.

The late summer breeze rippled through my hair, giving me the scent of memories that looked like vibrant splashes and strokes of orange, green and yellow. I breathed it in, savoring the last moments of my life, and ran to the gleaming Tesla.