Trying To Be Normal

Prologue

I am definitely not a morning person. Who is? Mornings suck. They're all like 'Hey! Sleeping? I don't care!'. My cat, of course, is laying on my forehead. Bean (my cat) always was a good alarm clock. Yay?

I feel around my bedside table until I find the cool rim of my glasses. I bring them to my face and fit them above my ears. Bean had gotten up when she felt me stir. I bring myself to a sitting position and stroke Bean's striped back. "Good kitty," I say softly. Pulling the string on my bedside lamp, I get up and head to my dresser adjacent from my bed. I pull out a tee and skinny jeans, and put on my old hunting boots. I put them on briskly and grab my concealer. This is the only make up I put on, just so I can hide the purple spots under my eyes and the veins you can see under my pale skin. I put my hair up, and I'm done. I jog out of my room and down the stairs, taking them three at a time. I meet my mom at the bottom.

"Time?" I ask her.
"Seven forty-five. Not too bad." She says, patting my shoulder.
"Thank go-" I say, but I quickly correct myself. "Thank goodness." My mom is so strict about that. We are Christians, but I go to a public school for financial reasons. Dad works in the mornings and mom rotates part time jobs to put me and my brother Ethan through school.

I walk past mother and go into the kitchen. Ethan is playing some game on his phone and I go to grab a piece of toast.

"Hey sis." he says, not looking up.
"Hi."

I eat my toast and drag Ethan away from his phone. We say goodbye to mother and run out the door.

We jog down the street of our neighborhood discussing what might happen at school today. He has a test in math today. He's in fifth grade and I'm in eighth. We never really fight since we have close ages and like the same things. We finally approach the rusty bus stop and sit on the curb. A spring breeze ruffles Ethan's hair and blows my bangs into my mouth. "Bleh!" I say as I drag my hair from my mouth. Ethan laughs, and eventually I do too, that sisterly laugh that you just do to make your bro happy. I don't mind.

The bus squeaks to a stop, and we get on together.