lights are on, (but nobody's home.)

Chapter Three: coffee stained cigarettes.

"-and I'm not going to tell you again!!" my aunt shut my bedroom door as hard and loud as she could. I heard her muffled curse words outside the door.

I rubbed my sore, red eyes and I got out of bed. I tiredly walked over to my window and plucked my uniform that was hanging from the curtain rod. the uniform was a dark green blazer, a matching midi skirt, a white button-up shirt, a dark green striped tie, white stockings, and black loafers. I put it all on (took me a bit to figure out the tie, but I did it!), brushed my hair, and walked downstairs into the bathroom.

where I brush my teeth, put on a little bit of my aunt's perfume, and I went number 1. while I was doing my thing, I felt something slip out of my....um, y'know. so I got some toilet tissue and checked to see if....the communists were in the basement. if you catch my drift *wink, wink*.

I looked at the piece of tissue, it was covered in blood.

I panicked.

I put some toilet tissue in my underwear and walked out of the bathroom to go find my aunt, hoping she had a menstrual belt. "auntie?" I yelled from the top of the stairs. "yes?" she replied. "d-do you happen to have a menstrual belt!?" I stumbled on my words a little. why was I embarrassed? I've gone through this every month since I was 12. "it's in the cabinet below the sink, in the bathroom. hey look you better hurry it's half past seven!" she replied. "don't worry." I walked back up the flight of stairs and went back into the bathroom.

I found the belt, I clipped on the pad, took off my panties, and slipped it on. I put back on my panties, washed my hands, and I grabbed a fist full of pads to stick into my bag. I walked out of the bathroom and picked up my bag that was lying there, standing alone at the top of the stairs. I came down the stairs and walked into the kitchen, and grabbed an apple. "bye-" "you have to take my old bike to get there and I want you straight home after classes have ended!" my aunt interrupted me. "okay" I grabbed my coat, and walked out the house.

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I looked around for a minute trying to find the said bike when I noticed a rusted bike in the alley between her house and the neighbors. "that must be her bike!" I walked over to the rusted thing, grabbed its handlebars, and pulled it from the alley. "when did she get this thing, 1879? geez!" I threw my leg over the rusted bicycle and pushed off. the wheels were still pretty good because my aunt had probably not ridden it in years.

while I was riding down the sidewalk, I could barely breathe! my throat was extremely dry from the cold air. it was dreadful.

•15 minutes later•

When I made it to school. I hopped off my bike and began walking toward the gates. my legs were throbbing it was so cold.
I noticed a group of boys standing on the right side of the gate. I didn't pay any mind to them, I didn't care honestly. I propped my bike up against a tree (I'm pretty sure no one was gonna steal this piece of junk). I began walking through the gates, then I was...distracted.
"Hey! Blondie! Are you new? Haven't seen you around the halls." A cocky voice rang out behind me. I quickly turned around to see a boy leaning up against the gate with a smirk painted across his face. "Wouldn't you like to know?" I then turned back around and walked away. I heard laughing from the other boys in his little group. "The name is John Lennon if you would like to know." The boy shouted from the gate. "I wouldn't, But thanks!" I over-enthusiastically smiled and then walked up the steps to the school. I heard all the boys laugh including that John character.

I pulled the handle as hard as I could. but the door wouldn't budge. "hey! the door isn't unlocked until 7:50!" a voice came out of nowhere. I turned around to see a shorter girl, with ebony hair and an abundance of freckles on her pale skin. "oh! I'm sorry! I didn't know." I apologized. "it's ok- WAIT!! you're American?" she looked at me, astonished. "no, I'm Dorothy." she laughed at my witty reply. "...my name is Lydia. " she smiled. "nice to meet you, kitty." I smiled. "so where are you from in America?" Lydia inquired. "I'm from a suburb of New York City." I replied. "have you ever been to New York City?" she asked, whilst straightening her tie. "um...no. no, I haven't. my mother said 'it was too dangerous' so, we stopped asking." Julia and I always wanted to go to the city, but we were never allowed to.