A kiss for Ree

Chapter 4| Ree's happy place

"6 o'clock, it's Monday morning
Life can strike without a warning
Get up, get out, get on
It's a brand new day

Find a dream and never stop, yeah
You've got your friends to back you up, yeah
You crash and burn
So what?

It's a brand new day
No matter what they say
Just shout until you turn around and blast the past away

It's a brand new day
Yesterday is gone
The game is on
It's time to jump and take a leap of faith

It's a brand new day!"

I might not be planning to do something amazing before high school ends, but man—that song just seems to click. 
It’s been replaying in my head since the very first moment my eyes caught a glimpse of morning light.

*Yayyy!
First day of being the ultimate seniors in school! 
We can break the rules!  We can boss around the juniors! Especially Omar.

We can drop subjects we don’t want to do! 
Our skirts might as well be as short as thongs—just kidding though!  We’re literally going to rule the school!

…And study too. 
Yes!. Study!. Most important. I almost forgot that part.

I reached for the knob on the grey door of my wardrobe, twisted it, and pulled it open. 
A burst of pure joy surged through me at the sight of my brand-spanking-new Cleverly High school uniform, hanging perfectly on special hangers—exactly how I’d left it the night before.

The edgy, fancy pleat on the black skirt. 
The razor-sharp whiteness of the white shirt. 
The coal-black, perfectly stiff blazer hanging separately.  And the long black tie already knotted, ready to be fastened.

I sniffed a long puff of air, goosebumps rising all over my skin.  My nerves refused to calm down.  I was so exultantly exultant I swear, I couldn’t be happier.

Cleverly High is like a—  Oh my gosh!

I froze mid-undress, blinking hard to make sure I wasn’t hallucinating.

My pajama bottom was stained.
My period.

Oh geez.

Disgust flushed through me, tangled with irritation.  This was not how I planned to start the first day of school—with a pad jammed awkwardly between my legs.

Still, after a while, I was ready to face the world and have a good day. 
And if Omar wasn’t ready, well… I had already made up my mind to leave him behind. 
He was *not* going to be a dead weight this mornings.

Feeling good in my knee-length black skirt, crisp white shirt, tie, and blazer, along with my black socks edged with double white stripes and brand-new black sneakers—everything new—I felt confident and happy, peaceful and calm. I could just picture how perfectly my day would go.

As I hopped down the grey spiral staircase, I yelled at the top of my voice, making sure wherever Omar was, he’d hear me loud and clear. 
“Omar, let’s gooo!”

But before I even reached the last few steps, I saw exactly what I had expected to see. For the past few days, I’d simply turned back to my room to wait them out. But today, I had to get past them—Lila and her husband, Mr. Bolade. I’d been avoiding Levi too. Looking at him only reminded me of my crushed plans, and… he made my heart leap in a way I didn’t like.

Mr. Bolade’s back was to me, and Lila stood in front of him, whispering something with worry written all over her face. I could care less.

I sighed. “Good morning.”