𝙷𝚊𝚝𝚎𝚏𝚞𝚕 𝙻𝚘𝚟𝚎

04

I WAKE UP to a sleeping Jenny next to me. There's drool on her chin, she looks adorable. I take a picture of her, the click of the camera waking her up. "Nooo come on, please don't post that," she begs.

"Too late. Get ready for your birthday story." I wink at her and she groans into her pillow which makes me laugh aloud. On her way to the bathroom, she gives me a light smack on the back of my head and I'm suddenly reminded of the ten braids hanging over my head, explaining the headache I feel.

I slowly start unbraiding my hair. My fingers aching from the work of freeing my locks and my now wavy hair falling on my shoulders. I push the two front stands behind my ears to get the hair of my face.

As Jenny gets back from the bathroom, I push the covers off me with a dramatic gesture. I barely got two hours of sleep last night and I feel like I could storm off on anyone. I get up from the bed and black spots immediately fill my vision. My low iron fucks me up and the amount of sleep I got last night definitely didn't help much. I stand there for a good minute before I'm finally able to see clearly.

I walk over to the bathroom, swing the handle and slam the door closed behind me. I'm so not in the mood. I could fall asleep right then and there. Standing.

I rest my palms on the top of the sink and stare at the mirror. I look high on drugs. My eyes are bloodshot red and I have dark circles under my eyes the size of Russia. They're so dark, someone could think I smeared eyeshadow all over under my eyes to make it look like that.

I turn on the water, set my hands under it, and splash the cool water on my face. I wince at the contact. However, it did help with my sleeping state. I dry my face with a clean towel but my pyjama tops are still drenched in water.

I reach to a shelf and snatch my makeup bag. These dark circles really need to be taken care off. I apply some conceler and blend it with a sponge. I do the same with foundation. My work isn't that good but it works. I don't have an older sister and my mother was always the 'this stuff ruins your skin' type of mom so now I am standing in front of my mirror like an idiot and try to make my best out of this when in reality I don't know what the heck I'm doing.

I brush my teeth and exit the bathroom, letting the door stay ajar.

I need to be in some comfy clothes today. I'll probably sleep at lunch today instead of eating. I search through my drawers desperately and pull out a pair of grey sweatpants and an oversized hoodie and throw them on my bed.

Jenny is ready now and she's scrolling mindlessly through her phone with a blank expression on her face. We both don't care much about being late today.

I get dressed and we head downstairs. Both of us are too sleep deprived for small talk. Maybe school night sleepover wasn't the best idea after all.

I get to the conclusion that my mom is already off at work because she isn't in the kitchen and I think her car isn't in the driveway.

"Wanna go to Starbucks for coffee and breakfast?" I make a suggestion. It takes Jenny a second or two to process my question and she nods. "Sure. Let's go."

~

I'm sipping at my iced coffee with my knees on my chest, staring at the scenery out of the car window.

We arrive at school soon after. I'm sure I look like a zombie, wandering through the hallways like I'm not already eight minutes late for my class. I stare at my phone. Nine.

I suck on the straw. The coffee is kicking in and I feel a bit better than I felt before.

I knock on my biology class' door, I hear the teacher telling me to enter, I open the door and all the heads turn to stare at me. Embarrassing moment.