Leaving The Friendzone

Chapter 33

Matthews Dunlop.

I was having the best dream ever. I swear I was, and trust me I would know—I didn't normally have many dreams that made total sense by the time I woke up.

The dream was first about cars, sports cars, and drag racing, and I was to battle one of the badass drag racers of all time. The thrill and exhilaration I'd felt in the dream was so real that when I woke up my heart was still beating fast, and the best part of the drag racing? Elena was there to watch, cheering me the loudest as I went. And in the end, I won. We kissed after I did, in the dream. And next thing I knew, the dream had evolved into our wedding day or something and Elena was dressed in a beautiful wedding dress, running around the room and getting her stuff because she was late. And me, I wasn't even ready yet, still dressed in my drawstring pants and tank top. All of a sudden, she stopped hurrying about, turned toward me, and yelled, "Matthew we're gonna be late for the wedding!"

And that's when I woke up, breathing hard, my face drenched in sweat. My alarm was beeping furiously, a futile effort at waking me up while I was still asleep. The time read 7:00 am. Groggily, I turned off the alarm with a bang on its head, realizing it was because of Elena in the dream that I'd woken up.

And then I realized something. Today was Monday, the twelveth of January. And it was 7:00 am already. What was I missing...?

"Holy shit!" I exclaimed shooting up from my bed at once, all the sleep having cleared from my eyes. It was the start of the new term and I was already so late for school, shit!

I threw off my clothes immediately and jumped into the shower. The water was cold, cold, but I didn't care. I stayed under it briefly, soaping my body as the icy beads of water bounded down on my skin, my body, and by the time it was 7:05 am, I was done already.

I got out immediately, having dried myself, and yanked out baggy pants, a checkered shirt, and my sweater because the weather was cold outside. Slipping them on without even applying any lotion, I grabbed my sneakers and stuck my already sock feet in them. Then I remembered the lotion. Taking some, I splattered it on my face and rubbed it down.

Only then did I pick up my phone from my dresser where I'd left it the night before. Switching it on, I grabbed my backpack and headed out of my room.

I ran downstairs to greet my parents.

"Hi, dad." I gave him a brief mom. "Hey, mom." I gave her a miss on her forehead.

"Hey, buddy, how you doing?" Dad asked, putting down the magazine in his hand.

"About to leave," I told him, already heading out of the kitchen where they were.

"You're not going to have breakfast?" Mom asked, turning in her seat toward me.

"No, mom! I'm late already!" I called getting to the front door.

I didn't wait for a reply as I grabbed the door handle, pulled open the door, and stepped out. Hurriedly, I went down the porch steps and over to my car in the parking lot, covered partly with snow. Wiping the most I could down, I got into the car and turned it on, luckily I'd warmed it for minutes last night. The moment it started, I hit the road.

Ten minutes later, I arrived at school, speedily pulling into the parking lot. But the time I arrived, it was already 7:30.

Way to go, big boy, I thought as I got out of the car and locked up. Being late on the very first day, was pretty dope. I was even lucky to find a space to park my car in the already overcrowded parking lot.

Only when I began walking the school building did I take a break to look at my phone. Just before I got to the door, I decided to stand by the corner and go through my messages.