Borrowed Time

Chapter One

The first day of school used to be an event that Juliette Smith could look forward to, full of reunions with friends and days that promised to be both mundane and interesting... but she couldn't find it in herself to care this time. She wasn't excited about going back, about seeing the people she hadn't even cared about enough to text over the summer... if it were up to her, she'd probably just spend the whole year in her room with her best friends, Shelby and Micheal; that was how she'd spent the summer. Just the three of them, like it'd been from the start.

She didn't want to worry herself with all of the social pressure that came along with being a senior... Well, not with being a senior per se, but with being her. She'd rather be someone less known, someone who could exist as nothing aside from a faceless person blending into the background, someone who would be easily forgotten once graduation came to pass... God, she'd give anything to live that life.

"Juliette? Micheal is here, he's in the driveway." She paused in front of the mirror, frowning slightly at the outfit she'd picked out. It was cute enough, a pair of jeans and a shirt that she'd stolen from Shelby during one of their many overnights over the summer... but the jeans were tight and if they felt tight standing up they would feel even tighter sitting down, and that was most of what the first day would entail; sitting, standing, sitting, standing... stuck in a cursed loop until May. She stepped out of her jeans, kicking them off of her legs before she dug through her dresser, pulling out a worn out pair of cheer sweats. Perfect. She slid them over her legs, welcoming the forgiving, soft fabric. Thank god. She sighed, feeling content as she slipped on her shoes and picked up her bag from the floor. The last thing she wanted was for her step mother to remember that she could actually come up here.

"I'll be down in a minute!" She called, giving herself one last glance in the mirror. Her hair wasn't too messy, her makeup still looked fine. Aside from the sweatpants, Samantha should've had no reason to get on her case. Juliette groped around on her bed, grabbing her phone cord to shove into her bag before she turned and rushed down the stairs, determined to get out the door before her stepmother saw her... not that that ever seemed to work for her. Samantha lurked around every corner, always waiting to correct her on something, obviously today wasn't going to be any different. She'd never been lucky enough to avoid her 'watchful eye'.

"You'd better hurry, I know you don't want to be late on your first day... I know your father wouldn't take too kindly to that news." Juliette jumped, turning to see her stepmother leaning on the entryway to the kitchen, a smirk on her face. She sighed, pulling her backpack over her other shoulder as she stepped backward away from her, tripping over a discarded shoe. But still, she didn't break eye contact. Juliette treated Samantha the opposite of how Perseus treated Medusa; don't let her out of your sight. She painted on a fake smile, glancing down at her phone to see a text from Micheal. Probably asking where I am.

"My father wouldn't care either way, Samantha." Juliette said, keeping her tone sickeningly sweet. She watched as her step-mother surveyed her outfit, nose wrinkling when she got down to the pants. Yeah, that was about what she had been expecting.

"Are you wearing sweatpants?" She asked, and Juliette sighed, nodding. She didn't have time for this, she was already running late... which Samantha knew and would care about if she wasn't an asshole.

"Yeah. My jeans felt tight, and I didn't want to struggle to feel comfortable all day." Juliette explained, and Samantha sighed, crossing her arms across her chest like she was disappointed. Personally, Juliette didn't feel Samantha had any right to be disappointed in her, considering the fact that she'd done nothing to turn her into the person she was today. Six years ago she was just a cashier at Stop 'n Shop... One call to her father about the truth about how she treated Juliette, and she'd go right back to it.