When Emma was in high school, she had her whole life mapped out: college, career, everything. But when she went to a terrible party that altered her entire future- she had rescinded her college acceptance and moved out of state to get rid of the rum...
I roll over and hit the alarm clock's OFF button, as usual. I roll onto my back and stare at my ceiling. It's Friday... What did I have to do today? I roll back over to face the wall with my calendar on it.
I squinted real hard to read the tiny "DRAWING AT 12" and "ENGLISH AT 3" written right under it. I groan out loud. Drawing class is always a struggle. I have to do what I have to do for a credit, though.
I sit up in bed, stretch, and begin to go through my morning routine. As I'm brushing my teeth, I look over my hair again. How much is a box of hair dye? I could totally cover the colored ends with a natural dark brown box dye set. I shake my head at myself as I spit in the sink. It's better to just let it be.
It's 10:30 by the time I've finished showering, eating, and getting dressed. I sit down at my desk and take a look over the mess I left myself last night. All of my stories have been scattered across the desk. Good thing my memory hasn't failed me, because I distinctly remember all of these being terrible.. except for the possible water nymph saga I wrote across a few pages.
I take the water nymph pages and put them in my backpack, and I take the rest and... dump them in the trashcan next to my desk. They all sucked anyways.
I sit on the edge of my bed and think about that writing contest again. Being published sounds like a dream come true... and $10,000 would cover my rent for almost a year. If only I could actually turn one of my writing ideas into something halfway decent.
My thoughts are interrupted by my phone buzzing on my nightstand. Of course, it's the marketing group chat again. One of them named it "M@RKETING B!TCHE$," which featured a few emojis of hearts and a peach.
OLIVIA: HEYYY!!! HOPE YOU ALL ARE DOING GOOD. I GOT AN EMAIL BACK FROM DEIDRICK. SHE SAYS THANK YOU FOR LETTING HER KNOW OF OUR GROUP CHOICE BUT SINCE WE ARE ONLY A GROUP OF THREE SHE IS GOING TO ADD IN ANOTHER PERSON FOR US
JESSICA: OMG DO WE KNOW WHO????
OLIVIA: GIRL NAMED AMELIA. I THINK ITS THE HIGH SCHOOLER
JESSICA: UGH. I DO NOT WANT TO WORK AROUND A HIGH SCHOOLER SCHEDULE
I'm not upset with the choice that Professor Deidrick gave us. It's better than some of the other choices we were facing in the class. Jessica is right, though. Working with a high schooler schedule is going to suck.
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
I pull into the parking lot of the school and park on the side that has the best view of the doors. I take my notebook out of my backpack in my passenger seat and take a quick look at my car's digital clock. 11:30. I have a few minutes to people watch and write.
My first subject: a lone girl walking to the doors with only one earbud in.
Annalise had a tough morning. She didn't understand why nothing was going her way— from car troubles down to burning her toast. At this point in her day, it wasn't a surprise when her last pair of earbuds decided to stop playing music out of the left ear. At least the sounds of The Beatles helped her get moving to class.
