Weeping Willow

Chapter 1 - Willow

 "To live is the rarest thing in the world. Most people exist, that is all." — Oscar Wilde

It was finally here. The moment that I had been waiting four long years for. The first day of Senior Year. I suppose there are some people who enjoy high school. I suppose there are some people who even consider it the best years of their life. I was not one of those people.

My time in high school had been draining and I was excited that it was finally coming to an end. I could not wait for college and the chance at a fresh start away from this town and its never-ending memories.

I sat in front of my bedroom mirror and ran a comb through my unruly, black curls. They were the same curls that led to the cheerleaders at school looking at me with either disgust or pity. I buttoned up my school uniform, a blue cardigan that was frayed at the cuffs. With a deep sigh, I folded up the cuffs to hide the damage. School uniforms never do look as crisp and clean as they appear on shows like Gossip Girl. Mine had been worn regularly for years and had a sweat stain under the right armpit if you looked closely. Luckily for me, no one ever did.

I grabbed my cosmetics bag and applied a coat of black mascara to my eyelashes. The extent of my makeup knowledge was close to zero, but I figured that as long as I did not end up looking like a raccoon, I was doing it well enough. One thing that I had learned after years of school was that the fresh-out-of-bed look was an easy way to draw attention to yourself. Putting on some makeup showed the other girls that you were at least trying. Just the slightest effort with mascara helped me ward off any teasing and bullying. Either that or the other girls felt sorry for me.

"Willow, hurry up or you are going to be late!" Mama called from downstairs.

I grabbed my backpack from my chair and slung it over my shoulders. When I walked into the kitchen, Mama stood near the counter and looked at me with a glimmer of pride. 

"Are you excited, my love? You're so close to being done. I can't believe this is your last first day of high school."

I grinned and grabbed my lunch bag from the kitchen table. "I'm ready to graduate now, Mama. Senior year is just a formality that I have to go through."

It was true. I had already been accepted to my dream college, the University of Michigan - Ann Arbor. Now, I just had to maintain my grades, keep my head down, and survive until graduation.

Mama kissed my cheek. "Enjoy every second of it."

I nodded obediently and allowed her to pull me in for a hug. After saying goodbye to Mama, I walked the two blocks towards the closest bus stop to my house. The high school buses did not come to my neighborhood because I lived outside of the school district. I also never learned how to drive so the city bus was the only option for me. Just the thought of driving caused a wave of anxiety to pass over me. I had some heavy baggage when it came to driving. 

It all stemmed back to my father. Eight years ago, he passed away in a terrible car accident. After what happened to him, the idea of driving was terrifying to me. Just the mention of it gave me a near panic attack. My heart raced, my palms began to sweat, and I had this overwhelming fear that overtook all my other thoughts. That was one of the reasons why I took the local bus system to school. I could relax, pop on my earbuds, and let someone else take the wheel. I did not have to worry about being in control of a vehicle.

The details of what happened with my father were limited but they would be seared into my brain forever. The police had found his truck floating crookedly in the river. They never found his body. The other items they recovered from the truck were his wallet and two empty whiskey bottles. It was the presence of the bottles that led them to conclude that his cause of death was drunk driving. One empty bottle of whisky was enough to raise an eyebrow. Two empty bottles was glaringly indicative of drunk driving. They made that assumption about him even though they never had a body to test his blood alcohol limit.