Girls Blossom Up Like Flowers

Another Tuesday for me.

My eyes peeled open to the blank ceiling above. "Ugh, time to wake up already" I moaned as I sat up. Oddly enough, I peered at my alarm clock not far off from my bed (5:20). The sound of water sloshing around the house downstairs and the sound of faint humming along to some music.  "kanugo kanugo kanugo" echoed downstairs faintly. "Maybe my mom is just doing some cleaning, in the meanwhile maybe I could try to get my sleep on." I thought, smiling to myself as I tucked myself into bed, "I'll wait until the alarm rings." I closed my eyes wistfully as I dozed off again.

(beep beep beep beep) my alarm clock chirped.

"Just a few more minutes, please..."I murmured to myself, snuggling my blanket up close to gather its warmth against the freezing outdoors. I heard a familiar footstep into my room, "Zawadi, wake up, you do this all the time." Subira remarked. "I don't want to wake up, Subira"I groaned, I sat up, noticing my spine uncomfortably shifted overnight. "Another Tuesday for me." I contemplated with myself as I arose, stretching my back to put it back in place. Subira stood there, watching me stretch. "We might be late to the bus stop, hurry up." she urged as she pulled me out, she was in her pink robe so I could tell she already showered. The scent of her vanilla perfume lingered. 

I hopped in to shower as quickly as I could, barely scrubbing myself at the speed of light and dashing off to change in an equally quick time. "Zawadi, let me in." my sister clamored, I opened the door for her"What outfit are you wearing to school today?". "I honestly have no idea-" before I could even finish my sentence, my sister quickly rushed off to my closet to choose outfits. Minutes passed of trying on clothing and choosing outfits and finally, she came to a single choice. Considering its my sister, her coming to a single clothing choice is a strange thing.

 "I think, this brown demi-sweater, paired with the brown trousers and this white shirt could work" She remarked, urging me to put it on. I slid the outfit on and stared at the mirror, I stared at my reflection. Oddly enough, I liked the clothing on me. "You look beautiful." my sister exhaled gently, considering its my sister, that's a rare thing to hear.I walked downstairs to check in on what could be for breakfast. "Morning" my mom said whilst sipping a cup of chai, my dad sat beside her, sipping his tea and munching on a sandwich gladly. My sister cascaded quickly behind me, she was dressed well, in a white tee-shirt, a hoodie and blue jeans. It looked flawlessly gorgeous on her.  We sat next to each other and began to eat, I noticed my parents served guashe and ndoma while we went for sandwiches alone.

"What do you girls expect from the new school year?" my dad queried. "I hope I keep my position in student council and hopefully get better at sports." my sister mentioned calmly while she took a bite of her sandwich. "I just hope it isn't as bad as middle school honestly" I reasoned with myself silently as I sipped on my chai. "What about you, Zawadi?" my mom interjected, disrupting my gloomy flow of thoughts. "Um, not really looking towards a plan for the grade, mom" I tried to speak, but rather it came out pretty murmured. Slowly a foreboding sense filled my stomach, like an endless pit formed. My heart sped up, but felt like it was fighting for each pump. A nauseating wave washed over me, "Sorry, I'm just not that hungry right now." I uttered before leaving the table to go brush my teeth. A dark cloud formed over my thoughts, the same dark cloud from yesterday, familiarly melancholic.

As I brushed, I stared into the mirror, "maybe I don't really look that good". I gazed into the vacuous reflection peering into my outfit. I went into my room to change into a more comfortable outfit. Suddenly, I heard steps, they sounded like my sister's. I changed as inconspicuously as I could, she would be upset if she knew. Suddenly a familiar knock was heard, "Zawadi, could you let me in, I forgot my toothbrush in there." My heart skipped a beat, I stayed quiet, I had only managed to remove my shirt. When the door flung open abruptly.