[twelve] "because of you i find it hard to trust not only me, but everyone around me." -kelly clarkson
"Paris. . . Paris wake up."
I moan and flip my head to the other side of the pillow, ignoring the voice.
"Paris, you need to wake up! Like . . NOW!"
"No, I don't want to," I mumble.
"But it's Tuesday—" the sheets get ripped off my body and a blast of cold air touches my bare legs. "—and we have to get to school soon!"
I sit up and rub my eyes then look to my alarm clock. It reads 7:45am. I scream.
"Seriously, not in the morning, sis." I look around and see Casey on my bed, along with Joey and Luke standing right next to it.
"Guys what are you doing?"
"Um, waking you up. It's late and we need to get to before school program. Remember?" Luke says, crossing his arms.
"Damn-it. I slept in!" I rush out of bed and open my drawers to get clothes for today.
"Hey!" Casey yells and tugs my smurfette pajama shirt, "You said a bad word."
I groan and say to her, "Sorry. I mean 'oh no! I slept in and now we might be late!'"
"That's ok—"
"Well can you guys go downstairs now? I need to get changed, I'll be down in ten." I push them three out of my room and continue, "Luke, can you please help prepare yours and their backpacks for school? You'll have breakfast at before-school program."
He mumbles a yes and they head downstairs. I shut the door and rush into a pair of old blue jeans and black hoodie, then freshen up, and run down two flights of stairs.
All three of them are packing last minute supplies in their bags and I rush to the pantry to get a granola bar to go. We get to their grade school by 8 o'clock sharp, leaving me ten minutes to make it to my school, before the bell rings to start yet another day in high school.
* * *
By the end of second period I've successfully managed to avoid talking to anyone but a few classmates and answering a couple questions in class. Two girls who are in my English class were telling me about their weekend and I just listened, agreeing to their opinions on clothes and boys. Gratefully, they only asked about my weekend once, and I said that I stayed home to study for upcoming tests.
The bell for lunch rings and I begin to walk to my locker. Everything is still the same: the walls of the school are still that pale yellow color. The students still walk past each other, some ignoring others, some thankfully saying 'excuse-me' when going through a crowd.
My locker is pretty far into the school and to get to it is sometimes a hike from certain classes. When do, I put in my locker combination and search for my lunch. A simple sandwich is all I had time to make—peanut better and jam. Mom's favorite.
"Hey France," I hear a familiar voice say.
I look up slightly and see Lindsay leaning against the locker next to mine. She's wearing heels today—ridiculous if you ask me—which makes her a lot taller than me than usual.
"What? No hello back?" she teases, and I stare into my locker, pretending to find something. But all I'm really looking for is a way out of this mess.
"What do you want?" I ask, not looking at her.
"I'm having a birthday party this Friday night." She pops her gum dramatically and smirks.
YOU ARE READING
Where Dreams Lay
Teen Fiction**UNEDITED** "It's easy to stand with the crowd. It takes courage to stand alone" They say there's a thin line between love and hate. However, there's also a thin line between life and death. One minute you could be so sure everything is okay...
