List, Love and Everything Above

Chapter Four: A Ride Home

"Ellie! Ellie! Wake up! You're going to be late for work!" Finn yells in my ear, causing me to jerk upright and open my eyes.

"What time is it?" I ask, groggily.

"It's almost 5:30, if you don't get up right now and get dressed then you won't make it on time," Finn informs me.

That sentence wakes me up completely and I immediately get out of bed and rush to the bathroom.

While in there, I quickly brush my teeth with some mint toothpaste and braid my long, tangled blonde hair down my back. The curls in it today are untamable, so it's best to just do something simple with it to hide them.

I half heartedly apply some mascara and lip gloss, leaving my freckles and bare skin out for the world to see. I don't have time for my usual routine, so I guess I just have to settle for this.

I take a minute to stop and look at myself in the mirror. I'll admit, I don't look too bad for putting in minimal effort. Small curls that escaped from my braid frame my face, and my braid goes halfway down my back. My hair is a little greasy at the top, so the uniform hat will have to make its best attempt to cover that up.

I make my way back into my room, Finn no where in sight. He probably went downstairs to get some breakfast and talk to my dad about the cookies, I figure. So, I slip out of my sweats and tank top and put on my uniform which I forgot to wash.

The skirt ends a little more than halfway down my knees and the pleats are a little wrinkled because I didn't bother to iron it. I spray some perfume all around me, and put my hat atop my head.

I smile at myself in the mirror on the back of my door, satisfied with myself, and make my way downstairs to grab something for breakfast.

There, sitting on the breakfast bar, is Finn and my dad and my father is standing next to the counter beside them.

"Hey, father!" I exclaim, walking over to him and standing on my tip toes to kiss him on the cheek.

"Hey, sweetheart? Off to work already?" He asks, yawning.

He was probably very tired. Father is a nurse up at the local hospital. He works from 12 p.m. to 12 a.m. so he's very tired in the early mornings. He usually takes a nap in the morning before he's off and back to the hospital again.

"Yeah, I'm running a little late so I can't really stay to chat," I inform them, grabbing a granola bar out of the cabinets.

"That's alright, honey. Don't be late on your second day!" Dad exclaims, handing Finn a container of cookies and sending him on his way.

Finn and I head to the door and I check the time on my phone. 5:45. Perfect timing since it only takes us 15 minutes to get to the diner and I had to be there by 6 sharp.

"Let's go!" I rush Finn as we reach his car and get inside.

"If you're going to rush me so much, then you can drive yourself Miss Oversleeper," Finn shoots at me.

"You know that's impossible for me to do, so there's no point in even suggesting it," I say, opening the passenger side door and getting in.

Finn knows I can't drive. I never even took my driving test. I had been in a really bad accident with my dad during my early middle school years, leaving me with some very bad memories and scars large enough to keep me scared of driving the rest of my life. I didn't even consider learning how to drive after the accident because I knew I'd be too scared to even sit in the drivers seat, never mind drive the car. I had been so shaken up after the accident that I wouldn't even step foot into a car after it for a whole two months and would only ride my bike places or walk.