Anxiety. (J. Hale)

001.

Keelin's joints popped and cracked as she stood up from her bed, pink hair a messy mop on her head and blue eyes hazy. She slipped her shorts back on and left her room, stepping quietly downstairs. Phil was in the kitchen when she walked in, and without looking he poured some creamer into a cup before handing it to the seventeen year old. "Thanks.." she muttered, receiving a nod and a grunt from her step father.

After taking a sip of the coffee Keelin walked towards the dining room, noticing a small rectangular box on the table in front of her mother.

"Your phone got here early, Lin." She said, regarding the pink haired teen with a fixed look. Keelin bit her lip before nodding quietly, kissing her mother's head before grabbing the little box and moving to the living room. There were boxes everywhere, labeled differently depending on what contents they held. Soon, Phil and her mother Reneé would be dragging her all across the country for her step dad's baseball career whilst her sister would go live with their father in Forks, Washington.

She spent the next hour charging and setting up her new phone, punching in numbers and sending texts to let people know it was her and her new phone. Until, a couple misclicks led to her getting the wrong number, and a life changing interaction.

[Keelin: Hey Jasmine, it's Keelin. This is my new number.]

[xxx-xxx-xxxx: Deepest apologies, but this isn't Jasmine.]

[Keelin: huh?]

[xxx-xxx-xxxx: This isn't your friend Jasmine.]

[Keelin: Hold on, let me recheck..]

[Keelin: Shit, I dialed the wrong number. I'm so sorry, it's a new phone and I just woke up an hour ago.]

[xxx-xxx-xxxx: No worries, new phones can be a hassle.]

[Keelin: They sure can be. Again, I'm so sorry, you probably have enough going on without some random girl mistaking your number for her friend.]

[xxx-xxx-xxxx: It's really no trouble ma'am, just sitting in class.]

[Keelin: College?]

[xxx-xxx-xxxx: high school, I'm a junior.]

[Keelin: makes us roughly the same age :P]

[xxx-xxx-xxxx: Name's Jasper, nice to know you aren't another telemarketer.]

[Keelin: Same, they're quite creative now.]

[Keelin: It's a pleasure to meet you though, Jasper.]

Keelin puts her phone down before running her hands down her face, still feeling the swell of embarrassment from getting the number wrong and mistaking Jasper for her friend Jasmine. She felt the telltale pinch in her chest, just as Phil walks in with her medication in hand.

"C'mon now Keelin, you know you gotta take your meds as soon as you wake up." He chided, and the pink haired teen hung her head in shame. She took the medication quickly before looking down as her phone dinged. Phil shook his head before walking away.

[xxx-xxx-xxxx: The pleasure is mine, miss Keelin. :)]

[Keelin: If you're in school why are you still texting me?]

[xxx-xxx-xxxx: I'm too smart for my own good, I already know all of the content they're teaching.]

[Keelin: You'll have to give me pointers lol]

[xxx-xxx-xxxx: You struggle allot?]

[Keelin: Just in anything math related. Unless anxiety counts lol]