Every Which Way

I can't handle change

Bzzz... bzzz... ugh, shut up already. I'm not sure who is blowing up my phone at the ass-crack of dawn.. But they better be on their deathbed. Or else I will be the one to put them there. I lay in bed for a moment, curled up with my blankets, basking in my comfort before I finally decided to move. I lazily shuffle around my bed in order to reach my phone that sits on the nightstand next to me. I mean, come on, it's not even 7am yet. Why are we blowing up people's phones for fun, to awaken them from their very much needed beauty sleep? My very much needed beauty sleep.  It must be a new 'trendy' game people are playing nowadays. My eyes squint as I turn my phone on to show my lockscreen. '... are you kidding me right now?' An array of texts pop up on my screen, all from my best friend Maize.

Maize: Ems OMG
Maize: I have TEA
Maize: Wake up asap

The texts pause for a moment, before I'm bombarded by another string of texts from Maize. Of course, it's Maize. I love the girl to death, but she will get an earful from me. Especially because I have another hour to sleep in, and now I definitely cannot fall back to sleep.

Maize: Emaline Henry if I have to come wake you up myself, I will
Maize: Fine I guess you don't want this steaming ... HOT... Tea

I roll my eyes as I read through the texts popping up on my screen, and almost laugh a little. If anybody could solve a cold case within a day; it'd be Maize. That girl should really consider joining our school's journalism club and write daily blogs. Or work on the yearbook. She is never in the middle of drama, but is always one to know every ounce of information. I could honestly care less about what new drama she has to share with me now, but my curiosity gets the best of me. As always.

Me: I'm up now, thanks to your bombarding wave of texts.
Me: Now SPILL. This better be good Maize, or else I will personally bury you 6ft under the ground

I send the texts, then close out messages and scroll through any other notifications I received while acquiring my short lived beauty sleep. Instagram this, TikTok that, nothing I could really care to check at the moment. Until I unveil a notification from my emails. It's most likely spam, but it wouldn't hurt to check. Besides, if it is spam, I've got nothing to lose at least. If it's not spam? It's my lucky day, I guess. Plus, I'm curious. I almost never  use my email for anything. So what could it be?
I press a few buttons, and open the email so that it's covering my screen in full. It's not spam after all. Though, I am puzzled as to why  I'm getting this email. It's from a school, a very prestigious looking school; that I never reached out to.. So how and why are they emailing me? I continue to read through the email to find out.

From: BearingtonAcademy@email.com
To: Emaline_24@email.com
Subject: Warm Welcome!

Dear, Emaline Henry.

It is with open arms that I personally welcome you to attend Bearington Academy For The Gifted Arts in fall, 2024. I am absolutely in love with your portfolio. You've got quite the skill! Your paintings bring a fresh personality to the world, and I deeply admire your technique. Your current transcript is stunning as well. You are quite the perfect fit for our school. I look forward to formally meeting you!

Welcome to Bearington!

Sincerely, Ms. Sara Vespertine

That was... weird. I don't remember applying to a damn boarding school. Especially when it's only early January, and in the middle of my current school year. This has to be a joke, right? I mean, it most definitely is a joke, because if I never applied, why did I get an email about it?
I blankly think for a few minutes, staring at the letter in front of me. I end up deciding to just put it into a "save" folder and ignore it for now. Shortly after, I'm getting another massive wave of texts from Maize.