Love, Azlyn

New Year

I woke up to my alarm blaring. Sticking my hand under my pillow, I pulled out my phone and quickly shut it off. Why does school have to start so freakin early? Don't teachers know our brains don't function as soon as we get up? With a loud groan, I hug my pillow closer and just stay there for a few minutes.

First day of junior year and I'm already wishing it was over. The sun starts shining through my window telling me it's time to get out of my comfy bed. I sigh and toss the blankets off my body instantly regretting it as the cold air hits my bare legs. I grab my phone and check the time.

7:10 a.m.

I'm not one to get all dressed up for school and it doesn't take long to put on my makeup. I can hear my siblings and mom upstairs getting up. We live in a two story house with three bedrooms, one guest room, and a office. Having two sisters and five brothers, with me being the oldest, I chose to get the guest bedroom which is down stairs. My sister Grace,whose fourteen, got the office as her room, Isaac, whose sixteen, shares a room with Noah and Nate, who are both 15, and Adrian, 11, and Robert, 12, share the other room. My sister Soraya, whose 5, still sleeps in my mom and stepdads room.

I get off my bed causing it to squeak and make my way into my bathroom. Being that it's the guest bedroom, it has its own bathroom. Isaac got jealous when we first moved it because I get my own personal space. Hey, I'm the oldest. Of course I get my privacy. Well, sometimes. My step dad, Danny, is an ass. For the past five years he and my mom have been having problems. Ever since we started going to this new church, he thinks he's all godly and everyone under his roof has to follow his rules.

This of course didn't sit well with my mom whose very independent. They're always arguing over stupid things and since my mom is a violent person, things are thrown. I usually take all the kids away when they fight. I'm seventeen years old and I've been taking care of kids since I can remember. I had flunked second grade so that's why I'm a year older then most people in my grade.

After I rinse my face off with some water, I brush my teeth and put on my makeup. Simple powder, mascara, blush, eyeliner, and some lip gloss. I grab a red tank top, some blue skinny jeans, and my red high top chucks. I have long curly hair down to my waist. I had dyed it a mohagany color before school started and I love the way it looks. I quickly make sure I have my binder and things in my back pack, grab my phone and head to the livingroom.

By now my brothers are in the kitchen and my mom's yelling at the others to wake up already. I drop my backpack on the couch and go back into the kitchen warming up a poptart.

"Who do you have first period?" Isaac asked me.

"Mrs. Bagley. Food and nutrition. What about you?" I ask leaning against the breakfast nook.

"Mrs Clark. Health. I heard she's a bitch," he mumbled.

"Haha, yep. I had her in seventh grade when she was at Divisadero."

"Great," he said.

"Is Grace up yet?!" My mom yelled from up stairs.

"No!" Me, Isaac, Nate, and Noah all yell back

"Grace!! Get your ass up!!" My mom yells.

Grace is the laziest of us all. She never likes getting up in the morning and we always run late because of her.

After everyone's all dressed we pile into our mini van. Unlike some kids, I'm not embarrassed by having my mom take me to school or being seen in a mini van. As we drive to the elementary a few streets down to drop off Soraya, Adrian, and Robert, I quickly send a text to see whose at school yet.

My group of friends always meet up at one spot. Katie Wheeler is the short thick one of us all. She's also the blondest one yet she's a brunette. She has freckles all over her face and the whitest teeth I've ever seen. Then there's Catherine Adams, Cat for short, she's a dirty blonde with green eyes and a perfect complexion, she's short too. Sereena Torrez, Reena, is a brunette dark eyes, and is my best friend out of the group. We met soft more year in drama class. There's Marley Mendoza, she's the Spanish one, like full on Spanish girl. Has the big accent and everything. We met in seventh grade and stuck with each other since. And last but not least, Sherry Valez, Cherry, she's the shortest of us all at 5 foot, has brown hair. Wears glasses, brown eyes, and light skinned. I'm the tallest at 5'8.