Bright Eyes

Beep…beep…beep.

I reached over and turned off my alarm clock. I had been awake all night. Why would I need an alarm clock to wake me up when I hadn’t even slept in the first place? I pushed the covers off and stretched. It was a bright and happy morning but I didn’t feel the least bit happy. I hated school. I had no friends. I was always the loner and I still don’t know why. Some people tell me they think I am a vampire because of my pale skin but we all know vampires don’t exist. People also think my hair was fake and that I have to dye it because it is a bright shade of red but honestly, it really was the natural shade of my hair. I had gotten it from my great grandmother. My family had a large picture of her over the fire place. I have spent many nights just staring at it. I have been told that no one else in the family has red hair; only me and my great grandmother. I did all my usual morning stuff and walked over to my closet. I didn’t really have a specific style. I usually wore whatever I felt like wearing. That morning, I pulled on a white, knee length summer dress and pulled my bright red hair into a messy bun. I slipped on a pair of white flats and started on my makeup. I usually didn’t wear too much makeup because it took too long but I felt it was necessary today. I didn’t want to go full out with black so I decided to do a Smokey eye with natural shades of brown. When that was done, I put my books into my bag and walked down stairs.

“Good morning m’lady!” my Dad said in a medieval accent. I laughed and pulled out the chair to sit on. My dad was making pancakes while my Mom was sitting there laughing at him.

“Oh, Melody, your eyes! They are so beautiful! The brown really brings out the green in your eyes!” my mom gushed. I blushed and thanked her.

“So, what is with Dad?” I asked as he flipped some more pancakes. My mom shrugged her shoulders and laughed.

“I don’t know. I got up this morning and he was jumpy to make breakfast.” She replied. I nodded my head. Something was definitely up. My dad never cooked unless there was good news.

“There you go my fair ladies, a sunflower shaped pancake for miss bright eyes.” Everyone in my family called me bright eyes because of my bright green eyes. “And a heart shaped pancake for the beautiful maiden.” He said, still in his medieval accent and kissed my mom’s hand. She blushed furiously and he leaned down and kissed her. I clapped.

“Here, here. The knight has saved the damsel in distress and now they shall get married.” I yelled in my best announcer voice.

“Oh, Joe, I feel faint.” My mom said daintily and pretended to faint. My Dad caught her and kissed her again. I smiled. I had never seen a couple who had loved each other more than they do. We have large pictures in the great hall of them since they were in high school. It’s really nice walking down the hall and seeing the love my parents have for each other. I wished that someday I could have a hall filled with pictures of me and the love of my life.

“So, dad, why are you so happy? What’s the good news?” I asked as I chewed the pancake. It was really, really chewy but I said nothing. There was a secret rule in our family. Do not tell my dad he was a terrible cook. Just eat and when he isn’t looking, chucking the thing into the nearest flower pot.

“I got a promotion!” he yelled. My mom congratulated him and kissed him again. Okay, that was a lot of kissing for one day.

I smiled.

“That’s amazing dad! Do we have to move?” I asked hopefully. Maybe if we moved, I would have a chance to make some friends.

“No, I am sorry sweetheart. We stay here.” He said. I nodded and smiled even though I was a little disappointed. It was his happy moment. I didn’t want to ruin it.

After I finished my food, I grabbed my car keys and left the house. As I walked to my car, I felt the sensation that I being watched. Goose bumps traveled up my arm. I tried to ignore it but the feeling would not go away. I rubbed my arms to make the goose bumps go away and pressed the gas pedal in my car. Once I was a fair distance away from the house, the feeling went away and I sighed in relief. I smiled, I was lucky I had a car to go to school in. My parents were all for buying me a really expensive car but I flat out refused. Just because we have more money than the average person doesn’t mean we have to live expensively. So in the end, I settled for a small black car. It was nice and got me places so I was happy. Once I reached the school, I parked and went straight to my first period class. I walked right to my seat at the back and sat down. No one liked sitting around me so the desk beside and in front of me was always empty. I had gotten used to that but it was still very lonely. The bell rang and everyone walked into class.

“What are you looking at?” Natasha sneered. I smiled up at her and she frowned down in disgust. Natasha was the most popular girl at my school. She was tan and blonde and perfect. She was also known as the school slut.

“Nothing.” I replied simply.

“That’s right nerd, you better not be looking at me.” She said and walked to her desk. I saw her high five a girl as she leaned down to kiss her football player boyfriend, Josh. I shook my head. My school was so cliché. We had so many groups, it was ridiculous but I didn’t seem to fit in anywhere.

“Alright class, please continue reading ‘Twelfth Night’ by William Shakespeare and make study notes.” Mr. Halder said. I pulled out my copy of the book and started reading. When I got to the part where Viola goes to Olivia to try to talk her into loving Duke Orsino, there was a knock on the door. I looked up to see a boy walk in. My heart dropped to my stomach immediately and I started biting my lip. I always bit my lip when I was nervous. The boy was very handsome. He was probably 6 foot 2 inches. He had brown hair that fell over his ocean blue eyes. His skin was pale, smooth and clear of any blemishes. He had pink lips that looked amazingly soft. I blushed and returned to my reading. My heart rate sped up.

“Damn, he is hot.” I heard Natasha whisper. I sighed. She had a boyfriend who was sitting right behind her and yet, she comments on the new boy. I heard the new boy start talking and I looked up in time to see Mr. Halder point to me. My eyes widened as the boy’s eyes zeroed in on me. He gave me the once over and nodded at Mr. Halder. Then, he turned back to me and started to walk towards me. I swallowed back my nervousness as I chewed my bottom lip. What was going on?