darkest days

1

An abrupt awakening by my blaring alarm clock is how I start my day. With little light shining through the curtains and the sound of rain on the carport below tells me it's gonna be a pretty stormy day out. Typical weather for my small Oregon town.

Barely awake, I check the time. It displays the numbers 6:30. My body stretches and I dread getting out of bed for school, but then again isn't everyone like that? Yeah, yeah they are.

"Okay Aria, you're all good. You do this every day, this is nothing new." I say to myself in my head. Mental preparation is key when it comes to school for me. If I don't prepare myself, I'll be off all day.

My hairbrush runs through my dark brown hair, getting the tangles out from my sleep in the process. I also throw on some clothes that will keep me from freezing in this weather, you'd think I'd be used to it considering I've lived here all of my life but I guess not.

I don't need to go into full detail about my morning routine, its really not that interesting unless you like to hear about being indecisive when it comes to what shoes to wear. It really is a struggle, honestly. Anyways, with a few swift movements I'm downstairs in the kitchen where my mom is sitting at the table drinking coffee and looking at something on her phone. My guess would be some news website or on Facebook.

"Morning Ar." She says to me, locking her phone. "Morning, do we have milk?" I ask searching the fridge for the dairy drink that doesn't seem to be anywhere in my line of sight. "Fresh out love." She replies. I nod. "Be careful walking to the bus in this weather, its still pretty dark out and this rain is coming down thick on windshields." She warns me, but I brush it off. "I'll be fine mom. What are the odds of anything happening to me on the way to the bus stop?" I laugh. "You never know." She says back. I nod again.

I glance at the time again, and it reads 7:00 a.m. which means I need to start heading to the bus stop. Since I couldn't make cereal I just grab a granola bar and head towards the door. "Have a good day at school Ar, love you!" My mom yells to me from the kitchen, and I bid my goodbye back to her and close the door.

~~

The school bus is louder than usual this morning, and a lot smellier too. We have a football game tonight so all of the athletes on our team have their clothes with them. I guess none of them have heard of a washer and laundry detergent for their uniforms though. The loud noise, the pungent smell of B.O. and the drenching wet clothes clinging to skin is enough to make anyone go mad, including me. For once in my life I can't wait to get to school, just to get off of this freaking bus. Luckily, school is in sight.

As I enter the front doors into Windell High, I can already see my friends sitting at our usual table across the cafeteria. Because this town is so small, everyone knows everyone. So on my way to my table I hear a few "Hey Arias!" around me which I politely reply to, even though its too early to be polite.

"Aria!" One of my best friends Riley Anderson says to me as I approach the table. I reply with a simple "Hey guys," and sit at a chair next to one of my other best friends, Amanda Milton. "You're coming to the game, right?!" Riley asks me eagerly, expecting me to say yes. But I nod no, "I'm gonna stay in actually. I have some chemistry homework I need to finish up." Riley frowns at my response. "Aria, it's our junior year. If you choose to stay in all the time you'll never know what true fun is! I'm really helping you out here by suggesting that you come with us." I laugh, "its not like I've never been to a game before. Besides, its gonna be cold anyways and-" I'm cut off by my friends all begging me to come. "I'll even give you a ride!" Riley persuades me with a grin. I laugh and shake my head. "Fine fine, I'll come." They all sigh yes' and the morning bell rings, alerting us that we have 10 minutes to get to our first period class. With that, we make our way there.

"I can't believe you guys actually convinced me to go." I whisper to Amanda who sits next to me in Geometry. She laughs quietly so that we don't get caught talking, "Don't lie, you wanted to go." I laugh and roll my eyes, while she winks at me. Mrs. Tells looks up at us and shushes us loudly. "No talking, that means you Miss Smith." She says to me, shooting me a look that says "shut up already." I look down at my paper again and do my work, as does Amanda.

By the time lunch rolls around I'm pretty hungry. A granola bar can only fill you up so much. I meet up with my friends who I sat with this morning. "Whats the special today?" I ask Riley as I join them in the lunch line. "Something that looks completely inedible." She says to me in a grossed out tone. "Isn't all the food here like that?" I ask. They all nod in agreement. After we get our food (or at least that's what they call it) we sit at our usual table.

All of my friends are talking about something but I'm not paying attention. My eyes are stuck on my crush Alex Walker. The tall black haired boy sat a few lunch tables back from us and it gives me the perfect view of the guys face. Riley notices me staring at him and laughs. "Hey now heart eyes, don't get too creepy with the staring." I snap out of my trans and glare at her jokingly. "It's not my fault he's absolutely amazing looking." We all laugh. "You've liked the guy since sixth grade and you still haven't asked him out." She says nodding her head in disappointment. "I doubt he even knows who I am." I say in a low tone. It actually does make me pretty sad, my dream guy probably has no clue who I even am. Absolutely tragic, but that's just how it goes.

~~

"I'll pick you up around 8:00 p.m. alright?" Riley says to me as I'm about to get onto my bus. "Okay, see you guys then." I say back, smiling. They both return smiles and we wave. At least the bus isn't as loud- or smelly as the football players are staying here for practice before the game. Lately I've been staying in and doing homework. Maybe it was a good idea that I agreed to go. Maybe this is what I need to get my mind off of things. Maybe tonight will be the night I tell Alex how I feel. I put in my music and sit back in my seat waiting to get home. Yeah, I think tonight is definitely what I need.

~~~

Authors note:

Hey guys, I started this story because I felt like my other ones were kinda crappy and were going nowhere. I have really high hopes for this book, and it's gonna be a crazy one.

This chapter was a bit of an intro-filler type thing but it'll get good soon I promise. Keep reading, its worth it!!

I will try to update a few times a week, not every day but I wont leave it hanging on cliff hangers and such. So yeah, expect that :)

Anyways, I hope you guys enjoy the story and what it has in store for you in future chapters!! Thank you for reading!! ~ Haley