Playing with Fire

Playing with Fire (ch. 8)

Chapter 8

School

Phoebe.

A small strand of light has come out of my bedroom window which makes me wake from my heavy slumber. I am still in the same clothes I had on last night; a purple hoodie, blue sweat pants, and my hair up in a distorted bun. I look over at my alarm clock that says 6:30 a.m. A small groan escapes from my swollen, dry lips as I get up into a sitting position. A nice hot shower would probably do me some good, for the sake of my aching body and greasy hair. I get on my hands and knees, and crawl miserably to my bathroom. I slowly get on my feet and see black dots across my vision, again I groan. I then turn the small lever for my shower to turn on then quickly strip off my dirty clothes.

Once the hot water touches my aching back my muscles start to feel better, that’s when I remember what happened. Last night Leo and I had gone to his house to talk. He explained his life- especially a past relationship. Then we started to kiss and I passed out. Pathetic, yes I agree… but I regret nothing! Leo was so sweet and romantic that when he said that,

The past is the past, but today is the present. And I want you to be in my future, it was like a perfect ending to the best chick flick/romantic movie of all time!

I grab my Strawberry and Buriti shampoo and squeeze some onto the palm of my hand, and then I mix and lather it into my hair. I wash my hair out and feel the knots and kinks start to come out. I take the matching conditioner and put that into my hair. I remember my mom always telling me to wait two minutes so while I wait I read the label at the back of my conditioner- hydrates and strengthens hair, leaving it smooth and shiny. It hasn’t been two minutes yet so I get my Dove Go Fresh Burst Body Wash- it smells like nectarines and white ginger, and scrub that onto my body till my skin goes red and raw. Then I wash everything out.

I turn the water off and take a small sniff; the smell of strawberries and nectarines were still in the air. Taking a long yellow towel from the sink counter, I wrap it around my muscular body and walk out of the shower entirely. Right away the cool breeze coming from the open window hits me and I get the urge to hop back into the shower, but I can’t; I have school.

I walk out of my bathroom, feeling a lot better than I had this morning. I grab a purple polka dot bra and a bright neon pair of panties and slip them on underneath my towel. Then after feelings mostly dry I take the towel off and put on a gray short skirt, and a pink tank top with a sweet heart neckline. I quickly brush my hair out and it’s almost dry. Feeling highly confident in myself I walk down stairs to the basement. The smell of bacon and eggs fills my nostrils and my mouth begins to water.

As I approach the kitchen door a small circle of light has passed into the hallway, and I see the silhouette of Liz.

“Hey mom.” I say confidently as I strut over to her side. She looks up from a frying pan of bacon and smiles, then turns back to turn the bacon. I plant a small kiss on her cheek then go to the cupboard to take out the plates.

“Oh honey, I’ve already gotten them out.” Mom says as she holds up a china plate. I nod then go and sit on one of the stools near the counter. I hear my mom approach, she’s holding a plate with a few slices of bacon and the rest of the plate is covered in scrambled eggs.

“Thanks mom!” I say and flash a big grin. She winks then turns back to the stove to get her own plate.

“So… where were you last night mom? I came home after school and you were gone.” I shove a spoonful of scrambled eggs into my mouth and moan in satisfaction. Breakfast couldn’t get any better than this. Technically, I wasn’t home after school either, but she didn’t have to know that. I hear my mom gasp.