The Cannibal Bride *WattyAwards2024

2)Honor Students Don't Run Away

"Meds" by Placebo
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Alyssa spent thirty minutes cleaning herself up. She had to put in a lot of effort to remove the Halloween makeup residue from her face and the body glitter from her skin. When she looked at herself in the mirror, she knew that her mother would probably comment on her appearance. Alyssa had always been thin, but since joining college, she had become even thinner. Her cheekbones were sunken, her green eyes appeared larger against her pale face and she had dark circles under her eyes, giving her the appearance that she had not slept or had a decent meal in months.

Both were true; classes kept Alyssa too preoccupied to sleep while her meals breakfast and lunch consisted of coffee and cigarettes. It was only dinner time when she devoured fast food or gas station delicacies.

Alyssa had to find a pair of clean skinny jeans to pull on after she neglected to do her laundry that week. Clean socks were found in her bottom drawer and a flimsy white t-shirt looked clean enough to toss on. After brushing her teeth and tossing on her rather tight leather jacket, Alyssa swept her dark hair back in a low messy ponytail. She liked dressing like a rebel without a care. Or perhaps it was simply known as 'the cleanest clothes she could find'. Three hours later during her four-hour car trip, a ping attacked her phone with a text.

Cory

Lemme know what you're in trouble for.

Alyssa snorted. She knew that something bad had gone down the moment she heard her mother's voice. It wasn't the demand to come home when she called her; it was Madison's tone.

It was the foul tone that every child knows no matter how old they get. They know it means something wicked when their mother uses it. It was the voice that wavered between emotional disbelief, but also angry disappointment.

It was the wicked tone where the meaning was rather obvious. You did something, and you're about to be in gargantuan trouble for doing it. Madison Ross only spoke with The Tone when Alyssa had done something horrible. Which was often.

As she thought about it, out of Madison's two children; Alyssa knew the tone was exclusively reserved for when she alone did something.

Her younger sister Cassi was the sweet one in contrast to Alyssa's not-so-sunny disposition. Where Cassi was polite, Alyssa was antagonistic. Cassi loved making friends while Alyssa practically hated the species of people in general. Cassi was the kindhearted daughter who would never put her parents through any stress while Alyssa personally enjoyed pushing her parents to their limits. Cassi enjoyed wearing bright colors and smiling at anyone and everyone while Alyssa resembled a Joan Jett wannabe with the personality of a shark.

The difference between the sisters was practically night and day.

Cassi was respectful to everyone she came across, while Alyssa purposely went out to be the opposite. It was fun torturing her parents. Alyssa found it was a unique type of high to get when you're just not into drugs. Though, she did dabble in a few recreational things now and then, pissing off her parents provided more of a thrill.

Causing discord in her career-focused parents' lives was a personal pastime for Alyssa's high school career. Mr. and Mrs. Ross would probably say she got worse when she hit college. After all, Alyssa blew off a full-track scholarship to the University of Iowa to go to a moderately decent film school in Texas. In her parents' minds, it was insane. Alyssa threw away a completely paid-for education with the opportunity at a successful career all to become artsy.

But film school was her calling. Alyssa enjoyed making short films and writing scripts; it gave her purpose. She enjoyed being different. Alyssa didn't get the same satisfaction that Cassi and her parents got over reading medical charts or filing taxes. It was all boring office work while her parents' jobs revolved exclusively around the dreaded species of people. Besides, did anyone dream of growing up and becoming a medical accountant...?