Sarah Smiles

Nine in the Afternoon

"Sarah! Are you still asleep?" I hear my mom's scolding voice through my closed bedroom door. This is pretty unusual, she's never up before I leave for school.

"No," I lie and quickly jump out of bed, checking my phone for the time. Shit! It's 8 and school starts at 8:10. This is the third time this week I've been late for school, why do I keep sleeping in like this?

"You know that the bus is already gone and you're going to be late?" My mom lectures as I grab a Panic! At the Disco band tee and my burgundy jeans. I pull them on and open the door to my mom's face inches from my own. She needs to learn about personal space.

"Jesus, mom." I mutter, pushing past her and grabbing my back pack. "Can I get a ride?" I ask, knowing the answer. She's never said yes to me in my entire life.

"Who's responsibility is it to catch their bus? I don't think it's mine." She replies, walking away. I groan and close my bedroom door.

Dammit! My mom is so old and bitter, and I guess I can see why, what with my dad leaving us and all, but she could at least look at life like it isn't all kill or be killed.

I run down the stairs and almost ram right into my ten year old brother, Dillan. "Watch where you're going, Sarah!" He yells as I rush past him to the kitchen, grabbing a piece of toast. I stick it in my mouth as I run to the front entrance and lace up my doc martens.

"Whatever doofus." I mutter around the bread in my mouth and take out my phone to call my best friend Ryan Chum. Don't be fooled by the name, she's a girl. Her parents were set on having a boy. It didn't exactly work in their favor.

"This is Chum, the fuck you want?" She answers. I shake my head, laughing a little at her ridiculousness, and walk out the door.

"Can you pick me up? I missed the bus." I plead, knowing that she will. Since she's a year older than me, she has her full license already. I envy her, because, even if I did have my license, I probably wouldn't be allowed to use the car. My mom is a freak.

"Sure. Be there in a sec." She hangs up and I see a car down the street pull out of the driveway and speed towards me.

"Hey Ry, thank you so so much!" I say as I get into the car and buckle my seat belt. She nods and puts the car in drive.

"So how did you miss the bus?" She asks, smirking at me as we speed off towards the school. I will never live this down, I swear.

"I slept through my alarm." I answer, hiding my face by looking out the window. I feel the colour rise in my cheeks and cover them with my hands.

"Again?" She snorts as we pull up to the school. I nod with a sheepish smile and she rolls her eyes playfully at me. "Well, I can drive you any time, so don't worry about it," she snickers. I run into the building and get to my English class just as the bell rings.

I am not the biggest fan of high school, especially the eleventh grade. Being a junior isn't fun. Work gets harder and there isn't any time to hang out with friends. There's a lot more stress, and I wouldn't be surprised if the suicide rates go up. (I'm pretty sure I read a study somewhere on that . . .) Don't get me wrong, I'm good at school, I always have been, but I really don't like it.

"Miss. Zeal! If you don't care to listen to my lecture, you can leave." Mrs. Sistern, my English teacher, slaps a ruler on my desk, pulling me out of my thoughts. She points at me and then the door. I stand up cautiously and grab my bag, walking towards the door. Of course I'd rather be in the library right now than in English class.

"Peace out bitches." I say under my breath, as I run down the hallway to my locker. This school is full of idiots and I can't wait for it all to be over. One more year, that's all I have. Thank God!

I open the door to my locker and put my books away, grabbing my ipod and headphones. I turn on my favourite Panic! At The Disco song, "Sarah Smiles". I like to imagine that Brendon wrote it for me, even though I know that's definitely not true. No one would ever write a song for me, I'm that punk kid that nobody likes. Not to mention, we've never even met.

"Sarah!" I hear my name and turn around to see Tanner running down the hallway towards me. Tanner is my other best friend, and yes he is a guy, but he's also gay so he's a bearable guy to be around.

"Hey, Tanner." I smile and run at him too. We reach each other and gracefully (or not so gracefully, I should say) embrace in the middle of the hallway. "Long time no see." I pull out of the hug and look up at him. He's bouncing with excitement and I raise a brow at him. "What's up?"

"Guess what show tickets I bought for three lucky people!" He says, still jumping up and down like a tiny child.
"A band?" I ask, sure that I'll be able to guess. He nods vigorously. OMG what if it's Panic? "Is it PANIC?!" I scream, coving my mouth afterwards and making sure I wasn't too disruptive.

"But of course!" He laughs as I crash into him and tackle him to the floor, looking in all of his pockets for the tickets. I find them in his jacket and hug them to my chest, standing up and sticking out my hand to help him up.

"My precious!" I rasp, "I have to go tell Ryan!" I run down the hall, jumping up to click my heels together. This is the best day ever!