Over My Head

Chapter 1: Average

The brisk autumn air hit me in the face with a cold punch as I walked outside to catch the late bus. I'm Alexa Fawcett. Freshman at Walton High. I had stayed after today to go to art club. Of course it had been fun like always, but I had paint all over my hands, so I hid them in the roomy pockets of my black leather jacket. Today like always I had dressed for the weather, dark wash skinny jeans, a blouse, and combat boots, but even still I was hit with the same cold punch that early march always gave me. I was walking down the sidewalk towards the bus loop some more when I saw my best friend Kalissa Waverly, wave and beckon me over to her. I quickened my pace and hurried over to her. "Beautiful day today, isn't it?" she said once I was next to her. We were right at the bus loop, and even though it was absolutely freezing, from Kalissa's crazy grin, to her cheeks that were as pink as a summer rose, one might've thought that we were sitting in front of a cozy fire.

Typical of her I thought. Asking about the weather to start a conversation. But as I looked out over the area from our perch at the top of the bus loop I saw what she meant. Despite the cold, it was a perfect, sunny day. The sky was dotted with fluffy white clouds, and it was a perfect shade of blue. "Yeah," I replied, "it is." She laughed and looked like she was about to burst. "Guess what?" she finally exclaimed. "What?" I asked, turning toward her so that I was looking directly into her dark brown eyes. "I got it," she replied, grinning. At first I didn't understand what she meant, and then it clicked. She'd finally gotten the number of her good friend/crush Carter Mackaroy. "Oh my gosh!" I exclaimed, suddenly feeling giddy. We squealed a little bit together like little girls. I was so happy for her. She had been trying to muster up the courage to get his number for months, and now, she'd finally gotten it. She reached down into her hoodie pocket and pulled out her iPod. She scrolled through her songs until she found one of our favorites. She put in one earbud, and handed me the other. I fit it into my ear and heard Christina Perri's A Thousand Years . We both started to sing along together, our voices meshing like chocolate and peanut butter, creating a perfectly balanced peanut butter cup. Suddenly though she dropped out, and it was just me. I sang it with all my heart, and when the song ended she gave me a round of applause. She smiled so wide that I thought she was going to stretch her mouth out permanently. "Thank you, thank you,thank you very much!" I said in my very best British accent as she faked mopping up her eyes as though the performance had been so beautiful she'd started crying. Then we both started laughing. "That was amazing though, in all seriousness. You really are talented." Kalissa said when we finally calmed down. "Yeah, well I just like singing you know?" I replied. She smiled and started tapping her foot on the ground. She stared off into the distance and I watched her fidget around for a while. As she bobbed her head up and down her light brown messy waves shook around her head and flew about her face in the gentle wind. Her hands were placed back into the front pocket of her white hoodie. I saw the hint of her blue shirt at the collar line and smiled. Blue had become her signature color as well as her favorite color. Her dark wash skinny jeans were tucked into her uggs, and her favorite owl necklace rested on her chest. She continued to fidget, and was now bouncing up and down on her feet. She could be a little hyper sometimes, and get very distracted, in my opinion anyways. She was my best friend though, we'd known each other since preschool and to be honest, I wouldn't have traded her in for any other friend in the world. A new song popped through the headphones and I started to sing it.

A few minutes later, the late buses finally pulled up. Kalissa held her hand out and I handed over the earbud. She took out her other one and shut off her music. Once she'd slipped her blue iPod back into the pocket of her hoodie, we hugged and said our goodbyes. Then we walked our separate ways to our buses. I jogged up the steps of my bus. I fished out my little green pass, and handed it to the driver. He took it, and I took a seat in the back of the bus. I fished around in my tan leather backpack for my black iPod, and pulled it out. I leaned back into the red seat, and put in my headphones turning on my favorite playlist. As the bus pulled away from the school I stared out the window, not realizing the fact that suddenly, my life would get a lot more complicated.

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The bus pulled up at my driveway and I got off and walked up and into my house. "Hey!" I called, but all I got was a meow from the cat. I was home alone. I ran up the stairs and tossed my backpack down next to my desk. I kicked off my combat boots, peeled off my jacket and exchanged my peach blouse for a don't kill my vibe tee-shirt, and my light blue Jack Wills hoodie. I'd finished all my homework in study hall so I decided to just kick back and enjoy one of my last free days before the end of the year kicked in. I went into the kitchen, and pulled out a glass. My fat white kitty, Sampsa, rubbed up against my leg and purred. I pulled the bottle of lemonade from the fridge and filled my glass. I walked into the family room and switched on my black laptop. While I waited for it to boot up, I examined the room. Dark green walls with some family photos on them made for a simple, yet cozy atmosphere. The dark brown couch had red and brown pillows on it, The television was on a glass mount and had a dvd player on one of the shelves underneath. Yup, it was home alright.

When the laptop did decide to boot up fully I checked Facebook, Instagram and my email while I jammed to my favorite playlists on iTunes. I lounged on the couch while Sampsa hung out and napped at my feet. Suddenly, a knock on the front door broke through my peaceful afternoon. I sighed and put my laptop down on the glass coffee table. I patted Sampsa on the head and walked into the front hall to open the door. "Hey Alexa!" My neighbor, Parker, was grinning at me in the doorway. His curly dark brown hair was disheveled and his green eyes glinted brightly as though he was thinking about what my facial expression would be if he suddenly splashed my face with a bucket of cold water. His gray shirt had dark spots on it as though he'd walked past a sprinkler. His jeans were the usual faded, worn out pair that all of his jeans seemed to be. "Hey Parker! What's up?" I asked. "I was wondering if you could help me with a little problem of mine." I blinked, and my brain did a once over. He need my help? But Parker was one of the smartest people I knew! I must have looked really confused to him because his expression turned serious. He leaned in and whispered, "I really don't want to talk about it here, can I come inside?" I nodded and stepped aside so that he could come in.

He took off his sneakers and I gestured into the kitchen. He walked over and sat down at the table. An awkward silence reigned throughout the room. "Do you want something to drink?" I ventured. He nodded. "Just water please." I poured him a glass, then poured myself one. I sat down and handed him his glass. "Thanks." He said quietly. I took a sip of my water, and let my finger curl around the glass. "So what's the problem?" I asked. He took a deep breath and sighed. "I need help with some homework for band." I smiled and looked down at my glass. "Ok. Sure! I'll help you!" I said cheerily. He sighed, but this time it seemed to be a sigh of relief. "Thanks, I didn't really want to admit that I needed help, but..."

"Oh, ok! I get it So what do you need?" I interrupted. "A voice." He said. His answer confused me. "What?" I questioned. He sighed and looked me square in the face, his green eyes boring into my brown ones. "A voice. I need a voice. I need you to sing for me."