Alone.

Chapter One

"Emily!" I hear my mom's voice shout from downstairs. I groan and roll out of my bed landing on the floor in a heap of bed sheets and pillows.

"I'm up"! I shout and get off the floor. I check my clock. 7:00. I have one hour to get to school. I pick up my pink fluffy towel off my closet hook and lumber out of my bedroom door to the bathroom down the hall. I strip off my pyjamas and jump into the shower.  I scrub myself down and wash my chestnut brown waist-length hair with my new strawberry shampoo and I'm done. I amble back to my room to get dressed. I pull out a pair of blue skinny jeans and a grey tank top and slip on my black converse. With a sigh, I blow dry my wet hair and pull it into a messy bun. 7:30. With half an hour left, I grab my phone and school bag and run downstairs skipping two stairs at a time.

My mom is seated at the island munching on some toast. I take time to admire her beauty. Her long blonde hair is pulled into a neat bun and her light brown eyes a fixed on a letter she holds in her hand. Most likely another bill needing to be paid. Sometimes I wonder how she does it. Ever since my dad left things have been tough. We hardly talk about it but I know it takes a toll on her . She works two jobs so almost never home and I admire her for that. Her eyes meet mine and she smiles tightly. Worry lines evident on her face.

"Good morning hun. There's some toast in the toaster for you already". She folds the letter and puts it back in the envelope and picks up another. My eyes linger on the stack of letters in front of her before I respond.

"Good morning mom. I'll take them to go." I say as the toast pops up from the toaster. I grab the two slices of bread, butter them and head towards the door.

"I'm going to school mom, have a nice day!" I call as I walk out the door as I here her call out a 'you too'. I walk briskly down the driveway and on to the street to begin my ten minute walk to school while munching on my toast. I'm kind of happy I live so close to my school. It's only a short walk so I don't have to take the school bus or depend on anyone for a ride since I don't have my own car. Not that I would have anyone to depend on. I don't think I should depend on anyone anyway. Although sometimes it would be nice to have a friend. I push these thoughts out of my head as I approach the school building.

The tall frame of Winston High casts a shadow on the students scattered around the lawn. I scurry towards the school building and down the hall to my locker to get my Math textbook for my first period. I grab my book as students begin to head to their classes to avoid being late. I slam the locker shut and begin walking towards my class when I feel a hand on my shoulder pulling me to a halt. I turn around to see Casey, a cheerleader from my Math class looking down at me with a smile. Yes, I'm that short. And her too high high heels don't make it better either.

"Hey Emily" she smiles at me. I smile back and greet her as I take in her appearance. She's wearing a short pink miniskirt with a white tank to top that is way too tight for her large bust. Her long blonde hair cascades down her shoulders beautifully and her blue eyes look at me almost pleadingly already telling me what she came for.

"Can I borrow your Math homework. Mr. T is so going to kill me if I don't have it this time."she asks. I roll my eyes mentally and grab my book from my bag handing it to her. You must be wondering why I would just give her my homework that I would take time and effort to do. Well it's simple, If I say no, Casey and the rest of the cheerleaders would not be happy and they'd probably find some way  to get me back. They've never had to since I never refuse to give it to them but I've seen them do it to others like myself and it's not pretty. I distinctly remember having to help a fellow nerd like myself out of a garbage can last year so I definitely don't want to get myself in that situation. Besides, I want them to like me. Maybe we can be friends? She swiftly copies down my answers onto her notebook and hands me back my book.