Hive Mind [On Hold]

Chapter 3

I put some of my own personal experiences in this chapter, with some twists to fit the plot better. ;) Enjoy. 

Chapter 3

I woke up the next morning to the sound of my mom shouting for me to get ready for school. I groaned and looked at the clock. It was 6:00 exactly. Figures.

I dragged myself out of bed and into the shower. I've always had this ritual in the morning where I get in the shower before turning it on. That way the cold water hits me before the heater kicks in and wakes me up faster. I did the same thing today, and stood in the frigid water for almost a minute before it became steamy hot. A few minutes later I finished up and got dressed.

I've never cared much about how people think of me. At least not my physical appearance. I never use make-up or dye my hair or any of that. I just think it looks fake, like you're trying to hard to be someone you're not. If people don't like you or want to be your friend because you're not pretty enough, then they're not worth having as friends anyway. At least that's my opinion. No one ever really seems to agree with me though, so maybe I should just shut up.

I kind of liked not being self-conscious. I know some girls who wake up an hour early for school so they can pick out their clothes and do their hair and all that. Since I just put on a random outfit every morning and just get a quick brush through my hair, I have all that extra time to do nothing at all.

Today I spent a few of those extra minutes riding my dog.

Nugget was a huge black newfoundland dog I got for my fifteenth birthday. I had only been joking when I said I wanted a puppy, but I was still ecstatic to find this huge fella sitting outside my door that morning. My mom got him for me because she saw that I didn't really have any friends, and her trick worked. Nugget is my bestest friend in the whole wide world.

After I finished sitting on his back while he dragged me around my carpet, I went downstairs for some breakfast. My mom had already set out a bowl of Cocoa Puffs for me to eat, so I got a spoon and sat down at the table. I could tell by how soggy they were that she'd set them out several minutes ago, but I ate the chocolate mush soup anyway. When I was done I dropped the bowl in the sink and grabbed my backpack.

"Mom, I'm leaving!" I called to her.

"Then just go already!" I heard her moan back from her bedroom.

Oops. She must've gone back to sleep. 

I left without bugging her any more than I already had. I heard the bus coming from around the corner and quickly sprinted to the bus stop before it passed me by. I made it just in time, and paused while I waited for the doors to hiss all the way open. Once they were, I stepped on and was about to go find a seat when the bus driver, a middle-aged overweight woman with blonde curly hair, stopped me. She held out a slip of paper, which I reluctantly took.

"Here are the seat asignments for the first semester," she said.

I gaped at her. "You're giving us assigned seats? In high school?"

"When you kids prove to me that you're responsible enough to choose you're own seats, then I'll let you. Until then, go." She pointed behind her, and I grudgingly walked towards the back.

My name was stenciled in Seat 21 next to some guy named Tony Summers. I didn't know who that was, but I remembered seeing the name somewhere yesterday.

I turned into the seat and froze when I saw who he was. It was the jerk that I accidentally bumped into yesterday! The bad boy I was supposed to fall in love with. My heart rate increased tenfold, and it was a wonder no one else heard it.