How Many Heroes

1- Ambrose

I was awake before my alarm rang. I had been awake all night, tossing and turning and twisting my sheets around me like a cocoon. Like the last few days, I was starting my day feeling dead awful. Groaning, I unraveled myself, then sat up and tried to ignore the growing dread in my stomach. For a moment I just stayed there, staring at my blue walls in a sleepy haze. Then I dragged myself out of bed to the closet, the bathroom, and finally the kitchen in the same rhythmic motions I had done almost all my life.

"Head up, sunshine," my mom said as I slouched onto a chair. How she could smile at me like that at 6:30 in the morning I couldn't understand. As far as I knew, she never put concealer under her eyes to cover dark bags or wore a variation of the same outfit every day because she was afraid to try something new. In a way, I was jealous of my mother.

"Good morning," I mumbled back. My mom put a plate of waffles in front of me and I toyed with them, hungry but not hungry at the same time. I only managed a few bites before my mom yelled "Hurry up Bethany! You're gonna be late!" from the door.

I ditched my breakfast and headed for the car, a beaten silver Toyota. Mom opened the shotgun door even though she knows I hate sitting there. Everything looks scarily up close through the windshield. I don't think I'll ever be able to drive.

"So what's happening at school? Anything exciting?" my mom asked, shimmying her shoulders while gripping the wheel.

"No."

"Any tests?"

"No."

"Is Maria coming over?" my mom asked. She seemed a little put out by my lack of interest.

"I dunno. Maybe."

"I wish her mom would come over for once. Mrs. Rodriguez seems lovely. You know how she always sends baskets of..." I stopped listening around there.

I pressed my cheek against the side window and stared at the passing cars. There weren't a whole lot- most kids rode the bus instead of having their moms drive them. I used to ride the bus too, until the end of my freshman year when kids really started to pick on me for my stuttering and for hanging out with Maria and Jesse. I hadn't ridden a school bus since. That's how I dealt with my problems: avoiding them until I could almost forget they were there.

Almost...

Too soon, my mom pulled in front of Ambrose Hill High School. She pulled me into a hug. "See you at three!" my mom said, smilingly brightly. She really was beautiful: wavy dark hair, full red lips, amber eyes and long lashes that made my father swoon. If only I had inherited that from her.

As soon as I was out of the car walked as quickly as I could to Haven, a spot in the courtyard under a broad tree nicknamed such because it was the only place on campus that my friends and I felt safe. Under the branches was Maria, looking bored out of her mind. As soon as she saw me she lit up, a little habit of hers that left me pleasantly surprised. Even though I'd known her since middle school, I was still shocked that she actually wanted me around.

"You look dead. You didn't get any sleep again, did you?" she said.

"Not really," I admitted.

She made a tsking sound. "If you keep going around like a zombie, you're gonna get kidnapped," she said.

"No one's been kidnapped here in months. You're even more paranoid than I am." I said, rolling my eyes.

"Don't say I didn't warn you," she sang, starting to laugh a little. "If I'm paranoid, you should see my mom. She told me I should bring a pocket knife when I come to this half town."