Long Gone

Preface: Home Isn't Home Anymore

Bzzt! Bzzt! Bzzt!

The sound was familiar, but not in a way Ophelia was comfortable with. Something about it set her on edge in a way she couldn't describe. It was a normal enough sound, one she was use to hearing often, but there was something about it now that bothered her. Her skin began to crawl when the incessant buzzing didn't stop, forcing her to open her eyes.

Bzzt! Bzzt! Bzzt!

"Mother fucker," she groaned, rolling out of bed and slapping a hand down on the alarm clock next to her bed without much thought. 

It was more muscle memory than anything. A habit bred by time, which only made her feel more disturbed. Something was definitely off but her mind stubbornly refused to tell her what. That nagging little suspicion in her head continued as she scrambled to her dresser, in a rush to get dressed. She made a bad habit of being late for school and she was going to try really hard this morning not to be late, even if it meant skipping breakfast. Then again, she didn't feel like getting another lecture from her mother about bad life habits.

She took in her reflection in the mirror, forcing down the anxious thoughts that screamed 'pasty skin' and 'messy hair'. Instead, she focused on how large and luminous her jade green eyes were. How her slender frame rounded into wide and study hips. She had an average bust size and wasn't overly tall. Her lower lip was fuller than the upper, but she only payed attention to that fact because of how often she worried her lower lip between her teeth. Freckles were smattered across her nose and cheeks and she had to refrain from calling them ugly in her head. There was no point in putting herself down any more, the kids at school did that enough.

Ophelia sighed as she slipped into a low cut, nude tank top. It was a little chilly out, with August giving way to September, so she added her favorite long sleeved, red flannel over it. Stepping into a pair of faded jeans and her worn black converse seemed to take no time at all. After checking the clock beside her bed she realized she had time to grab something from the kitchen and head to catch the bus, but there was no time for make up. She was just going to have to brave the day without it. 

Ophelia took the stairs two at a time, pulling her hair into a messy ponytail as she did. Her slightly too short bangs crowded her face, but she left them, slipping into the kitchen without looking around. She grabbed an apple from the bowl on the table and took a bite as she threw open the front door, anxious not to miss the bus.

And that was when the whole world came crashing down and Ophelia realized just why her alarm clock had sounded so strange this morning.