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12: Tension Thicker Than My Thighs

12: Tension Thicker Than My Thighs

When I woke up to a phone alarm, it was my four o'clock one. A sleeping form next to me groaned. I quickly shushed my alarm so it wouldn't bother Selena, but she'd already woken up.

"Why do you have an alarm for four in the morning?" she demanded in a hushed, sleepy tone. She rubbed her eyes groggily and fixed me with an almost glare.

"I don't wake up easily," I said flatly, knowing it was kind of a lie and that I would probably be fully awake. I easily woke up, not necessarily a morning person but a person that isn't impossible to wake up.

Selena was so obviously a morning person—once she was actually awake. It was easy to tell that waking her up was no cakewalk.

"Do you have any more?" she asked quietly. I shook my head. "Good. I'm going back to sleep."

Biting my lip, I peeled the covers off me. I was only wearing a small pair of shorts—I didn't remember changing, but it was whatever—and a T-shirt.

Selena looked up and said, "Dang, shawty thick as maple syrup." It was so quiet and in such a sleepy voice, I almost didn't hear her. I turned and saw her looking in amusement at my legs, one eye squinted but open and the other closed completely.

Laughing, I looked self-consciously at my legs. My thighs were heavy, but from muscle and not fat. When I sat down, they magically grew.

It was horrible, but I was over it.

I quickly took a shower and closed the bathroom door to blow dry my hair. It didn't take long, but my hair was kind of frizzy and an awkward stage between wavy and straight.

I spotted a straightener and plugged it up. It had been a while since I'd used one, but it worked miracles and made my hair look really good.

Flat. It made my hair look flat.

When it was hot, I ran a brush through it and began straightening. My hair wasn't very thick, and it was naturally the midpoint between curly and straight.

I focused on the front at first, then moved to the back and worked on it. I liked this straightener, but my hair was really long and it took a little longer than I'd previously thought.

When I was finished, I looked through my suitcases and found a pair of jeans and my favorite black hoodie.

The one I was wearing when Emmett had spilled his spaghetti on me. Luckily, it didn't leave a stain and it had easily washed out—much to my surprise and relief.

When I was finished with getting ready completely, it was about five. I pulled my Converse on and looked around. Selena was asleep again. She probably didn't usually wake up until six or six thirty.

Deciding on making myself useful while I wasn't doing anything, I began going around the room and organizing things. It wasn't horribly messy save for clothes littering the floor and makeup all over the floor surrounding a body length mirror, so it didn't take long.

Instead of putting her makeup away, I just organized it from thing to thing. I didn't usually wear makeup because my mom, you know, died, before I was old enough for her to teach me how to apply it.

I was sure Selena would happily teach me how, but it was too late and I didn't even think I could afford to lose the money it would take to buy the makeup. I was officially homeless, broke, and an orphan.

Well, I'd been an orphan for a while. The homeless part was really the only new thing.

Kind of.