The Letters

Chapter Three

l woke up the next morning feeling horribly tired, as usual. I had my alarm set for 5:45, and after snoozing it four times, I dragged myself out of bed. I lagged over to the heating vent in my room and sat in front of it. This had become a routine for me since my mom died. When I was younger, I always went and lied down with my mother in the morning, before school. After she died, I got into a habit of sitting in front of the heater. I guess its warmth reminded me of her.

I jolted awake and the sound of my dad yelling, "Vallerie! It's 6:30! You had better be out of bed!"

Oh, crap! I'm gonna be late, I thought. I must've fallen asleep in front of the heater.

I ran to the bathroom and put my hair in a ponytail and put a headband on to control the flyaway hairs around my face. I looked in the mirror, I looked like crap.

No time for makeup today. Oh well, I thought. I had bags under my eyes and I was getting a zit right on my forehead. Just great. I ran back to my bedroom and pulled a sweatshirt over my head. I pulled off my sleeping shorts that I always wore to bed, no matter what the temperature is, and yanked on a pair of jeggings.

"Vallerie! I'm serious! If you're not out of bed and you miss the bus, I'm not driving you to school."

"I'm up, I'm up!" I yelled down the stairs.

I grabbed my phone and checked the time. 6:45. Crap, I'm gonna miss the bus! I grabbed a pair of brown knee high boots and nearly fell down the stairs jumping around trying to get them on. I grabbed my backpack that was sitting next to the dining room table and ran out the door.

I sprinted to the end of the driveway and looked down the road. I didn't see any tail lights so I figured I didn't miss it. 6:50. So close. The bus usually comes at 6:54. I pulled out my phone and texted my dad.

Sorry I didn't say good morning, I didn't want to miss the bus. I'll see you after school!

I shoved my phone in my back pocket and waited for the bus to come.

I seen headlights coming over the hill down the road. I checked my phone, 6:54. At least by bus driver was reliable. The bus slowed to a stop and the door slid open. I walked awkwardly down the aisle to my usual seat. Four seats from the back, I had a pretty nice seat. The little kids always sat a few seats ahead of me and the idiotic psycho seniors on drugs sat in the last few seats. They were pretty easy to ignore.

I struggled awkwardly to get my phone out of my back pocket. I plugged my headphones in and played my new playlist. Sail by AWOLNATION came on and I turned the volume all the way up. I was one of those people who preferred the bass turned all the way up all the time. I closed my eyes and let a feeling of ecstasy wash over me. Music was really my life. I don't know what I would do without it. I had the bass booster turned on so the sound was even bigger. I could feel my headphones vibrating in my ears. If a song didn't have a strong bass, I would get sick of it pretty quick. I also liked dubstep.

I played my Krewella playlist. My favorite song of theirs is probably Killin it. It's pretty epic.

At about 7:45, the bus pulled up to the school. I walked in the front doors looking around for my friends. I spotted them by the breakfast bar. I waved to one of them and motioned for them to come over. None of my friends really liked the kind of music I did. They thought I was crazy, and that my music sounded like crap, much like my father did. They liked One Direction and Justin Bieber. In my opinion, One Direction had decent music but it got boring after a short while.

As we walked to class walking side by side, we took up the width of the hallway. I laughed under my breath as an eighth grader squished against the wall to try and pass us.