Midtown High

the last drive

"Get up, honey. You don't want to be late on your last day do you?" 

Elizabeth's mom swung the door open and turned on the light in an attempt to wake up the groggy Elizabeth. 

"Mo-om! I'm trying to wake up. I know how to set alarms, you know," groaned Elizabeth, clapping her overstuffed pillow over her eyes to block out the light. "It's only 6:30. I can get ready in five minutes if I need to."

Her mom shook her head and moved on to her brother's room where he received the same greeting. Elizabeth turned over in bed and eyed the alarm clock angrily. She picked up her phone and opened up Spotify to listen to some music in hopes of waking up faster. She slid out of the covers and walked over to the chair by her desk where her uniform lay. She tossed her oversize t-shirt into the laundry bag replacing her hamper and pulled on the button down and sweater, then slipping her skirt on she zipped it and put on some tall socks. 

Elizabeth clicked on the bathroom light, wincing at its brightness. Sighing, she pulled out her toothbrush and toothpaste from her travel bag and began to furiously brush her teeth. She sat down at her desk and observed her cleared out room as she brushed. Leaning over her sink she rinsed out her mouth and tied back her hair so she could wash her face. After splashing her face with the cold water, she gently patted her face dry and put in her pearl earrings. She buckled on her watch and laced up her saddle oxfords. She then leaned over the sink and opened her eyes as wide as possible while she hurriedly swiped on some mascara and water-lined her eyes with eyeliner. Eyeing her hair with eyebrows knitted closely together, Elizabeth ultimately shrugged and pulled the messy waves into a low ponytail. 

She whipped her head around to check the clock. 6:58. Perfect timing, as usual. 

Bounding down the stairs, backpack slung over shoulder, Elizabeth landed at the bottom step with a flourish. She briskly walked into the kitchen and stuffed her lunchbox into her backpack, giving her mom a kiss on the cheek as she waved goodbye and left through the garage door. She fished her keys out of her pocket and put the ring between her teeth as she opened the back door of her grey Mazda for her little brother, shoving her backpack in behind him. She closed the back door, opened the front, and slid into the drivers seat, forcing the keys into ignition. With a sigh, she pulled up Spotify on her phone and closed the garage door. She pulled away from the driveway and onto the busy street as upbeat music drifted throughout the car, her brother peacefully reading in the back seat. 

Elizabeth tapped her fingers to the tune and waited thoughtfully at the red light. Trees and headlights flew by in a blur of colors as Elizabeth considered the fact that this was her last time to drive to school. In New York, she would be taking the subway and would rarely be able to use her car. She would miss blaring music as loud as she pleased and driving far away to relieve any stress or anger she had pent up inside of her. No longer could she whip into her favorite parking space or speed through the streets trying not to be late for school.

Red light. 

She stopped and looked sadly at the school in the distance, questioning if she had made the right decision. This school was all she had ever known and it was very true that she would miss it. But sometimes things need to be shaken up in order to find yourself. Sometimes lights turned red for a reason.

Green light. 

Sometimes lights turned red so that in the wait for the green light you could change your route. Sometimes the green light came on elsewhere. Somewhere like New York City. 

***

Elizabeth breezed through her brother's carpool line and smiled as he frantically waved goodbye to her. She cut through the campus until she reached her parking lot and slid into her spot. Her friends met her at her car and hugged her tightly as they all realized that this was the last time they would walk down the hill together. Elizabeth looked around her at the familiar cars and sad friends and again thought she might have made the wrong decision. What if this was all wrong? What if she was meant to stay here? But it was too late for thoughts like that. 

She took a deep breath and began her final descent down the hill.

Thunder cracked overhead as rain began to lightly fall onto the solemn procession of Elizabeth and her friends. Elizabeth pulled the hood of her rain jacket over her damp hair and sighed as her maroon high-tops squashed with mud. She looked over at her friend Caroline and tried to put on her bravest face and mustered a small smile. Caroline reached down and squeezed her hand. The crossing guard motioned for them to cross and the girls trudged down the remainder of the hill in silence. Elizabeth began to walk slower and slower. She stopped and looked around.

The school loomed in the distance, carpool lines weaving through the various parking lots. The football guys ran inside of the gym with their bags held high over their heads to block out the rain. The freshmen who couldn't drive practically skipped inside with dry hair and clothes. The baseball field-- one of Elizabeth's favorite places-- looked vibrantly green next to the dull, gray sky. The multi-colored cars lined the student parking lot like metallic jewels. Kids sloshed down the muddy hill as trees dripped their shining drops on the students' unwilling heads. Her friends proceeded on in front of her with each shoe, each backpack, each familiar ponytail bringing back sad and happy memories at the same time.

boom

Elizabeth, jarred back into reality, shook her head sadly and ran to catch up with her friends.

Boy, was this going to be a long day.