Genuine Forgery

{1} Courtney

May 2

Slamming my hand down on my night stand, trying to turn off the annoying alarm clock, my thoughts from the previous weekend come flooding back to me. If only it wasn't Monday, and I would actually be okay with school. Can't humanity just erase Monday from our vocabulary, from our life?

Realizing I have to go to school for exams, I slowly return to reality and reluctantly climb out of my warm bed. Immediately the cold air licks my exposed skin and I shiver. My air vent, which is supposed to flows cool air into my room, is broken, and now, it sputters out bursts of frosty air.

I walk down the hallway towards the kitchen, and my nose begins to pick up signs of my mother's famous homemade waffles. I allow the smell to overwhelm me and I recover from the harsh cold. Winter always comes unexpectedly, biting us with its freezing temperatures.

I grab a plate and begin to serve up a waffle for my mom and myself. As I eat, I wonder what horrors school will bring today. My imagination gets the better of me and I imagine walking up to school only to realize I am late and have missed the exams. I silently laugh at the thought. That wouldn't be all bad.

I finish my breakfast and walk back to my room to get dressed. Ignoring the cold temperatures, I slip on my uniform, socks, and shoes.

Thirty minutes to go on my "get ready" schedule, and I enjoy my time in the bathroom: brushing my teeth, combing my hair, and putting on my hygiene products.

As I exit the dark hallway, my mom calls from her room, "Courtney, are you dressed? The bus is outside! Don't be late!" I reply with an okay, stuff my lunch in my bag, and sling my backpack onto my shoulders.

I stop in front of the oven and look into my barely visible reflection. Sometimes, I wish I didn't have such a boring life. Sometimes, I wish I had a life full of adventure. But, I would never be able to have the luxury of an on-the-move kind of life. This is my life now, boring and all, I think, and it always will be.

Rushing out of the house, I sprint to the bus, right before the short-tempered bus driver has had enough waiting, and climb on. I survey my surroundings, scanning the small vehicle in search for my best friend; Umber. As I look around, I meet eyes with her and she sends me a warning look to sit down. I oblige, not really sure why her message was so urgent, and sit next to her.

"Umber, what's so important that I have to si-" I get interrupted by her as she raises a finger to her lips, telling me to shut up. She points a finger to the bus driver, and I notice the bus driver is standing now, an unhappy expression plastered to her face.

"Alright you kids, I don't want any talking today! You kids are my cargo, and I got to make sure you don't die cause it'll cost my job. So shut your mouths, or I'll drive you back to your houses and make you tell your parents that you are staying home cause you wouldn't listen!"

She stares at every student on the bus, trying to read their expressions, and makes her way back to her seat. As she sits down, I look to the front of the bus to see students giggling at something under the bus driver's seat. I direct my gaze to whatever they were looking at and spot an air horn strapped underneath her seat. I turn back to Umber to see her giggling as well. A smile starts to form on my face and I count down the seconds 'till the bus driver sits down.

I whisper the numbers under my breath, not to be heard by anyone else: "3....2......1", and all hell breaks loose.

Between the bus driver yelling at the top of her lungs, immature students howling with laughter, and me failing to contain my amusement, I was barely able to read the text from my mom.

Mom: Why is your bus outside the house? Aren't you supposed to be on your way to school?

Me: Because our bus driver is having a talk with us about being quiet while she's driving. We should be leaving soon.

Mom: Ok, see you after school. Remember, I'm picking you up when you get out of school.

Me: Alright, bye.

I look up from my phone, certain that the chaos is over. The bus driver is back in her seat, the bus silent once more, and the air horn in the trash.

~~~~

The bus driver drives around a corner, and school comes into view. Outside walls painted in light blue and yellow, it looks like an appealing place. But, it's not. Reasons? Well, let me grab my list. One; the teachers are either self-centered people who don't care about our education or just don't teach. Two; homework is a truckload that doesn't even help. Three; the classrooms are literally big trailers. And four; the whole school inside gives you the impression of a prison. I could go on and on. It just can't be fixed.

The bus comes to a stop, Umber and I getting off with the rest of the students. I look up as we near the entrance to see a banner being hung by the custodians which reads: Happy Exams Day!

I roll my eyes, and stop walking. Umber, a little ways ahead of me, realizes that I've stopped and trails back over to me.

"I can't believe we have to do crappy exams every year. What's the point of grades, if there's an end-of-year test to rate your intelligence that you either pass or don't pass?" I say, completely, and utterly annoyed.

"Because the school board, and law is shit." She replies, a little matter of factly.

I nod in agreement and we continue walking to class. Continuing down the corridor, we make our way to our lockers. Our lockers are right next to each other, which is very convenient. I get to see her wherever I go.

As I open my locker to grab my books, Wyatt comes up from behind me and play punches me in the arm in greeting.

"Hi, Wyatt" I greet in return.

"Hey, Courtney."

Colten, Wyatt's best friend does the same to Umber, greeting her the same. As a group, we ascend the stairs, making our way to homeroom. And, for a moment, my life flashes before my eyes. Me as a toddler, kid, and teen. I relive my birthdays, holidays, and other important events in my life. My last thought before the bell rings, telling us to go to homeroom is: I'm lucky. I have friends in my life, family, and I have a home. My life is great. I hope it only ever changes for the better.

Little did I know, my life would never be the same as it was that day. Little did I know, my life was about to get very, very, hectic.

***
Hey guys! I hope you liked the first chapter! If you don't already know, this is my first time writing a book on Wattpad. I'm really excited on where this story will go, and I hope you guys are excited too! Thank you all for supporting this story and make sure to stay tuned for the next update! Until next time! :D
-Spellcastermelody