Sinking

Note the sarcasm

2 Weeks Later

"Guys get up! You're gonna be late for school."

"Nooooo!"

"Five more minutes."

"But I don't wanna die young."

At that I looked at Nigel with an exasperated expression, "Dude what even...?"

This, my friends, is the almost daily battle I wage against the annoying padawans AKA my siblings in attempts to wake them up for school.
Let me introduce them:
There's Nigel, he's fourteen, troublemaker, essentially all things anti order.
Then there's Matt. He's ten, adorable and obsessed with Pokemon.
Lastly Cassie. She's four and basically a mini Nigel in training.

"It's true! School kills you. Slowly, oh so slowly, they plant seeds of poison in your mind every day increasing the pressure on your brain until-"
Taking one look at Cassie's attentive face I cut Nigel off before he could continue, "Nigel I swear if you don't get up I am gonna eat all of your Fruit Loops." At that my annoying fourteen year old brother who has an abnormal obsession with Fruit Loops or, as he likes to call them, colorful hoops of sugary heavenly delight, shot up from bed and skipped to the bathroom. Unfortunately (or fortunately I guess, whatever) he's a morning person. Not that that stops him from bothering me when I try to wake him up. Reason? Unfortunately (or fortunately I guess, whatever) he's not a school person.
After successfully waking up all three of my younger siblings and helping Cassie pack her school bag I put some eggs to fry while simultaneously setting the table and laying toast on everyone's plates. What can I say, I can multitask. Ever since my mom died three years ago when I was fifteen I was always the one who made breakfast... and lunch... and dinner. I guess you could say I was like a second mother to the others.
I could still remember so clearly what my mom told me when she was dying in the hospital bed after the accident.

"Mom!" I gasped, straining to withhold the tears dripping down my cheeks,"Please don't leave us, please don't leave me!" I pleaded the blonde woman who lay on the hospital bed before me, gripping her pale fingers. They felt like ice against my skin.

"Sweetheart you know I'll never leave you. I'll always be in here." My mom put her trembling hand over my heart and smiled weakly, her voice faint and yet so comforting.

"But I don't want you there I want you here. With me." By this time I was almost wailing, my breath coming in short gasps.

"Cara I'm sorry, I really am. My biggest regret will always be that I never got enough time with my children: to see you graduate, to see Cassie's first steps, to see Matt grow up into a handsome teenager, to see Nigel meet the woman of his dreams." Now tears also streaked my mother's face as she looked up at me,"But know this: I'm not afraid. And I don't want you to be either. I know it'll be tough and being the eldest it'll wear down on you the most. You'll have to be strong beyond what you ever thought was possible. You might have to be like a mother to the others but please Cara always remember to slow down. To enjoy life. To always blink through the rain and look at the sun." Tears shone in her azure eyes like dew drops. The kind that come just after sun rise and glisten on all the prettiest flowers. My mother was a flower.
A beautiful, dying flower.

The sizzle of eggs on the frying pan snapped me back to reality as all thoughts of my mother went away from my mind once again locked into the small part of my heart that I hid from everyone. Blinking away the faint moisture from my eyes I focused on what lay ahead. First day back to school after my father's death.
Yip de doodle doo.
Note the sarcasm.

                            ●○●○●○●○●○●○●○●○●○●○●○●○●○●○●○

We pulled up in front of Blackwood High, my and Nigel's school, after dropping off Matt and Cassie at there's. Nigel looked gloomily up at the towering building and said,"Remind me why we have to go again? I mean its only been a week since..." he trailed off pain evident in his eyes as he reffered to Dad's death.
I felt a twinge of sorrow at the pain in his eyes, but said:
"We've already taken enough time off"
It was true. When Dad was in the last stage of cancer both of us had taken almost two weeks off. What I didn't add was that I had been bunking classes quite frequently in this last month and was probably going to get suspended if I didn't 'pull up my socks' as the principal put it. Normally I was a straight A student but, for obvious reasons, in the past month my mind had wandered off studies to more pressing matters like oh you know a dying dad. But of course when Principal Turner asked (not that it was any of his business) I told him something about frequent headaches. Unfortunately, I came up with excuses so often that I couldn't even remember what I said when, consequently making me end up in plenty of tight spots.

Sighing we both exited my car and parted ways, Nigel heading off to find his friends whereas I gathered up the courage to go to my first period: P.E. Yup that's right in my oh so brilliant school the first period on Monday is P.E. If it weren't for our witch of a coach everyone would probably be sleeping on the floor. And trust me calling her a 'witch' is putting it mildly. 

I entered the gym, my eyes on the ground as if I ignore everyone else they would ignore me too. Alas no luck.

"Oh hi Cara," the unfortunately familiar and deceptively sweet voice of Rachel Riley Bucks greeted me, "How was your summer? I see you didn't shop for any new clothes," she added gazing in disgust at my simple white shirt and denim jacket. 

OK let me explain. Basically Rachel was my once upon a time best friend along with Liz Tarver but when my mother passed away I completely pushed everyone, including them, away. And unlike Liz, Rachel's whole personality went through a completed transition: From a Friend to a Bitch. It should be a book.

I do not take shit from anyone. I'm not that kid who gets bullied. In fact our school is actually quite devoid of any sort of bullying or hierarchy. My life is far from cliche. For example Rachel may be callous and conceited but she isn't 'that' rich, stuck up girl in the Disney movies whose sole purpose in life seems to be stealing the boy the main character likes. Nor am I just going to fall for a classic bad boy. No thanks.

Anyway back to the present:

As usual I ignored Rachel, going to stand in the line Miss Henderson AKA the Witch insists we make. Well not insist really, more like ordering us to do so unless we want our limbs broken from running suicides. Yeah she is just a little ray of sunshine.

Before Rachel could talk again, Miss Henderson entered the gym. A broad shouldered middle age woman with graying brown hair, her eyes resembled cold grey stone and her teeth distinct and yellow. I'm telling you all that's missing is a wart. 

Well it's fun time.
Note the sarcasm.