Hiding Behind Looks

Once Black, Now Bleached

"Amanda! I cant believe we have school tomorrow, I don't want summer to be over," Daniel basically yelled through the phone. It was around 11 pm and we were still up.

"Be quiet Daniel, my dad's asleep, I dont want to wake him up," I playfully scolded him. Maybe not so playfully though, I didn't want to deal with Dad at the moment.

"Oh right, sorry," He sounded sincere.

"Its alright. But we should probably go to sleep, school starts tomorrow and I do not want to be in a bad mood," I said.

Daniel chuckled, "Yeah, no one wants that," I rolled my eyes at his remark. "Goodnight," he said.

"Bye," I hung up and just laid there on my bed, thinking about what everyone would think of me. It was my last year in high school and decided I would live it to the fullest. With that, came a change in my look.

I twirled my bleached hair on my index finger as I thought of what look I would go for tomorrow. I pushed those thoughts aside and closed my eyes, falling into a land of slumber.

---
Beep beep

The sound of my alarm clock woke me. I yawned as I felt my hair, checking if it was dry from my shower last night. It was.

Great.

I checked my phone, it was 6:15 am. That gave me around an hour to get ready. I slowly stood up, still not fully awake, and walked over to the bathroom.

After doing my business, I brushed my teeth and splashed water onto my face, now fully awake. I jogged to my closet and chose an outfit. I decided on a maroon colored crop top and a skater skirt along with some converse. I checked myself in my mirror and with satisfaction walked back to the bathroom and plugged in my curling wand. I curled my hair into loose waves and once I was done, I checked and saw that I had around 30 minutes left.

I quietly went over to my vanity and did some light makeup. I had been practicing this whole summer and liked to think I was getting better at it. It was kind of therapeutic and relaxing for me.

I took my backpack which was pretty light and discreetly made my way to the front door. I checked my clock and saw that I wouldnt have enough time to eat breakfast and internally
groaned.

I headed to the front door to pick Daniel up.

Just when I reached for the door knob, I felt a strong hand on my wrist, preventing me from leaving.

"Leaving without saying goodbye? Thats rude, I didn't raise you like that," My dad's breath reeked of alchohol.

For crying out loud, it was 7:30 in the morning!

His hand tightened on my wrist and I winced, "I'm leaving for school now. Bye?" I tried leaving, he wouldnt let go.

"Be back by 5," he responded. I slowly nodded with wide eyes as he shoved me outside. I shuddered from the morning breeze and got in my car, heading to Daniel's house which was only a few blocks away. I got a view of Daniel on his porch hugging his mom as I entered their driveway.

He doesnt realize how lucky he is.

My mom had left my dad a few months earlier and went running into another man's arms. Then, my dad turned to alcohol as a solution and blah blah blah, here I am.

I was snapped out of my trance as Daniel shut the door to the car. "Woah, what happened to your black hair?" He sounded surprised.

"Nice to see you too, Daniboy," I waved to Mrs Avery as I drove away from his house and was later met with comfortable silence. Daniel and I were like that, just being in his company made me feel better about everything.

A few minutes later, we got to school. As I parked my car, I took in the sight of kids catching up with one another. Some were taking selfies while others hugged eachother. I exited my car and found Daniel next to me. He slung his arm around my shoulders and gave me a reassuring squeeze. I looked up at him and felt super grateful to have him in my life. We walked through the front gate before stopping and staring at the open doors that led to hell.

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I can't believe I just wrote that. This is my first book I'm actually publishing so I hope you enjoyed it!

With lots of love,
VR