November 1st

Chapter One

When my eyes open, I realize that it's still dark out. I think I've started waking up early for the past few days. I sigh, forcing myself to sit up in bed. What am I doing..? I ask myself, running my hands through my hair. I used to wake up when Mom would come into my room. Bitterness showing on my face at the thought of my mother, I bend down and blindly place my hand on the ground beneath my bed, trying to grab my hidden calendar.

I feel a calendar and immediately sit back up. Grabbing my flashlight from my bedside table. Clicking it on, I smile when I see that I took out the correct calendar, not the other seventeen that I marked up when a day passed. I look at the latest "November 1st" box I marked. "#6,565," I whisper to myself. I know that my friends have been counting the dates as well, but they've stopped doing that.

Instead, they've started repeating themselves already. Technically speaking, they're doing it illegally, but their parents already know and completely agree with their actions... My parents agree with them too, and they want to remind me of that as long as they want to.

I, however, decided to hold off on repeating myself as long as I could. I'm counting down the days until I turn 18, and I'm absolutely dreading it. Unlike everyone I know, I've always thought that living life to its fullest is better than living a monotonous life for... ever, really. Unfortunately, I'm an only child, and that means that no one in my family will listen to me. They ignore whatever I say if it has to do with the topic of repeating, unless it has to do with me wanting to illegally repeat.

Groaning from waking up early, I hide my calendar underneath my bed and turn my flashlight off, placing it where it used to be on my bedside table. When I see traces of my shadow stretching across my bed and on the ground, I glance at my window and see the sky brightening to a periwinkle. I stretch before actually forcing myself out of bed. I glance over at the clock. "5:00," I say to myself. "She wakes me up at 6:00, so I have an hour to myself."

Nodding, I make my bed before entering my bathroom. I take my time to brush my teeth and do my hair before grabbing a pair of jeans and a plaid, button-down shirt from my closet. Once I finish changing, I look at my clock again. "6:20," I announce to no one in particular before closing the door.

Acting as if everyone's already awake, I ignore the amount of noise I'm making as I nonchalantly walk down to the first floor. Once I enter the kitchen, I allow myself a minute or two to look at my surroundings, my mind working quickly to create a plan for breakfast. Eventually, I decide on a bagel with some tea, followed by a yogurt with fresh fruit. Smirking in confirmation, I don't waste any more time and dash around the kitchen, grabbing all the things that I need for this morning.

While my bagel is being toasted in the toaster and the kettle beginning to boil my water for tea, I decide to eat my yogurt to pass the time of silence. Favouring the the sweetness of the strawberries and the raspberries, I finish quickly and wash my spoon, throwing the plastic cup away in the recycle bin. I then remember my school bag in my room and rush upstairs to retrieve it before either the kettle or toaster beep in completion.

Coincidentally, the toaster finishes when I come down with my school bag. Quickly checking that I have everything that I need, I place my school bag where I'm going to sit at the dining table and walk over to the kitchen again. Managing to grab the bagel while not burning my fingers in the slightest, I press "Keep Warm" on the kettle before actually putting cream cheese on my bagel.

Suddenly, I can hear the door to my bedroom open since I immediately the faint creaking of my slightly faulty door. My mother's voice then echoes loudly, "Diavian, time to get up." I hear a few seconds of silence, since I'm downstairs already, and then the door closing with, "I'll be waiting downstairs for you."

Even though I have some dread over the fact that Mother's repeating already, I try to eat my bagel despite my sudden loss of appetite. Swallowing my last bite, I look over at the kettle and turn it off, suddenly not ravenous enough for tea.

By the time my mother comes down to make her breakfast, I'm already finished cleaning my mess. I've pulled my book out and started to read. "Good morning," I monotonously greet my mother before looking up from my book.

"Good morning, Diavian," she replies with the same amount of monotonicity. She then opens the fridge to prepare her and Father's breakfast.

Glancing at my watch, my eyes widen slightly. "It's almost 7:30," I tell her, standing up. Packing my book into my school bag, I walk over to my mother and hug her briefly. "I should probably be going now."

Mother, however, smiles brightly. Kissing my on the right cheek like she always does, she brushes a strand of hair behind my ear- there's never been a time where she didn't do that. "Alright, Divi," she says, calling me by what she called me when I was little. "Go make us proud like you always do."

Pressing my lips together, I end up smiling sincerely, despite the fact that this is something she repeats daily. I kiss her on the cheek before actually walking towards the door. Opening it, I suddenly turn around and say, "Tell Dad I said hi!"

"Will do!" she shouts back, waving with an empty mug. We smile at each other before I close the door behind me, a smile somehow staying on my face.

Like the day before, and the day before that.