An Epiphany

Chapter 1

I wake up to the blaring screams of my phone's five am alarm clock. 

I groan, turning and twisting from under the covers before finally managing to pull myself together and reach out to press the snooze button. I rub my eyes of any remaining sleep before arching my back and stretching like an elastic band held above a blazing flame. My eyes squint as I stare out of my bedroom window, the birds barely chirping as the September sunrise's wake-up colors reach through and into my room. 

Swearing under my breath, I wince at my phone's failed attempt to try and wake me up, given the fact that I was already up, my guts tucking and twisting with a nauseous nervousness. 

Today, it's my first day going to Riverdale High school.

Suddenly, my mom bursts into my room with an unholy amount of noise, before switching on the light and clapping her hands.

"Come on, darling! You've got a big day ahead of you!" She walks up to my bed, leans forwards and plants a kiss on the top of my head, earning a small groan and pursed up smile from my behalf. 

"Okay." I push the thin covers off of my body and move to put my slippers on before trotting into my small bathroom. I turn the light on and walk up towards the mirror. I avoid looking at my reflection, merely because I know I don't look good, and so I go to turn on the tap so I can splash my face with cold water. I use the pastel pink towel to dry up my face before finally gazing into my own hazel eyes. 

I scrutinize every single detail of my face, pin-pointing all my flaws and how I may be able to fix them. My black, shoulder-length hair sits on top of my head in a messy bun as I arch an eyebrow upwards, trying to squeeze toothpaste onto my toothbrush. 

I listen to my mother moving around in my bedroom, probably making my bed, before I hear my door close; her loud and clear voice ringing through the hallway- announcing how she'll be making pancakes. I roll my eyes as I hear my older brother, Jared's, trap music cause unrest in the house. 

I take a brisk shower before walking back into my sleeping quarters and picking out an outfit, going over what my friends told me before I left my old life. 

Not too slutty, not too modest and not too much. 

I nod to myself, biting my lip as I pick out a checkered black and red skirt, some black tights and a black t-shirt. I lay the clothes on my bed before bobbing my head once again and beginning to dress myself. As I start rolling on my tights, I look up to my mother opening my door once again- the smell of freshly made pancakes permeating through the door-frame. She stands in front of me; her hands on her hips; as her eyes gaze over my outfit approvingly. When she's done checking if I look decent, she moves to my desk before picking up my brush and walking up to me. Her hands run through my thick her before she starts working on the tight ponytail that has become my trademark look. 

"Are you nervous?" She asks, ignoring my soft hiss when the comb pulls on a knot in my hair. I jerk my head forwards before sighing. 

"No," I lie, knowing damn well that if I had told her the truth, she would not stop dwelling on it. You see, my mom is a different type of person. She used to live here, in Riverdale, up until her mid twenties. She used to go to Riverdale High School and that's even where she met my father. But, a few years after I was born, my mother got asked to work for a well-known newspaper and so we packed our bags and moved to sunny California. And although many of our former classmates were cocky and just...I guess, too much, having to deal with my mother's overly-protective and controlling state has definitely pushed me away from becoming one of them. Hell, I've only kissed a guy once! For a dare....and that was last year. So my life isn't really that interesting. Too many books, not many outings and not many sleepovers. But I'm hoping that the change from a large state to living in this little city will change the way my mom wants me to live my own life. 

By the time I had finished thinking about my mother's controlling ways; she had already finished tying my hair, and is now walking back over to the door. She turns around and smiles at me warmly, but it's just the kind of smile that always sends chills down my spine. 

"Don't worry about it too much. There's some lovely kids that you'll click with right away. Like Betty Cooper. You used to be best friends when you were children. She's nice and simple, just like you." I frown slightly but choose to smile back at her anyway. 

*** 

I don't eat much, merely because I am shaking at the thought that I'm gonna have to go to a new school, with new people, new teachers and just new everything. I take a sip of my orange juice as my older brother walks in, smirking cockily as always. 

Jared has always been adored by both my parents. It's really annoying actually, he doesn't even try. He's rather handsome, tall, dark hair and stunning grey eyes- ones that always lure in all the girls. He smirks at me and I roll my eyes, knowing damn well that he's as nervous as I am. Maybe even more nervous since he also wants to enter the Riverdale Football team. We engage in small-talk which soon gets interrupted by my mother as she claps her hands and urges us to go get our bags since she's going to the car. I pick my bag up and bite my lip before closing the front door after Jared and I. 

My mom honks at me which pulls me out of my little day dream. I make my way to the car and sit in the back. My mom starts talking about how excited she is to be getting her job back for the Newspaper "The Riverdale Register." I hum for a while, listening to her rant about how frustrated she is at our father for going back to work for the Sheriff, but soon after, I pull my earphones out and plug them into my phone, letting the music flow into me. 

I don't know when I fell asleep, but all I can remember is waking up to a sinking feeling in my stomach which alerted me that we are here. 

Riverdale High School. 

It is a fairly large and quite ancient looking school, with students surrounding the premises. Some look really happy to be back in school but others, not so much. I say goodbye to my mother and jump out of the car before gliding my fingers over my skirt. I glance at my brother, who is already making his way to a group of boys who are all wearing identical blue and yellow jersey jackets and I can only guess that those are the football jocks. I purse my lips and make my way to the entrance of the school, until someone behind me taps me on the shoulder. 

I spin around and meet the warm, blue eyes of a pretty girl with a similar taste in clothes. Her hair is tied up in a high ponytail, just like mine but she isn't as pale as me. I smile at her and shake her hand. 

"Betty Cooper," she introduces herself sweetly and I raise an eyebrow. "You must be...uh..." She looks down at the note held in her hand before nervously glancing back at me. 

I can't help but laugh. "Saoirse Johnson. You pronounce it as Sorsha. But my friends call me Slush." I smile and I'm happy when she grins back. 

"Welcome back to Riverdale! I vaguely remember what we used to do when we were kids and my mom had to remind me that we used to be friends, since it used to be years ago." I smile again, taking a deep breath before speaking. "That's okay. My mom did the same. They're gonna work together, right?" She nods almost immediately. "Yep. They used to be good friends back in the days, I remember that. But anyway, enough with that for now, let's give you a tour of your new school!" She loops an arm through mine and takes me around the school, whilst simultaneously filling me in on some history about the building. I nod and look around, like a tourist in a museum, actually interested in all the information she's giving me. 

Finally, we reach the hallway leading to the boy's changing rooms and we hear the loud laughs and remarks ringing through the corridor, and only then does she realize that they're going to be having football practice first two periods. 

She pulls us backwards as we hear the voices become louder and clearer. "Uh, so let's get you to class. I believe we've chosen the same subjects, so we've got Biology now." We turn back around just before we hear the loud whistles and wolf noises emerge out of the boys who have caught glimpse of us lurking in their hallway. 

We enter the class and I sit beside her; excited to see what happens next.