Bad On Another Level

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C H A P T E R O N E

I woke up in the morning and yawned blissfully, smiling as I sat up in bed and peered through the large window that stood on the opposing wall of my room.

What a wonderful day. I thought. The sun is shining, the birds are chirping and — CRAP, I'M LATE!

I shot my alarm clock my biggest look of hurt and betrayal, before groaning and jumping out of bed.

Great, first day back from my vacation and I was already going to be around ten minutes late for school. Well done, Raiya. Why don't you give yourself a pat on the back?

For some weird reason, my hand shot up to actually give myself a pat on the back, but I quickly slapped it away and shook my head whilst mentally scolded myself for being such a weirdo.

I fiddled with my alarm clock, wondering why it decided to betray me and not go off when I had perfectly set it up last night. Turns out, the batteries ran out.

Sighing, I mentally noted to myself to buy some batteries from the local convenience store after school and then rushed into the bathroom to brush my teeth and groom myself. It took me a while to grab hold of my toothbrush, due to the fact that all that rushing caused my major jetlag to kick in.

My family and I — meaning my parents and I — had gone on a whopping three-month vacation to India to spend time with our endless bunch of relatives. It was a delightful experience, despite the fact that I had food poisoning and diarrhea a couple of times over.

Also despite the fact that there was a constant feeling of emptiness. My parents and my relatives felt it too, and it caused many awkward silences. Nothing is the same without her.

Nevertheless, I enjoyed the precious time with my relatives, and also watching my dear cousins getting married to their arranged love of their lives. However, I didn't particularly enjoy the creepy smile my mom and aunties shot me during the weddings that screamed, 'you're next'.

I shuddered at the thought of getting married. Don't get me wrong — I have nothing against arranged marriages, not to be mistaken for forced marriages, which I have everything against. Arranged marriage was basically like a dating service operated by your mom and dad to find you a suitable husband. You spent some time with this man and if you approved, then onto the wedding! However, if you didn't, then onto the next man. My cousins seemed to be very satisfied with it, and my mom and my dad were a great success story, as they truly did love each other.

I, on the other hand, didn't want to get an arranged marriage — let alone married. And I definitely didn't want to breed, cook and clean for a living, it just wasn't the pathway that I wanted to walk down! I had big dreams; dreams that consisted of becoming a successful space scientist at NASA, making my parents proud and living my life as an independant woman.

Yes, my dream was enormous, but what would be the point of dreaming if it's just simple and easy to achieve?

Besides, I was already halfway there. You see, I was the top student in my entire school, rank no. 1 on all my subjects on every single exam throughout my entire high school life. It wasn't easy, but the hardwork was so worth it! Because one day, a recruiter in Foxford University — mind you, the number one university in the world — somehow noticed me, and promised me a full scholarship, as long as I graduated as the top student. Surprisingly, I didn't feel any pressure by it. I mean, staying at the top of the school should be a piece of cake.