Ice Bound (#Wattys2018)

Chapter 8

Chapter 8

"Can I go to the rink Mom?" Melissa placed her piano books on her lap. "My stuff is in the trunk, plus you said that you would take me after my piano lesson."

She was having rink withdrawals again. Her mother had claimed that her schedule was packed and that Mel didn't give her enough time to work it into the calendar. Life in her room was boring. Her parents were always on her nerves.

"No Mel, I'm sorry. Maybe next week."

Melissa's face dropped into a visible frown. She shrunk into the seat. It was the same routine for a few weeks now. School was starting soon and one more skate would be a nice way to wrap things up. Ren and Indie had been texting her on their spare time.

Ren: Are you coming today?

Melissa: No.

Indie: What do you mean! School is starting soon and then we won't see each other as much!

Melissa: Mom is too busy, sorry. I'm so sick of this.

Melissa took a deep breath and leaned against the arm rest. She placed a hand on her chest and turned so her back faced her mom. They didn't kill me. "Ren and Indie are upset." She watched the scenery pass by.

"Well they shouldn't be. Until you get your license I have to chauffer you everywhere." Mrs. Sadent's voice twitched. She stopped the car. "Anyways..." The car shook as she shifted the gears into park.

Melissa jumped out of the car and dashed inside. She tossed her bag into the music room and went to her room. She shut the door and flopped onto the bed. A stack of papers crumpled beneath her. She turned on her side and glanced at the piece of paper. Make sure you go to the Office before class when you get to the school.

"Thanks for telling me mom." Melissa grumbled and picked up the paper. She tossed it to the side and reached for a box that was sitting on her nightstand. She opened it to find a stack of what looked like school uniforms. Melissa took out the articles and sighed. From what she understood from her school tour, they were fairly strict regarding dress code. Not that the rules bothered her. It just was new.

Melissa's mom knocked on the door, "I'm leaving in a few, I have your school things for you to organize."

"Yeah yeah, you can come in." Melissa opened the door and let her mom in. She took the bags from her mom.

"Sorry that I haven't been able to take you to the rink."

"It's okay. I understand..." Melissa sighed and began to look at the bags of school supplies. She ignored the other warm body in the room as she worked.

Her mom walked over and looked at the many scattered brown boxes. "Try to get rid of all this clutter before school starts." She kissed her daughter's cheek, "I will be back in a few hours."

...

Melissa rolled out of bed and shut her alarm clock off. She did her morning stretches and took a warm shower to refresh herself. Then she tied her hair into a messy side bun, being careful to make sure each curl was pinned in. She slid into her new uniform and smudged some chapstick on her lips.The cream colored uniform blazer fit perfectly over her white, short sleeved, button up. The navy blue skirt fell a few inches below her knee.

Melissa checked the time on her phone. She had a little bit of time before she had to walk to the city bus stop. She walked back into her room and slid her brown messenger bag onto her shoulder and threw her wallet and ear buds into her bag. She then slid her brown shoes on and walked downstairs.