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MARGO sleeping past her alarm was just a catalyst to one of the weirdest days in existence.
She never slept past her alarm. Ever. It was loud enough to wake a heavy sleeper, but somehow she had done it today. Why today? She had stayed up until one-thirty AM last night, finishing another assignment and submitting her application to UCSF, which made her wake up with a queasy feeling in her stomach. She felt the same last night, and as much as she wanted to blame it on the Caesar chicken, she knew it was because she finally applied to her dream school. Now she just had to wait a few months for a response and, hopefully, an acceptance.
Margo dragged herself out of bed, trying to dress as quickly as she could. She ended up pulling on a pair of jeans and a dirty shirt from the laundry, but for right now, she didn't care about the stain in the middle of it. Throwing on a jean jacket and her sneakers, she ran down the stairs, messy hair and backpack in tow. She could barely open her eyes as her aunt spoke with her, not that she wanted them open in the first place.
"You're late today," she said with a questionable tone. Margo was surprised she was still there, because Jenny usually left before her. "You're never late."
"Yeah, yeah. I know." Margo sighed, grabbing her clean thermos and messily pouring coffee into it. "I gotta head to school or I'll be late again."
Jenny lifted her hands. "Um – breakfast?"
"Coffee is the breakfast of champions!" Margo shouted as she slammed the door shut. She almost slipped on her front steps from the morning rain that coated them. Hopping into her van, she ignited the engine and took a large gulp of coffee. It was pure black – not the way she liked it, but the way that she knew would get her into gear. She saw Jenny leaving the house as she did, and Margo began to speed down the road to school.
The oddities didn't stop there. Everyone seemed to be so loud in the halls today. As Margo's sneakers squeaked against the floor, she heard nothing but a consistent ringing in her ears and the loud chatter of her peers. She groaned outwardly as she threw her locker open, and she momentarily forgot where she was going. Margo almost ignored Melinda's greeting too. She was falling asleep in most of her classes, wishing she had more coffee to keep her up. Finally, around eleven-thirty, something seemed to surge within her, and she suddenly felt more alive. Maybe the coffee had finally kicked in as she finished the last drop.
At lunch, she practically scarfed down the chicken noodle soup and bread that was tossed on her plate. Melinda watched her with curious eyes. "Are you okay?" She asked as Margo drank her glass of lemonade in one sip.
Margo wiped her mouth with the end of her sleeve. "Okay is an understatement," she replied, rubbing a hand over her eyes. "I'm tired. More than I've ever been."
