Too Bad For Her Own Good

day 2 : morning

Waking up would ideally be positive, right? But, what does it mean when you don't wake up smiling? Because I definitely didn't. I woke up with a full scowl, maybe even a frown that had begun development while I was asleep. My nostrils were definitely flared and my body was tense, my fingers just barely digging into the skin of my palm. 

This marriage law is ruining my life and it hasn't even happened yet.

I'd been up all night. After falling asleep well past an appropriate hour, I woke up with a start an hour later and rethought all that Mr. Aloe had told us. I had until tomorrow morning to figure something out, which meant pulling an all-nighter to research.

I searched and searched, and only came up with but some stories online written by girls fantasizing about Dramione. Nothing that would help me at all. This marriage law was so unorthodox that not a single other town has even remotely thought of it. A "Marriage Law" wasn't found in any internet-accessible archives of any of the 50 United States of America.

So I dug deeper. If I can't find any other places that instated it, I'd need to find a means of prevention. I thought about the requirements to have children. They are actively advancing teen pregnancy. I could pull that card, saying that even if these children are born into wedlock, the people in wedlock are teenagers. How do people not see the issue in this? Despite the clear logic, I couldn't' help the thoughts in the back of my head saying - there's no way they don't know this already, Katherine. They know this and they're still doing it.

So anyway, I woke up angry. I forced myself to sleep for the last 30 minutes, leaving me with a grand total of an hour and thirty minutes of sleep. Just fabulous, don't you think? Tired, and also the fact that I'm getting married, left for a pretty on-edge Katherine.

I step out of the bed, and cringe at the way the cold floor feels against my bare feet. I never changed out of my outfit yesterday, so the skirt is very wrinkled against my skin. I stumble over to the closet, attempting to rid my eyes of the groggy sleep still covering them.

I grab some black skinny jeans and a white v-neck t-shirt, wrapping a black belt around my waist and fastening it. Today is not the day to be a style icon. To be fair, I don't think I've ever been a style icon.

I stumble my way down the incredibly magnificent marble staircase, not surprised to see no one is home. I grab a banana just like every morning, slamming the door behind me just because I can.

They had to tell our parents about this, right? There's no way students are being forced into arranged marriages and the parents don't know. This part surprises me, even if it's just a little. I thought my parents would at least make an appearance in their own home for this. 

Walking to the bus stop, I force myself to think about the marriage law and make sure I'm not missing something major, something that I should have seen before. I come up with nothing, my brain is too scrambled and stretched to think about anything. This is one of those few and far-fetched times that I am completely in over my head. I have a sinking suspicion that no matter how much I want to be the hero and save the town from catastrophe, that I simply won't be able to.

In a matter of milliseconds I seem to make it to the bus stop, Hunter and Alice are already there. Gosh, time is moving too quickly.

"Mornin'" my voice is grumbily, but it would be impolite to not say good morning.

"Morning Katherine, you excited for today?" Hunters soothing and somewhat high voice ring through my ears, and the sound I once adored has been turned to evil in this sentence. Excited?

"No, are you?" I ask in disbelief.

He shrugs his shoulders as if signing his life away is no big deal. "I'm sure they put some thought into it, in choosing our partners. It can't be random, I'm excited to meet my wife." He smiles broadly.