Cells

1

 I could feel my heart threatening to fall out of my chest as he leaned in closer. This was it. The Leo Cage was leaning in to kiss me. After so long it was finally happening, the crush I've had all throughout high school is about to kiss me. ME short, stubborn, bashful Alayna Haven. I closed my eyes the way the actresses do in the movies when the guy leans in, and just when I can sense that he's about a millimeter away from my lips... he opens his mouth and begins rambling on about the ways that sugar has the same effects on your brain as cocaine. I open my mouth in order to properly ask him what the hell is wrong with him, but all that can come out is- "BEEP BEEP BEEP"

I groan into my pillow, which I then realize has a small drool puddle, and aimlessly flail my hand around to turn off my alarm clock. Yes alarm clock, I mean who even uses those anymore?! Damn you for ruining my perfectly good dream I think to myself before beginning to doze off again. And I almost succeeded! Until I remembered one little fact... it' not summer anymore.

"Shit." I look at my alarm clock which read 6:58. "Shit Shit." 6:58 may seem extremely early to some people, seeing as how the school doesn't start until 8:00, but I go this super prestigious school that I was shocked to even get into, let alone receive a scholarship, but this school was great. The only downside is that it's about an hour drive to get there, so in my mind, I'm basically screwed.

I scramble out of bed, which I then realized wasn't a totally good idea when I stubbed my toe on the corner of my nightstand "shit shit shit.' I run to the bathroom and look in the mirror to asses the damage. Not a bright idea I realize as I see my normally shiny, wavy hair now tangled into a literal rats nest atop my head, as well as a huge, red, pimple screaming 'pop me' in the middle of my forehead, kind of resembling a bindi if that helps with a visual. I close my eyes as I brush my teeth so as to avoid any confrontation with the red monster in front of me. I grab my hairbrush, some concealer, and mascara and throw it into my school bag that I-smartly- packed the night before. And run to my closet to throw on my clothes. I look at myself in the mirror one last time, and I realize that not only is today a bad everything day, but the outfit I chose last night that had looked amazing on me at 1 am, doesn't look as good on me as I thought it did, and oh yeah, it was wrinkled.

"Shit shit shit. Fuck! that's it I give up! You win." Yeah...so much for a good first day.

Of course, my mom hounds me for looking like the slob I do right now as if I didn't already know. "I just don't understand how you could go out looking like that! Look at you! You look awful!" My mom says as I come downstairs I don't say anything in return, but pull out my hairbrush from my bag and show it to her, rushing out of the door. Sometimes I just don't have the patience to fight with her.

"Love you!" I yell and I get in my jeep and turn the ignition. Don't get me wrong, I love my mom, she's the best. I'm glad she's so upfront with me, I'd rather have a mom who gives it to me straight instead of sugar coating life for me. It's just that sometimes she doesn't know when to stop, and that's what bothers me. One minute we could be having the time of our lives shopping for clothes, and the next it turns into an hour-long rant about how I need to firm up 'that ass of mine'. But whatever, at least I know when I don't look my best instead of looking like a fool when everyone tells me I look fine. I swear, I'm not a vain person, it's just coming off like this. After all, appearances are very important in my family.

I barely finish making myself look somewhat presentable when I pull into the entrance of school. I look one that time in the mirror and get out of my car, heading through the huge wooden doors. When I first visited here this huge school was seemed so intimidating, but now, three years later? Not so much. I sigh, already getting teary-eyed, my last first day of high school. Oh Jesus Christ, grow up Alayna! I head towards my new locker room- seniors get their own locker space. I find my locker right next to... Leo Cage. My heart starts to pound just a little harder as I make my way over. "Hey!" he says, shooting me one of those dazzling smiles that turns all of the girls into a pile of goo. I tilt my head up to meet his eyes. Oh, those big, brown, beautiful pools of eyes. Snap out of it you freak! "Hey Leo, is this your locker?" I'm used to talking to him, he is my best friends brother after all. But even if I wasn't so comfortable around him I would act the same. I will be forever grateful I'm not one of those girls who gets super awkward and clams up when talking to their crush. I just get a little too enthusiastic and begin planning our wedding. No biggie. Right now I'm thinking the classic white dress, but I don't know maybe I could try to go a little out there, I mean it's not like I'll have the typical chapel wedding... unless he's hiding the fact that he's actually super religious. "Yep, this is me. And I'm assuming that this one's yours?" I nod, trying to hide my Cheshire cat-like grin. "Cool! So I guess we'll be locker buddies. Thank god, the last three years I've been next to this one guy who..." okay so I zoned out a little. I mean, can you blame me? Right now I'm looking at six feet of pure muscled perfection and how that grey tee shirt clings to those sexy arms and I'm all the way down here with my 5'2" body still has the remains of a rats nest lingering at the back of my head, and a pimple the size of Texas right in the middle of it. Oh and also that fact that this Greek god in front of me is dating my ex-best friend. Her name is Shay Thomas. All throughout junior high and elementary school, we were best friends, but Freshmen year it's like a switch went off in her brain and she became the rich, bitchy, blonde cheerleader she was always meant to be. But before that? We'd spend practically every waking-and sleeping-moment together. Painting each other's nails, gossiping, watching Channing Tatum movies. But once high school started, Shay wanted nothing to do with me. She'd let out all of the secrets that had been kept, and had made me a social pariah for almost all of ninth grade. She couldn't care less though, in Shay's mind she wanted to be popular and I was the 'dead weight' keeping her from getting there. Well, she got what she wanted. Shay Thomas was the 'Queen Bee' of our school so to speak. She has it all. The body, the guy, the minions. Oh well, if that's what makes her happy then let her have it. But what I don't understand is why she has to be such a bitch to me all of the time. Stealing my homework assignments, tripping me in the halls, spreading rumors about me. Her childish antics didn't matter to me though. Really, I don't care. Oh well, what can you do?