Two nights later Andrea woke up early, 7am. Earlier than weekend mornings anyway. She reluctantly left the comfortable marshmallow that is her bed and padded out to the kitchen. Cian always got up at 7.10, even at the weekend. It was one of his habits.
Seeing as her mother was not going to leave her bed anytime soon, Andrea was alone as she poured the cheap cardboard version of Shreddies into a bowl. She turned the kettle on for some tea and switched the TV to some crappy morning show full of abnormally happy presenters.
Half a cup of tea later Cian arrived in and Andrea poured out his special Weetabix with strawberry milk. If he didn't have it in the morning he usually threw a tantrum.
Satisfied with his food he went to eat it on the couch in the living room. Andrea however put her now empty bowl in the kitchen sink and left to her room to get washed and dressed. Her school uniform received a sigh when she took it off of its hanger, it was perhaps her least favourite thing about St Michael's.
Well, that and the idiots that attended the school.
Once both her and her brother were ready she yelled a goodbye to her absent mother and they took off towards the bus stop. Andrea's ex-boyfriend from the same apartment block was there already. She glared at him, but Cian being Cian started chatting away about his favourite films.
Her bus arrived first and she gave Cian a quick hug before boarding. He went to a different school than her, so he had to get a different bus. He smiled and waved as his sister went further and further down the road. Though he'd gotten somewhat used to it by now he still felt a pang of abandonment when she left for school, and it scared him.
Still, when he saw his bus arriving with all his friends on board already he only started thinking of what fun he was going to have today. Maybe his teacher would bring them outside to play.
-
Brenda was leaning against Andrea's locker when she was found, eyes flitting between the faces of her surrounding peers.
"Looking for anyone in particular, Bren?" teased Andrea when she came to her locker. Brenda moved back from it and furrowed her brows in denial.
"No!" she shrieked. "Okay, yes," she groaned then, head in her hands.
"Nikki?" Andrea grinned, only to have her mouth covered by a slightly sweaty hand.
"Don't announce it to the world!!" Brenda shouted in a whisper. Andrea chuckled behind the hand and gently swatted it away.
"You'll see her in chemistry, which happens to be your first subject. Relax, okay?" She grabbed some books from her locker and slammed the door shut. "And before you ask, you look fine."
"Really? Do I?" Brenda took a deep breath. "Okay. I'm going to class now to be prepared. Don't protest, you've never had a crush this big. I'll see you later."
She was walking away before Andrea could say anything, and with a sigh and a roll of her eyes she left for her own physics class, not exactly looking forward to 40 lonely minutes of boring work that made next to no sense.
-
Halfway through physics a knock came on the door, bringing everyone back to life. Even the teacher seemed to be jolted with a sudden burst of energy.
The principal came in, a short official looking woman named Ms Butler. Most of the students suddenly sat up straighter when she stood at the front of the class. Those who didn't were either self-proclaimed "badasses" or too lazy to move.
