Breathe

chapter one

Chapter 1

Beeeeep, Beeeeep, Beeeeep.

My arm shoots out from its previously comfortable position under the warm blankets of my bed and pushes the sleep button on my annoying alarm clock.

I open one of my eyes, squinting against the ray of blinding sunlight shooting through the window.

My eye lands on the clock next to me on my nightstand. 7:30. I get up and rub my eyes with the heels of my small hands.

Wait... 7:30? Fuck! Anna, my best friend, is picking me up at 7:45 and she hates it when I'm late.

Time for my first day of senior year.

Senior year. This is when you are supposed to have fun, turn eighteen, party with friends, get drunk and fuck up your transcripts because you incorrectly assumed that your grades don't matter after you took the required state tests.

But not me! I'm that girl. The girl that needs the scholarship to go to a good college. I work my ass of just so I can grow old and get a boring office job at an insurance company. Doesn't that sound great?

Anyway, I quickly get up from my sitting position and run over to my mirror hanging on my wall. I fan out the little makeup I have on the desk underneath the mirror and start to apply a light dusting of blush and mascara. To finish off the natural "look", I apply a light coat of my favorite strawberry lip-gloss. Anna says that I don't need to wear a lot of makeup because I have nice skin and my hazel eyes pop on their own. I don't agree with her, but I am also too lazy to put extra effort into my appearance.

7:35.

I pulled my long, honey hair from its French braid I had put it in the night before and it fell in waves down to the small of by back. I never used to wear it down, because it's really difficult to deal with sometimes, but ever since I got blonde ombre, I've been obsessed with it.

7:37.

I checked myself out in the mirror and decided I looked semi-presentable. I had never really been super confident about my body or personality. My mother and Anna always tell me that I'm very "unique" or "special". I never understand what they mean. I'm pretty sure I'm just like everyone else. I'm a wallflower.

Running to my closet, I pull out a flowery tank top that I bought on the last shopping trip I went on and a long pink cardigan that matches it. Scouring my shoe rack, I found the perfect pair of tan booties to go with the outfit. I put everything on. There was just one thing I was missing...

7:41.

"MOM! I can't find my light wash ripped skinny jeans anywhere!" I yelled from the banister of the second level of my comfortable home in Country Hills, California.

"Dylan, I told you last night to put them in the dryer before you went to sleep! They were in the last wash load!" My mother yelled back.

When I was twelve, my parents got divorced. My father left my beautiful mother for some tramp he met at a bar. Thankfully, I have the best mom in the whole wide world because she took up an extra job just to support me and make sure that I was happy. This unfortunately means that she is not usually home when I am. Once in a while, we can have a meal together and talk about what is going on in our lives.

"Shit." I swore. Now that I think about it, I do remember her telling me to get my outfit together for the first day of school today beforehand. This probably means that I should have started a dry load last night.

I ran down the set of stairs to get to the downstairs level of my home. The laundry room was spick and span, like everything else in this home, because nobody is ever here.

I opened the washing machine. I sorted through the clothes for my jeans. Finally, after what seemed like forever, I found them. They weren't soaked, thankfully, because they had been in the washing machine overnight when I forgot to put them in the dryer, but the were still significantly damp.

I ran back up the stairs and checked the clock.

7:43.

I shoved my legs through the tight fabric forcefully, but also carefully enough not to expand the rips in the pants. I was finally able to get them on and button them after a couple seconds of trying.

7:45.

I grabbed my light brown cross body satchel purse and left my room, turning the lights off as I passed them.

Earlier this week, I had gone to school and set up my locker on the designated day for seniors. This means that I don't have to worry about carrying all of the purchased materials for my classes with me on the first day. Also, today is Wednesday, so I don't have a full week of school this week.

I grabbed an apple from the counter and said a quick goodbye to my mom, giving her a peck on the cheek and telling her I love her. I sprint out the door and straight into Anna's Volvo. She gave me genuine smile, like she always does, and pulled out of my driveway.

I took a long breath and mentally prepared myself for the long day ahead of me.