Problem Kid

Chapter 1

"Shut up!" I throw my alarm clock into the wall angrily. Its manic beeping, which woke me from my deep sleep, subsided mid beep. The heavy object thuds to the floor and I sit up fully, definitely awake now.
"Summer," I call over my beautiful golden retriever from her large dog bed and she obediently jumps onto my silk bedsheets. With a small smile, I brush her fur with my hands. I lean over to my bedside table and pick up my phone to check the time.
05.31
Great.
Slowly, I sit up and rub my eyes before sliding out of bed and making a small clicking sound with my mouth to get summer to follow me. First, I take off my batman pyjama shorts and my matching tank top before turning on the warm water and waiting for it to become the right temperature. As I did that, I looked into the floor length mirror in front of me. To tell the truth, I wasn't happy with my body. I had wrecked it during the last two years with my struggles against anorexia nervosa and self harming. My thighs, upper and lower arms, stomach and hips were littered with scars. Some forming ridges in my skin, some sunken in and some flat across the surface. All standing out violently on my lightly tanned body. My weight has increased from being 82lb last June to 135lb this June. I wasn't happy with my body. I felt like I had failed and was judged by everyone for being so fat. Something in my head reminded me that daily however my therapy had helped me learn that these intrusive thoughts aren't true. I was actually a slim person with a healthy weight. I still try to think that way. After 6 months clean from cutting, I was allowed a razor back. I appreciated this as I noticed the thick brown hairs sprouting from my legs. Summer retreats from my side as I step into the shower, curling herself up just outside my bathroom. The warm water sprays onto my skin, relaxing my muscles as it runs down my body. I gently massage my argon oil shampoo into my dyed black hair before allowing the water to rush through its thick strands and wash it out. I do the same with my conditioner before scrubbing strawberry scented soap across my whole body. After a moment of relaxing under the water, I turn it off and step out onto my black shower mat. I wrap a large white towel around my body and walk out of the bathroom. As the water drips from my hair down my back, I open my drawers and begin searching for things to wear. After a moment of thought, I settle on a pair of black leggings and a white Black Veil Brides tank top with a long sleeved black cardigan which hangs down to my knees at the back. I smile at my reflection in the mirror, before wrapping my hair in a small towel above my head. I then check my phone again to see it's 6.00am. I hurriedly call Summer into the bathroom where I instruct her to hop into the bath as I turn on the water. It begins to slowly fill up until it reaches her knees. I switch the tap off and take down the shower head, beginning to spray water across her until she's soaked. She sits in the tub obediently, panting softly with her large canine teeth showing in a goofy smile. I shampoo her with her sweet smelling dog wash before washing it out and instructing her out of the tub. She stands still on the mat as I cover her over with a large towel and leaving for a moment to plug in the hair dryer. As it turns on, she wags her dripping tail. She LOVES the hair dryer which is why she stands so still as I dry her soggy fur with her brush to loosen it's forming tangles. After about 20 minutes, she's completely dry. I unplug the dryer, setting it on the countertop carefully before running Summer's brush across her body a few more times and setting her free to run around the house for a bit. It was now 7.30 which meant I had about enough time to slap on a bit of makeup, style my hair and get ready to go to school. I did just that, putting the bases of my makeup onto the skin before working on my eyes. I put eyeliner all around to make them look more bold and awake before applying some black eyeshadow, blending it and lining my lips with a dark purple. I look in the mirror at my dyed black hair which falls down to my shoulder blades, contemplating what to do with it. I finally settle on just straightening it, which takes me ten minutes to do. Once done, I stare into the floor length mirror at my outfit before deciding to change it. I shuffle through my wardrobe until I find a black fabric knee length skirt along with some fishnet tights and ankle boots with metal studs. I find a red tartan shirt and tuck it into the skirt, leaving the top button undone and smiling at my reflection. Perfect. I tug down the sleeves of my shirt and I'm ready to go! I head downstairs to find my Mum feeding Summer for me in the kitchen.
"Hey, love. I made you some toast with honey. Eat it up before you go babes," I hug her, thanking her before taking the first of the three slices of toast from the plate and biting into it whilst staring down at it.
260 calories per slice.
I can't help it. I push away the intrusive thoughts as my therapist taught me to and eat the three slices whilst checking I had properly packed Summer's bag for school. Red booties, check. Red leash, check. Two pop-up bowls for food and water, check. Dry food, check. 2 litre water bottle, check. Lunch for me, check. Rain coat for Summer, check. Treats? Check. I smile, content, before hooking the bag onto the banister of the stairwell and checking my own bag. I had all of my study textbooks and notepads inside it, my stationary tucked inside its large black case. I call Summer, who has finished her food, over to me where she sits in front of my crosses legs, allowing me to slide on her vest which has patches stating that she's a service animal.
'I don't bite but my owner does!'
'Working Service Dog, do not distract!'
'Look but don't touch!'
'POTS alert dog'
A few other patches lined her leash.
'Please don't distract me from my work!'
'No reason to stare, I'm not a death eater!'
The vest itself below the patches is a dark shade of crimson red and matched my wheelchair which I used on days where my POTS was bad. You might be wondering what that is. POTS stands for postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome. It's a condition that I was diagnosed with 3 years ago, causing me to pass out if I do excessive movement such as moving too fast or standing too quickly. Basically, if my heart rate increases too much then I hit the deck. Summer is here to alert me before I do so meaning I have about 5 minutes to get into a safe place and a laying down position instead of collapsing uncontrollably and injuring myself. She also helps me with my anxiety, telling me when it's getting bad and when I should take my medication in order to prevent a severe attack. If I'm having a bad day she's been trained to protect me from harm, weather it's by someone  else or myself. She really is a saviour to me and I'm so lucky to have her. She's my angel.
"You leaving now, Ev?" My mum sits in the kitchen, eating a piece of toast hurriedly whilst shrugging on her nurses jacket. She works in the local hospital as a nurse on the pre-op wards.
"Yeah, just need to grab my phone from upstairs," she nods and I head up, Summer trotting beside me to my beside table where I take my phone and charger off of it and head downstairs, throwing the charger into my schoolbag and keeping the phone in my hand. I rush over to my mum, hugging her tightly and telling her I love her before clicking to Summer, calling her over to me.
"Love you, Everleigh. Good luck. Call me at break honey!" I reassure her that I will before throwing my backpack onto my back and Summer's canvas bag full of her items over my shoulder before calling her out of the door with me and gently pressing it shut. Here we go. This is it! My first day at school in a whole new country! I grin happily, swinging my arms by my side. People look over, staring at my service dog and I however I ignore it. They don't have many SDs in the uk. Instead they are called assistance dogs and aren't as common. I don't mind. Summer is here to help me with my disorders and I really respect that. She is my saviour.
"Put that animal on a leash!" An elderly man of about 60 walks past and spits out the sentence at me.
"I would do so more happily if you had actually asked POLITELY!!!" I roll my eyes, fumbling in my black canvas bag for Summer's red leash, pulling it out and clipping it onto her. The man tuts at me, muttering something about the youth being so dramatic nowadays as I just roll my eyes and walk on, Summer staying at my heel. She walks like this for the five minutes it takes to get to the school, which is called Russel Clack Seniors. I stop outside the main entrance, admiring the old style red brick building with wide eyes before looking at the people crowding the entrance. With a small gulp, I gently flick Summer's leash and instruct her to walk inside with me. I stop her at the 6 steps leading up to the violent pink double doors, instructing her to take one at a time, stop, focus and then wait for me to tell her when to take the next. Once at the top I praise her, desperately trying to ignore the stares I get from other students. Some of them probably because of Summer and some because of my dramatic clothing and makeup choices. Oops. With a small sigh, I pull open the door and walk inside, allowing it to close again once Summer's tail is inside. In the crowded lobby, things are even worse. Students stand in their friendship groups, waiting to be let into assembly where an introduction would happen in 15 minutes. I try to breathe slowly and relax myself as Summer gently nuzzles my knee, signalling my anxiety is reaching a high level. I stroke her head to tell her I'm fine even though I'm not. I take in the room, noticing a desk in between the main lobby and office area where two ladies are sat taking calls and typing away on their computers. There are no seats in here other than one grey fabric sofa about long enough for three people to fit on and a small matching armchair which both have a sign above them clearly implying that it wasn't for students. I stood in the corner awkwardly trying not to catch the eye of anyone. However, that's all I seem to be doing today. Instantly people rush over and begin to crowd me.
"Why do you have a dog?"
"What's a service dog?"
"Ew I hate dogs get it away!"
"Do you have some kind of issue then?"
"You can't have THAT in here!" I begin to panic, breathing heavily until everyone becomes a blur. I'm only slightly aware of Summer pawing my leg. The alert giving me a few minutes to find somewhere to lay down before I pass out. I desperately push my way out of the crowd, my chest feeling constructed and my eyes streaming with tears. Great way to start your first day, Everleigh. I pivot as my breathing becomes heavy and loud. Even with a blurry vision, I can tell people are staring and can hear the whispers starting however I don't care as I fall down onto the soft grey sofa and close my eyes. All I can see before I pass out is Summer jumping onto my stomach and settling into her Deep Pressure Therapy position which helps me feel calmer when I wake up. And then the darkness finally takes over and the voices around me silence.

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Authors Note
And that was chapter 1! I hope you all enjoyed it! It seems pretty busy as I guess it was more of an introduction to Everleigh and Summer and an explanation of what she does. The story will properly get on in the next few chapters! Enjoy!

EDITED - PLEASE COMMENT ANY MISTAKES IF YOU SPOT ANY AND I'LL BE HAPPY TO CORRECT IT!