SHIFTED

4

“We are what we pretend to be. So we must be careful about what we pretend to be.” – Unknown.

I am staying here at Ridgetown for a week now and I still haven’t got a call from Gerard, my friends from Weston, even from my father. It’s sad to think that I’m missing them and wanting to call them but it’s not being reciprocated. It’s also sad to think that my father was right about my friends. Sometimes, I hate to know that he’s right about something, about me. I always assume that he doesn’t know anything about me ever since he glued his knows to his businesses but I think he still does know something about me. I’m his daughter, let’s not deny that.

I woke up earlier than usual and when I do, I go out for a run. Sometimes I got out to sweat, sometimes to think and sometimes to get away from the suffocating air of Hendricks’ Mansion. I got up from bed, washed my face, tied my hair into a messy bun and put on my running attire – sports bra and sweat pants. I grabbed my earphones and put my iPod in my arm band. I got out of my room, ran down the stairs and went outside. When I got out, I started warming up. Just when I was about to run, I saw Joe and Clinton running towards me wearing running attires as well.

“What the hell are you two doing?” I asked as I plopped both hands on my waist.

Joe smiled as they reached me. “Good morning too miss.”

Well, that made me feel awkward. “Good morning.” I greeted them. “Why are you dressed like that?”

Clinton cleared his throat. “We do this every morning Miss, assuming that you’ll be asleep until we get back. We were surprise to see you awake at this hour. Do you run?” he asked.

“Yes, I do sometimes at Weston.” I answered. They both looked at each other like they’re agreeing into something. And I thing I’m getting what they’re trying to say to each other. “Wait. No” They nodded their heads. “No, you two are not running with me.

“Why not Miss?” Joe asked sounding more like he’s complaining. And may I add, it sounds weird with his popping muscles.

I hesitated to tell them that I don’t want to run with them but I decided not to. I’ve been rude to them ever since we got here; it’s time to give it a rest. “It’s just that, I’m used to running alone.”

“You don’t have to mind us Miss, we’ll let you run few miles ahead of us.” Clinton said. “And we must start now if you don’t want to be late for school.”

I remembered, school starts today and I’m still not in the mood for any studying. “Yea.” That’s all I replied and started running. I looked back to see if they’re following but it looks like they’re really giving me a head start.

I avoided going to where I might see people I know because they might be wondering why two excessively muscled men are following me. I know that people are too early to go out at this time but to be sure.

I was done running at six o’clock a.m. and went to my room to prepare for school. School starts at eight-thirty here so I got two hours to prepare. I jumped into the shower and washed my body soaking in sweat and my hair. After taking a shower, I went in to my closet and started picking out something to wear for this gloomy kind of weather. I chose a red knitted sweater, super skinny jeans, black muffler, and my black Doc Martens. I put on the clothes I chose and stepped out of my closet. I called out for Helen and told her to put all my stuff in my black Coach back pack. I rushed to my vanity mirror and blow dried my hair. I looked at my watch and saw that there’s only five minutes to eight. I wrapped my muffler on my neck, put on a little bit of mascara and eyeliner, and a red lipstick. I brushed my hair a little and placed it into a messy bun. Helen handed my bag to me and I grabbed it quickly.