Love, Curly |M.J.|

Chapter 2

  Upon waking up to a ringing from my clock, I roll over and turn it off. I groan. Today, is just another day of torture and nagging from my parents because the tutor decides to quit. It's the weekend and this is not how I planned to spend it.

I get up and fix up my bed before making my way to the bathroom. I do my business and wash my hands. Next, I brush my teeth. I look at my reflection.

What should I do with my hair today?
After contemplating between french braids and curls, I decide neither and just to brush it. I'm not going to put much effort into meeting someone I'm never going to see again.

I exit the bathroom, quietly humming Three Times A Lady. I pick out an outfit for today. My mother says "modest is hottest" when we go shopping for clothes. I like fun and colorful clothing so I always end up sneaking a few items I like into the shopping cart. I decided on a pair of jean shorts and a stripped shirt that is sort of cropped.

I undress, but not before checking the window to make sure the curtains are down this time. I slide on the shorts and zip them up. I glance at the clock to see it's only 7:20 A.M. I still have forty minutes before the teacher gets here. I hope it's someone who can actually teach and not quit in the first fifteen minutes of being here like the last dude.

I decide to walk downstairs and go to the kitchen. On the way, I see my father in the living room reading the newspaper.

"Good morning, dad." I hug him.
"Good morning, sweetheart," He says back, not looking up from the paper.

I walk into the kitchen and sit on a counter near mom while she cooks,
"Good morning."

"Morning," She replies, "Get down from there."  She swats at my thigh and I hop down. "Sorry, Mama." I grin, sheepishly.

I walk out the back door and get attacked by Sunny, my dog. She's a golden retriever. Sunny is my favorite person out of my whole family.

"Hey Sunny," She wags her tail. I sit on the ground and put her in my lap.

"Who's a good girl?!" I say in a baby voice, scratching her furry head. I play with her for a couple more minutes.

Michael's P.O.V

I'm outside sitting in a tree writing a song when I hear a door slam. Through the leaves, I look to see where it came from. I see Jadie from yesterday and a large fluffy dog.

"Hey Sunny," I hear her faintly say. She sits on the ground and puts the dog into her lap. How cute. I start to climb down to greet her, but end up missing my footing and falling the rest of the way. I close my eyes and groan.

The fall wasn't that bad because I was only up 3 feet, but it still hurt. I hear the metal rattling of the fence as she climbs over it. Jadie's footsteps get louder as she nears me.

"Are you okay, Michael?" She says crouching down. She makes my name sound cool. I open my eyes and look at her. "I think so." She grabs my hand to help me up. I get up, her still holding my hand.

"You're bleeding. See?" She points to a small cut on my arm with her free hand. I nod. It stung a lot. Hopefully it doesn't scar, Joe will be angry if I have any imperfections that show.

Jadie realizes that she's still holding my hand and blushes. "Sorry," She mumbles, letting my hand go. The warmth from her hand disappears. "It's alright." I half-smile. I move my hand to cover up the cut.

"Why were you in that tree?" She questions me. "Oh, that's my new favorite tree." I respond. She looks at me weirdly. "I like climbing in trees because that's where I get inspiration to write songs," I justify. I like to feel connected to the Earth. Sometimes I can become so in tune it seems like nature actually talks to me.