Falling In Love With You

Chapter 1. Bowie

Rebecca Mack rubbed her wet hair with a towel one last time. She gave the damp strands a flip, admiring her reflection in the bathroom mirror. The red streaks in her hair looked even better against her natural black than she expected. They were so her.

She grinned, satisfied, and turned up the radio, humming along to her favorite Avril Lavigne song. She began digging through her jewelry box, trying to find her favorite choker.

All Summer long, she'd been planning to reinvent herself, and it all led up to this day, her first day of eleventh grade. It was going to be her best school year yet. She could feel it.

She was jolted from her thoughts by her mother knocking on the looked bathroom door. "Rebecca, turn that garbage down. You're going to be late for school!"

She sighed, annoyed, and flipped the radio off. "It's Bex, mom!" she shouted. "How many times do I have to tell you to call me Bex!"

"You don't have to yell, Rebecca," Celia Mack replied. "I'm standing right here, unless that ear trash you listen to is making you lose your hearing. And I will not call you by that ridiculous name."

"You never listen to me!" Bex shot back. "Everything always has to be your way!"

Suddenly, Celia's eyes widened and she screamed. "What have you done?"

Bex retreated a little, fingering the tips of her hair sheepishly, wondering if she'd made a mistake. "I-I dyed it."

Ham Mack came running  to Bex's bathroom to see what was going on, since by the way his wife had shrieked, someone had surely been murdered. "What is all this shouting about?"

"I dyed my hair," Bex said softly. But no one heard her.

"Look what she's done to herself now!" Celia told her husband. "Her beautiful hair, ruined."

"Bex," Ham sighed, smoothing back his own graying hair; he liked to jokingly say he'd had a full head of blond hair... until Bex was born. "First the bellybutton ring, then the tattoos, and now this. What's next?"

Bex cringed internally, recalling her attempt at piercing her own bellybutton, and the infection that resulted. And the temporary tattoos she'd gotten at an outdoor concert, which she'd had an allergic reaction to. "Sorry, dad."

"It's just dye," Ham reasoned, turning to his wife. "I'm sure it's temporary." He looked back at his daughter. "It is temporary, right?"

"Semi-permanent," Bex mumbled.

"Bex," Ham groaned.

"She has no respect for herself, or us," Celia ranted, shaking her head. "She's out of control."

Ham put his hand on his wife's shoulder. "She's a teenager, Celia. She's just trying to figure out who she is." He gave Bex a pointed look. "Although she might have gone about it in a better way. Like writing poetry, or joining a school club." He gave his daughter a wink, betraying the stern look he was trying to maintain.

"Where did we go wrong with her?" Celia asked. "She used to be such a good little girl. Remember how sweet she was?"

"She's still the same girl," Ham told his wife. "In a few years, the two of you will be best friends."

"Yeah, doubt it," Bex said, rolling her dark eyes. She rushed past her parents, grabbing her book bag.

"Young lady, get back here and apologize to your mother!" Ham called.

"Sorry, I'm gonna be late for school," she said, heading for the door.

"Bex!" her father shouted. "You forgot your camera!"