The prickling hot sun baked my pale skin to a sizzling crisp. Sunscreen slathered children ran around the skinny blue slide, giggling with glee. One leg after another I slithered into the pool. Suddenly my legs turned to molasses, the sun sank deep into the earth and everything became black. Two evil hands yanked me out of the water. I thrashed my legs but it was no use. “Let me go! Help! Somebody help!”
An ear piercing scream poured out of my chapped lips as I woke with a start. The sound of high heels clacking on the floor filled my ears as my mom ran into my room. “Sorry Mom. It was uh- just a nightmare,” I lied, pushing back a chunk of blonde hair. Sheens of cold sweat covered my forehead and a chill shot down my back.
“Okay sweetie. Get dressed for school quickly or you’ll be late.”
“Yeah, okay.”
She bent down and planted a sticky red lipstick kiss on my left cheek. I threw back the hot sheets that had entangled me. My legs swung themselves off the bed, touching the soothing coolness of the wood floor. With shaky hands I lazily tied my hair up into a bun.
“Take a deep breath Alexis. Snap out of it. First day of the new school and you’re already panicking? Nu-uh. You’re not going to physch yourself out of it again,” the voice in my head echoed. Hands on my hips, I examined the damage. Red cheeks flushed like ripe tomatoes, bloodshot eyes, cracked lips, and frizzy hair. Hm, the reoccurring nightmare didn’t hit me too hard. I squirted some liquid foundation on a clean white sponge and smeared it everywhere. Soon there was no remaining red in sight. I brought the long thin mascara brush up and combed through my nearly invisible eyelashes until they were long, black, and voluminous. With one swift movement, I untied my hair. Each blonde strand came loose until it tumbled over my shoulders. Sitting on the edge of me bed, I pulled on a pair of jeans from my dresser drawer, putting one leg into the freshly ironed denim at a time. Off went the too big concert tee that I slept in and on went a white tank top. As I ran out the door, I pulled on my favorite red cashmere sweater over the tank top. My sweater was a trusty friend that covered all my secrets. I breathed in the scent of Fabreeze and my favorite perfume, Enchanted. I made sure to take special care as I yanked down the sleeves to cover my tender wrists.
“ALEXIS BENDER! YOU ARE GOING TO BE LATE!” I could hear my dad bellow up the stairs.
“Coming!”
The second my converse sneakers hit the third step, I could smell the tempting aroma of bacon and eggs for breakfast. I skipped over to the coffee pot, pouring myself a big cup. I took a sip of the indulgent beverage and could feel my insides thawing.
“Lexi? Can you tie my shoes?” my little sister Samantha threw her arms around my waist in a hug and looked up at me hopefully.
“You know I can’t say no to those blue eyes, Sammi. But you should really learn how to tie them yourself.” I kissed the top of her head and knelt down to tie her light up sneakers.
“Love you!” she winked at me.
“Love you too squirt.” I sat down at the breakfast table across from my dad, already in uniform. He flicked the newspaper as he turned the page, lowering it to look at me.
“Sleep okay?” his eyes were full of worry.
“Yep,” I fibbed, breaking his gaze to look down my coffee cup.
He raised one eyebrow as if he was unsure. “You don’t have to be scared anymore hon. We moved, remember? I think it’s best if you leave the past in the past.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about. Mom? Can you drive me and Samantha to school? I want to get there early to check out the kids, ya know?”
My mom and dad exchanged worried glances. “Um, yeah. Of course. Get your backpacks and I’ll meet you in the car.”
