A Fresh Start

Just Another Manic Monday

I woke up on Monday morning bright and early. I was thankful for my natural morning bird ways, for they allowed me to shower in leisure, however I was sure to lock the door to avoid another incident. I quickly hopped into the shower and sighed with relief; warm showers never failed to loosen my tense muscles. Today I would start school, what I would give to rewind back to Sunday. I quickly headed back to my room after finishing my routine, as I walked down the long hall I brushed against a half-asleep Ben. "It's to eaarrlly" he said through a yawn. I smiled sympathetically at him as I made my way into my room. Back home school started way earlier than eight forty-five, plus it was a good half hour away. Adams high school was only a ten-minute walk away, and with it's later starting time I felt like I was sitting in the lap of luxury. I walked into my room and packed some notebooks into my brown messenger bag, finding nothing else to do I started down the stairs, knowing that if I didn't stay busy my nerves would become overwhelming.

Not long after I had sat down with a bowl of cereal Gloria sat down opposite to me. She was bleary eyed and still clad in her pajamas, I guess I understood where Ben had gottan the night owl gene. "Hi M-marie" Gloria said through a yawn. I smiled at the memory of her son doing the same just minutes before. "Good morning Gloria" I responded, the remnants of a smile still on my face. "Are you ready to start at Adams?" she asked, eyeing me intently to gauge my reaction. "No, not really. I'm pretty nervous to be honest" I answered her question honestly, Gloria had managed to make me feel a level of comfort with her that was unparalleled to anyone besides Janie and my parents. "Oh sweetie, it's so hard starting a new school, but I just know you'll do great. You're so smart, as long as you work hard I have no doubts about your success. Who knows, maybe you'll even find a guy that catches your eye." I laughed along with her, but inside I was wracked with guilt. Unbeknownst to her, the only boy who caught my eye happened to be her son. "Thanks Gloria" "Anytime hon, I'm gonna go freshen up, but you make sure to have a great day." I smiled at her as she left, but it faded once her retreating figure disappeared from my sight. Once again I was left to my thoughts, this time focused on a certain troublesome male. After our moment on the stairs, I think we were in mutual avoidance. Despite our lack of contact, my crush was still burning brightly, if anything his confession had added fuel to the flame.

As I was drowning in self-pity the boys shuffled into the kitchen. I couldn't help the way my eyes immediately snapped to Sebastion's approaching figure. He was wearing a short-sleeved, blue fitted shirt with a hoodie slung over his shoulder, the shirt clung to his sculpted arms and complimented his green eyes beautifully. I quickly tore my eyes away from Sebastion and internally rolled my eyes at my own raging hormones. "Hello again Marie, you ready to head?" I nodded my head absentmindedly, still trying to shake off the butterflies that had decided to move into my stomach. "Marie are you okay?" I felt my heart leap at the sound of Sebastion's voice, and the euphoria that I felt when I heard the concern lacing his words was absolutely ridiculous. "Yeah, I'm just a little nervous," I said, trying to pass off my distraction as a side effect from anxiety and not my attraction to him. "You'll do great, and if you need either of us, we won't be far." "Thanks Sebastion," I said throwing him a smile. My heart obviously missed the news that we were not crushing on Sebastion anymore because when he gave me a soft smile in return it immediately began to race.

The walk to school was uneventful, in an attempt to regain some composure I decided to walk alongside Ben and not Sebastion, hoping that the increased distance would calm my racing heart. Just as I had managed to evict the butterflies from my stomach we crested a hill and the school came into sight. It was a big brick building situated at the far side of a park, a smile came to my face when I spied a lush soccer field, and as we got closer to the school it dawned on me that this must have been where the boys were headed to on the day of my arrival. "Welcome to Adams High, where memories are made, fights are fought, and classes are endured." I laughed at his proclamation, but as we approached the courtyard filled with people my anxiety reared its ugly head. Sebastion noticed and when Ben ran off to meet some of his friends he hung back. "How about I take you to get your schedule" I nodded, my mouth feeling to dry to form words.