One Night ✔️ Editing

Chapter Five

The morning after World War III, I felt okay and I honestly believed I was. That was until my mom gave her daily rant. On top of that, she delivered a new and improved spiel about coming straight home from school and managing my time better. Alex was still allowed to come over, so I wasn't fully grounded per se, but the so-called punishment wasn't very different from my daily life.

If there was something about her new rules that bothered me the most though, it was the fact that she no longer allowed me to walk to or from school when I wanted to. Every day she smothered me more and more; so much so that at this point, she'd have probably struck me down if I took a breath without notifying her beforehand.

But as always, it's all for my well being.

I sat at the dining room table with the hood of my favorite blue sweatshirt over my head, picking at my scrambled eggs. This morning I didn't really have an appetite.

"Where's dad?" I asked Mom, realizing he hadn't come down for his morning coffee.

"He had to leave a bit earlier today to train new staff. Please eat."

"I'm not hungry," I told her, setting down my fork.

"Oh, and for the days you have student council or any committee meetings, Alex will take you home. That is if I'm not available," she said, further dampening my spirit.

"Why? You've never had a problem with me coming home on my own before."

She was taking away the little bit of freedom I had. I would have much rather walked everywhere for the rest of my life, feeling the fresh air, than being confined in her car with that sickening lavender car freshener and never-ending life lessons.

"You never know what's lurking in the shadows, or even worse, what's hiding in broad daylight, Sienna. I just want you to be safe."

It was the same line every. Single. Time. She was probably afraid that I'd have too good a time walking to school. I'd skip the sidewalk and walk in between cars. Or join a gang. Little did either of us know that a walk to school was the last thing I had to be cautious about this year.

"Get your bag, Si. We've gotta head out."

~*~

At school, I noticed Alex and Joseph at the same spot, but I didn't have the energy to face them today. Shutting the car door, I started for the front of the building, but I wasn't fast enough.

"Sienna, over here!" Alex called out.

I'd even been spotted with my face covered. I gave her a frantic wave and continued on my way into the building. The day needed to go by as quickly as possible and that meant minimizing my stressors.

Thankfully it wasn't hard to do, seeing my friend Mariah's happy face in History. Riah was one of the few people I'd gotten to know on the prom committee. The sweet five-foot-five girl had almond brown skin and tight coiled black hair that hung above her eyes in the front. If you looked up sugar in any dictionary, you'd see her smiley face staring back at you.

I gladly joined her in the back of the classroom.

"Are you lost?... and possibly in need of a new outfit?" she asked, looking warily at my hoodie and baggy sweatpants.

Oh, right, Mariah was also blunt.

"I'd rather be back here today," I told her, pointing at the desk beside her. "Out of the teacher's eye. And I'm more than okay with my outfit, just dressing how I feel today."

She took her hands and pulled my desk up against hers. "What's going on, Sweets?"

"My mom, she's just too overbearing, it's exhausting."