Alice's Umbrella

Chapter 7: Plotting

"Alice! It's time for school button! Wake up now!"

Alice frowned at the childhood nickname. Her mom has never stopped calling her that. You're still my baby, Alice, she'd told her. Oh, mom, but babies have to grow up, don't they? At one point?

"Mooooom, I have an alarm!"

Alice peeked a look at the blue plastic alarm clock. 6:59

As soon as the clock struck 7 o'clock, it beeped wildly. Alice groaned and buried her face back into her pillow.

After pondering for a few seconds, Alice pulled herself out of bed and advanced toward the bathroom. She hated Mondays. They were like the bandaid in the cake, the rain on parades, and the black ink on your white t-shirt. But they were tolerable, she thought.

Alice hobbled down the staircase in her school clothes, a light purple t-shirt, dark blue jeans, and brown boots. She was never into fashion, unlike her mom, who used to dress her in all kinds of beautiful dresses; at fifteen, she grew out of it.

"Goooood morning, sunshine," her mom smiled at her from the kitchen.

"Good morning, mom." Alice blinked a few times and then walked over to the fridge. Failing to find anything, she ended up settling with a banana. As she peeled her banana and chomped off a large bite, Alice eyed her mother critically.

"Can I help you, Alice?" Her mom said, sipping her coffee.

"So I was at Elliott's the other day, and we found some old photos of his dad in high school," she started casually, taking another bite of her banana.

"Yes, and?" her mother wondered as she drank another sip of her coffee.

"They were pretty funny," Alice mumbled loudly, her mouth still full of banana. She paused to swallow it. "Especially the ones with you." Her mother looked at her with wide eyes. Alice smiled smugly. "I had no idea you two used to date."

Her mother took another swig of coffee. After she'd swallowed, she laughed softly. "Oh, gosh, that was ages ago. Sometimes I forget."

"Oh." Alice casted her eyes downward.

"Alright baby, are you ready to get going?"

"Suuure thing mama." Alice chucked her banana peel into the trash.

☂

Elliott plopped down beside Alice at lunch, dropping his lunch bag on the table. He nodded in greeting to the others. "Hey."

Noah, Annie and Maya smiled warmly while Jade only grunted, shoveling some chili fries into her mouth. The six of them had been best friends ever since the fourth grade. Alice and Elliott were waiting in the school office to get picked up from school, and they were all there. Since then, the six of them were inseparable. Alice skipped the pleasantries. "You're late," she said, taking a bite of her peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Elliott shrugged.

"Had to stay behind and talk to Mr. Boggs about an assignment," he replied, pulling out his own sandwich. He unwrapped it from the wax paper, and Alice practically drooled at the sight of the perfectly crafted artisan sandwich. Elliott was a whiz with food. His sandwich made hers look pathetic in comparison. Elliott caught her staring and grinned. "I keep telling you-if you want me to make you lunch, just tell me."

She frowned and sipped her soda. "I'm fine," she grumbled stubbornly; she knew Elliott would, in a heartbeat, if she asked. But she hated asking for help.

"Hey, El, have you started that essay for Coin's class yet?" Noah asked, propping his chin on Annie's shoulder. She was sitting on his lap as they ate lunch. They were such a cute couple, it made Alice want to puke. She had no idea how they managed to fit comfortably on such a small seat.