⚙︎ Falling Apart ⚙︎

⚙︎ Winter Lock High ⚙︎

BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!

My alarm clock's annoying blare screeched into my ears.

"Nooooo..." I mumbled. I rolled over, flailing my arms madly until they came in contact with the stupid thing. I rubbed my eyes, glancing at the time written in red digital numbers: 6:45.

I groaned, sinking deeper into my covers. I didn't want to go to school. School was dumb. Especially high school. I didn't want to leave the warmth of my bed.

I wish I could be like those kids in SlugTerra. They didn't have to go to school.

I rolled and swung my legs over the side of my bed. My bare feet hit my carpeted floor, and I heard a commotion beside me.

I groggily glanced behind me and saw the source of the noise; my Border Collie, Willow, was on the side of the bed nearest to the wall. Her paws waved around as she dreamt. I cracked a smile, rubbing her warm belly. She awoke at my touch and flipped over to her paws, peppering my face with licks. I laughed.

"Good morning, sleeping beauty," I joked, scratching her ears. Willow leant into my touch and snuggled up with me.

I heaved a sigh as I broke away from her. 

I commando tuck-and-rolled until I fell out of bed and landed in a crouch on my carpet. I got dressed in my prissy blue uniform with the letters 'WLHS' with a leaf pattern surrounding it as the logo. 

I stared at my reflection, smoothing out the uniform and trying make myself look somewhat decent. My first day back at Winter Lock High. I wonder how it's going to go down.

The good news was, all of my friends are going to be there. I smiled as I ticked them all off: Lillian, Grace, Casey, Skye, and Evelyn. I've known them for most of my life, even though we only moved here two years ago. I kind of feel like they've been missing from my childhood years, cuz it really feels like the six of us belong together.

All of us had met at a horse camp one day when we were around seven – back then my family still lived in Australia, but we had spent a month of the Christmas holidays in New York. We had enough money for me to go to a trailriding camp while there, and that's where I met the five, who were all already acquainted. 

We were all saddled up on our assigned horses and had bunked together in the cabins.
I remembered the day as if it were yesterday: Lily on her pinto, Bramble; Gracie on the palomino Snickers; Casey on her red dun Strawberry Sunset; Skye on the slobbering grey horse Goose; and Lyn on her handsome Cremello, Feather. I brightened as I remembered Feather and my horse, a bay roan by the name of Knight, nickering and bonding with one another.

I had apologised profusely, while Lyn laughed it off and told me it was all fine. That day had been the start of a beautiful friendship between all of us.

A rush of footsteps downstairs brought me spiralling back to the painful reality: summer was over, and now I had to deal with school. At least my friends would be there.

I ran a brush through my short, straight ginger hair, trying to flatten it. But alas, my hair puffed up and was deemed untameable; wild. 

I stared into my mirror. Namely, I stared into the brown eyes that looked fearfully back at me. I sighed, attempting one last time to make my hair look presentable.

I grabbed my shoes and shoved them on, doing the laces in a double-knot and glancing at my alarm again; seven. I had an hour before I needed to go.

I opened the door and stampeded downstairs. My dad was already making himself a bowl of Weet-Bix. 

I laughed and he grinned at me. "What? Got something in my beard?" He asked.

I shook my head, returning the smile. "You just can't get the Aussie out of you, can ya?"