Tripping On Love

1. Awake

         Melanie laid in bed on her left side, facing the bedroom window. She shot a halfhearted glare  at the moon, just barely hanging in the sky. Surely, if the moon was going to leave, her mind could finally be at peace. No haunting, white glow.

        For a few brief moments, Melanie felt herself drifting off into a nice slumber, her eyes allowing themselves to close after a night of realtors thoughts.

        BEEP. BEEP. BEEP. BEEP. BEEP. BE—

        A loud groan erupted from her throat. Her 5:30 alarm—school ought to be set back a few hours, who can stand getting up this early anyway?—was blaring. She swiped to shut it off on her phone before it could worsen her already sour mood.

        Melanie got up after a good 15 minutes of focused procrastination, urging herself to dig around her closet for whatever was clean. Being a senior meant, to her, not caring much about impressing those around her. If they were to ever be impressed, it would've already happened. Instead, her peers fairly solidly ignored her. But given her past, she didn't blame them, nor did she try to fight it.

        Checking herself out in the tacky zebra-print mirror hung up on her lime green wall (she'd painted her room in her favorite colors back in 6th grade, can you blame her?), Melanie shook her head. While she tried not to let the overwhelming feeling of most people not liking her get to her, it was the feeling of her not liking herself that she felt she couldn't fight.

        The brunette quietly tip-toed across the hardwood floors of the hallway, carrying her clothes to the bathroom. If she woke anyone in the house...she didn't want to think about how her mom would react.

        As she showered, the nearly scathing hot water hitting against her skin, Melanie began to think about everything. This happened a lot—the past would just get to her before she could stop it, and she'd spiral.

        As a kid, Melanie had lived in a rather dangerous area. It was what some could consider a "hood," though she hated that term. Despite living on a street right across from a police station, no crimes were ever resolved. Yet, she didn't complain much about that, even at the time. She had good friends back then—they didn't judge based on looks, wealth, smarts. It was just kids being kids. But in 6th grade, things...changed.

        Melanie's dad had nearly died in a case of medical malpractice—they let a student doctor operate on him, leading to the near-fatal error. It was a quiet settlement, because the hospital knew they had fucked up. The family got a sum—nothing huge, but decent enough where Melanie's parents decided they could finally move out of the bad neighborhood and send Melanie to a better school, maybe a place with a lower crime rate. But, of course, Melanie still had friends back in her hometown—she'd visit often.

        Until...something changed.

        While staying at a friend's house, the friend's stepfather molested her. Melanie was a scared child still, barely a teenager, and immediately told her mother and father. They turned him in and got him placed in jail. This, however, didn't sit quite right with those in the old town. They believed she was a liar.

        Dejected, Melanie didn't visit anymore. Thus, she was alone in this new place, with no supporters.

        Melanie shook her head again, stepping out of the shower. She wiped the condensation off of the mirror. A small frown crossed her face for a moment.

        She was quick to get dressed, tying her hair up in a ponytail and placing her blue glasses on her face. Without a word or goodbye, as everyone was asleep or not home, Melanie was out the front door and off to school.