Breaking Free (On Hold, Read Description for More Information)

Breaking Free

As usual, I didn’t need an alarm clock to wake me up in the morning. Even at six a.m., the sounds of shouting and arguing awoke me from the peaceful bliss of unconsciousness.  I grabbed my iPod from the bed side table and popped in my ear buds. Kesha’s voice blocked out most of the noise from downstairs.

I’m not going to lie; I was hoping that with a new town there came a new life, like it always seemed to happen in movies. I would meet a nice boy who would love me regardless of all the baggage that came with me. But the problem was, this wasn’t a movie. It was my twisted reality.

I sighed and climbed out of bed. My bare feet padded against the cool hardwood floor as I lead them into my closet. Most of my clothes were still in the moving boxes that remained beside my bed, but last night, I had laid out a simple outfit on top of my dresser. It was a simple button-up white blouse with a pair of dark skinny jeans. With it, I had picked out a light brown belt the color of the boots I planned to wear.

Once I had slipped on my clothes, I headed into the bathroom to do my hair and brush my teeth. After I had combed the knots out of my dark hair and made my teeth shine, I twisted a tube of mascara in my hands, still debating. I usually didn’t bother with makeup but it was my first day at a new school after all. It couldn’t hurt to do a little extra for a good impression.

I sighed and pulled out my headphones. I looked myself over in the mirror. Lately, my eyes had taken on a dead look instead of the dancing swirl of blue-green they used to be. I knew exactly why, too. Only when I tasted salt on my lips did I realize I was crying. I carefully wiped my eyes and fixed my makeup.

There was no point in crying when I knew that there was no way anything could get any better.

I sighed and opened the door and stepped out into the hallway. As I walked down the stairs, I realized that the fighting had stopped. My father had probably just left for his new job. I passed through the front room and into the kitchen where I smelt fresh pancakes cooking.

My mother was wiping her eyes as she flipped the pancakes over in the pan. I felt like crying too but I didn’t plan on crying twice for the same reason in one day. Once she noticed me in the room, she smiled.

“Hey Mom, what are you cooking?” I asked, even though I already knew the answer. It was the least I could do to take her mind of her problems for a little while. She had it even worse than me.

“Hi, Honey. I’m making pancakes, just the way you like them. With way too much chocolate chips to be healthy,” She winked at me. I smiled and pulled out a chair.

“Did you sleep all right?” She asked me. She turned around and flipped a pancake expertly into the air. Unlike me, she was an amazing cook. I used to be really popular in third grade because she would pack me the coolest lunches in school.

“I did. What are your plans for the day?” I asked. I didn’t bother asking how she slept. They were still arguing at eleven o’clock when I finally fell asleep.

She shook her head and laughed. “Well I definitely need to go shopping. After you eat this, we will officially have no food in the pantry. Do you know where all your classes are?” She questioned glancing over her shoulder at me.

I nodded. “Yeah. I have a map of the school. I’ll find my way, even if I look like a total geek doing it,” I said laughing.

“Oh honey, I’m sure you will make tons of new friends, which reminds me,” She said, turning around and putting a hand on her hip. “Olivia, do we need to have a boy talk?”

I choked on pure air and shook my head wildly.

“No, I think I’ll survive without a recap,” I said. She narrowed her eyes suspiciously.

“Hey look! The pancakes are ready,” I said cheerfully, changing the subject.

She shook her head and piled a few pancakes onto a plate for me. Since I was running late, I scarfed them down, not having enough time to fully savor their taste.

“Bye Mom!” I called grabbing my black messenger bag and running out the front door. I tossed my bag into the open window of my 2011 Aston Martin. I twisted the keys into the ignition and carefully pulled out of the drive way.

This car was one of my most prized possessions. It had been my sixteenth birthday present, which I used to impress all of my friends. It was one day last year that I was truly happy.

On the outside, I guess it looked like I had a pretty good life. I had good grades, I had friends before we moved, and my family was in the upper middle class. But I would rather be living on the streets than live the way I do now. I would give anything to go back to the way it was before everything happened.

I pulled into the parking lot of North Point High school. The first thing I noticed was that my car wasn’t the coolest one there. I saw a red Ferrari parking a few spaces to my left. A group of guys in jerseys surrounded three model-worthy girls. The one in the middle was looking right at me.

I tried to ignore all the eyes watching me as I shut the door and locked it. The first thing I noticed was everyone’s appearance. Everyone here was gorgeous. Even the social outcasts, who were extremely easy to spot, had attractive faces hidden behind their glasses. There went my hope of fitting in.

I kept my eyes trained on the ground as I walked through the full parking lot. It’s not like every single conversation stopped but I doubted it was always this quiet. Just as I was almost to the door, a pair of Nike sneakers appeared in front of me.

I looked up and met a pair of light blue eyes. I almost gasped. This guy alone had to be hotter than any other guy at my old school. His eyes shone with happiness as he held out his hand.

“I’m Sean,” He said, giving me a dazzling smile. “I’m supposed to show you around school.”

I can’t say that I wasn’t a little shocked. Usually everything male avoided me like the plague. I had no idea what I had been doing to drive them away but that was the way it always was. I was still in a daze as I shook his hand.

I was still staring at him like an idiot. Maybe this is the reason it was so rare for guys to talk to me.

I forced a smile and adjusted my bag on my shoulder. “Sure. I’m Olivia, by the way,” I said.

“Yeah, I know. We don’t get very many new people around here. Small town and all,” He commented, beginning to walk. I fell into step beside him.

“That sounds like the beginning of almost every serial killer movie,” I joked. When he laughed, it wasn't an awkward I'm only doing this to be polite kind of laugh. He actually sounded amused.

“Don’t worry. As long as you don’t sleep with any of the cheerleader’s boyfriends, you are serial killer free,” he said. He opened the front door then held it open for me as if he was my chauffeur.

“After you, madam,” he said in a posh voice. My lips turned up as I shuffled inside.