Perfect Illusion

Two - "Hope you have a great life!"

My class schedule is amazing.

Most of my classes start late in the morning, which gives me ample amount of time to sleep.

And yeah, I take my sleep really seriously.

I feel like a god waking up this morning, no alarm needed. Laying on the soft satin sheets, I scoot to the edge of the bed, and check the time on my phone. I purse my lips. Perfect. I have about an hour to get ready, and grab a drink from the college cafeteria.

I make my bed, then stroll into the bathroom to freshen up. Stripping down and twisting the faucets, I allow the water to rain down on me. It's usually this time of the day in which I can be at peace, alone with my own thoughts. I mean, I've always been alone, apart from when I'm with Cara. My parents care for me, but they have an empire to run, so they are often not at home.

My dad and mom, both being the co-ceos of Woods and Co, are practically workaholics. The office is their second home. Sometimes, I will not see them for days, because they're busy making a fortune.

But when they are at home, they are seen arguing over practically everything, the recent stock market crash, horrible employees, nasty clients, and even petty things like the broken coffee machine in the office pantry. So when I'm in the shower, the soft patter of water calms me down, and drowns all the other noises around me.

I press my hands to my face as I shiver under the stream. Sucking in a sharp breath, I cleanse myself. My dark brown hair is drenched, sticking unto my body. I grab a towel, wrap it around my body and head for my room. Slipping into a a nice top and some skinny jeans, I make a mental note of calling my parents. I know they are probably too busy to answer my call, but I should probably let them know how I'm doing. Before I leave, I dial my mom's number on my phone and press call.

She answers on the last ring. Her voice is businesslike over the phone."Margaret Woods."

I take a deep breath. "Hi, mom."

A slight pause. "Hello, baby." Her voice turns soft, "How's moving in with Cara?"

"It's alright." I say, sighing.

I snatch my bag and head for the living room. I scan around and find Cara sitting at the edge of the island table, with a cup of tea. Her hair cascades over her shoulders in a tangled heap, but nevertheless, she still looks amazing. She's watching something on her tablet and she doesn't even notice my presence in the room.

"I've already unpacked all my things."

"That's good, baby." She murmurs, but she sounds distracted. She must have been doing something important before I interrupted her with a call.

"Yeah," I reply. I decide to tell her about the incident on the stairs yesterday. Just thinking about it makes me blush. But I should probably leave out the part with Nate. Mom always never likes talking about boys. I doubt Nate will be an exception.

"You'll never guess what happened yesterday, though. I was carrying boxes up the stairs and tripped. Now I have a sprained ankle. But no worries, because I got it patched up."

I expect there to be concern but there is none from her. "Glad to hear you're alright."

"I'm about to leave for the campus right now," I inform her, unsure of what else to say. "Kind of excited, actually."

"Hmmmhmm, that's good, Alex."

My relationship with my mother has been on the rocks ever since she stepped up as co-ceo of the company. I used to be quite close to her back in the days, but nowadays, I feel disconnected from her. She seems almost like a stranger to me now.