Serendipity (Ryeji)

A Crazy Day

BLEEP! BLEEP! BLEEP!

Yeji rubs her face against her pillow and stretches out her limbs like cat. Her first instinct when she opens her eyes is to get rid of the obnoxious noise as quickly as possible. She slaps the surface without looking, which proves to be useless and a waste of time, so she sits up to shut it off. Now that she's awake, she stares at the clock with hazy vision, eyes still adjusting to the lighting, and it doesn't take long for her to actually notice the time.

"Six-forty??" Not wanting to get yelled at, she hops off the mattress, attempts to dash towards the bathroom across the hall, but neglects the foot she has entangled within the sheets. In an instant, she falls on her face. "You've got to be kidding me... "

Yeji musters the strength to stand, rushes to the restroom to freshen up. The water feels ice cold at first, wakes her up much faster, something Yeji isn't sure if she's thankful for, and while brushing her teeth, she hears an all too familiar sound.

The brunette holds the bridge of her nose, assumes she tapped the snooze button. Thus, she rinses her mouth and walks over to get rid of it, makes sure to click the right button this time.

Currently in her closet, Yeji throws on the first t-shirt she sees along with some shorts, pulls a hoodie over her head in case it gets cold in school. She shuts the closet doors, cringes when faced with a very unpleasant sight in the mirror that hung on it, sprints back to the bathroom to comb out her hair, but as she pulls the brush out of the drawer, the alarm clock rings... again.

"Arrgghhhh!!" Yeji hits her head against the mirror in sync with the beeping of the alarm, stomps over to the clock, cat-eyes narrow and threatening as she unplugs the damn thing to ensure it won't ring again.

She runs downstairs into the kitchen. Nobody's home. That's how it usually is. Yeji's father isn't around for reasons she's never known. For as long as she can remember, it's always been just her and her mom, who is actually the principal at the school she attends. Apparently, she can't give Yeji a ride— well... No, that's not true. Mama Hwang has offered under the condition that Yeji wakes up much earlier, and therefore, arrive at school much earlier.

Let's be honest, who would really want to do that?

Yeji pours herself a glass of water, attempts to find some food until her phone rings. She stares at the contact name, already in deep regret when she answers. "Hello— "

"You better not show up late!"

"Don't be so dramatic. What time is it?"

"7:00!"

"Eh?" She temporarily moves the device from her ear in need of confirmation, takes a peek at the time, then spits out the water all over her phone. "ALREADY??"

"Yes, already!"

"Oh, no, no, no." The brunette quickly wipes the screen, hangs up without warning her friend, and shoves the device back in her pocket. She dashes towards the living room where her backpack is, slings it over her shoulder, prays that everything she needs is inside, then sprints toward the front door with her key in hand, locks it behind her. It's a good thing that the school was only a five to ten-minute walk away.

Eventually, Yeji arrives at her unfortunate destination, stares at the building in fear, chills crawling up and down her spine. There's a chance that after she walks in the principal might notice her. Yeji isn't a bad student, not one to misbehave. Her grades were great, school record clean, yet the one thing her mother held over her head was how she would sometimes oversleep and show up late.