Staying Afloat

Chapter 1

I groaned as my alarm blared yet again. I swung my arm over and pressed snooze for the third time this morning and rolled back over onto my stomach. I was settling back into sleep when I felt a cold pair of hands brush against my back. My eyes widened in shock, but I knew I was too late to do anything.

Without any warning, I was yanked violently back by my underwear, giving me a massive wedgie. At 7 am. Such a wonderful life I lead. I squealed loudly, in shock, pain, and embarrassment. I was now flipped completely from my comfortable sleeping position. I knew that the culprit was one of my older brothers, so I looked up to see who.

"Morning sis! Today is a big day!" My younger older brother Benjamin yanked my underwear even harder, pulling me off the bed. I landed on the ground, only for him to give another yank that sent me back to my feet. He released his grip and I fixed my underwear while scowling at him.

"Sorry, Cece, I'm just so excited to finally be back at the same school as my baby sister! Aren't you?"

"Definitely not." Him and my other brother had been talking for weeks about everything that happens at our school. Apparently administration lets quite a few things slide, especially with upperclassmen. I am not exactly excited if the things they have been threatening me with are true.

"We leave at 7:30. Normally I'd threaten to leave you if you aren't ready but mom said we can't on the first day. So, if you're not down by 7:29, I'll drag you out to the car." Benny shut my door on his way out and I started getting ready.

I went to my closet and grabbed the outfit that I had already picked out for myself last night. It was cute but casual enough for school: a white shirt, denim skirt, white converse, a tan bra, and tan underwear (outfit above).

I combed through my dark, wavy hair and left it down. I put on a little bit of blush and mascara. After lacing my shoes up, I walked downstairs.

"Good morning, Cecilia," My other older brother, August, called to me as I came down the stairs. "Are you excited for your first day?" I rolled my eyes at him.

"Yep, super excited." I grabbed a little bowl of raspberries for breakfast and sat at the table.

"I heard Benny gave you somewhat of a mega wedgie this morning, so I'll lay off. At least until school." He winked toward me.

"Wow, how thoughtful." I rolled my eyes again, but just for the record, August was generally a lot nicer to me then Benny was. August was 18 and a senior and gigantic and the football team captain. He had nothing to prove to me, I knew that he could kill me in a second if he wanted to. He didn't torture me nearly as much as Benny, but when he did, boy was it terrible.

Benny was just an asshole in general. He had been picked on by August when he was younger, which for some reason means that he gets to pick on me now. He's 16 and just about to start his junior year. He also plays football, and he's also pretty big. He's right around 6'2, just a couple inches shy of August. He also could probably kill me in a second, but he wouldn't. He still loves me, and I still love him, no matter how much he tortures me.

Then there's me. Cecilia. 14 years old, a freshman. Or fresh meat as my brothers call me. I'm 5'3 but I still might maybe grow another inch or two. I used to play soccer, but then I hurt my knee and was out for the season. I really want to find something to do, but I have no clue what. Cheerleading sounds so fun, but I don't think I'm cool enough to pull that off.

I finish up eating my raspberries and I put on my backpack. I follow August out to the car, where I am faced with a tough decision. I want the front seat. It's more comfortable and roomy, and August doesn't exactly keep the back of his car clean. I also would like to not be skinned alive by Benny before I even make it to school.

"August?" My oldest brother turns to look at me. "Can I sit in the front?" He chuckles a little bit.

"I don't care what you do, but Benny might." That sounded enough like a yes, so I opened the front seat and strapped myself in. I held tightly onto the buckle on the off chance that Benny would ambush me. I checked the clock in the car. 7:29. Maybe we'd have to leave without Benny.

As if on cue, he walked out the front door and out to the driveway. I don't think he was happy to see me in the front seat. He opened the door.

"Very funny, now move."

"No. I got here first." I tightened my grip on the buckle.

"I am seriously not in the mood for this right now. Move." I had a tough decision to make. I wanted an easy morning, but I also didn't want to be pushed around by my brother so easily. I needed to grow a backbone if I was going to survive high school.

"I said no." August chuckled, clearly amused by the whole situation.

"Fine, be like that." Benny pried my hands off of the seatbelt buckle and unbuckled it. One thing that I underestimated was how strong Benny can be when he is angry. I adjusted my grip to the bottom of the chair, which would maybe stall him a little bit.

Benny wrapped one of his arms around my waist and yanked me out of the seat, dropping me into our yard. He got into the front seat that should have been mine and buckled himself up. I stood up and brushed myself off before getting into the back seat. And just like that we were off, to my own personal hell. High school.