Beyond the Ordinary

Chapter 5

A/N - Kate's outfit^^

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KATE 

I woke up with sunlight filtering through my bedroom window, the sound of my alarm clock blaring in my ear. I quickly shut it off and tried to blink the sleep out of my eyes, rolling out of bed as I slipped into the bathroom to take a hot shower.

Once I finished getting ready, I threw on the outfit that I'd laid out the night before, checked to make sure I had everything I needed as I grabbed my backpack, and headed downstairs. I didn't notice that I had a small smile on my face as I met my father's eyes. He was wearing something more formal than he usually did, which made me raise my eyebrows in confusion as I poured myself a glass of orange juice and took my pill.

"I have a few job interviews today," he said before I'd even gotten the chance to ask.

I nodded in acknowledgment as I put out a few of the snacks that he'd bought into my lunchbox. Once my lunch was made, I took a piece of toast that was sitting on the kitchen table and quickly ate it. My father stifled a laugh at my breakfast choice and grabbed the car keys.

We got into the rental car and I placed my backpack at my feet, scrolling through my playlists on my phone as I waited for my father to start the car.

"I have good news," my father announced, his voice sounding much more cheerful than it did the night before.

"Really?" I asked, surprised. "What is it?"

"There's a Starbucks about a mile from here - and you don't need to be at the school until nine."

I checked the clock and it read 7:30. I had an hour and a half.

I smiled happily as we pulled out of the driveway.

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"Hello, welcome to Starbucks, what can I get for you?" A girl's voice asked through the drive-thru speaker.

Without hesitation, my father answered for me. "I would like a medium seriously strawberry frappuccino with coconut milk and light strawberry purée, I'm diabetic."

My father knew my Starbucks order by heart because we always went to one before school. It wasn't always the healthiest choice since occasionally someone would mess up and forget the light purée and my body would go into sugar overdrive, but the trip always made my day better.

I got my drink and took a sip, testing the sugariness to see if it was too much, but it was perfect. My father glanced at my drink worriedly, but I gave him a thumbs-up, continuing to sip it slowly so that I wouldn't get a brain freeze. And just like that, we were off to my new school to meet my new principal and classmates.

The nerves had started to come back, but I just swallowed them down with my drink.

My father pulled into a parking spot and I paused the song that we were listening to, before grabbing my backpack and stepping out of the car. My father followed closely behind, tucking the keys into his pocket after locking the car.

"You ready for this?" He asked, taking my hand.

I squeezed his hand gently and let out a soft laugh. "It's only a high school, what's the worst that can happen?"

But inside, I wasn't that confident.