The Inevitable

Chapter 1

 ^ above is the dress she wears

          I, Ellie Corton, am not a morning person. The first day of my junior year in highschool was today, and already off to a not-so-great start.

          I was running down an empty street, and the sun rested just above the trees. Darkness fell upon the street, and footsteps echoed all around me. I looked around wildly, and tried to call out, only to find that no sound came out. My mouth opened wide to scream, but there was no noise other than the footsteps. Their pace increased, and tears leaked from my eyes. The steps were now loud and swift, I knew they were close, they had to be close-

          My eyes snapped open, and I gasped for breath as my iPhone alarm blared through the morning air. Stupid, stupid, stupid. This is what I get for watching horror movies before bed, I thought to myself.

          After rubbing my eyes with my fists, I raised my arms above my head to stretch. I stifled a yawn, and reached out for my iPhone. I turned it on, and the time read 7:10. I gasped, threw my white comforter off of myself, and sped to the bathroom.

          I'm so late, I'm so late, I'm so late, I thought, inwardly groaning as I undressed and turned the shower on.

          I briskly shampooed and conditioned, the water still cold as I got out. My wet hair made a puddle on the bathroom tile. I filled a dixie cup with water, and unscrewed my orange prescription bottle, taking out two pills. I placed the white, circular tablets on the back of my tongue, and washed them down with water.

          I hastily dried myself and went down the hallway, back to my room, to get dressed. Hanging on a knob of my dresser was a black and white polka dot dress. Thank God I picked my outfit the night before, I thought gratefully as I quickly pulled the dress over my head.

          I brushed out my damp, dirty blonde hair, and quickly applied concealer and mascara, in an attempt to look less dead. I stepped back and looked at myself in the full body mirror. I stared at my body, turning around and craning my neck to see myself at every possible angle. I sighed, and sat down on my bed, rubbing my temples.

          I reached over and took a picture in a gold frame off of my white nightstand. My lips curved up in a small, sad smile. The picture in the frame is of me and my mom, in a field of flowers. It's from the summer before she passed. She had mid-length blonde hair, and kind, brown eyes. Her arms were wrapped around me in a tight bear hug.

          I wish you could see me now, mom. Dad says I look just like you.

          A loud voice echoed through the house, "El! Let's go, you're going to be late, and your father doesn't have time to deal with this!"

          "I'm coming, Marge," I called back, irritated. Marge is my stepmother. Her and my dad got married a year after my mom passed. Sighing, I put the picture back on my nightstand, grabbed my backpack, and headed downstairs to the kitchen to get my keys.

          A cork popped downstairs, and disgust washed through my body. It's 7am.. How can she drink this early?  Shaking the thought from my head, I grabbed my white backpack and ran down the stairs.

          To my surprise, my father was standing in the kitchen, waiting for me. In his hands were two plates of eggs and toast.

          "G'morning, sweetheart," he said in his deep voice. Honestly, I was a little taken aback by his gesture of kindness, but I tried not to let it show. He worked hard and didn't usually have time for stuff like this. "Wanted to make sure you had a good breakfast before your first day."