Philophobia

| prologue |

"Emily, time to wake up!" A loud voice shouts while sending a pounding knock against my wooden door.

I peel my eyes open and take a quick glance at my phone. The time read 5:45 A.M. The literal asscrack of dawn. I take the time to stretch before I begin another long day at Brooksdale Memorial High School. It is May 2019, meaning that my senior year is coming to an end. A month and half is still left, but this chapter of my life will be ending soon. Just my typical deep thoughts this early in the morning, what else was new? I drag my heavy body out of my cozy, warm bed and begin my morning routine.

I walk into the bathroom and saw my reflection; we love a zombie looking queen. After a quick hot shower, my energy begins to increase, and I finally feel more alive. I comb through my long, caramel brown hair that tends to tangle into knots like a lion's mane. While I let my hair air dry, I pick out an outfit for another 75-degree day in Brooksdale, North Carolina. A simple black crop top and ripped jean shorts seemed like the move today. I apply a small coat of mascara, so it actually looks like I have eyelashes and I complete my look by slipping on my cross ring and black sandals.

My cats, Ellie and Mogo greet me with a meow as I skip down the stairs to grab breakfast. Dad was collecting his gear for work while my brother, Connor and sister, Molly argue over who gets to drive to their community college today.

"Connor, you don't know how to drive. The last time I let you, you almost crashed into Officer Peterson's fence." Molly complained, reaching for the keys once more but Connor's reflexes were too quick.

"Molly, you sit so close to the damn steering wheel that you forget to hit the gas. If I wanted to drive with Grandma, I would have asked her for a ride." Connor replies and walks outside to start the car.

I roll my eyes and begin packing my lunch and an after-school snack for track practice. My phone dings and I check my messages. My best friend, Lydia Eckman, texted me saying good morning and apologizes for being late for the 100th time. Seriously, I'm going to have to buy her a watch because she is the queen of lateness. I text her saying it's okay and I'll just drive myself.

"Have you found a prom date yet?" Molly asks, taking a giant bite of her apple and being obnoxiously loud when she chews.

I scowl, "Not yet, not really on my mind. I might not even go, Jacob pretty much screwed me over."

Jacob was my ex-boyfriend of a year and half relationship. We started dating when I was a junior and he was a senior. It was your classic first high school relationship. He wasn't my dream guy or anything spectacular; but he was someone I cared about. When we broke up, I felt like a failure. I knew our relationship was coming to an end, but I wanted to keep trying. When he ended things, I practically shut down for a month. Nights were long and days were painful, but with time came healing. I was better now, but the memories still stung.

Molly sighs, "He's a tool, you need to attend your senior prom! Go with Ramon, it would definitely make his day. After all, he did help you every night after that breakup."

I nod my head; Ramon Trevino was my best guy friend. He was a brother figure to me and stayed on the phone every single night trying to make me feel better. Prom wouldn't be horrible if I went with my best friend, but I still wasn't so sure.

Connor beeps the horn and my sister groans, "What a pain in my ass. I'll see you later, just think about it okay?"

I shrug my shoulders and finish my cereal. Then, I grab my book bag and car keys to head to school. It wasn't a long drive, just about 5 minutes. It helps living in a small town. I blast a couple of country songs and enjoy the beautiful morning sunrise. The pink and purple sky turned brighter with the sun shining over the dewy, green grass. Spring weather is just beautiful and reviving. I pull into my parking spot and am greeted by my other girlfriends. Lydia pulls into her spot five minutes later and practically drives up the curve. Her boyfriend Joseph and his friend, Jaxon laugh at her reckless driving.

"Babe, ease on the gas next time or you're going to crash straight into the school." Joseph laughs and a smile was immediately brought to his face when he saw Lydia.

Jaxon chuckles and waves to me, "Good morning Em."

"Good morning, have you heard back from Princeton yet?" I ask, Jaxon was waiting about an athletic scholarship to his dream school.

"Not yet, might be sometime later today." He replies and we begin to walk towards the school entrance.

"I'm sorry! I couldn't be late or else I'd get a detention," The perfect couple shares a kiss and Lydia turns to me, "Hey girlie!"

I grin and hug my best friend, "Ready for our Calculus exam?"

Her eyes go wide and she stops, "You're joking right?"

I roll my eyes and expect nothing less. Lydia has so much on her mind, and she forgets about important things like this exam. I hand her my notes so she can quickly glance over it and memorize as much as she can.

As we walk past the other cars, I notice an expensive mustang speed down the parking lot and almost hits us but stopped just in time. An annoyed expression reaches my face and I squint my eyes to get a better look at who the idiot was driving behind the wheel.

"Aaron, were you trying to kill us?" I walk closer to the car and he sends me his snarky bad boy smile.

"Not my fault you guys don't walk fast enough." He laughs and speeds off towards his friends.

I shake my head, utter ignorance with that boy. We walk inside and towards our lockers. I put away my stuff and grab my books for Calculus. Lydia says goodbye to her boyfriend, and we head to our first class. We sit down and I prepare myself for the exam by reviewing my last set of notes. A vibration from a notification caught my attention and I quickly see a text message from an unknown number. I had a couple of minutes, so I open the message and read it.

Looking good today Em ;p -Aaron

Before I could even register what was said, our teacher told us to put our notes away and the exam was about to begin. I shove my phone into my bag and begin looking at my test. Yet, my focus wasn't on the fifteen complex math problems sitting in front of me, it was focused on that ignorant boy who drives that stupid freaking mustang.