From Embers

O N E

12 years later.

March 14th, 2019

     My alarm buzzed beside me, and I rolled over to snooze it. My alarm going off meant it was 7:30am and I had an hour before I had to be at school. I closed my eyes and rolled back over, trying to sleep for a couple more minutes. About to slip back off into sleep, my alarm clock went off again. I rolled over and silenced it. Sitting up in my bed, I rubbed the sleep out of my eyes. I threw off my comforter and stepped onto the carpeted floor. My bedroom was a large square room, a desk right beside the door, my bed was on the farthest wall from the door, a large dresser on the wall to the left of my bed, and my bathroom was connected to my room on the right side. I had a large red banner draped above my TV in front of my bed with my name, Maximus written in bold black letters across it. The walls were painted a pale tone of brown. My room did not have much to it, I liked it to be more open than filled with furniture. I stepped into my bathroom and looked into the mirror. The skylight above me highlighted my features, my dirty brown hair, my green eyes, the facial hair that had just become visible after not shaving for a few days, my smooth medium tan skin. I turned on the shower and got in without letting the water heat up. I had less time than I had thought to get ready. Right before I was finished with my shower, I turned the dial for heat so I would warm up quickly from the striking cold that held my body hostage from when I first got in. I finally got out and dried myself off. I put on a pair of dark blue jeans, a T-Shirt, and finally an army green hoodie that I regularly wore. I grabbed my computer, my phone charger, and my wallet. Shoving them into my bag, I ran down the stairs. Mom was already up working on her computer and glanced at me when I walked into the kitchen.

"Good-morning Max, you need to hurry or you're going to be late." She spoke without looking up from her computer.

"I know mom, I'm about to leave." I replied,

     I grabbed the lunch I made last night out of the fridge and put it into my bag before grabbing my keys and saying goodbye to mom.

"Have a good day at school son, I love you." She said.

"I love you too mom, see you this afternoon."

      I walked out of my front door and out to my car. My silver 2016 Hyundai sat in its usual spot beside mom's Chevy. I unlocked my car and put my bag in the passenger seat before starting it up. It purred to life after I hit the ignition button, and cold air blasted from the vents beside my steering wheel. I shifted the car into reverse and pulled out of the driveway, starting my drive to school. It only took about ten minutes to drive to school, but it helped in waking myself up. I pulled out of my suburban neighborhood onto the main highway. It led straight to the school. The district I went to school in was huge, probably the biggest in Georgia. I passed the lone houses on the side of the highway, they had tons of land unlike my house, which had a twenty by thirty backyard. The contractors were trying to get as many houses in the neighborhood as possible. I passed one of the six elementary schools in the area on my way to school. They started an hour before we did, and the children were out on the playground having the times of their lives. I continued on towards the school, passing a few stoplights and large pieces of land that no one would buy. Finally entering the school zone, I reduced my speed. I was lucky enough to get a parking spot near the entrance. I pulled into my spot and killed my engine. Grabbing my bag from beside me, I stepped out of my car and locked it. I threw my bag over my shoulder and started forward toward the building. I had only two classes this semester, English 101 and Psychology 101. I usually left school at around noon, since I only had to be there for the first two classes of the day. I walked through the noisy hallways and said hello to my friends, making small talk before I had to be in English. The two minute bell finally sounded overhead and I headed into class. Walking directly to my desk, I set my bag down and took a seat in my desk. Steadily, my classmates trickled into their seats, looking groggy from the weekend events. The final bell rang out and class began.