Not a lot happens at East River High School. For the East River Titans, they've only ever had to worry about the small things, like getting through Mr. Adams' history class or catching a football. Some of them have been friends for years, others are...
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IT WAS THE WORST DAY OF THE YEAR. As much was decided when her alarm clock went off, blaring the same godawful tone she'd had the privilege of not hearing for the last three months. Eyes refusing to open, she buried her head into her duvet, groaning.
Make it stop, she chanted in her head as she willed herself to shut off the alarm psychically. When that didn't work, she threw an arm out in that general direction, an overwhelming feeling of satisfaction washing over her as she hit the snooze button on her first try. Finally, peace.
Several knocks rattled against her bedroom door, cutting her momentary sense of bliss short.
"Artemis!" Her mother's voice rang through her bedroom. "Get up! Or your sister is going to leave without you!"
Go ahead, she wanted to say back. It's not like I want to go back to school.
Artemis groaned. Just the thought of the first day of school made her want to sink further into her mattress and never leave. But Mom would probably drag me to school with her bare hands. And ground me.
She groaned again. It truly was the worst day of the year.
With a sigh, Artemis tossed her duvet to the foot of her bed, immediately regretting her decision as the cold air of her bedroom attacked her arms and legs. But she didn't have the energy to roll up in a ball for warmth, much less actually get out of bed yet. She did, however, manage to finally crack open her eyes.
Scanning her room, she could tell there was something different about it. It was still slightly dim out, the soft rays of early morning light dribbling through her blinds and hitting the band posters on her wall. Her rug was more covered by the contents of her room from a summer of laziness and disorganization than it was covering hardwood. Her closet door was open, leaving on display the hangers of her beloved thrift store flannels and fleece sweaters. Her backpack was lying lifelessly at the other end of her room from when it was effectively discarded off her shoulders and untouched for the last few months. On the back of her door was her favourite Panic! At the Disco poster with the rip at the bottom from when she forgot to leave her door open for Brucely to leave, and next to it the overflowing contents of her laundry basket were spilling out onto the floor. Her walls, which were painted green as a result of a spontaneous decision a few summers ago and as a catalyst for a month-long grounding from her mother, were... well, still green.
Her room was largely the same, really. There was just something about waking up at quarter-past-seven in the morning for the first day of junior year that, to her, hit differently. And not in a good way.
Summer break was the same length every year, but this year it felt especially short. With half of her time being taken up by her less-than-ideal summer job at the drycleaner's shop downtown, Artemis felt like she didn't get to hang out with her friends nearly as much as she wanted. Sure, they had their fair share of adventures, campfires and parties, but the mere thought of having to be back in the dull corridors of public high school this morning was really taking away from her memories of her summer experiences. And with her sister hogging their shared car the past week, Artemis had been stuck at home for the last couple days of summer hanging out with her mom.
