Annalise Springster's a High School Dropout

Chapter 1

Cassie's POV

August 10th, 2202

Annalise Springster bursts through my bedroom door.

"Morning Sunshine! —And you're still in bed." Without hesitation, she pulls back the blankets from on top of me and daintily tosses them onto my bean bag chair. "Your mom said you were getting dressed." She glances over my PJs.

"If I was, wouldn't you think it'd be a bit inappropriate to barge in without knocking? Even the FBI gives crack dealers a chance to get themselves together before they start knocking hinges off doors." She stares at me unimpressed.

She walks over to my mirror grabbing one of my scrunches on the way. Focusing on her reflection, she ties her long brown hair into a knot on the top of her head revealing her pointy ears and small square curve of her jaw.

Groaning, I get out of bed and walk out into the hallway with my eyes set on the bathroom. The tiny twerps would have no doubt heard Annalise's antics and taken the opportunity to beat me to the bathroom. Shaking off the drowsiness, I pick up speed. I reach the door, grip the handle, and turn. The cool metal knob gives easily, and I quickly bound into the room and shut the door behind me.

Hahaha, sweet victory.

The light flickers on automatically? and I find my crusty, sleep-deprived self looking back at me.

Oi.

I rip off my bonnet, and ten braids spring forth around my head. I reach for my cleanser and try to wash away last night's bad decisions. A few of my friends had graduated this past spring, and their sendoff party was epic to say the least. My ears are still ringing.

"Crust begone," I mumble.

Knock Knock

"Go away, Sammy." Toothpaste flies from my mouth.

"It's Annie, Cass."

"Oh, yeah. Come in."

Annalise Springster and I first met at Greenboro Elementary. Our teacher assigned us as partners for the quarterly popsicle house contest. We had never spoken a word to each other before then, had not even looked each other's way.

Mrs. Brown pointed out who I was to her, and she toddled over and plopped down next to me. She was wearing a blue and white polka dot dress with a rainbow-striped shirt underneath (she had later boasted to me about how she made that lovely fashion choice herself), and her hair was tied loosely in two pigtails. That day, I was wearing spotless white overalls with a black sequined shirt underneath, and I had gold star clips pinned in my afro. She leaned her round face close to mine and instinctively I moved back.

She smelled like graham crackers. I hate graham crackers.

Her ears and nose stood at attention like the flyaway strands from her ponytails. Putting one palm to her cheek and polking the finger of her other hand to my chest, she darted her eyes from my face to my hair and exclaimed, "You look like an angel!" To my surprise I blurted back, "And you look like a fairy."

We stared at each other for a minute then burst into a fit of giggles so strong that Mrs. Brown sent us to the naughty corner. We both had snorted like pigs.

Facing the wall with a near toothless grin, the fairy child looked at me from the corner of her upturned eyes and whispered, "I'm Annalise."

I crinkled my nose and concentrate on the smiley face post in front of me. "A-A-a-N-ayise." My brow furrowed. "A-a-n-i-iiissse?" The letters tumbled out of my mouth like a pack of spilled hair beads. I folded my sausage link fingers and look at her hopefully. She shook her head. More flyaways.