supernova

9

Time.

Time is relative.

It's a weird concept.

Seconds, minutes, hours, milliseconds.

A swimmer could lose or win a race by one millisecond.

Days, months, and years make sense.

A day is a twenty four hour cycle where the earth makes a 360.

A month is approximately one lunar cycle.

A year is the earth's rotation around the sun.

It's been a lunar cycle since my argument with Atlas.

We barely spoken a word to each other outside "Can I get the milkshakes at 9," and "Ok, sure."

I'm glad for that though. I don't need him bothering me anymore than he was.

My mom found a part time job, and I found someone willing to buy my dad's car for twenty eight thousand, and a old black Subaru for eight thousand. The original price of my dad's car had been much higher, but given that the model was five years old and it had been through a huge accident, I had to lower it. The buyer bargained with me until I lowered the price by another five thousand.

I was going to have an extra twenty thousand in my account for now, and that was what mattered.

I paid around full in cash for the Subaru instead of a down payment. I wanted to avoid the slight increase in price because of the interest rates, which is why the larger the down payment, the more money you ultimately save.

I put my pencil away and turned in my paper before putting my head down on my desk in chem.

I've been exhausted so exhausted with working and all my homework, but I know I don't have a choice.

I talked to my teachers who told me they're willing to accept late work from me as long as it isn't later than forty-eight hours, which I was really grateful for. My math and CNA teacher even gave me a schedule with all my assignments for the rest of the month.

My birthday passed in the last month and we didn't do anything to celebrate. I just went to Amukta's house, who got me a cake, some makeup, and then handed me a couple gift cards.

I felt really guilty because I couldn't get her something like that for her birthday in March.

I was seventeen.

Young and sweet.

A dancing queen.

I was a Libra, and I often got called a cusp, since I was born on the twenty eighth, but astrology doesn't work like that. I was born in the time zone of a libra so I'm a libra. If someone feels disconnected to their sign, that's because they have a whole chart they probably haven't looked at.

I felt a hand shake my shoulder.

"What's the answer to number five?" Atlas asked me.

"Eighty-four," I said and put my head back down.

I could be working on my english essay. I sat up straight and took out my laptop.

It wasn't mine, I give it back to the school at the end of senior year.

"Milkshakes at nine," Atlas said as the bell rang and I walked out.

"Is milkshakes at nine code for something? Are you two hooking up? You never speak in school though," Munynyim said catching up to me in the halls.