TTW [OLD - HAS BEEN MOVED TO NEW ACCOUNT]

Chapter One

"Uhh..." I groaned, rolling over, smacking my phone off the nightstand.

"Just...two...more -" my routine mantra was ruined by the blaring of my ringtone, Blown Away by Carrie Underwood.

Ugh, my morning present from Tony - a nice little wake-up call. I feel around blindly on the ground for my iPhone, eyes only half open. My hands finally close around the cold glass, and I squint to read the bright display.

"Al, you slowpoke, up yet?"

"Tony, is it, like, your job to torture me every morning?"

"What do you mean?" I imagine the innocent look that would be on his face if he was standing in front of me.

"You know! Anyway, thanks for the wake-up. NOT. You totally ruined my sleep."

"Wow, so grateful. A few more minutes and you would've been late." I glance at the clock real quick. He is right about that. It's 6:30, and my bus gets here at 7. "And we all know how long it takes you to throw on a bathrobe and get out the door."

"Tony, the next time I see you, there will be toast and honey stuck in your hair and all over your face.”

"Ooh, I'm so scared. Don't worry. I'll remember to sit as far away from you and your breakfast as possible.”

"Ugh. I hate you, you know that?"

He chuckles, and right before I'm about to hang up, he says in a sing song voice, "You secretly love me, you just don't know it! I'm too good for you!"

I press the 'end call' button a second later.

I sit there with a big, dumb smile on my face. I may say I hate him, but he's like the brother I wish I always had. But, of course, I'm an only child.

Though, honestly, it's like he's a part of our family. He comes over so often, and raids our fridge like its his own. He practically lives here. My dad even joked once that we might as well adopt him. He also knows pretty much everything there is to know about me – I mean, being friends with someone since preschool can really do that to you.

I sit there for a few seconds more, enjoying the morning calm, then scramble to my closet. It's a mess in there, shirts, hoodies, dresses, jeans - they're all over the place. "Um, um," I say frantically. My eyes scan through the racks and comb through the stray pieces of clothing on the ground. I finally settle into my Rainbows Are Magic hoodie and throw on a pair of jeans. I don't know if they're clean or dirty, but they're really comfortable.

Why am I always getting up SO late? UGH! I think to myself for the thousandth time. The same thought always runs through my head every morning, but I never actually remedy it. Honestly, I really just wanted to get an extra hour of sleep. Tony wakes up at 5, and he's as energetic as ever. I wonder if he's on this coffee or something that keeps him up the whole time. I need to ask him one day.

I rush into the bathroom and throw my hair into a ponytail. It's passable. Okay. I use some mascara, put on my favorite earrings, and I'm running down the stairs. "Morning mom, dad. I'm late again! Love you, bye!" I throw piece of bread into the toaster as I say it, and jiggle my feet anxiously, waiting for it to pop out.

6:48.

6:49.

30 seconds.

51 seconds.

TWOCK!

I grab my toast, huffing on my hands as they get burnt from the toast, sling my backpack over my shoulder, and run out the door.

"Slowpoke." Tony teases as I near my stop, panting. I'm so out of shape.

"Toast?" I offer, tearing off the other half of the bread, ignoring his playful insult.