Nadine

It was six o'clock in the morning on a Tuesday. My body was not cooperating with me; legs were heavy, eyes refused to open. Whoever decided to make school start so early in the morning ought to be stoned; or maybe I should stop staying up so late. My alarm clock was blaring local news radio. I always set it to turn on to the radio because I've always hated that beeping sound. The DJ was talking about the traffic and said there was a back up on 59 due to a big rig turned over. "Ugh," was all I could say. If I did not get up now, I was definitely going to be late for school. As reached over to turn off my alarm clock, everything on my night stand fell to the ground. I kept accidentally knocking everything off of my nightstand and it was getting to be annoying. Every morning for the past week, the same thing has happened.

After I picked up everything off of the floor, I dragged myself to the bathroom to get ready for school.  It was small with a cute claw-foot tub and shower. My mother and I renovated my bathroom last year for my 16th birthday. I was going for a classic look but ended up with a bathroom that looked like it was a mix of many different styles. It ended up looking really nice in the end though. I quickly jumped into the shower and let the steaming hot water run over my body. This was definitely waking me up. Every time I took a shower I felt so energized and alive. I actually looked forward to it everyday. I wipped my hand across my mirror to take a look at my face. My brown skin was smooth except for an unsightly blimish on my right cheek. My hair was long and curly and dripping wet over my shoulders. Everyone talked about how beautiful my eyes were. THey were light brown with flecks of grey and green. Everyone on my mothers side had light brown eyes and my fathers side of the familiy had grey eyes. I guess I just got a little bit of both but I hated them. I wasnt big on the attention I liked to keep to myself when at all possible.

I hopped out of the shower, brushed my teeth, and put on clothes that I just grabbed out of my drawers to put on. No time to check and make sure everything was cute and in style, not that it mattered anyways. Mom and dad were already downstairs eating breakfast so I stole a piece of toast of a plate and ran out the door. The drive to school was terrible. My old Corolla was barely in running condition and sitting in this traffic was pushing it to its limit. I thought I was going to get a new car for my 17th birthday but instead my mother bought me a house plant to put in my room. I never really got anything fancy for my birthdays or Christmas but really, a plant? My dad explained that was tradition in their family to give plants to kids on their 17th birthday, like a coming of age gift. None of my friends received a plant for their birthday but apparently in our family everyone gets a Frinious Plant on their 17th birthday. My parents were so thrilled but I, on the other hand, was much less enthusiastic. Now I have this plant in my room that I had to promise to keep alive. That plant was lucky if I remembered to water it once a month but somehow it is still around.

Finally I made it to school and quickly ran inside to avoid being tardy. I did not even stop at my locker to put away my backpack and slid into Mr. Grimes class. He looked over his thickly rimmed, black glasses with his beady brown eyes and allowed me to take my seat even though I was late. He was a short round man with bushy black hair and red Santa Claus cheeks. Chemistry. It was so boring that I could barely keep my eyes open. The only thing that kept me alert was Brian. Brian and I have been in school together since we were in middle school.