Miss, Do I Know You?

17 - Monday, December 14

"How do you do it?" I heard from behind. "I'd never think to wear all that together, but you somehow made it look stunning."

"I might have to start stealing your clothes too," I said, standing in front of her closet. It was an absolute paradise. I had never seen such a wealth of wardrobe, an endless array of colors and styles. Her outfits kept changing every single day, a delightful show of creativity, and it was captivating to see where the magic happened. "And by the way, where is this jacket from? I admit, I was about to take a picture and have someone scour the internet for me, but there's no tag."

She peeked out of the bathroom and took a glance at what I was holding before a smirk crept upon her face. "That's a blanket or something I found at a thrift store. I don't even remember."

"Wait, what?"

"Take it if you want," she said with a laugh, returning to the mirror. "I haven't worn it in years."

I stood in disbelief and with a wide smile on my face. "An original Alexandra Martin in my closet? It would be an honor, ma'am."

"I'm about to change my mind."

We bantered back and forth all morning. I was enjoying the casualness between us, like when we kept bumping into each other as we were getting ready. She playfully cursed me out a couple of times, and I couldn't keep the cackles out when she kept colliding into me and ruining her mascara.

On my way out of the bathroom to get my toothbrush, I accidentally nudged her, leaving a streak of black on her cheek. She let out a sigh and shot me a teasing look in the mirror, her eyes narrowing playfully.

"Oops." I chuckled. "Sorry."

She pushed me out the door. "You're such a nuisance, Kayla. If I'm late because of you, you're gonna be mopping the floors during detention."

"It's like six thirty. There's no way you're going to be late."

A towel soared through the air, and I deftly caught it before it could strike my face, staring at her in surprise. "Jesus, woman. Can't even brush my teeth without being attacked."

Alex abruptly set everything down, her hands coming to rest on my shoulders, giving me a spin, and proceeding to push me through the apartment until we arrived at the kitchen sink.

"Brush your teeth here."

"You still have mascara on your cheek."

She scoffed. "I wonder why that is."

The three of us were out the door in no time and drove for a few minutes until we arrived at Gabi's lovely house not too far from Alex's apartment. I said my goodbyes to Benji before Alex led him inside, and then we were off to school.

"Do you usually drive in this grim silence?" I interrupted the stillness in the air. "Or maybe you've heard of a thing called music?"

A slight flush of embarrassment crossed her face. "Uh, I don't really listen to music anymore."

"What?" I muttered. "Your students would definitely lose all their respect for you."

The sudden shock of her words sent a jolt of energy through me, waking me from my slightly hazy state of mind, but when she pressed one button on her steering wheel, every ounce of sleep left my body. For a second, I thought that she had crashed the car, but it was just the music blasting from the speakers.

She laughed, her voice overpowering the melody. "You're too easy."

"Alex!" I exclaimed as I heard the song, memories flowing into my mind. "You were the one who showed them to me!"