The Complication

Chapter 1

Chapter 1: Good Morning, I Guess.

I awoke with a start, and nearly fell off the bed. I looked over at my alarm clock, which was blaring Call Me Maybe by Carly Rae Jepsen. 5:00. Perfect.

I rolled out of bed and half-walked half-crawled to my desk, where a picture of Jake and I standing in front of the White House together sat happily. I looked at it and sighed. Why hasn't he picked up on the idea that I like him? I mean, I do. I've made it pretty clear. Whenever there's a school dance, Jake and I end up going together "as friends" so we don't show up alone. I've only slow danced with him once, but I've tried to ask him. It usually ends up sounding kind of like this: "Hey Jake, so uhh, I'm not dancing with anyone, you're not dancing with anyone..." that's where I freeze and say: "Wanna go split a Moxie?"

Stupid, I know. But at least I like someone who I talk to. My friend Amy fell in love with a guy she's never talked to. But, finally, they did start talking not too long ago. Things aren't going so bad for her. She's probably made more progress than I have.

Okay. I change my mind. I'd rather be in Amy's situation.

"Anna, get your butt down here!" my brother yells.

"One minute!" I scream back.

I run a brush through my hair and and go downstairs to the kitchen.

"Make me waffles, Anna!" whines my brother Owen.

"Mom told me I don't have to make you anything, 'cause you can make it yourself. So YOU make it, you lazy little bum."

"Fine then." he mumbles.

I pull out a bowl, milk, and Honey Bunches of Oats and make myself some cereal.

I check the time - 5:06. I have to hurry if I want to 'dress to impress' as my mother calls it. Which basically means I spend a half an hour in the shower, another half hour doing my hair and minimal makeup, twenty minutes deciding what to wear, and another half hour doing other random things.

I shove the food down my throat and clean up after myself, and run off upstairs. I take a shower, taking only a surprising twenty-something minutes, and go to my room. Time check - 5:29.

That's when I saw it.

DON'T FORGET - JAKE'S GETTING HIS LICENSE TODAY!

I totally forgot! This calls for celebratory clothes.

I open my closet and take three random dresses from their hangers.

One is a simple black dress with white polka dots. It has a sweetheart neckline and two-inch straps. It just barely covers my knees.

Another is a tight red dress, coming to the middle of my thigh. It has thin halter-top straps and a v-neck.

The last one is - excuse my language - the sluttiest dress I own. It's strapless with a sweetheart neckline, and the dress just barely fits over my butt. This one is different from all the others because it's the only green dress I own. And when I say green, I mean bright lime green. But still, the only green dress I own. It looks like a metallic bright lime green. I've never worn it before because it was given to me by my aunt, and the clothes she gives me my mom doesn't approve of. She takes all the clothes that my aunt gives me, but she doesn't know about this one.

After thinking about it for a few minutes, I try the green dress on. Yeah, it fits. I throw it in my bag and throw on a pair of skinny jeans and a baggy t-shirt.

Then I throw a little bag full of hair ties and bobby pins into my backpack. I brush my hair and my teeth and go back to my room one last time.

I unplug my iPod and my phone and put them, along with a pair of headphones, in my bag. I check the time before I go downstairs and stop outside the front door. It's 6:28. How had time gotten away from me?

"Mommmmmmm I'm going down to the bus stop! Love you, see you later!" I yelled.

"Bye honey!" she calls from her bedroom.

I walk past my bus stop to a small, deserted cabin not too far into the woods. Almost every teen goes here for some reason. Late-night love scenes, parties, getting drunk, getting high, peace and quiet, a place to scream all you want... you name it, they do it. My friends and I use it to change into clothes our mothers don't approve of before and after school.

I burst into the cabin, heading straight for the bathroom. I change and try to figure out what to do with my hair, but then I give up and brush it again. I decide against wearing makeup. Then I got an idea. I borrow someone's pink hair straightener from under the sink and straighten my hair. If I had to name only a few things Jake loves, I would said straight hair, pretty girls, and short dresses.

I walk out of the bathroom and go to the master bedroom (not before knocking) and check myself in the full body mirror. Jake's going to love me!

As I gather my things and walk out to the bus stop, I consider how weird it is that the only dress code out high school has is you must where shirts, shoes, and pants. Unless you're wearing a dress, of course. Then you must only wear your dress and shoes.

Everybody thinks our school dress code is ridiculous, but nobody complains. There are a few theories though... One of them being that the principal only keeps the dress code the way it is because he likes to look at the slutty whores with their too-low cut shirts. It's probably true. The principal only notices me when I decide to go to school looking like a slut.

Again, our school is ridiculous.

I get to the bus stop, and I'm the first one there. The bus comes at 7:00. I check the time. It's 6:46. The others should be coming any minute.

Including Jake.