Flipped

Chapter 20- The Colors of Envy and Honesty

^^^The song that Dan plays

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Sam

The next morning, something new happens. Something incredible. Something that has probably never happened on any school day in the entirety of my regrettable existence.

I wake up before my sister.

Maybe it's the nightmares, or the fear and anxiety about what my parents are going to say when they see my new look, or maybe it's just the frigid air creeping into our room from under the window. Whatever the cause, something makes my eyes fly open at the grand hour of five in the morning, with the world outside still pitch black and Rosie still sleeping soundly in her bed across the room.

Immediately I shiver. Damn, it's cold. I pull my blankets up tighter around my body, closing my eyes in a futile attempt to fall back asleep. After tossing and turning for about ten minutes, I give up with a sigh. Pulling my phone from its charger next to my bed, I check the weather.

Fuck, It's 25 degrees outside. No wonder I'm freezing my balls off in here. Dad has this stupid habit of never turning on the heater in the winter, claiming that it's too expensive."You have blankets. You'll be fine," he says.

"Fucking cheapskate," I mutter under my breath as I get out bed. Even though every fiber of my being wants to stay warm and safe under my covers, I know that if I don't get up now it's likely that I never will.

In the bathroom, I wash my face before examining my new, much shorter bedhead. I have a bad cowlick in the back and the shorter chunks are all sticking up at odd angles, but it still makes me smile. I would take this fucking mess over my old hair any day.

I douse my head under the faucet, drenching my hair until it lies flat on my head, then begin to comb it in different directions to decide what looks best.

I try it combed back first, but immediately cringe at the result when I turn out looking like a brunet Draco Malfoy. I ruffle my hair back up, then comb it so my bangs hang forward. Ugh, that looks terrible too. Maybe if my bangs were more evenly cut it would look better, but unfortunately that isn't the case.

Sighing, I scrap that style and change it out for one with my hair combed to the right side, giving me slightly better-looking bangs that hang down over my eye. I don't love this one either, but decide that it's the best I can probably do right now.

After sort-of fixing my hair, I return to my room to get dressed. Rose is still asleep, her soft breathing the only sound that disrupts the quiet of the hour.

It's too quiet, I decide, shutting the door as I pull up some music on my phone. I decide on the gentle, comforting sound of Bon Iver, and play it on low so as not to wake my sister.

After sliding into my normal jeans and combat boots, I hesitate before selecting a shirt to wear over my stupid fucking sports bra. As I stare at my selection of unisex band tees, my eyes wander over to the dresser drawer where I know my salvation hides-- a painful, yet much preferable alternative to what I'm currently wearing. But should I....?

Oh, fuck it, I think to myself, pulling off the sports' bra. If Rosie can wear a bra to school, then I can go to school without one.

Unfortunately, it is when I am physically wrapping the ace bandage around my chest that Rose stirs.

"Sam?" she says in a sleepy voice, causing me to freeze. "How are you already awake? And....what the hell are you doing?"

I sigh. "What does it look like, Rosie?"