Crushed

One

Tui
"Run!" A voice called out to me. Run where? I thought, while my legs practically glided. Looking around, all I could see for miles were..clouds? Why clouds? None of this made any sense! As I panicked inside, I realised that I wasn't moving much at all. I'd gone maybe..1 meter. What was going on? "Beep." I stopped right in my tracks. What even- "Beep!" My clustered gaze moved upwards. "Beep!!" An alarm? But how- "Beep!!!"
I gasped. Of course it was a dream. A weird one too..oh well. Swivelling around, I grabbed my phone from my bedside table and switch the alarm off. Peace at last. A sigh escaped my lips as I fell back onto my bed, sinking into the pillows and mattress. I could just fall back asleep so easily..so..easily....
"Tui! Get up!" My eyes flicked open to the sound of my mum's voice and the slamming of my door. "Five more minutes mum-" "No! You'll be bloody late if you snooze any longer. Now move!" She said sternly, stomping into my room and throwing the sheets off of my bed. Cold air immediately covered my entire body and a shiver ran up my spine. "Alright, alright! I'm moving.." I groaned, sitting up as she walked out of the room. I stayed there for a while longer, breathing in the crisp winter-morning air and stretching out my tired muscles. God, I hate Mondays.
Stumbling out of my bedroom, I tiredly walked down the stairs into the lounge. "Morning scruffy head," my dad laughed, walking to his own room. He was already prepared for work, with his new suit and tie. Looking all smart. I mean- he had to. Being the CEO of a company like Brittles Breakfast, it's a bit of a compulsory thing, yknow?
"Move it, egg," I grinned at my younger brother, Kaleb, messing up his hair as he walked past me. He shoots me a dirty look and continues walking into the kitchen. That's where he found his seat at the table, as well as his cereal. It was so unfair how his breakfast was all made for him when he wakes up. Why couldn't Mum do that for me anymore? I mean, sure, I was 17 now and he was only 12. But still! It'd have been nice to be treated like royalty again. Speaking of mum- where had she gotten off to?
"Tui, chop, chop! Quit dawdling and move your arse!" Mum ushered me into a seat and placed an empty bowl down on the table. Ah. There she is. I reached for the box of Brittles that were sitting in front of Kaleb and slowly poured them into my bowl. I still felt half asleep, even though I'd now been awake for at least 15 minutes or so. Yawning, I moved my hand and checked my watch. Yeah- 6:15. I should be fine. The box was taken from my hands by Kaleb, who wanted seconds. "Space-head," he muttered, pouring the Brittles into his own bowl. I elbowed him softly and grabbed some milk. As I flicked off the cap, Dad came in through the kitchen. "Alright, I'm off now. You two behave please. I'll see you all on Wednesday." He said, messing up mine and my brother's hair. "Yeah, yeah," we said in unison.
"I love you sweetie," Dad said to Mum, pulling her in for a giant, slobbery kiss. Gross. "Have fun on your trip to Christchurch," Mum smiled, waving as he walked out the door. That was the only time she'd ever smile. When talking to Dad. It used to make me jealous because I couldn't make her as happy as him. But, I learnt to get over it. And besides, I knew she loved me. So that's all that really mattered. I shovelled the cereal into my mouth and bit down. "Fuck!" I exclaimed. I'd accidentally bitten my tongue, and I felt that it was bleeding. "Excuse me?" Mum folded her arms and glared at me. "Fudge. I said fudge," I coughed and went back to eating. "Yeah, that's what I thought," she chuckled and lazily walked out of the kitchen. Thank god she hadn't yelled at me. I wouldn't have been able to deal with that. Especially on a Monday.
I finished the rest of my breakfast, even licked the plate clean, and it was now 6:32. Still had plenty of time. So, I whipped out my phone and scrolled through my feed. Nothing of interest, text messages from drunk friends, one even from an ex saying 'I miss you'. Total bullshit. There were a few articles, some new subscribers on YouTube, and a load of Twitter notifications. I sighed and clicked on the Instagram app. My thumb did all the work, scrolling and double tapping. It was almost like a game, scroll, double tap, scroll, double tap. Not a very good game, but a game nonetheless.
"Oi, what are you doing? It's nearly 7'o'clock!" I was snapped out of my little game by a reality check from Mum. I looked at the time on my phone, and it was now 6:51. How did so much time pass by?! I panicked for a second before running back upstairs to my room. I couldn't be late- not again! I'd be given a detention, and that's just generally annoying. I'd managed to keep my record polished and pristine for the past term, so a detention right on the first day of the second one? Don't think so. My closet door flung open and I reached inside for my uniform. It was a tad bit crinkled, but I honestly couldn't have cared less in this moment. Sliding out of my pyjamas, I put on my white, short-sleeved button-up and hunted for my tie. I zipped up my grey skirt and adjusted it so that it wasn't riding up my non-existent arse, then slipped into some freshly-washed socks. They rode all the way up to my knees, and I felt like an 'anime school girl'. Just..minus the huge tits. And arse. I have neither of those, since I'm a bean stalk. That's my nickname- given to me by my best guy friend, Guy. I know. What a great name. Guy friend? Guy?? Who'd've thunk it.
"Knock, knock, guess who," Mum yelled, sounding irritated. "What is it?" I shouted in reply, still cleaning up the rest of my uniform. I wanted to look decent enough for the first day back of this term. "What's the time?" She asked. Oh no. I paused what I was doing and looked at my watch. 7:04. That's not that bad, I only needed to be at the bus-stop by 7:20. "It's 7:04 mum, I'm fine," I called out, going back to 'perfecting' my uniform. "Alright..just..please don't be late," she spoke in a softer tone, and it sounded genuine. "Yes mum, I will be fine," I replied, opening my door and smiling awkwardly at her. She nodded with a weak smile of her own and walked down the hallway. Then stopped. Turned at Kaleb's door. And banged on it. Ahh, now it was his turn. Justice. Finally. I grinned and stepped back into my room. My hand grabbed one strap of my bag, and I threw it onto the bed. Harder than I'd anticipated. Whoops.. Ah well. It'd be fine, I'm sure. My books were all messily spread out on both the floor and my desk. I managed to retrieve them all, and carefully placed them inside my bag. It was funny how new and clean my bag was compared to the entirety of my room. Clothes were strewn all across the floor, so much so that the carpet wasn't even visible anymore. Bedsheets and pillows were messily placed at the foot of my bed, and they hadn't been changed in weeks. My desk. Gosh, that was a whole other story. Pens and pencils were in a jumble, sketchbooks and some watercolour sketches were everywhere. And the drawers were just as organised. Meaning- they were a total mess. There was even a bra hanging off of my lamp. A bra that I didn't really need, but still had anyways. Mainly because everyone else had them and I wanted to fit in. Struggles of having basically no curves at the age of 17. Haha..
About 5 minutes later- 7:09- I was down the stairs and walking out the door. "Bye mum, see ya idiot," I called out to Mum and Kaleb as I closed the door behind me. Walking down the street, I saw Guy waiting for me at our usual spot. He was always there before me, and it kinda sucked. But at the same time, it was great. Because then I got to scare him. "Boo!" I shouted, grabbing his shoulders and shaking him slightly. "Ahh! Jeez Tui- you know I hate when you do that, right?" he laughed and punched my shoulder. "You love me though," I grinned. "What happened to your hair? You're a skinhead," I observed, patting his now prickly head. "Shaved it for cancer. My little cousin got it a few years back- she's okay now. But eh, thought I'd do it anyway," he smiled sincerely. I loved his smiles. They were always so soft and loving. Gorgeous. "Dude that's awesome," I said, reaching out for a high five. "You seem to have grown a bit," he laughed as he returned the high five. I guess I'd grown a bit over the past two weeks..or a lot. It was weird. At the end of last term I'd been maybe 5'3". Now- I was closer to 5'6". And Guy, who was the same height as me before, was finally shorter.
"Yeah, I have. Now I can lean on you all the time," I chuckled as he punched me again. "Come on, we better get going. We'll be late otherwise," Guy proclaimed, beginning to walk down the street. "Yeah, plus we need to see the other's," I said, following behind him like a tower on wheels.