A Single Second

CHAPTER 16

CHAPTER 16

DESTINEE

"Let's go, Destinee!"

Destinee woke to the sound of Daniel pounding on her door, yelling her name repeatedly. Sunlight poured through her window, drowning her bedroom in sunlight, making it nearly impossible to go back to sleep once she was awake. Not that she could sleep with Daniel's pounding...

As her eyes fluttered open, Destinee's first thought was of the day she was going to have. Her first day at Umbridge. And if that wasn't scary enough, she also had her audition at Gambiller to think about. She only had one day left to practice.

Deciding that it wasn't worth thinking about any longer, Destinee climbed out of her bed, now decked out in an orange comforter and pink pillows, and hopped in the shower. It was warm and helped her to wake up. Daniel had breakfast ready by the time she was done. He'd made pancakes.

"Thought maybe this time you could eat them," he said with a smile.

Destinee doused them in syrup and dug in. She had to admit, she'd missed a lot. They were delicious.

"So I'll be at work until two. We're going to be working on something new today. If you need me, call my cell. You have my number, right?"

Destinee pulled her new cell phone out of her pocket and checked the contacts. "Of course."

"Okay, good. I should be home when you get here. I might do a bit of grocery shopping. If I'm not here, you can give me a call or just wait. I

probably won't take to long."

"Got it."

Daniel checked his watch. "Okay, so I have to go. You should leave here in about twenty-five minutes if you want to be on time."

"Okay."

"So have a nice day and be careful."

"Yup."

"Listen to your teachers and stay out of trouble."

"Always."

"Make some friends."

"I'll try."

Daniel grabbed his briefcase - stuffed with scripts, costume designs, etc. - and checked his watch again. "Okay, so have a nice day, sweetie."

Destinee waved him off and threw him a smile. Once he was gone, she finished her pancakes and headed to her room. Getting dressed would

be the easy part. All she had to do was wear her uniform. Still, going to Umbridge wouldn't be like going to Greenville Middle School.

After putting on her uniform, Destinee spent the next fifteen minutes perfecting her hair - curled with a clip in the back - and doing her makeup.

When she was mostly satisfied and running slightly late, Destinee locked the apartment door and got in the elevator.

The air was cool as Destinee walked down the sidewalk. She planned to walk to school as long as the weather condoned it. The school didn't have a bus and using a taxi everyday was expensive; this was the better choice, she thought.

Even though it was barely after eight, the sidewalks were full and traffic on the streets was barely moving, as usual. People were everywhere, darting in and out of cars and heading to their favorite coffee shop for their usual morning Mocha. Every way she looked, people flooded the city.

Umbridge was only seven blocks from Destinee's apartment. Still, walking there was hard. It wasn't just about walking along the sidewalks; it was about avoiding colliding with people, not getting hit by cars, and making it there on time.

Destinee pressed a small, red button on the side of a light pole. The screen on the other side of the road had a picture of a red hand on it. Destinee waited. Finally, a picture of a man walking appeared in white. Destinee began to cross.

BEEP!

"Whoa!"

Destinee put her hand out and backed up. The black limousine - small for a limousine, but still got the point across as a fancy, rich car - came to a halt. The driver, wearing a black suit, rolled down his window.

"Sorry there, Missy!" he called out. "Didn't see you."

Destinee waved him off and began to walk.

"Hey!"

Destinee rolled her eyes. "I'm fine" she called to the limo driver, but it wasn't him who had yelled this time.

"Hey!" the voice called again.

Destinee turned. The guy had blonde hair, bright blue eyes, and was about a foot and a half taller than her. She recognized him as the guy from

the beach.

"You okay?" he asked, shutting the door to the limo as he hopped out. He looked up, recognition dawning on his face. "Oh," he said

sheepishly, "uh... hey."

"Hey," Destinee said back, coming to a halt on the sidewalk - the other side of the road.

The guy ran over to her. "Oh, gosh. This keeps happening."

Destinee nodded. "Yup."

He shoved his hands in his pockets, looking around. Destinee noticed he was wearing the came uniform as her. He went to Umbridge too apparently.

"Look, I'm really sorry. Um... you're sure you're okay?"

Destinee readjusted her bag on her shoulder. "Yeah, I'm fine. Thanks." She began to turn, wanting nothing more than to leave.

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah," she said, a little more enthusiastically than she meant to.

"Because I feel really bad."

"Look, I don't mean to be rude, but I'm already late for school. So, I have to go."

With a smile, the boy - that guy that kept trying to kill her, who's name slipped her mind - pointed to the limo waiting for him. "Want a lift?"

"No thanks."

He tilted his head and smiled again. "You're going to be late."

"Yeah, I noticed. So, I have to go."

"I'll walk with you," he offered.

"I'm good."

"You sure?"

"Positive," Destinee said as she turned to leave.