daddy issues▪chase stein (discontinued)

1

Marina awoke to the sound of her mother's wind chimes.
Her clock read 5:43, her alarm would sound in 2 minutes.

Hell of a way to start her day.

She quickly canceled her alarm, avoiding the ear numbing screech it would emit.

Her room was dark, except for the blue light her clock emitted.

She willed herself from her bed, collecting shorts, and a dark top from her dresser, she stumbled into her bathroom.
The blinding florescent light made her eyes water, and she squinted as she blindly groped for the shower faucet.

She selected a playlist in her old iPhone, carefully avoiding the jagged glass in the cracked screen.

Her morning routine was quick, as she was far to careless for makeup.

After a quick breakfast, she headed for the small garage, a long bike ride ahead of her.

The sun had just begun to peak over the hills, as she eased her yellow bike into the driveway, slinging her backpack over her shoulders.
A huge mansion stood in front of the small building she and her mother shared.

Her mother was the house keeper, and they were fortunate enough to be provided with the small house nestled in the trees behind the mansion.

The other students at Atlas academy would leave their homes far later than Marina, their shiny cars would purr into the parking lot about the time she would arrive on her bike, no doubt sweating and already ready to take a nap.
But she'd have to stay awake to maintain her scholarship.

Her gaze drifted to the Stein mansion, as she glided down the side walk.

It had been about a week since she'd visited.

She took a swig from her water bottle, and concentrated on the long trip ahead.

■■■

A click sounded as Marina secured her bike lock, determined not to let the jocks place it atop the bell tower again.

She trudged towards the entrance, her calves taut as she scaled the small flight of steps.

"Oh! Hey Marina! Wanna join my club? I only need 4 members to make it official."

Marina was met with a bright eyed Gert, and a purple flyer (purple, go figure).

The two had been friendly since Marina's acceptance to atlas, almost as if the cord that held them together as childhood friends was hanging on by a thread.

"Uh.. yeah, I mean I'm really busy with my college search, earning extra credit but, I'll think about it Gert."

Marina told the purple haired girl, guiltily ignoring the hope in her eyes.

"Okay, well, awesome."

And with that, Gert moved on to the next teen nearby.

She felt bad blowing her off, but Gert's favorite flavor of activism was much different from hers.

"We hear so much lip service about women's empowerment, as if women aren't already powerful, but, I mean, do you ever hear anyone talking about masculine authority?"

Marina pressed her forehead into her desk, willing Gert's speech to end sooner.

The cool wood felt pleasant against her aching head.

Maintaining control was... exhausting.

She felt eyes on her, and looked to Chase, who quickly pretended he hadn't been staring at her in a concerned manner.