It was an early morning and I can hear my alarm ringing but I've been avoiding it for 10 minutes now. I clearly don't want to get up, especially not on this day. "Alice! Your alarm has been ringing for 15 minutes. Time to get up or you'll be late for your first day back at school." My mom called me from outside my room.
Okay, maybe more than 10 minutes I guess but who's counting?
"Coming mom." I groaned as I pulled the sheets away from me while I turned the alarm off and got up from bed. I yawned as I stretched my arms. This is going to be a long day....
I slowly walked downstairs, feeling sleep sinking in, I was startled when two pairs of small arms wrapped below my waist. I looked down and saw my younger brother Chris, smiling at me. "Good morning Alice!" He happily greeted me and I smiled back as I returned the hug. "And a good morning to you too little mister." I said, booping his tiny nose. He giggled and scurried away to sit down on the breakfast table.
I saw Jonathan sitting on the left side of the table, eating cereal while watching something on his phone. I shook my head at him while I grabbed a bowl from the cupboards and began to put cereal on it. He didn't seem to notice it but he'd better stop using his phone or else mom might spot him. Rule number one in this house: no electronics on the table. As mom would recall.
Breakfast was french toast, waffles, a bowl of vegetable salad and some scrambled eggs. While I poured milk on my bowl, I took a seat on the wooden chairs and smiled at Chris who was happily munching on his own bowl of cereal while his small hands grabbed another slice of french toast across the table. The backdoor was heard as my mom stepped inside, wearing her work attire which is a white chef's uniform. Her dark brown hair is tied in a high bun. Jonathan quickly put away his phone and acted like he hadn't been using it a while ago.
"You three better hurry up. I don't want to get stuck in traffic later on." She reminded us while she washed her hands in the sink. I took a piece of waffle on a plate and put some scrambled eggs on my french toast before eating my cereal. Chris sipped the milk down from his bowl and wiped his mouth. "DONE!" He called and hurriedly went upstairs to get changed. As I took five spoonfuls of cereal into my mouth, Jonathan finished his breakfast and also went upstairs, leaving all the dishes up to me. Great, just great. I rolled my eyes to no one.
As much as I didn't want to hurry, I gobbled down my cereal and finished eating my waffle and the french toast then brought all the dirty dishes at the sink to wash them. As soon as I finished cleaning the kitchen and dining room, I ran upstairs to my room to pick out the clothes I wanted to wear.
When I finally managed to pick the perfect back to school outfit, I heard the bathroom door open and saw Jonathan walk out, already wearing his clothes on. I quickly grabbed my bath towel and went inside the bathroom to get a nice shower. After taking a shower, I brushed my teeth and went back to my room to wear my clothes.
Finishing it up by brushing my hair, tying it up in a high ponytail leaving some curls on the sides, adding a dab of lip gloss to my lips and a light pink blush to my cheeks, I took a minute of my time to admire my reflection in the mirror. I look good, kinda...
I hurriedly packed my bag, putting in my school books, my phone and charger. My purse, notebooks, pens, markers and my sketchbook. Seems like I have everything. I wore my bag before I opened one of my drawers and brought out my new red headphones that dad bought for me last week.
"Alice, come on, your brothers are in the car." My mom spoke, startling me a bit before I nod my head at her in answer. We both went downstairs, locked the door before getting in the car and mom driving off the driveway.
___
The drive to school takes a little longer, depending on how heavy the traffic is. My brothers and I go to different schools. Since I've finished my elementary years in my previous school, which is Ninjago Elementary School, the school my two younger brothers are in. It's time for me to enter a new chapter in my life. Spending my four years at Ninjago High School, alone, with no one by my side. But I'm guessing I won't be alone?
Ninjago City, my hometown and the city I grew up in, has its hustle and bustle. The busy people, the hot atmosphere and oh, the heavy traffic in front of us. Of course, we can't forget about that. But besides all that hustle and bustle, I love the city parks, the tall buildings, the food and the citizens. Oh and did I ever tell you that there's no Ninjago City without the famous Secret Ninja Force? Yep, Ninjago City has its protectors, heroes dressed in multi-colored uniforms. Young heroes that I look up to since the day they arrived in our city. My mom turned on the radio, listening to Ninjago News interrupted my train of thought. The News is talking about the attack forecast we have today and it looks like there's a 90 percent chance of Garmadon attacking the city again today.
Oh yeah, I can't forget about the Garmadon attacks. When there are heroes, there's always a villain behind the story. Lord Garmadon, king of shadows and Lord of destruction. He has always been attacking Ninjago City. We named the attacks after him which is why they are called the Garmadon attacks. These attacks started when I was only 12 years old and they've been happening more frequently. They happen twice a day than before. I grew up getting used to them but since they've been happening more often now, I became more wary about it and about how Garmadon captures some of the citizens to work for him. It's creepy that he has to kidnap someone just to work for him.
I turned my head around to stop the intrusive thoughts that were going on in my head and saw Chris looking out the window. His little legs kicked softly as we passed big buildings and structures and that put a smile on my face. As for Jonathan, he had his headphones on while playing some mobile games on his phone but I didn't seem to mind him now. Jonathan can be a little distracted sometimes but when it comes to playing video games with him, he's very competitive. There was a time when dad bought us this new game we played last year and he challenged me to a 1v1 that I totally lost to. He was rubbing it in my face that I lost but I have to admit it was fun. Challenging but fun.
I sighed softly and turned my head up front. Beginning to get bored, I took out my phone from my bag. Turning the black screen on and seeing a wallpaper about the Green Ninja, my favorite Ninja by the way, I turned on Bluetooth mode and connected my headphones to my device.
With the headphones over my head, I scrolled through my music app to pick a song that I like. I listened to the song "Fifteen by Taylor Swift." I turned the volume up as I listened to it. The lyrics talk about the person's very first day of freshman year. Kinda like the same thing that's about to happen to me. I guess we're on the same page, huh?
___
You take a deep breath
And you walk through the doors
It's the morning of your very first day
You say hi to your friends you ain't seen in awhile
Try and stay out of everybody's way
It's your freshman year
And you're gonna be here for the next four years
In this town
Hoping one of those senior boys
Will wink at you and say
"You know I haven't seen you around, before"
'Cause when you're fifteen
And somebody tells you they love you
You're gonna believe them
And when you're fifteen
Feeling like there's nothing to figure out
Well, count to ten
Take it in
This is life before you know who you're gonna be
At fifteen
You sit in class next to a red-head named Abigail
And soon enough you're best friends
Laughing at the other girls
Who think they're so cool
We'll be out of here as soon as we can
And then you're on your very first date
And he's got a car
And you're feeling like flying
And your mama's waiting up
And you're thinking he's the one
And you're dancing 'round your room when the night ends
When the night ends
'Cause when you're fifteen
And somebody tells you they love you
You're gonna believe them
And when you're fifteen
And your first kiss makes your head spin around
Well, in your life you'll do things
Greater than dating the boy on the football team
I didn't know it at fifteen
When all you wanted
Was to be wanted
Wish you could go back
And tell yourself what you know now
Back then I swore I was gonna marry him someday
But I realized some bigger dreams of mine
And Abigail gave everything she had
To a boy who changed his mind
And we both cried
'Cause when you're fifteen
And somebody tells you they love you
You're gonna believe them
And when you're fifteen
Don't forget to look before you fall
But I've found time can heal most anything
And you just might find who you're supposed to be
I didn't know who I was supposed to be
At fifteen
La-la la-la la-la-la-la
La-la la-la la-la-la-la
La-la la-la
Your very first day
Take a deep breath girl
Take a deep breath as you walk through the doors
___
The car slowed down as my mom pulled over near a school's driveway. A lady with black hair, wearing a green blouse and light brown pants, stood on the pavement. My mom opened her door to step out, followed by my brothers who carried their bags behind them while I remained inside the car. While mom and the teacher talked for a few minutes, I decided to do a bit of sketching. Taking my pen out, I sketched the Green Ninja riding his dragon mech while being chased by Garmadon's shark generals. I was having a fun time, in my dreamy world, forgetting the fact that I'm gonna be late for school. Oh shoot! School! I turned my head towards my window and saw mom waving at my brothers and to the teacher before going back in the car. I pulled the window down so that I could wave goodbye to my brothers too. Mom waved at them again and yelled, "Have fun at school boys!" They heard mom's call and turned around to wave at us before we finally drove off to Ninjago High.
The feeling of nervousness is sinking in that I kept on shuffling my phone till my mom began to notice. "Are you feeling okay?" She began to ask me and I felt cold sweat dripping down my forehead but I tried to remain calm. "Yeah, I'm good," I lied. I hate it when I lie because once I do, she's one step ahead of me. I mean, she already knew the reason so why bother asking me if I'm feeling okay? Maybe she's just worried or she's just trying to make me feel better?
But it looks like she bought it. No, she didn't buy it. She hummed, "So, you ready for your first year of highschool?" She turned her head at me, waiting for an answer before looking back at the road when I didn't respond. There was a moment of silence before she said, "High School is fun sweetie. You'll love it. Sure it's a lot different now than before in my highschool years but trust me, it's fun Alice." She smiled while placing a hand on my shoulder.
"It sounds fun, but not as fun if- you know who is there. Ya know?" I said while slumping back into my seat, arms crossed. She looked at me with concern in her eyes, "I know. Your father and I tried to move you to a new school but we figured it'd be better for you to enroll at Ninjago High. Besides, it'll be a lot easier for you to get home during Garmadon attacks because there's a bus stop two blocks away from there." She finished before steering the wheel to take a right turn. We're almost at my school till we encountered a traffic jam, everyone started beeping their horns at each other including my mom who is in such a hurry to get to work. I pulled my window down and peeked my head to see what caused the traffic. This street never has traffic jams, something must be going on.
I peeked my head out and saw multiple cars lined up in front till I saw a red car at the very front where two people stood beside it, one of them scratched their head while the other was on the phone. Black smoke was coming out of the car's hood.
Through the noise of the traffic, I heard the school bell ring loudly. I froze. I'm gonna be late! I can't take this. "Mom," I faced her. "I'll just run to school." I told her and she looked a little hesitant. "Are you sure about that?" But I already took my seatbelt off and opened the door. "Yes, I'm sure. There's no time and I cannot be late for class. We're almost here anyways," I pointed and she followed my index finger where a white building stood two blocks away from me before she glanced back at me. "Okay, be safe. And here's your lunch. I already packed your favorite." She handed me my lunch through the open window and I leaned down closer to kiss her cheek. "Thanks mom. Love you!" I said before running off.
I ran as quickly as I could, breathing heavily as I glanced over at the traffic to my left. It wasn't that long. When I finally reached the red car, the cloud of black smoke hovered in the air as the two guys who stood near it tried to prevent it from smoking again. I carried my lunch as I checked my phone to see the time. I am running late! Darn this traffic, I only have 20 minutes left! I reached for my bag so that I could put my phone and lunch inside. I was too distracted to even watch where I was going when I accidentally crashed into someone.
I fell to the ground harshly, my butt hitting the ground too hard. My head throbbed with pain as I put a hand to ease it off. My bag slid of my shoulder during my fall.
"Are you okay?"
My ears pricked to the sound of that voice. It was a boy. I opened my eyes slightly to see who it was but the sun was blocking my view, making it hard for me to see who was in front of me. All I could see was a black shadow with a tint of green and pale yellow color.
That's when school entered my mind. "Oh shoot! I'm gonna be late!" I worriedly said as I grabbed my bag and quickly ran in the direction of the school before shouting, "Sorry!" I didn't dare look back. It was the most embarrassing thing I've done, especially on the first day of school. I finally reached the school building and picked up the pace to the small steps of the school's main entrance. Pushing the big heavy doors, I quickly search for my classroom.
Reaching for my bag, I found it was open. "I must've forgotten to zip it when I was back in the car. I hope nothing fell out during my run." I furrowed my brows in worry as I took out the white paper my mom gave to me. It was a list of schedules and classes I need to attend to everyday.
I ran softly down the hallway, making sure that no one was present during my late arrival. I turned to my right and saw a class door wide open. "This has to be it," I said to myself. Sounds of laughter and chattering was heard inside while I saw the teacher standing in front of the board with a desk beside her. Feeling a little hesitant to go in, I took a few seconds of my time before I softly knocked on the door. The teacher standing near the desk heard me and smiled as she saw me standing outside. I waved awkwardly, "It's okay, you can come in." She called to me like I was a small little puppy to her and motioned for me to come inside.
I took a deep breath as I stepped to enter the class. I looked a little to my right and saw many pairs of eyes watching me. I immediately looked away as my nervousness sinked in before I faced the teacher, "Sorry for being the last one to come in. There was a heavy traffic going on earlier, I hope I'm not late ma'am." I apologized politely. "Oh no, of course not. You came at just the right time dear." She said to me nicely.
Phew! Glad I made it on time. "You should better take a seat now cause' we're about to start. How about you sit right next to that new girl over there to your left." She pointed. I nodded and sat down beside her.
I took notice of the new girl and was quite impressed with how she dressed. She wore purple jogging pants and a pair of white sneakers while at her top, she wore a blue t-shirt with white stripes. Her curly blonde hair is loose, cascading down her shoulder. Lastly, she wore round silver glasses over her gray eyes. On her right wrist, she wore three pastel bracelets and on her left wrist wore a purple watch to match her pants.
But other than that, she's very quiet and didn't even hear or notice me sitting down next to her. Gosh! Am I invisible to her? I thought. But that was interrupted when the teacher clapped her hands to catch our attention, "Good morning everyone! My name is Grace and I'll be your teacher this year." Miss Grace introduced herself to the class. "Since it's everyone's first day of freshman year and I can already see a few new faces, would anyone like to stand up in front and introduce yourselves to the whole class. That way, we can all know each other better!" She exclaimed and many groans and complaints from other students were heard. I can agree to them because I know how that feels but hopefully Miss Grace wouldn't let everyone stand up in front. It will take us some time and I just wished she wouldn't call my name. Oh please First Spinjitzu Master, don't let me be another embarrassment to my whole class. I pleaded. Introducing yourself in front of the whole class is not my type. I might probably mix my words and be humiliated.
When a brave student walked to the front, I turned my head behind me to see everyone. The teacher was right. There are some new students this year. As I kept looking, I noticed a girl with golden blonde hair sitting in the middle, not far away from. She was actually three seats away from me. I should've turned the other way because the girl was facing the front, her green eyes focused on the teacher. It was the person I never wanted to see. I quickly looked away and pretended like I never saw her, "Why Lexy? Why is she here?" I said to myself nervously. The girl who loves to bully me is in the same class as I'm in. How on earth am I going to avoid her? She knows where I live, what my fears are and she would do anything just to humiliate me. All of the bad memories I got from her during my elementary school years came rushing back.
I buried my face in my hands. I'm doomed. There's no chance I'll be getting away from her. One wrong mistake you'd do to her and then she'll rip you off.
All of this negative thinking kept bugging me as I tried to focus on the teacher. I just hope that Lexy won't notice that I'm here. Too late, she already did.