The sharp ring of my alarm clock pulled me from my deep sleep suddenly at five the next morning. I let out a groan, my lips never parting, and sat up blearily. Zebra-print duvet fell away, and I leaned down and turned my fan off, placing my feet on the ground unwillingly and standing.
Coffee. That's the only thing that was on my mind as I walked across the room and flicked on my closet light. I opened my door quietly and made my way across the landing.
The house was chilly and dark. I kicked on the thermostat, and flicked on the kitchen light. My mom was still asleep, since she didn't have work until eleven. I popped a little single-serve cup into the Keurig, and brewed my favourite, white-chocolate mocha. I carried it back to my room, closing my mum's door softly on the way because I like to play music when I get ready.
Setting my cup down on my bookshelf, I pulled my pyjamas off and walked into my bathroom. I have a tiny bathroom connected to my bedroom with a shower/bath combo, a toilet, and a sink. Once I turned the shower on to heat up, I unscrewed the top of my favourite mud mask, and applied a quick layer before I jumped under the stream and began to wash.
A twinge of excitement twisted in my stomach as I let my mind wander to the day ahead of me. Right about now, Coach was filling the field painter with white paint to stripe the field. I was so ready to win this game.
I stepped out of the shower, towelled off, and, completely naked, I blow dried my hair and removed my mask.
I pulled on a pair of white lace panties and a blue bra, my clothes that I laid out yesterday, and my white converse. My poofy, freshly-washed hair was pulled into a bun, which I tugged and pinned until it reached the satisfactory level of messiness.
It was 6:24 now, so I sat at my makeup table. On it sat my lighted makeup case, which closed up to look like a small, plastic suitcase. I used to use it for dance competitions, but I haven't done one of them in a year. I applied foundation, concealer, bronzer, blush, eye shadow, eye liner, mascara, and filled in my eyebrows.
What can I say, I like to look good?
By the time I finished, it was 6:48, so I grabbed my phone, my wallet, and my school bag, and hurried down the stairs. Of course Jeremy was here right at 6:50, the punctual bugger.
I closed and locked the door behind me. It was surprisingly brisk outside, and in the pale light, I walked down the stone path to his car to escape the nippy air. His little Mini convertible barely contained all of us. Alex, Jeremy, Gordon, Sam, and I were a big load. Four muscular football players, plus a me equals a cramped car.
"Chandler!" Alex opened the back door and stepped out so I could climb into the middle seat. Sam smiled blearily over at me from the other seat, wearing sweats, a henley, Toms, and a beanie. Cute little hipster boy. I scooted in beside him, and sat my bag at my feet.
"Good morning!" I said brightly, greeting my friends with a smile. Jeremy waved from the driver's seat, Gordon beside him in the passenger seat. It was a little chilly in the backseat.
"Hey, doll," Jeremy replied as he pulled away from the curb and began the short ride to the McDonalds. I shivered, my bare legs feeling the chill. Alex's jacket was tucked in between the two of us, so I grabbed it and spread it over my legs.
"Everybody, same orders?"
Everyone said yes, of course. We got the same orders every time. I get four sausage McGriddles, two hash browns and a Coke.
The drive-thru was deserted as we pulled in and ordered. Jeremy new the orders like the back of his hand, "I need ten breakfast burritos, four sausage McGriddles, ten hash browns, two hot cake plates, two Cokes, a Dr. Pepper, and two sprites."
Thirty five minutes and thirty dollars later, we piled out of the car in the school parking lot, each of struggling to hold our massive amounts of food, plus our school bags. Alex's brown coat was also sat over the tops of my shoulders, via Alex himself as we hastily hurried to enter the gym, where the entire student body was contained until we had our first classes.
We sat in the bleachers and finished what was left of our food, talking about random crap.
Eventually, we were joined by my bestfriend, Keiden, and her boyfriend, Brandon, who was also on the footie team but he was a year younger than us. Keiden is a very pretty girl with very short, blonde hair, and striking grey eyes. She had this really cool, edgy look. Maybe it was the fact that her hair was really short and cool, or maybe it's because she ha this cool, punk'd-out style.
"Hey, doll," She said, plopping down beside me. We only became friends because we both screamed at the same teacher when he called an autistic girl slow, and got kicked out of class because of it. True story.
I swallowed my last bite of McGriddle and lifted my chin in greeting, "Wotcher."
She rolled her eyes. I ignored her, leaning around her to toss my trash into the bin beside the bleachers. Absently, I noticed Brandon giving me an odd stare, which was odd. He was usually a very chill person to everyone. Maybe it wasn't meant for me. Whatever.
I leaned back on Sam's legs, pulling my phone from the pocket of my shorts with difficulty. They were tight, you see. I half expected to get dress-coded this morning in the way in. Anywho, I tapped in my passcode and clicked the Instagram app, scrolling through my busy feed, liking a picture here and there.
"So, like, how much is it to get into the game tonight?" Keiden asked, picking absently at the hole on the knee of her jeans. I looked up, "Five dollars, but you can stay after school with me and just be the water girl."
She nodded, "Alright. Do I get to get out early and eat Nando's with the team?"
Someone groaned behind us.
"Nando's again?" grumbled Alex, who was the most high maintenance of group. He like to get what he wanted.
I answered both of them, "Yes, and yes."
The end of my answer was drowned out by the cry of the school bell. The gym exploded in a flurry of activity as students made their way to their first classes of the day. Brandon and Keiden shared a quick kiss, and waved to the rest of us, before walking over to join his classmates. The rest of us traveled in a big pack, splitting up only when we had grab something from our lockers. Then we headed to our first class.
•
"Jesus, that was rough!" I groaned as we exited the classroom of the physics teacher, Mr.Bealle. He was one of the strictest teachers in the school, plus he taught one of the toughest subjects there is. All in all, he is one of the most despised humans in the entire school. My next class was Language Arts, and I had it with Keiden. We made our way through the halls, and into the classroom of Mrs.Boyd. She was my favourite teacher, firm but kind. She had short hair and skin of dark, rich brown.
We sat down in the back of the classroom, not even bothering to get our books out. The coach would call for us nearly right after the bell.
Just as we predicted, the all-call speakers crackled to life soon after Ms.Boyd set us a short writing prompt.
"Will the football team please join Coach Kellar in room A-14, please?"
Ms.Boyd barely look up when the two of us stood and slung our bags over our shoulders, "Good luck, Ms.Horan."
We hurried through the halls, into the unused classroom that smelled of fast food. Most of the team had already arrived, and Justin was distributing food. All of the desk were occupied, so we sat on the floor beside our little group from this morning. Justin handed us each a chicken sandwich and a packet of chips, and offered us an assortment of sodas.
We dug in, eating quickly. The excitement was building in the room. Everyone was ready to get on the field, and kick the other team's arse. Coach stood at the head of the room and spoke to us while we ate.
"When you finish, you guys have three hours to work out in the weight room, then, at three, we are going to go get ready. I have a quick meeting, so I will join with you at three."
A few mumbled answers rose, and Coach disappeared through the door. As soon as people began to finish their food, they began to make their way to the locker room to change into work out clothes. Keiden and I walked to the girls locker room together, cutting through the girls P.E. class in the process.
"So, like, is Kellar going to care if I pass out water bottles?" Keiden asked, lounging on the bench while I pulled on some black shorts and a black tank top, and my tennis shoes, stuffing my clothes into my gym bag all willy-nilly.
I shook my head, pulling a ponytail from my school bag, "No, Justin will be happy for some help."
She nodded, and followed behind me like a puppy to the weight room.