It is 7:00 am and my alarm clock does not stop ringing, which means that in five minutes, or less, my mom will be knocking at my door, screaming my name and saying "Hurry up, you are going to be late".
- If you don't get up immediately, I'm not going to wait for you Mary! – she shouts as she opens the door. I was totally right.
I bet that everyone is probably still sleeping; besides, I usually don't take much time to prepare myself. I got up from bed when I heard the footsteps of my mother going down the stairs. In a rush, I went to the bathroom to wash my face. Then, I looked in my closet for a t-shirt I bought last week and a pair of jeans. After putting on my trainers, I went to the kitchen downstairs to have breakfast. I don't see the point of eating so early, sometimes I get nauseous, so most of the times I choose to eat only a piece of fruit.
- Is that all you're going to eat... Again? – my father looked at me almost laughing, as he ate two buttered toast and drink his coffe.
- First of all, good morning. Second of all, dear father, I'm tired of explaining that I get sick when I eat too much for breakfast. I'm not like you guys! How can you keep so much food in your stomach in the morning for so long? – I said to him as I leaned against the kitchen sink, giving the first bite on the apple.
- You're so stupid, food is the best thing in the word! – my brother laughed at me while eating his super-hero cereals. Ridiculous.
- Thomas, language. I already told you, do not call names to your sister. And the same goes to you Mary. - my mom showed up on the door holding her handbag, as she grabbed her coat from the hanger.
- I know mom, I know. Anyways, today after school Emily is coming here. We are going to start a new project about "How to live with someone who has a serious mental disease".
My mother started asking a lot of questions, giving her opinion on the subject. She had a point: is there any mental disease that isn't serious? She is a lawyer so she always has a lot of questions, and she is used to give her opinion on every subject. Not to mention that she starts talking about it like if she was at court. Seriously.
I could keep describing you the rest of my daily morning but that would be boring. To be honest, my whole life is a boredom, except for the fact that I have amazing friends, who love to hang out together. We are almost ending senior year and going to college. How awesome is that? High school is almost over, and each one of us will follow a different path and different dreams. Now that I think of it, it is not that awesome...
I have known my best friend Emily for as long as I can remember. We always went to the same school, and despite of not being in the same class, we still are very close, since the first day. I have other friends, like William, Tracy, Olivia and Diego. They are not as close as Emily is, but they are from my class and we developed a good friendship between all of us.
Of course, I have to talk about Nick. There are probably a lot of things that I could say about Nick, which makes this harder. I met him three years ago, when he and his family moved to the neighborhood. In fact, he lives four houses after mine. I only figured that out after his parents brought me home from a party, where I met him. When I was near the front door, some guy showed up and started asking questions like he knew me. To be fair, he seemed really nice and he was cute. He was wearing a Nirvana t-shirt and black jeans with a pair of Adidas footwear. I could never forget what he looked like, and despite being drunk, I still knew how to appreciate a guy. He had brown hair and brown eyes, and he seemed a little nervous. Honestly, that night I was so rude to him and I still feel bad about it, because he was just trying to help me, even though we didn't know each other. We got really close and he always supported me in every possible way. In case you are all asking, we are just friends. I had a boyfriend back then and things did not turn out the way I expected. Besides, Nick has a girlfriend, Charlotte. That is not the point because I wouldn't date him either way. Or would I? I mean, he is very cute but he is my best friend. Emily and he are very supportive to me and I wouldn't choose to lose him or to change things between us just because of some random relationship that would ruin our friendship. Let's be frank, even if I had feelings for him, he is out of my league.
I went to my room to grab my leather jacket and my schoolbag. Even though I got up later, I got prepared first than my mom. I had to wait for almost twenty minutes! School begins at 8:30am, and despite of what my mom thinks, I do not like to arrive late. Like, never. I'm very punctual, my friends laugh at me and make jokes because I'm the first to arrive at our get-togethers.
Me and my parents have an amazing relationship. I trust them, and I always try to do my best to make them proud. That is one of the main reasons why I signed up for ballet classes when I was eleven, but I quit when I was on freshman year. I totally hated it but it made my parents happy and I tried to succeed at that. Which is ironic because I practically suck at everything. My brother is eight years old now, and he always was the type of kid that never shuts up. He is very chatty, always laughing, even at school, the teachers love him. Whenever I pick him up at school, he is with a girl that catches my eye: blonde, blue eyes, most of the times wearing skirts and dresses. They always have a goodbye kiss, in the cheek, and I find it so sweet. If that is not charming at his age, I don't know what is.
I arrived at school and Emily was waiting for me, near the gate. William was already with her, and I could see Tracy arriving behind me.
My mom opened up the window to talk to Emily and I grabbed my stuff to go meet her. Emily' mom went to the same college as my mother and they are really good friends.
- Hey Mrs. Parker! Can Mary spend the night at my place next weekend? My cousins are coming to town for my father' birthday and she already knows them. – Honestly, I'm not excited about the weekend. Me and Emily are going to this party before prom, but I bet she is going to take William too and I'm going to end up alone. Big surprise.
- Yes, sure Emily. We can talk about it later, I'm already late for work. See you girls later! – my mom works in a new firm that has opened in the town. She already told me that my family would like to see me follow the same path as her: the law. For their misfortunes, I will never become a lawyer like my mom. That is completely out of question, and my dream always was becoming a psychologist. Funny fact: Nick wants to be a psychologist too.
Emily could not stop talking about how wild the party was going to be. I was not that interested, but she asked me to go with her, and I couldn't say no to my best friend. She has this wild spirit and loves to go to parties and dancing (and drinking, but shhh). Thinking on the bright side, everyone was going to be there, maybe someone could ask me to go to prom. Kind of impossible but a girl can dream right?
- So, next month is prom. Have you picked your dress yet? – she tried to cheer me up talking about the perfect outfit for the night but she knew that I did not had nobody to go. Ten more minutes before the bell rings and I all we talked about was prom. Tedious.
- No, but I really don't care. My mother wants me to go to a new shop that opened in the town but I'm not excited about it. – I thought of I wearing a pair of jeans and a blouse but that would be too bad.
- Mary you have to go! This is one of the most important stages in our life. You have to cheer up. Listen, my dress is so perfect! I can't believe my mom actually bought it because it was a bit expensive. My father helped, but I think he won't come to see me. – Emily's parents are divorced and her father lives in Canada with her stepmother. I would freak out if my parents ever got divorced.
- At least you have someone to go with. I don't see the point of going to buy a dress if I'm going alone. It's clearly that I have no one to impress. But I'm very happy for you and William! – William is Nick's best friend. I already knew him before meeting Nick but I only got close to him a couple of years ago.
- I'm sure you'll find someone. Why don't you just ask Nick? You guys are best friends. There's nothing wrong with that. – I can't believe she ever suggested that. That was doubtless the worst solution ever.
- Are you serious right now? I would never! Further, he is going with Charlotte. There's no way I would ask him just because I don't want to go alone. It's fine, it's just a stupid prom.
- A stupid prom? A lot can happen in one night. Just don't get your hopes down yet. If you can't find anyone to go with, I'll make sure you have a great time with me and William! And I swear we won't make you watch us kissing the whole night. - Emily was just trying to be a good friend but I really didn't want to ruin her night.
- Like I said, it's just a stupid prom. Who cares? - I tried to look uninterested but the truth is that everyone was waiting for this night. Not only to get rid of this damn school, but to spend the night with someone who is important to them. I know that I'm going to be with all of my friends but still, it hurts to see that everyone has someone special to spend their night with, and I'm just here. WHATEVER, I'm happy that way.
When I dated James two years ago, my life got really messy. James was the kind of guy you do not want to mess with. He was very bad news but I guess back then I didn't realized it, even though I should have. It was one of the hardest times of my life and when I think of it, I feel bad because I know that it was also my fault... I was completely blind. He is disgusting and the thought of dating him is the worst memory ever. I'm glad I had my parents, Emily and Nick, otherwise this story would have ended very badly.
My mother gives really good advices and she once told me: Being in a relationship is hard and you have to do a lot of efforts but it is also rewarding. I never felt that way with James. But there's no need to talk about disgraces right now.
- Look, it's Nick. – Emily told me as she grabbed her schoolbag and started walking to the hallway besides William. They are the cutest couple in school, ever! I can't believe they are already nominated for queen and king of the prom. Amazing.
- Emily, I'll meet you for lunch. Please do not forget my appointments again! I need them for tonight. – I saw Emily and William entering the hallway and I waited for Nick outside. He was coming with Charlotte holding hands. I don't really know her that well and honestly I don't want to. She once did something to me but that is irrelevant, we were on freshman year and it turned out to be a misunderstanding. From what I've heard, she previously cheated on her boyfriend but if Nick likes her and is happy, so am I. They have been dating for one year now and in my opinion she will make Nick suffer. I hope I'm wrong.
- Look who finally arrived on time! That's a miracle Nick don't you think? – I laughed at him and he dropped Charlotte' hands to hug me. I remember this one time that she did a huge scene at a party because she was jealous of me and Nick. I'm happy that he made clear that he wasn't going to stop being friends with me because of her jealously. That's what I like more about Nick: he is very independent, has his own opinions and doesn't let anyone persuade him. Only me when I want to go to the coffee shop near our neighborhood that he hates. For the record, I hate coffee, but they have incredible croissants!
- Good morning Mrs. Punctual, I'm sorry if not everyone arrives on time like you! – he put his arms around me, kissing my cheek at the same time. We hugged, which is pretty common between us. Charlotte was checking her phone and just when I was kissing Nick' cheek, the bell rang. Bad timing.
- Hey Mary, I'll see you after History. Call me when the class ends. – Nick said to me as he waved goodbye. He and Charlotte are from the same class as Emily and me and William stayed in a different one. Thanks school!
I hate Professor Susan. She teaches History, which I love, but she is very strict and even if we have an A, she gives a B, and that is totally ridiculous because I surely deserve the freaking A. On the other side, Professor Aurora is one of the smartest and caring people I've ever met. She teaches Psychology and she is one of the reasons I want to be a psychologist. Nick and Emily have a different teacher but Nick also fell in love with Psychology as much as I did. Emily wants to go to Stanford University to study Neurobiology. Not only she can afford it, but she is really clever and ambitious. She always achieves her dreams, struggling or not. Me and Nick always talked about going to University of California, in Los Angeles to study Psychology.
The problem is, Charlotte wants to go to Harvard and study Law, because it's a tradition in her family. She once told me that my mom did not have the same studies as her family did, despite having the same profession. Yeah girl, sorry if my mom could not afford Harvard. See why I say that Nick is going to suffer? Anyway, she is trying to convince him to go with her, but he really wants to go to Los Angeles and study there. In my opinion, sometimes we have to follow our dreams, even if we are apart from our loved ones. But who am I right? My family did not go to Harvard so I have no right opinion on the subject.
I sat down in my place, and for my surprise, Dylan talked to me. He is very shy but once you are friends with him, he can be the funniest person you ever know!
- Hey... Mary. I want to ask you something. – he looked really nervous and I started thinking "what the hell have I done?!"
- Good morning, what is it? Do you want my appointments? – I started laughing because he is the smartest person in our class.
- Funny one, no, I was just wondering if... - he paused and passed his hand by his hair. – Do you want to go to prom with me? I know that this can sound unpredictable but I really thought we could go together and have fun. - I thought about it for about two seconds, and I obviously accepted. I could not believe that this was happening to me. Dylan freaking Hampshire asking me to go to prom with him.
- Yes sure! Thank you so much for inviting me Dylan. I feel really delighted with the invite. It's going to be a great night. – I really was happy. I mean, who would invite me anyway? Also, he is very nice and kind, does voluntary work (which I appreciate a lot) and is the best student in our class. Seriously, he knows all the shit that is happening in our world. And I mean, daily. He is Australian, but moved to America when he was three years old. Of course that he is hot, don't even bother to ask! I immediately sent Emily a text saying "Dylan asked me out. Prom night is gonna rock!!" What a way to start the day.
Is this luck that I'm getting right now? After all, someone is up there looking out for me! I'm religious but when it comes to luck and good things happening... I like to think that my guardian angel is taking a day off. Everyday.