"Good morning, Artemis. Time to rise and shine." Purred a soft voice as light flooded my room. I groaned, pulling the sheets over my head, cursing the early morning sun. It was Monday and my first day of school. I wasn't at all interested in leaving my bed.
"Artemis, you need to get up now if you want breakfast. Mal is downstairs already." Elle tugged the blankets off of the bed and set to tidying around my mess of a room. Elle was my new guardian. She was very young for a mom but from what I gathered from Mal, she couldn't have children and that's why she and her husband took in fosters like us. I didn't mind. Out of all the fosters I've dealt with Elle was by far the best. She was very kind, understanding, and had a quirky sense of humor. You couldn't help but love her.
I sighed heavily and sat up to stretch. "I'm up. What's for breakfast?" I glanced up at Elle through squinted eyes and a mass of unruly auburn curls. Elle stopped what she was doing and stared at me for a moment before breaking into a huge grin and a fit of giggles. "You-y-you look- look like a-a total beast in the morning." I rolled my eyes and began running my fingers through my hair to bring some order to the tangled mass. "Well this beast is starving, so there better be bacon waiting for me." I growled, climbing out of bed and heading to my closet. Elle winked and then left me to get my daily routine done. I dressed, deciding on my dark skinnys, black ankle boots, and a shimmery gold tank under my black leather jacket. I tore my brush through my hair a few times before admitting defeat and just tossing it up in a messy bun. I put on my make up and then grabbed my messenger bag and headed downstairs.
Mal sat at the kitchen table leafing through a magazine and nibbling on a slice of bacon, her headphones blasting some sort of rap slash pop music. I rolled my eyes. I couldn't stand pop or rap of any kind. I preferred my dubstep and techno music. I grabbed a slice of bacon and hurried to the front door in hopes of not being noticed, but...
"Where are you going, Artemis?"
"School. Ya know, that big brick asylum you send minors to during the day? That's where I'm going."
Brent smiled. "Sounds grim." Brent was also young, with sandy blonde hair, light grey eyes, and a chiseled jaw. Once upon a time he must've been a total heart throb. Unlike Elle he was loud, opinionated, and a little rough around the edges. Definitely not someone to mess with.
"Well, I'm out. See ya-" I turned to leave but Brent cut me off.
"Oh, no you don't. Mal! Artemis is ready to go. You comin?" I groaned. Mal stepped out of the kitchen and strutted (yes, strutted) to the door. Mal was short, blonde, and blue eyed, with horns. Well, no horns that you could see at a glance. But she was a blue-eyed devil. Evil.
"I'm ready. I just wish Artemis wasn't always rushing me." She stuck out her bottom lip and gave Brent the puppy dog face. Poor guy didn't stand a chance. He turned to me and I braced myself.
"Artemis, you really shou-" I cut him off, pointing at the clock on the wall.
"As interesting as I'm sure that little speech was going to be, we really should be going." I grabbed Mal's arm and literally dragged her out the front door and to the car.
"Get off me, Ogre." She snapped, grabbing the hood of my car for support as her ankles wobbled dangerously in her six inch stilletos. Rolling my eyes internally, I released my death grip on her arm and slid in to the drivers seat. The drive to school was uneventful as I tuned out Mal's incessant rant about me staying away from her and pretending not to know each other. I nodded and spoke in single syllable sentences at the right times until we finally reached the parking lot.
"Drop me off at the front." Mal demanded, not looking up from her cell phone. I ignored her and whipped into the first spot I found.
"What are you doing? I said drop me off at the front. Are you deaf?" She snarled, glaring daggers at me. I smiled, unbuckling and opened my door to get out.
"I sorry. No habla dumb bitch." With that I swept out of the car and took off toward the school main entrance.