beep. beep. beep.
My alarm made the most obnoxious sound this morning. Although it was the same set of shrill beeps that I heard every morning, this morning was by far the worst.
Today was my first day at my new school, and I was not excited. No junior in their right mind would be excited to go to back to high school, let alone if it was a new school altogether.
Unwillingly, I slumped out of bed and into my bathroom to take a shower. The cold water stung like a thousand bees, but my mom and I couldn't afford the cost of a water heater. At least, not yet. My mom and I had moved to Los Angeles, California, to help me pursue a career in acting. I signed up for theatre classes at school, hoping it would be enough to get my feet wet and establish some connections.
"Katherine!" My mom yelled from the kitchen. I quickly got out of the shower, dried off, and threw on a robe.
"Hey, mom," I said, entering the kitchen. I could see that she had prepared a breakfast of eggs and toast for me.
"Oh, I hope you do eat up quick," she began. "You'll have to leave in half an hour!"
"I'm fine," I said with a mouthful of toast. After a disapproving look came my way, I swallowed before speaking again. "I've already picked out my outfit for today, and my makeup doesn't take me that long."
I finished my breakfast, thanked my mom, and rushed to my room with about 25 minutes to spare. I threw on a white Beatles t-shirt and some mom jeans, then rolled the cuffs up a bit and put a scrunchie on my wrist. I tied my black converse high tops extra tight and ran a brush through my curly, voluminous hair.
With 15 minutes remaining, I brushed my teeth and put on some mascara, eyeshadow, concealer, and lip gloss. I rushed to where my bookbag was sitting. I had everything except... oh! I went to my dresser, grabbed my Walkman, and tossed it into my bag.
"Don't be late," my mom warned as she kissed my forehead on my way out the door.
"I won't," I promised. Once I was outside, I put the kickstand off my bike up and got on. Before taking off, I put my Sergeant Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band cassette into my Walkman and placed the headphones over my ears.
Even if today were to be the worst day in the world, The Beatles would be able to help me get through it. And with that, I took off.