Sunday was the wine and dine, so came Monday's back to school.

Waking up, I feel more relaxed and happier than I have in a week. Having spent hours with the strange texts on my mind, I'm trying hard to think of the best-case scenario. Maybe it's one of my friends just playing a prank on me, or a rando who got my number. It's almost Halloween so the idea doesn't seem far-fetched. Well, I'm going to try to get one inch closer to the truth today and hopefully, things will end with a laugh.

I can feel a stupid smile glide on my lips as I sit up in bed. I probably look like a smiling pufferfish with my messy bed-hair and bloated morning face.

Why was I even so happ- ohh, yaahhh. Right. Jacob Peterson.

I feel the air around me grow warm and light as if I had woken up in a floating flower cloud with the heavenly rays of the sun shining down upon me.

No, no, no. I shake my head to disbanded myself from imagination land.

It's not like I like him or anything. I mean he's cute and smart, but like it's not even a crush, even though I do think he's nice and-

Oh, what am I thinking!

I shoot up, getting completely rid of any lingering thoughts. A wide yawn escapes from my mouth as I stretch my hands up into the air. When all the breath is released, I instinctively rub my eyes open to look at the big ruby-red apple clock that adorns the wall above my door.

It's exactly 7:30.

A.M. of course.

I strip off my clothes, hop in for a quick shower in my bathroom, brush my teeth, and then attempt to get dressed for the thousandth time.

I find myself stuck between the hard decision of a black and gold knee-long skirt with knee-high black or white socks and the black and gold button up; the knee-length blue and gold khakis with the blue and gold button-down; or the black and gold matching pantsuit. Oh, the variety.

The outfits were the only available options according to the school dress code and each student was gifted the wearables. Well, the boys didn't have the skirt pick out, but, you get the idea.

My discontent with the bland and oppressive dress code is why I started a school-wide campaign to abolish them once and for all. I know lots of kids hate them too. With luck and a majority vote from the school board, it would pass. But for now, these.

With a dissatisfied "hmmph" I settled on the knee-high black socks with the black and gold knee-long skirt and the black and gold button-up.

Honestly, why did I even bother? After three years of consistent uniformity, why am I still carefully considering these lame options?

Lianna, you are an idiot. For three years you've put time and effort into choosing out of four identical outfits. What the hell is wrong with you? You know what, starting today I'm gonna dress in a pattern. Black socks with the skirt today, the khakis tomorrow, white socks the next, then pantsuit- wait no, not the pantsuit, it looks absolutely fucking ridiculous, pantsuits gone, no more- so the white socks and skirt will finish. And then, I'll do it all over again until the code is gone for good.

I get on my black suedes, do my hair into a high ponytail, and put on mascara. After that, I head downstairs, grabbing my phone and backpack on the way out of my room.

When I reach the stairs, hypocritical thoughts always come to my mind. I hate the idea of over wealthy sharks (my parents), but I love what they've done with their money (the house). The staircase is absolutely gorgeous. Shining mahogany steps, smooth double-sided railings, and an elegant spiral leading all the way down. It's wide enough to fit ten of me on each stair and winding enough that you can't see the bottom until you get to the 5th to last one.

Entering the dining, I am greeted by both my parents and Mary. The smell of hot coffee drifts in the air and the buttery aroma of eggs and pancakes dances in my nostrils. My stomach grumbles and my mouth begins to water.

I quickly take a seat opposite Mother Father and Mary places a plate before me. My eyes savor the fluffy, light brown pancakes and the golden yellow of folded omelet before me. Then, I dig in.

'Lianna, whatch your manners," my mother chides.

I slow down a little but more or less continue to inhale my breakfast. When I'm done, I bring my plate up to the kitchen sink before Mary can get to it. She catches my eye to playfully shake her head at me and then makes my coffee.

"Thanks, Mary."

I grab it on my way out the door and take a sip of the steamy, creamy, sweet beverage. God, she makes the best mix.

The morning is the type of chilly that a warm sweater would fix. I stop to pull my Maywood jacket out of my bag. The hoodie surrounds me in darkness when I drape it over my head and for a second, a chill runs downy back. I brush it off as the wind and continue walking.

Thankfully, nothing strange happens on the way. I come to the white, stony path that is lined by scarlet and tawny painted leaves. Students dressed in darks and gold dot the way at its entrance. The further along I walk, the more clusters of bodies there are, and the bigger the giant, vista building grows. Black and gold decorate the tops of the three-story building and the windows which row across are designed as curved rectangles. The campus stretches around acres of greenery, with every type of sports field included. There is even a separate building for the swimming pool (with an inside gym), library, and recreation.

In a steely black, the letters Maywood Preparatory High School splay on a sign and across the front on the school building.

I bask in the piney-woodsy aroma that engulfs the air. Even stepping through the glass doors and into the bright, high-ceiling indoors, the smell floats in every particle. I walk past the cream-colored walls and over fallow-died tiles to my locker at the east end of the first floor. The early bell rings after I retrieve my MacBook and I check my phone.

With only 10 minutes to spare, I head to my first period, World History. It's my favorite class. That, the coffee, and the upcoming confrontation were making today a very jittery morning.

I take a seat in the front row and notice that three of my close friends weren't here. Are they up to something?

More and more desks start filling up. Then just as the final bell rings, they all arrive together. All the seats near me are taken and there are none left close together, so they sit separately at opposite ends of the room. Crista sits in furthest corner in the back, Nathan is smack dab in the middle of the room, and Chris is in the last seat in the second row.

I try to catch their eyes but they keep looking in the opposite direction. Unfortunately, I don't have telepathy. Great. Now I have to wait till the end of class.

Mr. Oliver greets us with his powerful, yet humble voice. "Good morning everyone, please turn to page 69 in your textbooks."

Half the class giggles, and normally I would too.

Through his large circle-frame glasses, Mr. Oliver gives a stern look, but there's a playfulness in his blue eyes. He's still young after all- only twenty-seven- and so he relates to us pretty well.

"Alrighty, let's settle down." The laughs fade away. "I'll be on the top." He pauses, reflecting on what he said and tries to fight a smirk. He loses and a soft chuckle escapes his lips, then the rest of the class joins again.

This time, I'm laughing as well.

After a while, he regains his composure.

"Okay, okay, guys. Really now."

Once the class is quiet, he begins and I intensely follow along in my notes.

"Between 1756 and 1763, The Seven Years' War..."

************************************

"So, very not funny guys."

Crista, Nathan, Chris, and I walk slowly together to the second floor.

"Huh?" Chris says.

"What'd we do?" Nathan asks.

"Yeah, what's not funny?" Crista enforces.

"C'mon guys, " I known you've been following me home and you got a number to send me weird texts."

I'm looking at them, but they are all serious. I can always tell when they're lying and right now, I'm grasping for straws.

"Lia, we haven't been doing that. Well, at least not that I know of, speaking for myself."

Nathan and Liam agree with her. Well, if it wasn't one of them, then who?

They all look very concerned now.

"Lia, do you think you're in danger?" Nathan's tone holds so much worry, it frightens me.

Was I really in trouble?

"No, it's probably just some prankster, you know, with Halloween and all," I say that to ease them, but it's more for my reassurance.

"Oh, this is me." I stop at my chemistry class. "Don't worry about it though, I'll see you guys later."

I attempt a happy smile and step alone into the doors.

Inside, I try my hardest to concentrate on sigma bonds, but the thought of the unknown sender on my phone flashes through my mind every now and then.