Song: Shot For Me; Drake ft. The Weeknd

'May your neighbours respect you, trouble neglect you, angels protect you and heaven accept you.'

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            The next morning loomed over as quickly as I lay my head on pillow the night before. Rare rays of sunlight slipped through the curtains and shone on my bed sheets. I groaned in frustration, the fog of sleep still playing with my eyes, hitting me with a battering force, pushing my eyelids back down. I pushed my comforter off my body as I watched it fly in mid air right before it plonked on the other side of the bed.

           I wish there were better ways to start the first Monday of school of the year, but I could already feel it being as cliché and as boring as every other year. After all, it was undeniably the last year for all 16-year-olds in school. Next year, each and every single one of us would have to part ways and see where our dreams and parents' expectations brought us to.

           Slipping into the shower, I scrubbed myself quickly so I'd have more time to pick out my outfit. It was undeniably the most hefty task for every teenage girl. After my expeditious shower, I stepped in front of closet, a towel wrapped around my body and arms crossed, imagining myself in every outfit combination, picking the best one for the day. Gathering my thoughts, I finally chose a simple red crop top and a denim skirt to go together with it.

            Being a person who has minimal care for my facial looks, I lazily swiped colorless lip balm and pulled my short dark hair into a high ponytail. I packed a notebook and my pencil case. Scooping my bag up swiftly, I managed to peek in the mirror once more to make sure my baby hair was in place and slipped a few imaginary strands behind my ears before leaving my room.

           "Addilyn, is Marjorie still asleep?" my mother asked me once I got downstairs. She handed me a my cup of strong coffee to kick-start my morning.

           "I don't think so, Mama. She hasn't bugged me yet so I assume so." I answered, gulping my coffee down hoping the caffeine in it would work it's magic as soon as possible.

            I finished my cup of coffee as soon as my father walked downstairs; dressed in his formal office attire. He picked up his car keys and pecked my mother on her lips. My mother handed him his cup of coffee and she proceeded to perfect his already perfected tie and straighten out imaginary creases on his shirt. I understood I had carried down her OCD.

          "Ads, are we ready to go to school?" my father asked my taking a large bite of his toast.

           I forgot to tell him Carina was picking me up today. She just got her drivers' license and she wanted to stop by and pick everyone up on the first day of school. I promised I was hopping on her wagon. I heard the doorbell ring and a silhouette form by the front mirror. Carina.

           "Actually dad, Carina already offered to pick me up today and I accepted the offer." I told my dad, guilt consuming me as I explained to him. My mother went to open the door to reveal the one and only Carina Andrews will two mugs of hot coffee for us coffee lovers.

            "Stay safe, kids." my dad said patting my back. I tip-toed to plant a kiss on his cheek before saying goodbye. I repeated the same thing on my mother before I hugged her and left the front door.

           I swiftly lifted the coffee mug up from Carina's hands and took another sip. I knew I needed at least one more cup of coffee to start my morning.

                                                                                            ***

           Walking through the hallways, Carina and I looked at each other probably one sentence repeating in our heads as if a mantra.

           165 more days till the end of school.

           The hallways were always the most place of drama occurrence. There were people laughing and kissing all around. Paper planes were thrown all around by small boys running through the human-packed hallways. Passing through all of that Carina and I found ourselves by Kat's locker where she liberally applied her 'go-to' lipstick; Seduce Scarlet.

         "Addilyn! Carina! I've missed you both so much!" she squealed, throwing her arms over us. The two of us took her in our embrace and we waited in that position allowing the silence of the moment to engulf us.

          "I was told by a little forgetful bird that I was going to get picked up because they just got their drivers' license. Oh well, at least Brie was nice enough allow me to hitch a ride with her. Needless to say, she handed me the aux cord which would've something the little bird would hesitate to do if I were to ride with her." Kat continued smirking at Carina as she looked back guiltily.

          "Oh, Kat, we've missed you literally and metaphorically!" I said offering her another warm hug. She scoffed and then laughed.

          The three of us then linked arms as we walked through the hallways towards the notice board. This year-- as Principal Mackenzie discussed during the PTA-- she would be segregating each student according to their respective achievements for every subject to help monitor the weaker students. According to her, it would most probably help maintain or not, increase the academic standards of our school.

          As expected, the notice board was swarming with different students from my year. All of them eager to see which classes the year end test had put them in.

          "Oh my gosh! I don't even have a single lesson with any of you guys!" Kat said, scrutinizing every name that was on the board. She itched the corner of her head and sulked.

          I comforted her while Carina searched the board just to make sure Kat's words were true. Kat excelled well in her studies but she wasn't the biggest fan of Calculus and in my honest opinion, I think that's what brought her average results down.

          "Ads, you are not going to believe this. Guess who's classes matched up with yours? Arla McGrey!" Carina said in shock while she and Kat patted my back pitifully. I've heard a story or two about this Arla girl but I never knew about her personal vendetta, let alone know her personally.

          "My advice, Addilyn, stay away from snakes. I'm always sure to have Sulphur powder in my bag so if these snakes come to close, I sure can spare some for my home-girl." Carina said in a serious tone. Which to me, I took in as a joke and laughed it off.

          That's when Arla McGrey walked past the three of us, flashing me a pleasant smile with her newly-glossed pink lips. I replied her smile with a tiny wave. Kat pulled my hand as soon as she looked away.

          "Listen to our advice, Ads. She's no joke." Kat told me once me and brushed invisible dust off my shoulder and spun me around, tapping my shoulders to finish it.

           "I feel like a mother sending you to class on the first day, I just hope you can survive a class with the Arla in it. We're a toilet call away (implying toilet as a place of assembly for discussing/resolving important matters)." Kat finished before Miss Helena opened her mouth to reveal her incessant fussilades at how we were still loitering even though the school bell pierced almost everyone's ears.

          Slipping into class, I found the only available seat next to Arla McGrey. She tapped the seat next to her and called me over. I walked slowly hoping it wasn't a prank she was about to pull. But as soon as I arrived next to her seat, I realized she called me to sit next to her out of sincerity. After all, there was no one else I had to sit with in this nerd-filled class. If there were four perfect words to describe the entire condition of the kids in this class was; quiet, studious, unfriendly, boring. That was ex-including the Arla McGrey.

            Miss Helena walked into class, her sad closet revealing a monotone outfit of grey, defining her entire personality; bore. She pulled out a gigantic Calculus textbook and proceeded to the blackboard to write an equation which she would later call out someone to solve, apparently to test their 'capabilties'.

           "Arla, would you care to solve this for me?" she asked in a pleasant tone. It was indeed hard to be rude to someone like Arla. Almost everyone loved her. Just almost.

           Arla gracefully picked up her toned, long legs and sashayed over to the blackboard. Her platinum-blonde curls bouncing at her movements. The same platinum-blonde curls cascading down the small of her back like a waterfall. I had to admit, it caught me in a trance. Her hair was magical.

          "Miss Green, if you're done daydreaming, which according to my observations would be a big NO, I want you to help Arla solve this equation. That's only if you're smart enough to solve it, revised over the holidays or your carelessness doesn't block your mental capabilities." Miss Helena continued, raising an eyebrow and simultaneously crossing her arms.

           I knew why she was like this to me, but that didn't give her rights as a teacher to demotivate and make false accusations of her student. My fists clenched and unclenched as if an involuntary action to help me release my anger. When they unclenched, I could feel a burning sensation form on my palms, sting crawling down my spine.

             I picked myself up and solved the equation on the blackboard because I knew exactly how to solve it. I had revised. Carelessness was not blocking my mental capabilities and I was way too smart to solve it.

A/N: Hey guys, to those of you who read my chapter before I realized my Wattpad glitched, only revealing half of my work, here's the full version (I had to retype it because Wattpad didn't save it.) I hope it reaches your expectations so far :) Don't forget to comment if there's anything you'd like to say :)

XO,
ASHA