"Zedekiah!" her crisp voice echoed through the still bare house, pulling me from my thoughts. "You need to hurry up or else you'll be late for your first day, and I do not want that to happen again!"

"Yeah, yeah. I'll be down in a minute Mom. Don't worry," I answered as I stood staring at my reflection in the mirror. It was my first day at my new school, my third one this year. I double checked my hair, each jet black strand sat perfectly in place. I smoothed out my deep red shirt and grabbed my leather jacket. "Gotta at least look phased by the December air," I said to myself as I slid on the jacket. "I can't screw up again. Six months till graduation. Six months, one place." I buried my face into my palms and rubbed my eyes. Six months at one school seemed impossible. I shook the thought from my mind as I sprinted down the stairs, taking them two at a time.

When I reached the bottom I took a deep breath and rounded the corner into the kitchen. My mom stood at the counter, waiting for me. There was a bowl of oatmeal and fresh fruit, sitting at one end of the counter, with a glass of apple juice placed next to it. I sat in the bar stool at the middle of the counter, pulled the bowl to me and began eating.

As I took a swig of the tart apple juice, my mom began speaking to me, " I really need