{ALICE'S POV}

Today is Monday, and I have to go to school. I really, really don't want to.

Even though I'm by myself a lot, it's better than school. School means: teachers, students, and things that died on the floor.
       On weekdays I try to sleep in as long as I can. There's not much I can do with my frizzy hair, and I'm not allowed to wear makeup yet, so I'm pretty much get-up-and-go.

     Breakfast time is pretty routine. I eat cereal, my dad cracks jokes to get me in a good mood, and my mum rushes around doing last-minute things.

     As you can see, "routine" doesn't mean "calm."
     Sometimes I miss my brother and sister. Even when they were arguing in the morning, they took most of the attention away from me. But that was a while ago. In fact, it's been over 3 years since they've been around.

     Once in a while I'll call Alexander or Adamina in the morning, before their classes. I pretend I'm calling with an elaborate homework question (which is why I don't text), but really, I just miss their voices. They're surprisingly nicer, too, when they don't live here.

     Today I don't have time to call them. Instead, I gobble down my cereal while ignoring my dad's corny jokes and my mom's fussing. Soon enough, it's time to go.

   The good news is, I live close to the high school, so I don't have to take the bus, which is the worst. I rode the bus in primary school, and I'm still trying to block it out.

My dad drops me off on his way to work. It's slightly better.

     Whenever I walk into school, I start feeling the knots. That's when my stomach gets all tight, and I have to take exactly five deep breaths to unsqueeze everything. I came up with this technique a few days after I started secondary school. It helps keep me "balanced," as my mum's DVD yoga lady says (my mom always brings home free DVDs from the fitness center). Yoga Lady's the one who inspired this exercise, but that's where it stops. She also says stuff like "meditation can hang out with your soul" and "own your breath."

The first thing I do is go to my locker. The hallway is super crowded, so I have to duck and twist to get there. I take great sacrifices not to get bumped. That kind of body contact in secondary school is frowned upon.

Down the hall, I see two boys having a conversation in front of my locker. Actually, it's less of a conversation and more of a noisefest of monkeys screeching.

Boys.
Great.
I can't talk to boys.
   (Okay, I can't talk to anyone . . . but especially not to boys.)
   I slow my pace, praying they'll see me and move in the next thirty seconds.

To stall time, I pretend to text Agnes on my dumb phone. (One of those old-fashioned phones they used, like, ten or thirty years ago. It was my mum's. All I can do with it is make calls and send simple texts. My parents won't buy me a smartphone until I'm older—which is so annoying because I have enough money in my back account from birthdays to get one.)

        I don't actually text Agnes. She's probably busy doing early morning extra credit or curing cancer or something (more on her later). I just need time for those boys to see me.

Yeah, it doesn't work.
So I gather all my courage to speak.
And then they move. Half an inch.

         I know they barely budged, but this is actually a minor victory. Usually, when I say something, people tend to get annoyed and ask me to repeat myself or speak up.
          I find that somewhat annoying.

I bask in my victory, put away my coat and backpack, grab my books, and stand there for a second. Locker #247 provides nice, private shelter . . . especially if you rest your head on the top shelf.

Sometimes I wonder . . . does anyone ever see me?
Do I even want them to?

{MARIA'S POV}

Today is Monday. Time for school. I head straight to my locker where my BFFs are waiting for me. The hall is super crowded, but everybody is nice enough to step aside. Like my house, my locker is in the center of everything. I have a few minutes, so I make convo with my girls. We discuss movies, volleyball, and my math struggles. Soon a few friends join us. We talk about winter break. Everyone starts talking to me at once (which happens all the time). I don't want to cause jealousy amongst friends, so I turn everyone's attention on something else. Finally, it's time to head to class. Can't wait to get the day started.