Through Your Eyes

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The shrill sound of her alarm clock jerked Marissa out of her sleep the second it switched to five o clock. Letting out a groan, Marissa shifted her body so she was lying down on her right side instead of her previous position. She pushed her head deeper into her pillow hoping that it would drown out the noise of her alarm clock.

Pulling her arm from underneath the covers, Marissa reached in front of her and felt around for a bit before she touched the metal clock and quickly pushed down the snooze button. Silence filled the room and Marissa immediately went back into deep sleep for another few minutes.

Two more searches for the snooze button later, Marissa finally swung her legs over the side of her bed and sat up. Running her fingers through her wavy hair, she let out a yawn and tried standing up. At first she straggled awhile from her sleepiness, but was able to make her way to her bathroom.

Flipping on the light switch, Marissa instantly regretted doing so as the bright lights hit her directly causing her to squint from the sudden brightness. Once her eyes readjusted to the light, Marissa let a look of disgust cover her face as she saw her reflection in the mirror.

Her eyes glanced to the small analog clock that was sitting on the bathroom counter. The two black hands were pointing in such a way that it indicated that it was a little past five thirty in the morning. Marissa hadn’t woken up this early in months and it was really getting to her as the tiredness caught up to her.

Within the next few minutes, Marissa had successfully brushed her teeth and changed out of her pajamas and into her school uniform. After washing her face, she felt slightly more refreshed and was awake enough to start straightening her hair and doing her make up.

By the time she had finished getting ready, it was about six fifteen. Looking in the mirror once more, Marissa was content with the fact that she looked the best she could probably look considering the fact the sun still hadn’t come out yet and it was only past six.

A dark blue pleated mini skirt covered the top part of her leg as it reached down a little over the halfway mark of her thigh. It technically covered school policy but still wasn’t long enough to make her look Amish and still looked short enough to be cute. A half sleeve white polo with her school emblem marked on the left side matched her skirt.

Marissa opened her jewelry box and rummaged around in it before finding the silver bracelet that Austin had given her for the previous Valentine’s Day. She pulled out a pair of knee high white and blue argyle socks and quickly put them on. She started looking for her shoes but then realized she had left them downstairs.

Taking one last look at herself, Marissa retouched on bits of her straightened hair before she turned off the light and stepped out of the bathroom. Grabbing her tote bag, she checked to make sure she had everything that she needed. Opening her cell phone, Marissa realized she was running short on time and had to hurry. Closing her bedroom door behind her, she ran down the spiraling staircase towards the kitchen.

Both her parents were already in the kitchen eating their own breakfast as Marissa ran into the kitchen. Good Morning’s were exchanged as she quickly ate the French toast that was sitting on the table. Gulping down a glass of milk, Marissa finished her breakfast.

Giving her mom a goodbye kiss on the cheek, Marissa followed her dad out into the garage and climbed into their brand new Toyota Prius 2010. The ten minute car ride was good for her since Marissa could tell that her dad was trying to distract her from her nerves.

It wasn’t till her dad pulled into the parking lot of Pacific Coast Academy that the butterflies in her stomach decided to attack. She gave a weak smile and a small kiss to her dad before he drove out of the parking lot. Marissa took a deep breath and began walking towards the entrance of her school.

Today marked the first day of school for most of California private schools. Marissa had gone to private school ever since she was little but to her it seemed just like a regular public school except for the fact of the cost. Unlike most private schools, hers was coed which she was thankful for.

Her nerves seemed to calm dawn as she passed by friends here and there who she hadn’t seen the entire summer. Most of the girls were in matching outfits since there were only a few outfits that actually looked good.

“Marissa!” a voice squealed from behind her. She turned around and let out her own squeal as she saw a tall blonde girl running towards her with her arms stretched out. Marissa jumped into her arms and hugged her tightly.

“Leslie!” Marissa returned the excitement as she hugged her best friend once more. “I missed you so much!”

Marissa quickly attached herself to Leslie as they entered their high school together. The two of them had been best friends since they were about ten when Leslie had moved to California from Florida. They had their differences, but were usually inseparable.

During her vacation in Bahamas, Marissa had kept Leslie up to date with everything that had been going on including her recent friendship with Nick. Needless to say, Leslie was surprised but still at the same time delighted at her Hollywood connection.

Both girls walked towards their lockers and were once again stopped by groups of friends. It took them a good ten minutes to finally reach their destination. Leslie’s locker was only on the opposite side of Marissa’s locker bay and the two of them went their separate ways for a few minutes to get what they needed for first bell.

“Guess who?” Marissa jumped at the low voice behind her and the hands covering her eyes, but instantly let a smile cover her face. Pushing her books into her locker, Marissa turned around and wrapped her arms around Austin’s neck.

Austin’s immediately placed his hands on Marissa’s back and pulled her closer to him. He reached one hand up to her hair and stroked it. A huge grin found its way to Marissa’s face as she stepped back and took in the presence of her boyfriend. Standing on her toes, she softly pressed her lips against his for a gentle and sweet kiss.

His hands found hers and intertwined them together. “I missed you,” he said pressing another kiss to her forehead. The smile would not leave her face as she wrapped her arms around his waist and hugged him tightly.

Marissa had met Austin Lentz during her freshman year. He was a year older than her, and was this year a junior while she was a sophomore. Having a boyfriend older than her had its advantages, such as him having a drivers license and an in with the upper classmen.

She was a tall girl, but Austin was even taller. He was a little over six feet which helped him while on their high school varsity’s basketball team. Many people were surprised that he was a basketball player when he had the looks and body of a strong football player. Dirty blonde hair covered his head, and from what she could see, he was growing out his buzz cut that he had had earlier in the summer.

Stepping back, she stared into his dark blue eyes as she let her arms hang loose around his neck. “I missed you too,” Marissa replied as she kissed him on the cheek before removing her arms from him.

Because she was a year younger than him, it was highly unlikely for Marissa to have any classes with any upperclassman. But last year, when she was enrolled in French 2, Marissa found herself in a class that had all four grade levels in her class. It was through French class, and eventually texting and hanging out with him, that she met Austin.

Their relationship at first had been friends only. He was a year older than her and hadn’t really seen her as more than a younger friend he had met. But after awhile, it was obvious to even her friends that the two of them had a spark. It took a couple months, but they finally got together after a few months of school started.

They had their shares of bumps along the road. Occasional arguments would spring up and neither of them would talk to each other for a couple of days before one of them realized that they were either being stupid or inconsiderate and would quickly make up afterwards.

“Let me get my books and then we can go to class,” Marissa suggested as she picked up the books she had shoved inside and balanced them on her left arm as she reached for the rest of the things she needed.

Austin nodded and leaned against the other lockers as he waited patiently for her. “I’m sorry that I missed your call last night. I was hoping I could talk to you as soon as you got back.”

“Don’t worry about it,” Marissa brushed it off. “You were at-who’s house were you at?”

Austin shut her locker as she stepped away and the two of them walked in sync to her first bell class. “Kyle and I were hanging out last night. How were your last days in the Bahamas?”

Marissa began to fill in Austin on what had happened during the last couple of days during her vacation. She had of course kept in touch with him during the week she had been away, but hadn’t exactly filled him in on a few details here and there.

Austin had been genuinely surprised when she mentioned that she had met the Jonas Brothers there and found it quite amusing that she had actually met her favorite band. Marissa had informed him about her adventures with Nick, against her better judgment. He was a little wary at first but trust had never been a big issue between them.

Within a few minutes, they had reached Marissa’s first bell class. She peeked inside and was relieved to find there were a couple of her friends in there to keep her company. The warning bell rang informing the rest of the students that they all had two minutes left before being marked tardy.

Leaning against the wall outside her classroom, Marissa smiled up to Austin who was standing in front of her while setting his hands on her hips. A kiss goodbye was given before one final hug.

Walking into her Chemistry class, Marissa was all smiles as she made her way to an empty seat next to her friends. Soon after, the last bell rang and the first day of school began. Only ten minutes through did Marissa realize how much of a bore first day of school rituals were with rules and expectations that it didn’t take her long to zone out her teacher.

She was quickly snapped back into reality when she felt her phone vibrating underneath her skirt in her shorts. Glancing at her teacher, Marissa snuck her phone out and set it on her desk in front of her books and away from her teacher’s eyes. She first turned it on silent before checking the text message she had received.

From: Nick 8:32 am
Good Morning. Hope you have a good first day of school. While you are at school, I will be having an intense Guitar Hero battle with Frankie. Yes, be jealous.

Marissa chuckled at the text but immediately quieted herself as her teacher began giving her the eye. Her fingers swiftly replied to Nick’s text before she slipped it back inside her shorts. Just as she did, the bell rang ending class and Marissa joined the rest of her friends as they exited their first bell class.