Status: Patience, young grasshopper, is a virtue.
Seize the Day
school
The last thing Adela Riles wanted to do when she woke up was go to work. A deep fatigue had settled deep in her bones and weighed her down, making it impossible to move a muscles, much less get out of bed. The struggle was futile; her eyelids alone were fifty pounds. “Ngghh,” she groaned, her hand feeling around blindly for the alarm clock that shrieked impatiently.
She heard the sheets rustling before she felt Pete’s body heat pressed against her side, his hand reaching out to do the job for her. His chuckle sent a tremor through his body. Now Adela knew she was genuinely tired, because the feel of his skin pressed so tightly to hers did absolutely nothing at all.
“Time to get up,” Pete whispered.
Adela felt his kisses pepper her collarbone and work their jaw up her neck. She groaned again, grabbing a pillow and hiding her head under it.
Pete sighed. It was going to be one of those mornings. “Beautiful, you have to get ready for work. Your bed will be waiting for you when you get back, I promise.”
“Nooo,” she cried, her voice smothered.
His reasonings and pleads fell on deaf ears. Eventually he just pried the pillow from her grip. “Adela. Out of bed before I make you.”
“Pete, can’t I just have a sick day?” she huffed. She stared up at him imploringly. Any other morning she would have taken in his bed-head and stubble with fervor, but she was oh so tired. “Please. I can hardly—” A pitiful yawn cut her off.
He sighed again. “What am I going to do with you.”
“Love me. Shower me with affection. Let me sleep in,” she said. “Preferably the latter.”
“Fine.” He dropped the pillow back on her face. “I’ll call work for you.”
She listened as he rolled out of bed, stretched his muscles and popped his joints before his footsteps exiting the room. “You’re the love of my life,” she called after him. She fell back asleep before she could count a single sheep.
*
Allie peered over her coffee cup at her father. He normally discouraged her from drinking the stuff, going on about how she was too young or something, but he seemed too distracted to notice.
“Good morning,” she chirped.
“Morning.”
She watched him warily as he opened the fridge and drank straight out of the milk carton. Disgusting. Mom would flip shit if she saw him.
Speaking of Mom, Allie realized she hadn’t seen her at all this morning. She was usually up and about, complaining about how long it took Allie to get ready in the mornings, and checking the news. The house was eerily quiet this morning. “Mom sleeping in?”
“She’s sick,” he answered. He stared at the fridge a little longer before closing it. “Uh, did you need me to, uh, drive you to school?”
Allie rolled her eyes. He was so not a morning person. And a Monday, too. His rotten luck. “No, Dad. Caitlyn picks me up.”
He nodded. “Right.”
“You all right, Dad?”
He ran his hand through his hair. Allie knew it was a nervous habit of his. “Just thinking…about things.” An awkward pause ensued. Allie considered making up an excuse to leave the room; she hated feeling uncomfortable and the quiet was suffocating. “So, you mad at us for keeping you to ourselves this yesterday?” he asked before the silence became too painful.
Her lips pressed in a tight line. She truly did hate lying to her father, but she made up her mind a long time ago that he’d have a heart attack if he really knew about the things she did. She’d probably be banned from seeing Kelly till she was thirty. So, really, she was doing him a favor by keeping him from the truth. Ignorance is bliss. “It was completely unfair,” she seethed. “I mean, God forbid I’m friends with someone that Mom didn’t teach in Kindergarten.”
Her dad gave a tight smile. “Your mom’s a bit overprotective,” he admitted.
“A bit?” she mocked. Understatement of the fucking century.
There was a honk outside. Caitlyn was here. Thank goodness, she thought. Her dad was acting weird and she didn’t like it.
She set her half-finished mug in the sink, kissing her dad’s cheek as she passed him. “See you later. I might study at Caitlyn’s house tonight, I dunno. We’ll see.”
She jogged outside because it was even harder to be in the same room with him after she lied directly to his face. Caitlyn’s shiny Mercedes, a diamond compared to Kelly’s car, waited in the street.
“Okay, spill,” her best friend said before she’d even gotten in the car completely. “Did you finally sleep with him or what?”
Her hands buckled up angrily. The memory of that shitty party hit her like a slap to the face. “Long story short, we spent more time in the emergency room than we did the party.”
Caitlyn’s eyes widened dramatically. Her eyes were a pretty shade of blue, but they were so big, unproportionally so. “Holy fucking shit! What the hell happened?”
Allie leaned her face against the cool glass of the window and muttered, “You were totally wrong. He doesn’t like me at all. He didn’t even want to hang out with me. And when I drove him to the ER, he practically begged me to leave.” Okay, so she exaggerated about the begging, but it was partially true.
“I’m still so fucking confused. The fucking emergency room?”
“Yeah. He got into a fight with a guy that I was hooking up with.” At Caitlyn’s slack jaw, she elaborated. “Well, me and this guy, Alex, who turns out to be this massive fucking douche, were making out, right, and then Kelly pops up, wasted out of his mind, wanting to go home or whatever, and I said no because I was bitter, then the two of them puffed out their chests because apparently they’re little boys, and all the sudden Kelly was throwing punches, and Alex fought back and totally beat the shit out of Kelly.”
“Jesus fucking Christ, Allie! And you didn’t even think to fucking call me? What the hell!” Caitlyn honked on her horn in the middle of her little fit, making the car in front of us freak out and break, consequently making Caitlyn slam on her own breaks. They both jerked forward. “Hey! Get off the fucking road if you can’t drive, dickwad! God… Anyway, it sounds to me like he was jealous.”
Allie blinked. This girl was giving her whiplash. “Uh, no. Did I forget to mention he ditched me the second we got there? Because he did and I had to fend off drunk advances all alone last night.”
“Well…you know Kelly. He doesn’t get close to anyone,” Caitlyn said as she—hallelujah—pulled into the school parking lot, making it in one piece, remarkably. “I mean, after what happened to him, I’m surprised he took you to that party at all.”
“Right. So, him being an asshole actually means he’s really into me? I hate boys.”
Caitlyn laughed. They walked to their first period class, the only one they had together. Allie had barely made it inside when she saw him. She hadn’t remembered him looking so shitty last night, but there he was with two black eyes, a red and crooked nose, and grimace.
“Goddamn! What’d this Alex guy look like, anyway? Dwayne fucking Johnson?” Caitlyn joked.
They made eye-contact from down the hall. The sour expression on his face melted into his easy grin that had a knack for making Allie’s knees weak. She sighed. He made hating boys so hard.
She heard the sheets rustling before she felt Pete’s body heat pressed against her side, his hand reaching out to do the job for her. His chuckle sent a tremor through his body. Now Adela knew she was genuinely tired, because the feel of his skin pressed so tightly to hers did absolutely nothing at all.
“Time to get up,” Pete whispered.
Adela felt his kisses pepper her collarbone and work their jaw up her neck. She groaned again, grabbing a pillow and hiding her head under it.
Pete sighed. It was going to be one of those mornings. “Beautiful, you have to get ready for work. Your bed will be waiting for you when you get back, I promise.”
“Nooo,” she cried, her voice smothered.
His reasonings and pleads fell on deaf ears. Eventually he just pried the pillow from her grip. “Adela. Out of bed before I make you.”
“Pete, can’t I just have a sick day?” she huffed. She stared up at him imploringly. Any other morning she would have taken in his bed-head and stubble with fervor, but she was oh so tired. “Please. I can hardly—” A pitiful yawn cut her off.
He sighed again. “What am I going to do with you.”
“Love me. Shower me with affection. Let me sleep in,” she said. “Preferably the latter.”
“Fine.” He dropped the pillow back on her face. “I’ll call work for you.”
She listened as he rolled out of bed, stretched his muscles and popped his joints before his footsteps exiting the room. “You’re the love of my life,” she called after him. She fell back asleep before she could count a single sheep.
*
Allie peered over her coffee cup at her father. He normally discouraged her from drinking the stuff, going on about how she was too young or something, but he seemed too distracted to notice.
“Good morning,” she chirped.
“Morning.”
She watched him warily as he opened the fridge and drank straight out of the milk carton. Disgusting. Mom would flip shit if she saw him.
Speaking of Mom, Allie realized she hadn’t seen her at all this morning. She was usually up and about, complaining about how long it took Allie to get ready in the mornings, and checking the news. The house was eerily quiet this morning. “Mom sleeping in?”
“She’s sick,” he answered. He stared at the fridge a little longer before closing it. “Uh, did you need me to, uh, drive you to school?”
Allie rolled her eyes. He was so not a morning person. And a Monday, too. His rotten luck. “No, Dad. Caitlyn picks me up.”
He nodded. “Right.”
“You all right, Dad?”
He ran his hand through his hair. Allie knew it was a nervous habit of his. “Just thinking…about things.” An awkward pause ensued. Allie considered making up an excuse to leave the room; she hated feeling uncomfortable and the quiet was suffocating. “So, you mad at us for keeping you to ourselves this yesterday?” he asked before the silence became too painful.
Her lips pressed in a tight line. She truly did hate lying to her father, but she made up her mind a long time ago that he’d have a heart attack if he really knew about the things she did. She’d probably be banned from seeing Kelly till she was thirty. So, really, she was doing him a favor by keeping him from the truth. Ignorance is bliss. “It was completely unfair,” she seethed. “I mean, God forbid I’m friends with someone that Mom didn’t teach in Kindergarten.”
Her dad gave a tight smile. “Your mom’s a bit overprotective,” he admitted.
“A bit?” she mocked. Understatement of the fucking century.
There was a honk outside. Caitlyn was here. Thank goodness, she thought. Her dad was acting weird and she didn’t like it.
She set her half-finished mug in the sink, kissing her dad’s cheek as she passed him. “See you later. I might study at Caitlyn’s house tonight, I dunno. We’ll see.”
She jogged outside because it was even harder to be in the same room with him after she lied directly to his face. Caitlyn’s shiny Mercedes, a diamond compared to Kelly’s car, waited in the street.
“Okay, spill,” her best friend said before she’d even gotten in the car completely. “Did you finally sleep with him or what?”
Her hands buckled up angrily. The memory of that shitty party hit her like a slap to the face. “Long story short, we spent more time in the emergency room than we did the party.”
Caitlyn’s eyes widened dramatically. Her eyes were a pretty shade of blue, but they were so big, unproportionally so. “Holy fucking shit! What the hell happened?”
Allie leaned her face against the cool glass of the window and muttered, “You were totally wrong. He doesn’t like me at all. He didn’t even want to hang out with me. And when I drove him to the ER, he practically begged me to leave.” Okay, so she exaggerated about the begging, but it was partially true.
“I’m still so fucking confused. The fucking emergency room?”
“Yeah. He got into a fight with a guy that I was hooking up with.” At Caitlyn’s slack jaw, she elaborated. “Well, me and this guy, Alex, who turns out to be this massive fucking douche, were making out, right, and then Kelly pops up, wasted out of his mind, wanting to go home or whatever, and I said no because I was bitter, then the two of them puffed out their chests because apparently they’re little boys, and all the sudden Kelly was throwing punches, and Alex fought back and totally beat the shit out of Kelly.”
“Jesus fucking Christ, Allie! And you didn’t even think to fucking call me? What the hell!” Caitlyn honked on her horn in the middle of her little fit, making the car in front of us freak out and break, consequently making Caitlyn slam on her own breaks. They both jerked forward. “Hey! Get off the fucking road if you can’t drive, dickwad! God… Anyway, it sounds to me like he was jealous.”
Allie blinked. This girl was giving her whiplash. “Uh, no. Did I forget to mention he ditched me the second we got there? Because he did and I had to fend off drunk advances all alone last night.”
“Well…you know Kelly. He doesn’t get close to anyone,” Caitlyn said as she—hallelujah—pulled into the school parking lot, making it in one piece, remarkably. “I mean, after what happened to him, I’m surprised he took you to that party at all.”
“Right. So, him being an asshole actually means he’s really into me? I hate boys.”
Caitlyn laughed. They walked to their first period class, the only one they had together. Allie had barely made it inside when she saw him. She hadn’t remembered him looking so shitty last night, but there he was with two black eyes, a red and crooked nose, and grimace.
“Goddamn! What’d this Alex guy look like, anyway? Dwayne fucking Johnson?” Caitlyn joked.
They made eye-contact from down the hall. The sour expression on his face melted into his easy grin that had a knack for making Allie’s knees weak. She sighed. He made hating boys so hard.
♠ ♠ ♠
so I'm working on project in my broadcast journalism class where we make our life story to give to our parents, which means I've been looking at a bunch of my baby pictures, and one of the songs playing in the background is "Never Grow Up" by Taylor Swift and it makes me so sad to be a senior I didn't want to grow up so fastsigh
comment?