Downpour

Waking up is the hardest thing I have to do throughout the day. I mean it’s seriously hard; especially when you have to wake up from an amazing dream. How come guys who are that cute not like me. It’s truly unfair Sigh. Life is really unfair, but its life so what do you expect.

Even after being awake for twenty minutes it still felt like I was trudging through mud. Jeans are already restricting enough, but jeans on a person who is still practically half asleep calls for some major respect. Amazingly enough I made my way down the stairs and to the kitchen before feeling the need to sit down again.

“Emerson, you’re going to be late for school.” I heard my mom tell me.

“You do realize that when you say that you’re only encouraging me to sleep more, right?”

“I never understood how you could be a straight A kid and hate school so much.”

“It’s really an easy explanation mom. If I get good grades and if I’m well behaved then the teachers don’t hate me and it means I don’t have to be in that prison any more than I have to be.” I told her with a fake smile for added effect.

She only sighed and handed me a bowl of cereal.

“Hey Shithead.” My older brother Hollis said taking my cereal bowl from me.

“Hey Fuckface you’re looking cheery. Did you get lucky in your dreams for once?”

“No but someone killed you so it was pretty nice. Thanks for asking sis.”

“That’s enough guys.” Mom said.

“Sorry Mom. Were we going too far?” Hollis asked with a chuckle.

“You went too far when you called Emmie a Shithead.”

“Mom, I didn’t call her A Shithead. I just said Shithead.”

I laughed at this and Mom rolled her eyes. To the common observer you would think that Hollis and I hate each other, but we been best friends since I was born. This is just how we say ‘I love you’ or whatever normal siblings do.

After Hollis downed my cereal we got into his pickup truck. The ride to school usually was uneventful, but that’s okay because I’m usually half dead and the Portland drizzle never helps me wake up.

“Wake up Shithead.” Hollis said shoving me.

I must’ve fallen asleep on the ride to school which isn’t anything new. I got out of his truck and ran towards the building to escape the rain. The hallway looked gray and was full of dull faces. The squeaks of everyone’s wet shoes and the conversations of various parties echoed throughout the halls. I expertly navigated through the stream of people and to my locker. 11-27-5; with a click my locker opened up. I grabbed my history book.

“Hey Em,” I heard a soft voice whisper into my ear.

I turned to see who it was although I already knew who it was. Sure enough Toby was standing right next to me. His blue eyes sparkled brilliantly and his dark brown hair stuck out; obviously he hadn’t brushed it this morning.

“You are looking amazing as always Miss Fitch.”

I looked down at my blue jeans and brown sweater and smirked.

“Oh, and you as well Mr. Tobias Thompson.” I said in a sing song voice.

He grimaced.

“You know I hate it when people call me Tobias.”

“No, you hate it when I call you Tobias, and it’s because of reactions like that why I keep doing it.”

He grabbed my face and looked me in the eyes.

“Don’t call me Tobias.” He said with a fake scowl on his face.

I couldn’t help but laugh at how hard he was trying to act tough. He tried holding his scowl, but soon it broke and blossomed into a classic ‘Toby’ smile.

“I would give that performance a C-. Really I expect much better from you Toby.”

“Hey! Photography is my thing, not drama.”

First bell rang right then. Toby grabbed my shoulder with one hand and looked me right in the eyes. I raised my eyebrows at him, smiled, and then walked to my first class which sadly had to be history.

There’s goods and bads to having history first thing in the morning. The bads would be Mr. Stevens is the worst teacher you could possibly have for a history teacher. History should be like a storybook. There should be lots of emotion in what’s happen; but of course Mr. Stevens is a monotone teacher. The good is that it’s the worst class period so I get it over with quick.

I daydream a lot. It makes me feel like there’s a chance that everything I could ever want to happen, could happen. Though it also means I miss half of what the powerpoint we were supposed to be taking notes on was about. All I caught was that it was about ancient Greece. Why the hell does it seem like we learn about Ancient Greece every damn year?

The nice thing about my class load is most of my classes are either really fun like English, or are easy A’s. I like things that don’t require me to make a huge effort. That’s going to bite me in the ass later in life but to that I say fuck it.

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Soon enough it was lunch, the only time during school I somewhat enjoy. The smell of hundreds of
teenager’s body odor isn’t pleasant, but I can catch up on sleep; at least that’s what I always say I’ll do.

While walking by my table I walked by Hollis’. Lucky for me he was taking a drink from his water bottle just then. Being the great sister that I am when I walked by I tapped the bottom of the bottle and just like I had hoped it spilt all down the front of him. His friends seemed to laugh all at once and Hollis flipped me off. I just smiled and winked as I kept walking. A couple table down from theirs was mine. My seat next to Toby was open as it usually is.

“Need notes from Stevens’ powerpoint. Pop quiz in English; no sweat.” I told him

“You’re in the clear. Do my math homework; I’ll pay 20 bucks.” He replied.

“Make it 30 and you got yourself a deal.”

“15 then.”

“And the price just rose to 40 bucks Toby.”

“Fine, I’ll pay you 30 bucks.” He grumbled.

This seems to be how lunch plays out. We always tell each other what we need and what to warn them about. It’s like the buddy system you had in elementary school when you went on field trips.

I leaned my head on his shoulder and let my heavy eyelids fall closed.

“You can’t fall to sleep silly.” He whispered in my ear.

“Does it look like I fucking care?”

“I suppose not.”

“Great we’re on the same page and that page is let poor Emmie girl sleep. She needs a nap-se-poo Toby.”

“Fine you can sleep but not on me”

He tried moving his shoulder but I only fell onto his lap.

“This works too you know. Just don’t have any ‘happy thoughts’. Okie dokie?”

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When I got out of school I saw that Hollis had already taken off. Fucking bastard. I reached in my pocket for my cell phone and dialed Toby’s number.

“It hasn’t been more than three minutes since school has gotten out and you already miss me so much you can’t bear it so you called me.”

“More like my asshole of a brother left without me so I’m stranded.”

“Say ‘Toby I need you to come and save me.”

“You’re a fucking weirdo”

“Come on say it ‘Toby I need you to come and save me.”

“No way.”

“Sounds like you don’t need a ride.”

“I’ll walk home then.”

“In the downpour? Yea nice try Em.”

“I’m not saying it.”

“Okay bye.”

“Wait! Toby I need you to come and save me” I said through gritted teeth.

“I’ll meet you at the front doors.”