Forgetting You, But Not the Time

I could faintly hear my alarm clock going off to my right, but I chose to ignore it. Maybe if I sat there long enough with my head stuffed under my pillow, it would simply stop. Sadly, it wasn't that simple. I groaned and buried head even further under my pillow, trying to tune out the multiple 'beep's that filled my room. Usually, my dad would come in my room and shut it off for me if I chose to ignore it (since it woke him up in the first place), but lucky for me I was the only one in the house.

I continued relaxing under the warmth of my pillow and comforter, the alarm still going strong on my nightstand. It had to stop sooner or later, didn't it? Maybe if I just waited a little longer.

And I did so, only to hear the alarm continue it's beeping. I slapped the pillow in frustration and reached my hand out from under the covers and grabbed the first thing in reach (which happened to be a phone) and slammed it down onto the top of the clock, hoping it hit the snooze button. But, since my head was still in the darkness of the pillowcase, I missed and had to hit the thing a few more times before it actually shut off. I threw the phone onto the ground beside the bed and quickly pulled my hand back under the sheets.

My alarm usually went off at 6:30 since school started at 7:40 on the dot, so I figured I could sleep a little longer since my dad wasn't there to scold me for sleeping in.

In the midst of trying to fall back asleep, my alarm went off three more times, me smashing my fist on the top to shut it off each time. The fourth time, however, I regained some of my common sense and actually turned off the alarm. Otherwise, it would be going off every four minutes like it had been until I gave in and actually got up for the day.

I sighed and attempted to reposition myself to a more comfortable position. I felt like I had slept for another hour. I'm sure I didn't, but that was what it felt like, at least. While I tried getting myself comfortable again, I happened to open my eyes. The sun was shining brighter than it usually did in the mornings; much brighter than usual, actually. Maybe the apocalypse was coming.

I flipped over on my other side and stole a glance at the clock. My eyes nearly bulged out of my head as I noticed the time. 8:29AM?! Oh no, this clock must be wrong! I panicked and sat up in my bed, grabbing my clock and shaking it a few times, though knowing it would do no good. No! You stupid piece of crap! I threw it back on the nightstand and raced out of my room, checking the other clocks to see if that indeed was the correct time. And when I looked at the clock on the stove, I realized it truly was 8:30 in the morning; school had started 50 minutes ago.

Shit, shit, shit. I didn't know what to do. If dad and Reese found out, I was as good as dead. I frowned. This wasn't good. Not good at all. I had obviously skipped school before, so I knew the consequences would be bad. I made my way over to the couch and flopped down on top of it and smothered my face in my hands. Well damn. Now what am I going to do? Just sit home all day? I looked up from my hands that had become very interesting moments ago and remembered Billie's offer for me to join them at the mall. To hell with this! I thought and ran up to my room to get dressed. I had no idea where Rod's Hickory Pit was, but I figured a map would do me some good.

I threw on a pair of yellow denim jeans and a black shirt with a white tie imprinted on it. I added a touch of grey eye shadow and some black eyeliner before brushing my hair and teeth. I quickly slipped on my black Vans lace-up shoes and stuffed a wad of cash into my pocket, followed by my phone. I double-checked the clock on the stove before leaving; 8:48AM. I had some time to get there. I ran into Reese's office and stole one of her maps off her desk. It's not like she needed it or else it wouldn't be there, right?

I happened to catch a bus to Vallejo where Rod's Hickory Pit was located. It didn't take too long to get there, but I was already late. I didn't know if they were going to still be there or not, but it was worth a shot. I walked over to a small pub on the corner of Lincoln Road and walked inside. It wasn't much, but I suppose not much pubs were worth looking at. It looked rather cheap, if you ask me. But, it was roomy and had a contented smell in the air; a smell that made you feel welcome, not a place that made chills run up and down your spine. Not the feeling that made you think someone was watching every move you made.

I walked deeper inside, inspecting each table and booth to see if I could spot that familiar head of blonde hair. At first, I didn't see them anywhere. But once I made my way deeper into the pub, I spotted them in the back sitting at the bar, talking to a woman who looked to be in her late 30s or early 40s. She had a friendly smile and the guys seemed to be enjoying her company. I made my way over to them, forcing a smile onto my face. I took a seat next to Billie, him not realizing I was there for a minute or two.

At random, he turned his head and jumped at the sight of me. I grinned sheepishly and he smirked at me.

"I knew you couldn't resist." He said as-a-matter-of-factly. I shrugged.

"What can I say? I just can't stay away from you." I played along. Billie nodded knowingly.

"Yeah, I get that a lot." He cockily said. I rolled my eyes at his enormous ego.

"You just got lucky; I slept in." I explained. The others hadn't even noticed my presence yet. They seemed to be in a rather important discussion with the woman; who I'm guessing was the bartender or waitress, whichever you wanted to call it.

Billie grinned and flung his arms around me. "Yes, I'm veeeeery lucky." He squeezed the breath out of me, nearly crushing my ribs in the process. I groaned and Billie let go of me, smirking again. "Yeah, I get that a lot too." He pointed out.

"Pervert." I mumbled. Billie laughed.

"And damn proud." Billie said. I shook my head at him, smiling.

"Oh, hey!" Mike said, finally noticing me sitting there with them. I laughed and waved slightly. "When did you get here?" he asked.

"Eh, a few minutes ago." I answered. John acknowledged my presence by nodding in my direction. I raised my eyebrow at his greeting. Feeling like being a smart aleck, I nodded back the same way he did, earning a few laughs from everyone except John. John didn't even noticed, as a chick taking someone's order seemed to catch his attention.

"Oh, Spencer, meet Billie's mom, Ollie." Carly said. I looked in the direction Carly was motioning and my eyes landed on the woman they were talking to earlier. Now that I was closer to them, I was able to see the lady easier. She had black wild hair; it looked like she recently had a perm. It was up in a high, messy bun while some of it fell down and onto her shoulders. She had hazel eyes with some brown eye shadow and had bags under her eyes, making her look exhausted and older than she was (Me: Well, that's just how I picture her. I have no idea what she really looks like. If you picture her differently, then just replace my details with your own if you'd like.). Must be from working long hours. I guessed.

"Hello, dear. My name's Ollie Armstrong." The woman greeted, holding her hand out. I took it in mine and the two of us exchanged a friendly handshake.

"I'm Spencer Monroe. Nice to meet you." I kindly returned. She smiled sweetly at me.

"So Spencer, I haven't seen you around here before." Mrs. Armstrong said. I nodded.

"Yeah, I just moved here. From Hercules." I informed her.

"Ah, that's nice. Well, it's good to meet you, dear. I hope to see more of you, but I must warn you, this is the craziest bunch of teens you will ever meet." Mrs. Armstrong laughed. I laughed as well, along with everyone else.

"Don't worry, Ollie. We'll take good care of her." Carly said. I held a look of worry and everyone laughed again.

"Well, kids, I hate to say this... but I've got to get back to work. I'll see you later, alright?" Everyone nodded and stood from the bar. I stood as well and followed them outside. I ran to catch up with Billie.

"Doesn't your mom realize you're out of school?" I asked warily. Billie nodded as if it was no big deal. "And she doesn't mind?" I pushed. He shook his head.

"Nah, she doesn't care. I've done it so much, she's just stopped caring." Billie laughed. I laughed as well.

"To the mall!" Carly shouted.

"Shotgun!" John yelled afterwards. The two of them ran towards Billie's car and jumped inside. Mike, Billie and I walked a little slower, taking our own sweet time to annoy Carly. Amusingly enough, it worked.

"Hurry your asses up!" Demanded Carly, snapping her fingers from the backseat. Billie rolled his eyes.

"Coming, coming." He said. He jumped in the front seat, leaving me in the back with Mike and Carly. Carly sat in the middle while Mike sat on the right side of her, me sitting on her left.

The drive to the mall wasn't very interesting, and neither was the mall itself. Actually, the drive was more exciting than the mall. Now that was definitely saying something. Billie waggled his eyebrows at a car full of girls at a stop light at one point, making every single chick in that little pink car to swoon. Yes, a pink car. In my opinion, that shouldn't even be legal.

John had tried what Billie had done at the following stop light, only to have the girls in that truck roll their eyes at him. One of them even managed to give him the finger before the light turned green. At that point, we were all roaring with laughter.

Now, we were walking along the beach, not sure what we wanted to do next. It was only 12:23; the day was still young.

"I'm bored." John commented. Does he always say that? I figured that was his favorite statement. I nodded.

"Yeah, me too. We should do something." I stated the obvious.

"Like what?" Mike asked. I shrugged and looked over at Carly who was walking next to him. She shrugged as well. I looked over at Billie who was walking next to me... and oh no, he was grinning. What could he possibly be grinning about? I nearly grunted.

"Oh no, Billie Joe, what do you have in mind?" I asked, sort of afraid to hear the answer. His grin only expanded. I hate that look. I dreaded what he had in mind, seriously. He stuffed his hands in his back pocket and took out a few strips of paper. I raised my eyebrow. He held them out into our view and began spreading them apart.

"How about Six Flags?" he asked us. My eyes widened in surprise. He had tickets to Six Flags?! (Me: I have no idea when Six Flags opens and whatnot, but just pretend it was open.)

"Six Flags?! Dude, how'd you get the tickets? They're a shitload of money!" Mike said. Billie brushed it off.

"It was nothing. I've had these tickets for a while and they're still good. So, you up for it?" he asked us.

"Hell yeah!" John said, throwing his hands up in the air. I laughed and nodded.

"I'm definitely in." I said. Everyone else agreed. We ran back to the parking lot that was located near a few beach houses, racing each other to see who could get in the passenger seat first. And with my amazing talent of running, I made it there first. John whined and I stuck my tongue out at him. Mike and Carly laughed at us and the three of them jumped in the back. Billie got in the front seat. He pulled out of the parking lot and headed for one of the best amusement parks in the world.

Billie looked over at me and grinned.

"Let's have some fun."