Reflection

I woke up to the most annoying sound in the world: the alarm clock buzzer. I should have never plugged it in. Naturally, I pressed the snooze button a couple times, then got up and basically sleepwalked to the bathroom down the hall. I rushed through the rest of my morning ritual; getting dressed, brushing my teeth, etcetera.

I ended up putting my light auburn hair into a messy bun after getting frustrated when I tried to crimp it. I wore a simple, green long-sleeved shirt and jean capris. Hopefully no one would notice how lazy I was today with trying to put myself together.

The only thing I liked about mornings was that my mom wasn’t home. She was a nurse at the hospital around here and I guess she has to wake up pretty early. It’s not that I hate my mom, but like I said before, she can get a little immature sometimes.

I was sitting at the dining room table, trying to hurry up and finish a granola bar, when my moms boyfriend came walking out of the hallway like he owned the place. God, he made my skin crawl, in the worst way possible. He looked over at me as he walked into my kitchen and smiled. “Hey there.”

“What are you doing here?”

He opened the cabinet, looking for food. “Your mom said I should keep you company in the morning since I don’t go to work for a while.”

Oh joy. He was the last person I wanted to “keep me company”. I grabbed my huge notebook and started walking to the door. “Thanks, but I have to go to school now.”

He looked back at me. “School doesn’t start until seven forty-five. It’s only quarter to seven.”

I kept walking, and then opened the door. “I need to get there early, bye!” Before he could respond, I shut the door and made my way to the Jeep.

Once I got to the driveway, I laid my eyes on my car and smiled. The Jeep was more of my friend than some metal trap, I thought it had a personality. Even though it was a piece of junk, it still tried its best to run. I noticed the paint was rusting a little, and seconds after I saw that, I saw his red paint tinted reflection in the passenger side door, hurrying down the stone steps leading to the driveway.

It startled me a little at first and my pace slowed, but then I got used to it. “You’re still following me?”

He sprang off the last rock step and jogged after me. “You’re the only one who can see me, remember? I have to follow you.”

I walked around the bumper and opened the drivers side door, then got in and shut the door behind me. The keys were already in the ignition and I twisted them to start the engine.

“That Jim guy seems like a real dick.” Skyler noted, from beside me, I could tell even though I couldn’t see him in a reflection anywhere. That was odd. I heard him talk, but there was no one there. I got over it pretty quickly though, and I started to drive to school.

We talked on the way to my high school. It only took about fifteen minutes to get there, but it went by unusually quick. Even though he was dead, it was nice to have a friend to chat with.

Finally, homeroom rolled around, and I was already in class when the bell rang. I’d been covering my books with the paper bags one of the teachers kept in his room, and I was planning to put them in my locker once the bell rang again. The schedule that the main office gave me was on top of all my books. Boy, this was going to be awkward to carry…

My eyes searched aimlessly around the room as the announcements went on. No one was paying attention, just about everybody was standing up and talking in little groups of four or five. I could see Skyler in the reflection of the tilted open window. He was leaning against the wall near the door, obviously waiting, a little impatiently I might add, to show me where my classes were. He was really helpful.

I heard Skyler’s name over the announcements, but he didn’t seem to notice. Or maybe he just didn’t care. Even if I could say anything to him right now without looking like an idiot, I wouldn’t.

I continued to watch some of the jocks in their little group, wondering what they were talking about. Probably something stupid, like some show on T.V. or plans for some keg party. I looked at one in particular, he was facing me, but his head was looking at all his friends.

He had brown spikey hair, a little darker than mine. He looked like the picture of masculinity. His face was flawless, even when he smiled I saw that his teeth were snow white. He was wearing a T-shirt and I could see his arms, which were muscular, probably from all the sports he played. My guess was he probably had nice abs, too.

My eyes shifted to look at his face again, and then I noticed him looking at me. I felt my face get hot and I knew I was blushing, but I smiled a little because that’s what I’m used to doing when I get embarrassed. He cracked a little grin back at me, and I could have sworn he winked, but I wasn’t sure.

The bell rang to end homeroom and all the students bustled to the door. I looked at the window to catch Skyler’s reflection. He rolled his eyes at me. This was going to be a long day.