• Chapter One - Jerk


    tab I took a glance at my alarm clock; it read 5:29. Right on time, I thought, sighing. The numbers changed and I closed my eyes. Why couldn't it be Saturday? Time was so obviously not on my side. Groggily I stood to my feet. I was a mess; my chocolate brown hair felt like a nest, my "Paramore" t-shirt had pizza stains from the previous night, and I counted at least a 100 more freckles than before. None of this concerned me however, as I had two hours to change into school mode. First - shower. Rubbing my eyes, I walked into the bathroom, only to find that the light made me feel much worse. How could my mother endure this at 2 in the morning? Her plane for Austin left at 5 for her monthly business meeting, and she wouldn't be back for a few days. I pulled the scrunchie out of my disastrous hair and began to undress. The more I examined myself in the mirror, the more I wished I was on one of those cheesy speed diets. Although my friends claimed they were jealous of me, I saw otherwise. I stared once more into the face of the hideous girl with the boring brown eyes, the hair to match, and ghostly pake skin.
    tab "Amber Morris, you are a freak," I said to myself. I overheard my older brother snickering through the door.
    tab "Take a shower already, freak!" he said through cackles, putting emphasis on the last word. I sighed and stepped into the shower. The steaming hot water felt good on my aching back, a product of yet another bad nights sleep. I was in there for a good half hour when I heard a banging. I could also make out the words "get out...using too much....hot water". As long as Sebastien was PO'ed, I was happy. When I got the guts to step out, I reached for my towel; it wasn't there. Just what I needed.
    tab "SEBASTIEN!" I screamed. The happy spell was gone. However, his plan had failed - there was a spare towel in the closet. I stood in his doorway and threw my shaving cream can at him.
    tab "WTF?!" he yelled, making me smile again. He followed me until I closed and locked my door.
    tab "I hope you realise that mom's not here to get on your butt about getting to school on time." Silent cheer. I opened the door, his horribly bleached hair tousled. It reminded me of Spike from "Buffy".
    tab "I am," I finished. His face instantly fell as he rushed back to his room. According to him, I was worse than any nightmare, any painful, agonizing death. I quickly got dressed into one of my favorite outfits; a long purple sweater, black leggings and matching flats, plus a cute crotcheted beanie I'd found on sale. I added a few jewlery pieces and was ready to go. Sebastien, in his black jeans and Dwight Schrute shirt, followed me on my way downstairs. He shoved me to the side as he jumped the three steps to the bottom.
    tab "I swear, I will have your head by tonight if you keep this up!" I snarled, but he was out the door by then. I shook my head, grabbing a pop-tart from the freezer, and made it too his car as he started it.
    tab "Give me a piece," he said, more of an order than a question.
    tab "No!", I denied him, "I'm hungry."
    tab "Well it's too bad I don't care. You're lucky I'm giving you a ride, you know."
    tab "You're giving me a ride because Mom threatened to take away your new phone if you didn't." He shifted in his seat from my comback. Mission accomplished, I thought, finishing off the last of the treat. He backed out of the driveway, not as careful as an experienced driver, and we headed to the last day of school.