"Lily Camille! Let's go!" I groan as I hear my Dad yell up the stairs. "It's 7:05 let's go," Crap. I was supposed to be up half an hour ago. We leave in nine minutes, we've gotten it down to a science.I throw off my blankets and shiver in the unfamiliar cold before pulling the cord to flick my lamp on.
"I'm coming!" I shout back as I begin to rush around the room.
"Lils if you're not ready we're leaving without you!" My older brother Cooper exclaims as he walks past my bedroom door.
"Shut up, I'll be ready," I respond loudly as I yank off my pajamas. I change quickly, pulling on my favorite jeans and a light pink sweater, grabbing a loose hair tie from my desk to throw up my hair with later. I force a pair of mismatched socks on and shove my feet into my worn burgundy sneakers. I grab my notebooks and folders and throw them haphazardly into my backpack lying abandoned on my desk chair, making sure not to forget my calculator. God I hate Mondays. I was up late last night studying for a calc test on applications of derivatives and I must've snoozed my alarm or something. Calculus, another thing I really really hate.
I rush into the bathroom and thank everything that my brothers aren't in there and quickly brush my teeth, slap on some deodorant, and run over my face with a cleansing wipe, that'll have to do for today.
I toss some a tube of mascara and some peppermint chapstick in my bag, before flicking off the light and running down the stairs, my backpack slung around one shoulder.
The Halstead family morning routine is in full force, my parents drinking probably their second or third cup of coffee together at the table, my brother Grant throwing his crap into his bag and his twin Cooper finishing up his bowl of cereal.
"And there's Sleeping Beauty!" My dad says jokingly as he takes a sip of his coffee and ruffles my wavy hair.
"Haha," I say as I grab a banana from the fruit bowl.
"Do we need to get you a louder alarm? Perhaps something to shake the bed? If we do just say the word," My mom says with a smirk.
"Not funny," I say while grabbing my lunch that I luckily put together last night from the fridge. "I was up busting my ass for calc last night,"
"And now you'll do great on your test!" Grant says from across the island.
"Hopefully," I say under my breath, trying to hide the fact that I'm not doing so hot in that class right now. I've always been good at school, hell I'm two years ahead in math, but this class is just screwing me over. I know that my parents have high standards for me, I've been a straight A student my entire life and this is the first time I've even seen another letter on a report card.
"Okay we can talk about Lily and whatever later, but we've got to go," Cooper interjects.
"Oh yep," Grant adds as he glances over at the clock.
"Wait can't I have coffee first?" I ask.
"Nope, no time let's go sis," Cooper says as he walks out of the room.
"Mom!" I whine.
"Caffeine is bad for you, go to school," She says with a smile.
"Oh says you," I retort, pointing to her mug and nodding to her constant intake of the beverage.
"I'm the mom, I call the shots," She says with a smile.
"Lily shut up let's go," Grant says as he nudges me as he passes. I stick my tongue at him and follow him to the front door.
"Be safe!" Dad calls after us.
"You too!" I yell over my shoulder as I grab my black coat off the rack by the door. I quickly sling it around my shoulders. Cooper honks impatiently from the driver's seat.
"We're coming!" Grant yells at him annoyed. The two of us hurry to the car, eager to get out of the cold and hoping that Cooper started to warm the car up. Technically, the three of us share the black Jeep Cherokee that my parents bought when the twins first learned how to drive, but it's not like I ever get to sit behind the wheel. I'm the baby and they still have zero confidence in my driving skills even though Dad has told them time and time again that I'm the best one.
"God why is it so cold?" I say as I slide into the backseat, the freezing leather an unwelcome surprise.
"Cause we live in Chicago," Cooper says, responding with one of his usual smartass answers.
"That was a rhetorical question," I say back, the annoyance clear in my voice.
"Someone's testy today," Grant teases from the driver's seat as we pull out of the driveway.
"Hell yeah I am, I'm running on like four and a half hours of sleep," I respond.
"Well why did you do that?" Cooper fires back.
"I have this thing called calculus, you wouldn't understand," I say, taking a jab at Cooper.
"You wanna go?" He says loudly from the front seat.
"Try me," I respond with an attitude.
"Okay," Grant tries to reason, "so obviously everyone is tired, so we're just going to not say anything until we get to school okay?"
"Fine," We both grumble. Grant, always the reasonable one. Cooper and I fight literally all the time, but neither of us ever seem to be genuinely pissed off at Grant. Everybody loves Grant.
The sounds of Top 40 radio pump through the car as the three of us sit quietly, mentally preparing for the day ahead. It's beautiful right now, all the leaves are at that point where they look like they've been painted with watercolors but they haven't started to fall in piles around the roads. We drive on winding streets past Lake Seneca and Abigail Adams Elementary, before pulling into the very crowded student parking lot at Oak Hill High School.
"Okay so Coop and I have practice after school today, so take the bus or get a ride with Piper and Nora okay?" Grant says, referring to my best friend and her older sister, who also happens to be Grant's girlfriend, as we hop out of the Jeep.
"I have rehearsal after school, so I'll be here until like 6:00." I tell him, "I'll just get a ride from Ellie,"
"Alright bye Lils," Grant says as he and Cooper head off, quickly joining up with a few of their friends and Cooper's latest girlfriend Layla.
"Bye!" I call after them as Grant turns and shoots me a quick wave and a smile. I don't think twice before rushing towards the closest door, I don't want to stay out in the cold any longer than I have to. It's only the beginning of November and it's already like 40 degrees. Every year, I forget just how cold it gets every year. Oh well, I better get used to it because it's only going to get colder.
Once I'm inside, I quickly make my way to the mural of Wrigley Square in the Arts Wing just outside the back doors of our massive auditorium. Piper and I meet here every single morning before class, a little pick me up before the day begins.
"Oh you look tired," Piper says as I make my way towards her. "Yeah you need this more than I do," She says as she offers me her cup of coffee.
"Is this from Split Bean?" I ask as I take the cup from her, referring to our favorite coffee shop in the center of town.
"You know it," She says with a smile as I take a sip. "Nora wanted a chai latte so we left the house a couple minutes early."
"Oh you're a saint," I tell her, she laughs at what she assumes is an over reaction. It's not. I really needed coffee. As much as my parents try to deter the coffee addiction that all three of us kids have acquired, they have to know that we inherited from them.
"How much sleep did you get?" She questions, knowing that I tend to over study.
"Four and a half hours," I reluctantly admit.
"Lily Camille Halstead, we talked about this! You promised you'd get at least six!" She lectures.
"I'm sorry," I say sheepishly. "But like calculus, you know how terrible I am at it,"
"You need sleep," She argues back.
"No I just need more coffee," I say with the famous Halstead smirk, something I gratefully inherited from my father.
"Lily seriously," She says back.
"I know, I know," I say, stringing out my words, "but I really need to get my grade up in the class,"
"Lily you are two years ahead and like the smartest girl in our grade, you are going to be fine. Besides what do you have like a B+?" She asks, knowing how I overreact to my grades.
"B-," I say sheepishly.
"See that's not even that bad," She tells me with a swat.
"I know but my parents have such high standards for me and I don't want to let them down," I tell her,
"Lils you're not letting them down, trust me if anyone is letting them down, it's not you, it's Cooper," She says, trying to get a little laugh out of me.
"Yes the star running back, D1 football commit is definitely the disappointment of the family," I say sarcastically as the warning bells sound.
"Oh God Lily, you know what I mean." She tells me as she rises to her feet from the floor. "You ready to go?"
"No," I say with an eye roll, anxiety rising in my chest as the test inches closer.
"You got it," She tells me as we begin the dreaded walk to my math class, fighting the urge to run in the other direction. I pull my phone out of my back pocket as I feel a little buzz.
Good luck Lilybug, you're going to do great. I love you, xoxo Mama
Her text gives me a little surge of confidence and a little smile stretches across my face. She's the best. Her job is insane but she still manages to be the best mom ever, my dad too. Piper and I chat about our upcoming history paper as we come closer to my classroom, waving at a few friends that pass us by.
"You got this baby!" She tells me with a smile as she drops me off at the door, continuing on to her chem class a few hallways over. I give her a weak smile as I make my way inside and take a seat at my desk in the middle of the classroom.
I take a deep breath, my heart racing in my chest as I wait for Dr. G to place the test on my desk, precisely placing my calculator, three pens, and seven pieces of paper in front of me. I anxiously sit through the mundane morning announcements coming over the PA system and watch as she distributes the tests to all the people sitting in the rows in front of me.
I take another deep breath as the test lands in front of me. I scratch my name on the top of the page and start to work. Here we go.
Hey everybody! It's been over a year since I've written anything, but inspiration struck to revisit an old story! Hope you enjoyed and feel free to leave a review!
Xoxo,
Addie