It was a normal Tuesday afternoon - normal for the hectic life of a teenage Forensics leader, that is. When I say "Forensics" I'm not referring to the science of forensics, as in dead bodies. I'm referring to high school Forensics - also known to the public as the League of Debaters, or Speech and Debate. Wonderful club, I must say, especially for those people who are like me - they have no life, don't really want one, and don't plan on getting one any time soon.

I was hanging out in the main meeting room when I caught sight of the clock. It read 4:45. A strange look must have passed over my face, because one of my fellow members, Bryan, asked me what was wrong. I pointed to the clock.

"Oh…shit." Bryan shuddered when he saw the time. "And your car's in the shop, isn't it?" I nodded. "Damn. You want a ride home? I could leave early…Matt will take over."

Matt came up behind Bryan and asked, "I'll take over what?" I simply pointed to the clock again. "Oh, shit. Yeah, I'll take over the meeting…you gonna take Alex home, Bry?"

I snapped my fingers in front of their faces and shook my head "no." Bryan gaped at me. "Why the hell not? Alexis, your mom is going to have your head!"

I just shook my head again, and slung my backpack over my shoulder. I heard Matt and Bryan protesting as I walked out of the meeting room, but I ignored them. No reason for Mother to yell at them because I wasn't watching what time it was.

As soon as I walked outside, a beeping sound caught my attention. There was a red Chevy idling in the circle in front of the high school where we hold our meetings. My mother was sitting there, tight lipped and not looking at all pleased. Sighing, I walked to the car and got it, throwing my backpack in the back seat.

As soon as I'd settled in the front seat, my mother started reading me the riot act. "Why are you here so late? Anna had a dance tonight at five that I had to cancel to come down here and get you. What was so important that you had to neglect your chores? Young lady, do you hear me? I'm asking you a question, and I expect an answer. What was so important that you had to neglect your chores to stay at school until -" she checked the clock - "4:50 in the afternoon?"

There are some things that parents just miss when they don't pay attention. For example, my mother and father missed the fact that:

I joined Varsity Forensics and have been the president for two years now, and That I took a vow of silence in January in an effort to learn more about my classmates, friends, and self before I graduated in June.

My mother continued on with her ramblings, and I looked out the window and concentrated on the music that was blaring out of the radio. "Landslide" by the Dixie Chicks was beginning, and my mind drifted off listening to the lyrics.

I took my love and I took it down

I climbed a mountain and I turned around

And I saw my reflection in the snow-covered hills

Well the landslide brought me down

I found myself thinking back to this morning, and how strangely frightening it was that the routine I followed was considered "normal" in my home. I got up every morning at 4 AM so that I could be downstairs making breakfast for my father at 4:30 AM. Then I went upstairs at 5 AM after my father had left - without a word of goodbye or thanks - so that I could get dressed, clean up my room and the bathroom, and be back downstairs at 6 AM so that I could make breakfast for my mother and sister.

When they left, my sister for school and my mother for work - again, without a word of goodbye or thanks - I again went upstairs to clean up the messes that Anna and Mother had left. By the time that I had finished, it would be 7 AM and I would have to rush to school so that I could make it to homeroom on time.

Oh, mirror in the sky

What is love?

Can the child within my heart rise above

Can I sail through the changing ocean tides?

Can I handle the seasons of my life?

No one seems to understand my life. I try, and I try to make them, but it just never works. My mother was still rambling, and the song continued playing. Suddenly the car was gathering speed. "Damn brakes," my mother said as she pressed on the continuously, trying to get the car to stop. "They never seem to work."

The car never slowed. My mother began pressing harder now, panic beginning to show on her face. I grabbed the handle of the car door when I saw a fresh patch of ice up ahead. As we hit the ice, a parked car appeared ahead of us. My mother gave up trying to stop the car and simply covered her face with her hands, screaming all the while.

We hit with a huge bang. As the car turned and twisted, the radio blared, but I was no longer listening. I could only hear the sound of my thoughts, which included, "The worst part was hitting the ground - not the feeling so much as the sound," from Tonight is the Night I Fell Asleep at the Wheel by the Barenaked Ladies.

It was true, I found. The worst part of it was the sound, not the feeling. The radio was still playing, and I could hear it as everything around me faded to black. My last conscious thought before the world faded was, "I wonder if anyone will miss me…"

Well, I've been afraid of changing 'cause

I built my life around you

But time makes you bolder

Children get older

I'm getting older too