Alexia sat on the edge of her bed, staring into the darkness. She ran her fingers through her long brown hair absentmindedly, waiting for the flicker of the hallway light to signal the arrival of the new day. She checked the giant red numbers on her alarm clock again: 5:59. In one minute, she would start her first day of high school.
Obnoxiously loud beeping crashed into the quiet morning. Alexia's bedroom door was thrown open a second later, the harsh glare of the flickering hallway light raping her peaceful darkness; Alexia's mother poked her head into the room, saying, "Alexia! Are you up yet?"
Alexia climbed off her bed, staying in the shadows along her wall. "Yes mom, I'm up."
"Good. Breakfast is ready in twenty minutes. Don't be late." Her mom hit the light switch on Alexia's wall as she left, killing the shadows. Blinking in the steady brightness, Alexia squinted at the top of the alarm clock, switching the unbearable beeping to an equally loud alternative radio station. Alexia stood still for a moment, eyes closed, letting the music seep into her, then she began her familiar routine.
Clasping her arms tightly to her sides, she rose onto her tiptoes with a muttered, "And...go." She kept her eyes closed as she swung into action, balancing on the balls of her feet as she boxed with imaginary foes. As her momentum dictated, she swung into a short series of powerful roundhouse kicks, topped off with a flying kick that sent her into her bookshelves. Books and knickknacks scattered obediently under her foot, crashing loudly to the floor and echoing up and down the hall. Alexia hurriedly dropped to her knees and began to pick up the fallen treasures as her mom came thundering into her room.
"What the hell happened in here??? Such a mess! I could hear it all the way downstairs! What in the world were you doing up here, Alexia???" she scolded loudly. Alexia kept her eyes on the floor as she scurried around on her knees. She could hear her brother laughing softly at her in the hall, and she felt the back of her neck and ears turn red with anger and embarrassment.
"Nothing. I guess I was just being clumsy." Alexia said quietly as she picked up the last of the fallen items.
"Clumsy?!?!? You're a young lady, Alexia, not an elephant. Now pick it up and finish getting ready. I won't stand for tardiness."
"Yes m'am." Alexia nodded as she heard the door close. Releasing her breath, she carefully replaced the items on the shelves with trembling hands. Her mind was spinning faster than she could stop it. She'd never done that before. She always seemed to know just which way to go to avoid hitting things. Why was this time different? She'd paced the distance. She should have still been short. Why wasn't she?
Taking several deep breaths, she forced her mind clear of the pestering questions and walked to her closet, refocusing on her outfit for the first day. She pulled out a sky blue T-shirt and held it up to herself, studying her reflection in the mirror. Her large green eyes wavered back at her, light flickering off her unspilled tears. "Stop it!" she snapped at the mirror. Her reflection let a single tear roll down its cheek, and Alexia turned away, wiping at her own cheek. "No reason to cry, you big baby! Would Yuna be crying?" she paused a moment, thinking of the summoner. "Okay, bad question." she said to herself, smiling despite the threatening tears. Drawing her arm across her eyes, she turned to face the mirror again. "I will not be weak!" she proclaimed, lifting her chin high. Marching back to her closet, she pulled out a red leather tank top and pulled it over her head, tugging it into place. She dug through a pile of jeans and other random clothes before finding a long, slim-fitting denim skirt to match and threw it on. She studied her new reflection for a brief second before turning on her heel and walking quickly out into the hall.
And that's going to be a chapter! Well I have a few shouts for my reviewers so here it goes:
MichelleTherese: Nay, I was going to give her a name earlier but she didn't have one yet :) And you still can't tell that it's related to the Bible, can you? Again, I swear it is!!! Here's to hoping that it doesn't get deleted before that point!
Nayeli Gold: Well I continued! :) teehee Keep on reading babe and I'll keep on writing!
Lyndsey Rose: Aw, you're so nice to little ol' me! Ya, Goodkind can be a bit dirty at times but it's all good, lol. Hope this chapter lived up to your expectations!
Okay, so ya, this chapter took me longer than I thought it would but I promise the next one will come much faster! No, really.