Exhaustion


Thanks to BassClarinetSweetie, Percussion Chick, Rhapsody, and the Redhead Witch for your reviews!

AN: I had to tweak a few things in this chapter... I realized I've had some serious issues with events skipping around in time. So this has been edited a bit.


Two days later, the only thing on my mind was bed. A nice, soft bed, with lots of pillows. And most of all, rest.

I unlocked the door to my home, entered, and immediately went to my room and collapsed on my bed, not bothering to take my shoes off. The window was open, tempting in a small breeze, and I could hear one neighbor puttering around his flowerbeds, and another cutting his lawn. Leaves were rustling in the wind, a sign of autumn to come.

I sighed. All of this nature I'd always taken for granted. And here it was, the same it had even been. I was, for some reason, glad for that.

I had just completed the first day of school. After a summer of relaxation, sitting in the stifling classrooms all day felt foreign and I knew it would be several weeks before I settled into my new schedule completely. Learning about angles and metaphors was not very high on my list, I had to admit.

Me, I was just relieved to be back home. Although the nature was a nice added bonus.

I sighed as a thought hit me suddenly. Band practice. Today. At 4:00, which was in a half hour.

"Aw, great," I muttered. Normally I would have been thrilled, butschool had my brain fried, and I desired nothing but a tall glass of lemonade, a shade tree, and a few hours to myself.

The phone rang, startling me out of my rest, and I rolled out of bed and grabbed the phone from my desk.

"Hey, it's Jackie," it said.

"Hey," I sighed tiredly.

"You sound horrible."

"Yeah. I swear I nearly went insane in there."

"Well, at least it's over with… from here on out, it just becomes routine. Hey, how'd you do, anyway?"

"Okay."

"That's good."

"Yeah."

"You going to be at practice today?"

I groaned. "I guess so. I have no choice."

"Yeah... well, I was just calling to see how everything went. I suppose I'll see you in fifteen?"

"Right."

We hung up, and I shuffled across the room, found a hairbrush, and began to brush my auburn hair, noting the dark circles underneath my eyes. I frowned, and found myself worrying what Ryan would think of them.

At this thought I dropped the hairbrush in shock. Ryan? Since when did I care what he thought?

Shaking my head, I gathered up my belongings and left my house, sighing resignedly. After unlocking my car, an old, rather beat-up red Honda Accord, I tossed it all in the back. Most kids at my school have nice cars their parents bought them. I worked for mine, and even though it's not the best, I'm proud of it all the same.

I was just turning on to the road off of my street when I realized I'd forgotten my drill chart.
I cursed and did a u-turn, hoping nobody was watching, and sped back home. Leaving the car in idle, I jumped out and let myself inside, heading straight to the kitchen, where I'd seen it last.

"Where are you?" I muttered distractedly, shuffling through the papers on the counter. It seemed to have mysteriously disappeared, right when I needed it the most.

I glanced at the clock, which read 3:49. If I didn't leave for school now, I'd be late. I looked around the room desperately, hoping for some sort of miracle. A flash of yellow caught my eye, and I saw it, hidden in shadow beneath the kitchen table. I grabbed it and raced out of my house, and leaped back into the car, the door still open. After shutting it, I took off for school.

Please, cops, don't notice me, I thought desperately. Normally I didn't speed, but if I didn't, I would be late, and I didn't want to run a lap or do push-ups for it.

I made a right, and then I was on the school's road. Not much farther. I glanced at the clock again, mentally willing the time to slow down.

3:57. I didn't have much time.