As I sit at my desk, hunched over the packet Mrs. Hernandez gave us for homework, I feel my headache growing stronger and stronger with each passing second. The longer I stare at the problems, the less they make sense. No matter how hard I try, I can't figure any of the problems out. I feel as though I'm reading a foreign language; even the simplest concepts are lost on me.
Just as my brain feels like it's about to explode, a soft knock at my door pulls me away from the work in front of me. I look up, and my younger sister is standing at the door.
"What?" I ask.
"Mom told me to tell you that dinner is ready." she says.
"Okay, thanks Ava. Tell her I'll be down in a second." I reply, and she nods. The door shuts behind her, and I let out a long sigh. I put my pencil down and close my binder, tossing it onto my bed. I know that there's no way I'll be able to finish the work on my own, so I may as well to try and get Julia to help me with it tomorrow at lunch.
"Helaina! Get down here now! Dinner is ready!" my mom calls up the stairs.
"Okay! I said I'm coming!" I scream back, jumping up out of my chair. I walk down the stairs and make my way into the dining room, where my family is seated at the table. I slide into my usual seat next to my younger brother, Lucas, and glare across the table at Ava.
"What? Why are you staring at me like that?" she asks innocently.
"I told you to tell Mom that I would be down in a second and you ignored me." I snap, and she smirks at me.
"Guess I forgot." she lies, and I roll my eyes. Ever since Ava turned thirteen, she's started talking back more and acting more rebellious.
"Yeah, sure." I mumble. Before she has the chance to shoot back a snarky remark, Mom walks in and the room quiets down.
"Where's Dad?" Lucas asks.
"He's working a late shift tonight at the hospital." Mom replies, handing him his plate of food. "He shouldn't be home until three in the morning, so don't bother waiting up for him." Beside me, I notice Lucas' mood change a bit. The optimistic look on his face falters, and he looks down at his plate of grilled chicken and starts eating.
We sit in silence for a minute, before Mom comes back in with the rest of our food. As she places the food down on the table, Lucas looks up from his plate.
"Mom, can I have money to go to the mall tomorrow night with Jacob and Ryan?" Lucas asks once the four of us are all sitting down. Mom sighs and shakes her head slightly.
"I guess, but you really need to start looking for a job soon Luke." she says, and he groans. "It's getting close to summer, and if you wait too long, there's not going to be any places left hiring."
"Helaina didn't get one until a few months ago, so why do I need one already?" he complains, and I shoot him a look.
"Can you not bring me into this?" I ask, and he ignores me.
"I'm only a freshman; no one I know has a job yet. I don't even think they would hire me anywhere because I'm still too young." he says.
"If you want to keep going out with your friends on the weekend, I suggest that you get a job so you can keep doing so. Your father and I aren't going to provide you with money forever." Mom reminds him. There's silence for a few moments before she asks, "What time are you going out tomorrow?"
"I don't know, probably six." he replies.
Mom nods, before turning to look at me.
"What about you Helaina? Do you work tomorrow night?" she asks.
"No." I shake my head.
"Well you should see if your boss can put you on a shift, because otherwise you're going to be home alone all night. Ava has dance until eight, and she's getting dropped off at a sleepover after that with her dance friends. Dad works late again tomorrow night, and I have some new interns down at the firm coming in tomorrow for orientation so I'm going to be there later than usual." Mom suggests, and I put down my fork before speaking.
"Actually," I begin, and everyone at the table stops chewing and looks up at me. "I was wondering if it was okay if I could go to a party tomorrow night with Julia. She invited me today, and it's been a super stressful week and I just need something to help take my mind off of school and work."
Mom looks at me for a minute, and takes a sip out of her cup. She swallows and opens her mouth and asks, "Who's house is it going to be at?"
"Carson, Julia's boyfriend's house." I reply.
"How many people are going to be there?"
"I don't know." I answer truthfully.
"You can ask Dad tomorrow when you see him before you leave for school." she says, cutting into her chicken and taking another bite.
"Mom, please." I beg her. "I barely ever go to parties, and you know that I'd never do anything bad."
"I know you wouldn't do anything on your own, I'm just worried about Julia influencing you. I don't want you getting h-" she starts, but stops and looks at Ava, who's taking in every word of our conversation. "I don't want you doing anything that you'll regret." she rephrases, and I nod.
"I promise I won't, and if I do, you can ground me for however long you want. Please just let me go. I already told Julia I would, and she's going to be really mad if I suddenly back out on her." I say, and she sighs.
"Fine, you can go. But if you do do anything bad or drink something that I wouldn't want you to drink, please just call me or your dad or someone so that I know you'll get home safely." Mom says, and I nod vigorously.
"I will, I promise." I say.
"Good. So Ava, what did you do in school today?" Mom asks, and I zone out of the conversation. I look down at my plate, smiling to myself as I cut into the chicken breast. I don't know why, but I can already tell that tomorrow night is going to be something that I'll never forget.
-
-
-
An hour later, I'm laying down on my bed scrolling through my Instagram feed, when my phone suddenly freezes for a second and I get a notification for an incoming FaceTime request from Julia. I sit up and accept it. Seconds later, her smiling face lights up my phone screen.
"Hey!" she exclaims.
"Good news." I say. "My mom agreed to let me go to Carson's party tonight."
"Oh thank God, now I'll have a clear conscience tomorrow and won't have the thought of sneaking you out looming in the back of my head all night." Julia says, and I frown.
"Wait, you were going to try and sneak me out?" I ask, and she laughs.
"What else would you expect of me? God Helaina, I feel like sometimes you don't even know me." she jokes. "Anyway, do you know what you're going to wear tomorrow?" she asks.
"No clue," I reply.
"That's fine; I can just come over tomorrow after school and help you pick out an outfit then. We can get ready at your house, too." she says.
"Should I drive tomorrow then?" I ask.
"Yeah, I think that it's your turn anyway." she reminds me. Every day since we got our licenses, Julia and I have taken turns each day on who drives to and from school, figuring that it would save both of us on gas and money.
"So, what are you wearing tomorrow?" I ask.
"Oh! That's why I called you! I can't believe I almost forgot." Julia exclaims, jumping up off her bed. She goes over to her closet and puts her phone down on her desk so that I can see what she pulls out. "What do you think of this?" she asks, holding up a red and black flannel with a black tank top and blue jean shorts for me to see.
"Yeah, that's fine. What shoes?" I ask, and she shrugs, grabbing her phone so that it's back on her face.
"I don't know, probably just my white and black striped Adidas sneakers I usually wear." Julia shrugs.
"Yeah, that'll look cute." I say.
"Julia, can you come down here for a second?" I hear a muffled voice yell in the background of the call.
"Yeah, be there in a second!" she yells. "Sorry, I have to go. I'll text you later. See you tomorrow."
"Bye, see you tomorrow." I reply, and the call ends. I look at the time on my phone and see that it's almost 8:30. I put my phone down, crossing the room and heading into the bathroom to take a shower for the night.
-
-
-
AN: Next chapter is up! Sorry, it's a bit boring so far but I have to introduce the characters and everything first before it starts to get interesting. Hope you enjoy! Don't forget to vote and comment!