Too Young for This ~ The School

Chapter 1

Marie

I practically jump out of my skin when my alarm goes off. I'm already on edge from being up the entire night. Hearing "Can't Stop the Feeling" by Justin Timberlake blast out of my speaker at 6:30 in the morning doesn't help. I shut it off quickly and lay down, staring at my ceiling for a couple more minutes, until I swing my legs out of bed and walk over to my dresser, getting changed out of the ratty pajama pants I've had since I was ten. The perk of being five foot two at fifteen years old is that you can still wear the same clothing for at least seven years. I trudge to the bathroom to brush my teeth, and my hair and try to make myself look at least a little presentable. I continued to procrastinate until I hear a crash, a shatter, and a loud curse from downstairs which is usually my cue to head down.

When I reach the bottom stair I'm greeted by the familiar smell of burning food coming from our tiny kitchen in the corner of our two-floor apartment. Bent over the kitchen counter is Finn, muttering under his breath and scraping the remaining pieces of a black pancake off of the griddle. I come up behind him and grab one of the circles, banging it on the table. It doesn't bend like a normal pancake would, but instead stays perfectly intact and makes the sound of a rock hitting the counter.

"Delicious." I laugh, tossing it in the trash.

"Like you could do any better." he shot back, pushing his turquoise glasses up his nose.

"Fair." I shrug, walking to the fridge and grabbing a yogurt, then sitting down at the small dining table.

Finn isn't my biological brother but he is my brother. Since I was nine I lived in foster care my entire life and so had Finn. His parents died when he was younger and my dad hates me so it's a perfect match. When he turned eighteen he got his own place and I moved in with him. Besides, we don't look like siblings at all. We're total opposites besides our eyes, which are the same cloudy gray. Finn's hair is short and curly black while mine is decently long and dirty blonde. He's also five foot nine, which is giant to my short ass. However, besides the looks, Finn and I have a lot in common. We're both smart, we both can't cook if our life depended on it, and we both hate spiders with every part of our bodies.

"Excited for school?" he asks, sitting down beside me.

I look at him. "I did not get a second of sleep last night. At all."

"Why?" He pulls out the newspaper he keeps under the table.

"Just couldn't." I shrug.

"One of those nights, huh?" he asks, looking at the clock.

I nod.

"Shouldn't you be on your way to school?" he suggests, and I look at the clock too.

"Uh, no. It's 7:00, we usually leave around 7:45." I remind him.

"I can't drive you today, Marie. Did I not tell you that?" he says, putting down the paper.

I stare at him. "You're kidding. Right."

He shook his head and I stood up, starting to walk towards my backpack. "Finn, Astrid High School is an hour away. School starts at 7:55. I'm screwed if I'm late to another one of Mrs. Damon's classes."

"Then you better start running," he grins, continuing to read the paper.

I mutter insults and curses under my breath, slinging my backpack over my shoulder, grabbing my phone, and my keys, and opening the door.

"Maybe if you learned how to drive you could get to school on time!" Finn calls after me.

"Shut up!" I yell, then closed the door and started walking down the busy streets of New York.