Every time I wake up I get this sense of relief. It's almost like stressing out that you have homework, you go to do it and find out it's finished. But waking up with this sensation all started when my brother passed. He suffered from Fatal Insomnia or FFI. Like the very few people who suffer from this disorder, he died in his sleep. That was 3 years ago. I know I shouldn't be playing the guilt game, but ever since then, I am so happy to wake up. So blessed that this hideous disorder wasn't passed among my 2 other siblings. So blessed that my family can maintain a filled house of 5 and still give us food on our plates.
When I wake up, it's usually by my vodka stricken mother. She rips the top layer of the silky duvet off revealing my half naked sleep attire. This is usually extremely embarrassing, especially when a drunk stay at home mom is laughing at you at 6 am. She does this to my older brother Nick. The only difference is that he wakes up 56 minutes earlier. In contrast to me, Nick uses this time to weight lift in the basement and then shower. While I spend my 46 minutes exploding the water bill. What can you expect with 26 inches of platinum locks? I also couldn't forget about the 10-minute facial washes and sometimes that extra touch up on nail polish. That's just the beginning.
I have to pick up the clothes my mom forced me to choose the night before and struggle my way into them. Most of my clothes are extra tight around the chest now, ever since age 13. The "chore" of choosing my outfit the night before sucks because usually the next morning I trash that whole outfit. For the most part, I dress casual and comfortable. Not joggers and spandex, but Khaki shorts and real jeans. I hate those stupid jeggings. Next thing in the morning to do list is beat my face. I apply my overpriced non-vegan moisturizer all over my face. Then I take my concealer and cover the very few blemishes I have. I grab my eyebrow product and gently comb through my brows with my tinted gel. I apply mascara and suddenly I feel confident.
Fitting my foot into a vans slip on is so easy I can do it while walking. That's exactly what I did. Dad was downstairs on his laptop sitting at the bar. In his left hand, he held a stress ball and was gently squeezing it. This became a habit for him since my twin brothers death. He heard my elephant steps thundering on the stairs and he quickly arched his neck. Smiling, he dropped the stress ball and grabbed an apple. "Any test's today Beck?", he knew I hated that nickname, "no I don't think so". His facial expression changed and he reacted to the "think" part. "Maybe if you stayed on top of your studies you wouldn't have to think and you would know". This is exactly how fights started.
Nick was standing in front of the fridge letting the cool air brisk by his tan muscles. "Popa, we gonna need some more milk". I walked over to the pantry to grab some toast. That was the usual breakfast. Sadie walked out of the downstairs bathroom wearing a "My Little Pony" shirt and black leggings. Her hair was done up in a high bun and she looked 10, not 7. Mom walked out behind her and handed her a pop tart. Nick was still searching in the fridge until he gave up and grabbed a pop tart like his 7-year-old sister. "Nick you need protein" Dad stated while getting out the blender. Mom stared me down, kind of, her eyes couldn't focus that well because they were filled with alcohol. "James make Rebecca a shake also, she's looking awfully thin". Mom smirked, Dad scooped 2 cups of protein powder and Nick gave me puppy eyes. Nobody paid attention to Sadie and as usual, she had her head in her iPad. Nick offered me a ride to school so that we could spill the shakes on the way.
"I have to pick up a friend, he doesn't live far" Nick blurted. I never cared, my brother's friends were all hot and they all seemed attracted to me. Even though they were 17 and I was 15. 12 minutes later, a tall tanned surfer dude hopped in the backseat, his name was Cody. He eyed me when he entered the car which made me uncomfortable having my back to him. Nick and Cody had a calm conversation, can't expect much from two Juniors at 7 in the morning. Nick slowed down and I realized we arrived at Kingly High. I climbed out of passenger and gave Nick a hug and waved/saluted Cody.
