The Best Friends

One

Beep. Beep. Beep.

"Ugh." I grumbled as I lifted my head up half asleep, squinting at my alarm clock. 6:00 it read in a  fluorecsent green color that nearly blinded me and a sound that made me wish I was deaf. My mother had gotten the clock for me as a gift, but it really wasn't much of a present to me. I always woke up late. Always. I guess she was sick of having to wake me up for school, so she got something else to do the job for her. I rubbed my eyes and sighed, and then it hit me that today was the first day of school. 

Beep. Beep. Beep.

The alarm clock was still playing its nasty tune and I slammed my hand on the off button. It took every ounce of energy not to crawl back into bed and not wake up for another 6 hours. "Alexandra!" my mom called from down the stairs, probably making sure I wasn't knocked out or pretending to be sick. A few years ago I pretended to be sick on the first day of school, but that's a different story for a different day.

Maybe I should start to tell you a little bit about myself. My name is Alexandra Elizabeth Wagner. Yes, long name, I know, but many people just call me Alex. My dad was the one who gave me this long name and he isn't even around anymore, he just left. Today's my first day of my junior year, I'm 16, no car yet ,not even a liscence. All of my friends can drive except for me. I'm not pretty popular, and I don't really care either. I have a good group of friends, but my best friend is Zachary Phillips, but he hates when people call him that, so just call him Zach. We've been best friends for the longest time. You can't not be friends with someone after you get your first period all over their white couch. We were both in our mother's stomach's at the same time too. Our moms were best friends growing up, and I guess they wanted us to be best friends too. Which is fine with me, because Zach and I get a long pretty well. 

"Alexandra! You better not be sleeping!" my mother called once again, sounding agitated. I thew on a tank top and short shorts and headed downstairs. I greeted my mother with a nod and opened the cabinet and pulled out the Lucky Charms, stuffing my hand inside and shoving the sweet cereal into my mouth.

"Natasha is gonna take you to school," My mom told me after taking a long sip of tea. "Get ready so she doesn't have to wait for you." I nodded and slipped on black Vans shoes. Natasha was Zach's mom and she was everything my mother wasn't. Total opposites, and I don't even know how they could be friends. Natasha was very laid back and never had a care in the world. She always told us to call her by her first name, since at work she was always referred to as Mrs. Phillips. She worked as a teacher at the nearby elementary school, where me and Zach went to school centuries ago. My mom on the other hand worried about everything under the sun, from the threads hanging from my shirt to what was going to be for dinner the following day. She owned her own business, and I guess that's typical businesswoman behavior. She had changed ever since my dad left. It's been hard for her to support myself and my two younger brothers but I guess she has dealt with it well. 

I heard a car beep outside. "There she is," my mother called, stepping outside to talk to Natasha.

"Karen!" I heard Natasha cry, and could just picture them hugging each other like they hadn't seen each other in years. I searched through my bag, making a mental checklist of everything I needed and checking things off as I saw them. I slipped on my backpack as my brothers charged down the stairs, grabbing their backpacks too. They were actually excited for school, well, because that's what happens when you're not in high school. Toby, the middle child, was in 7th grade and went to school with Zach's sister Lillian. The youngest, Jason, and a little smartass, was in 5th grade at the elementary school where Natasha worked. They both ran out the door to the car, and I quickly followed them. I slid into the back seat wedged inbetween Zach and Toby. 

"You ready for today?" Zach asked me, sighing, a slight smile on his face. Zach was never upset about anything, just like his carefree mother. Even in the worst of situations he could lighten up the mood, and there were many times where I was so thankful for that. I shrugged my shoulders. No one was ever ready for the first day of school. It was just something we had to dealt with each year. Natasha rolled down the windows, it was a typical hot California day in August and I fanned myself with my hands.

"It's gonna be a great," Natasha assured me, looking at me through the review mirror as she dropped off Toby and Lillian at the middle school.

"Yeah.." I started, biting my lip and staring at my hands. The next second I looked up and a sickening feeling waved over me. We passed by the school baseball field, and that was how anyone going to our high school knew you were almost there. Natasha pulled into the parking lot and smiled."You guys are going to be fine."  

I stepped out of the car, Zach close behind me and smoothed my hair down. We both walked into high school, our junior year, not knowing that this year would be a year we would always remember.