The Wallflower

First Days

Sang

The weekend passed by in a blur. I kept to myself, cooped up in my room and only going downstairs to eat or clean the house. Dad had, for the most part, stopped drinking so much and only disappeared that Friday night to who knows where again. He even stopped smoking around the house so much but it still reeked of cigarettes everywhere. Even after all this time, I can never get used to the smell of tobacco.

With his temper abated for the time being, I fell back into my normal routine. Marie rarely left her room and dad was...dad. If he noticed anything about my missing glasses he never said. But then he rarely saw anything other than his own problems these days.

My depression seems worse than ever and I could feel it building up inside me. But thinking about it meant I had to face it and I didn't want to put myself further down the metaphorical hole my mind was in. Still, it was there lurking beneath the surface like a dark ominous cloud.

A Monday morning loomed before me and a new school week lay ahead. I woke with the breaking dawn, as the first streams of light peeked through the clouds and colored the sky. It was a beautiful morning but I dreaded it with every fiber of my being. I had no contact with Karen ever since my father's outburst on Friday and we didn't have a home phone anyway so there was no way for me to call her to apologize. Kota and Nathan were mysteriously absent from their home all weekend, because the two cars they had weren't in the driveway at all whenever I looked. My curious nature kept wondering where they went off to.

"Sang, are up or not?!" Marie shouted as she pounded on my door. "Dad said we can take the car so hurry up!"

I pulled my pillow over my head and screamed into it, loudly. I could practically feel Marie rolling her eyes at me and I'm sure she wasn't happy at the prospect of having to drive to school with me.

With much reluctance, I got up and grabbed my spare glasses from the night stand. They were black, with a tape in the middle holding the two together and if I dropped them at all, they'd fall apart. They were at least a year or two old and didn't really help my failing eyesight but until I got up the courage to ask dad to get me another pair, these would have to do. The world fell in and out of focus and another dull morning greeted me. Things were still blurry but it'd do for now at least. I decided to pick out a bright orange t-shirt with the Uzumaki symbol on it and a pair of black jeans for that day. Maybe Naruto will give me strength where I had none. I'll need it if I'm facing Jade.

In the bathroom, I stared at my reflection for the longest time. My eye bags looked horrible and darker than ever today. I slumped and deflated at the thought of dealing with my bullies for another week. All my stuff was gone and I was clueless on what to do about it. I had no money to replace them all and dad didn't want me getting a job. I sighed, blowing out a tired breath as I pulled my hair up into a messy bun.

Part of me was still numb on the whole thing, not believing the events that happened on Friday but it was there, at the back of my mind.

"Sang!" Marie shouted, pounding on my door again. "Hurry the hell up!"

I jumped, putting my brush away before grabbing a plain, black jacket from my closet and my backpack. Downstairs, Marie was by the door waiting with her binder and white purse. She wore a red tube top and a pair of cut off jean shorts with white tennis shoes. Her outfits were always so nice and I envied her confidence and ability to pull them off effortlessly.

She gave me a look once she saw me, eying my orange t-shirt with distaste. "What the heck are you wearing? You know what, nevermind. What happened to your glasses?" She asked me instead, cocking her hip in annoyance.