Chapter 1 - August 23, 2017 - Tempest I stretched out on my bed as the gray dawn light filtered into my room. It was really early— about 5:00 in the morning. Everyone was asleep, even my sister Kelsey. She’s normally up at this early hour drawing; maybe she wanted to get a good sleep for once. I’m weirdly excited for the first day of school this year, probably because we’ll be at the top of the hill for the very last time. Most tell me that senior year is difficult, but I never felt that way about school in general. I tiptoe downstairs and grab some bread from the pantry. Once I was settled in, I heard some footsteps heading down the stairs. Probably Kelsey, I thought. As I had predicted, Kelsey came marching into the kitchen. Our house is larger than most— my father’s a surgeon, so we have that kind of money. “What are you going to draw today, sis?” I ask. Kelsey starts seventh grade today, but she’s got a while before she needs to worry about getting ready. After all, it was only 5:13 at the moment. “I’m not exactly sure, I just want to get some sort of sketch done before I have breakfast,” Kelsey replied. I took a bite of the buttered toast I’d prepared, knowing that my “normal school wake-up time” wasn’t far from now. It was 5:26 by the time I’d finished, so I put my plate in the sink and went upstairs to brush my teeth. Kelsey was downstairs finishing up her sketch. 30 minutes later, I was done showering and had my outfit chosen. I slipped into my clothes and searched the house for Kelsey. “I’m here!” I heard Kelsey’s voice from the restroom. Better not disturb her, I decided. By now it was 6:00, and the bus would be coming an hour and a half later. Unsure why I was so early, I decided to get on my phone for a short time, just to see if Genesis and Alana had some spare time as well. They’ve been my closest friends since 6th grade, and we’ve been practically inseparable since then. As luck would have it, Genesis had texted me a few minutes before. “I woke up and got ready wayyyy too early, wanna chat?” She had typed. We chatted for a good long hour when I finally asked, “Do you want to go meet at our bus stop and talk there?” “Sure, why not?” Genesis replied. Before long, we were sitting on a bench outside, just talking about summer break. There was even a point in time when Genesis decided to nickname herself Geni at the most random time possible— in an amusement park during lunch. Alana and I called her Geni in person ever since. “Are you excited for senior year?” I finally blurted out. “A little,” Geni admitted. “Hey guys!” I heard a voice from above and glanced upwards. “Alana, you’re here!” We’re neighbors, so we see each other very often— we love it that way. The bus pulled up at our stop, and the three of us clambered on. Alana and I got into the same seat and Geni sat on the other side by her newfound crush, Alex. They’d only known each other since the end of last year, but they’re fond of one another’s company. I also noticed an unfamiliar blonde boy seated in front of us. Finally, the crowded bus pulled up at Middleton High and came to a halt. Eventually, all the buses arrived, and we were sent off to our building.
