Michelle

15

The sun rose and everything fell.
Blinded by the sudden streak of light coming from her window, Alex knocked several binders off of her desk.
As she picked up her notes, Alex stared at the clock hanging above her bedroom door. It read 5:30. AM.
Actually she wasn’t too sure...
her pupils were too tired to move.
Staring at the mess in front of her, Alex thought, Dang, I finally pulled off an all-nighter. Ten complete hours of straight memorization in preparation for the final exams. Intense readings. Extreme note taking… and ten Twinkie snack breaks, two episodes of Pigs N Wiggles, listening perhaps obsessively to Imagination Movers, an occasional thought to jump out the window...
That darn window screen!
Alex picked up the last book on the ground- The Benefits of Sleep she had been reading that night to study for her health test. Soon, yesterday’s memories came flooding back to her.
But she didn’t have the energy to delineate them.
Ding! Alex had gotten a notification from Yahoo. Yahoo, hmmm, sounded like a familiar website, perhaps it was the name of the amusement park Alex visited last week? Alex unlocked her phone and proceeded to the site; someone had asked on Yahoo Answers, “what were the affects of the Industrial Revolution during the 18th century?’
Alex thought, Obviously the construction of factories, increased exploitation of child laborers and worsening health conditions. That assignment was due yesterday.
Instead she replied a more logical response: *effects
“Alex, time to wake up!” It was Alex’s older sister, Berta, who was in her third year of high school. “Don’t you know it’s already 7? School starts in an hour!”
Too tired to move, Alex lay on the floor and rolled towards the door. She hollered, “Ok, I’ll be right there!” Stuffing her notebook into her Frozen backpack, Alex grabbed her new favorite toy- a Rubik’s Cube. She always found it comforting to peel off the stickers on the cube and rearrange them until all the colors were on the same side. However, truth be told, she missed her old doll, Annabelle. She was Alex’s best friend until Alex began watching horror movies. Watching Annabelle, in particular, seemed to be badger Alex for an unfathomable reason. Perhaps it was the strangely eerie fact that Alex shared the same name with the director of shoe design that made the movie feel so realistic. Anyway, afterwards, Annabelle ended up in the trash can.
As Alex headed downstairs, an aroma of freshly microwaved pancakes wafted through the air.
To her utter surprise, her mother had prepared pancakes for breakfast! Berta asked, “Ready for the last week of school?”
“Yeah, I guess.” Alex said nervously.
“I can’t believe it,” Berta continued, “Next year, I’ll be a senior and you’ll be in first grade! Scared for your finals?”
“I was up all night!”
“No way!”
“You better believe it! Competition at Manhattan SpeedyStart is intense!”
“Wow, I am not surprised. Aren’t you nervous? What were you learning?”
Alex rubbed her eyes, “Oh well nothing too complicated just advanced trigonometry, honors chemistry, Shakespeare. It’s true that I’m stressed about the finals but what I’m really concerned about is the significance of trophy hunting in Zimbabwe and the incentives of ecotourism on government permits.”
Her sister gave Alex a confused look. “What did you just say?” There was an extended period of silence.
Eh, who cares, I got to go.” Berta went back upstairs where she had decided to spend the rest of her Senior Ditch Day.
Wiping some milk off her face, Alex thought, if I make it through today, everything will be fine. After all, Alex’s friend Billy was still alive, considering he had gotten a B on the last test! Sighing, Alex stared at the door handle and slowly turned the knob.