God. It’s too early for this. 

Danielle knocking on my door before 8 am on the first day back should’ve been expected. Doesn’t make the gesture anymore welcome though. 

I shut the door in her face, which, rude I know, but she doesn’t just get to ambush me like that. Also, I’m not inviting her inside to wait. She can stand on the street with her brother, the hoverer. No idea why he didn’t just walk up to the door like his annoying sister. Maybe because he has more respect for my sleep than she does. Or maybe he just doesn’t care if I’m awake or not. Can’t blame him to be honest. 

I reluctantly trudge back to my room to get ready for school, knowing that Danielle won’t leave until I’ve left for school. She’s like a parasite in that respect, attaching herself to an unwilling host and going everywhere with them. (Trust me, I have firsthand experience with this.)  

“Oi! Brat! Hurry up and get out!” Paul yells at me from downstairs. Now that he’s awake, he’s probably lit one up in the living room and is filling the room with that disgusting scent of smoke. Asshole. 

But I will gladly do what he’s asked me to on this occasion.  

Within minutes I’ve brushed my hair, changed unto my uniform and packed my school bag. I can get both breakfast and lunch at school. I slip on my battered school shoes that still somehow fit after 4 years of wear and head downstairs, trying my best to avoid Paul. The less contact you have with him, the better. 

I slip out of the house before he can yell at me again about how unpresentable I look and how I need to clean up. Danielle is still standing on the doorstep, but Luke’s nowhere to be seen.  

“Where’d he go?” I ask her, pointing at the street and praying she knew who I was talking about.  

Thankfully she did because she answered with a simple. “He went to school. Got bored of waiting for you, probably.” 

The then proceeded to criticize me. “You take a long time to get ready. Like, we’ve been walking to school together for 4 years. You should already be ready to go by the time I knock. But it seems like I’m always waking you up.” 

“Alarm clock’s broken.” I respond bluntly, not taking very kindly to being criticized before 8 am by a girl whose job title is professional worrier and is always overprepared for everything. 

“You have a phone. You could just set an alarm on there.” Danielle counters with logic. Always the rational one, never letting emotions influence her actions. 

But it’s too early for logic so I just shrug. I’m not in the mood to talk to Danielle. Honestly, I’m never in the mood to talk to Danielle. I really don’t know why she still insists on walking to school together, it’s not like we’re really friends anymore. 

“So, how was your summer?” Danielle attempts to strike up a conversation with me. She should know it’s futile. I rarely respond. And when I do, I try to keep it as brief as possible. 

“Alright.” I shrug. “You?” 

“Oh, my summer was great! I did so much...” I zoned out at the very start of this tangent. This girl just never knows when to quit, does she? She kept talking about her summer the whole way to school, right up until she saw Sofia, when she left me with a simple ‘got to go.’ 

Not even a goodbye. 

I don’t understand this girl’s attachment to Sofia. 

“Hey! Charlie!” A voice calls out to me across the car park, and I can hear a pair of footsteps sprinting over to me. I turn and see that the voice belongs to James, who always get dropped off early by their parents. My face instantly lights up in a smile. Finally, one of the two people I actually missed over the summer. 

I begin walking over to James, meeting them in the middle of the path before I respond. No need calling out to them when I could just talk normally. “Hi James. How was your summer?” 

They smiled up at me, adjusting their glasses on their nose. “It was great actually. I didn’t spend much time at home, which made it really enjoyable.” 

“You need new glasses, mate. Or get them adjusted at least. Those things are going to fall off your face one day and break.” I advise for what feels like the hundredth time. I know James has spoken to their parents about it. It just feels like they’re being cruel to them at this point. But James’s response surprises me. 

“They already did.” They take off their glasses and show me the hinge, which is surrounded by black duct tape holding it together. “My parents said that I can still use them, so they won’t get me new ones.” 

“So what? They’re just going to let you deal with those ratty old things until you physically can’t see anymore?” A voice interrupts our conversation, gruff and grumpy.

“Hey Morty, sounds like someone hasn’t had their morning coffee yet.” I smile at the new addition. Mortimer, James’s best friend and the third member of our group.

“Ran out this morning. Mum hasn’t been shopping yet.” He shrugs and pulls James into a side hug, eliciting a giggle from James. Their face went from happy to sunshine bright at Morty’s arrival. It’s a wonder that they aren’t dating yet.

“That sucks. The canteen won’t be serving any, will they?” I confirm, checking the time on my phone. 8:15 am. The back gates should be opening soon to let us in. There’s also a new notification. A message from Katherine, the final member of our friend group.

“Gonna be late. Don’t bother waiting, just go eat. Both you and Morty need to.”

I sigh and roll my eyes, shooting off a quick response. “Seriously K? It’s the first day back. I know you take pleasure in pissing off Mr Davison but maybe try not to get in trouble on the first day? Just a suggestion.” 

The reply comes quickly. “Not my fault the bus is late.”

Morty’s voice quickly snaps me back to the present. “Nah. They think we’re too young for caffeine. Message from Katherine?”

“Yeah, she’s gonna be late. Again.” I shove my phone back into my pocket as students around us begin funneling through the big, black metal gates to our daily prison.

I really didn’t miss this place over the summer.