Memory Lane

Chapter Five

"Hope is not found in a way out, but a way through." -Robert Frost

Memory Lane: Chapter Five

Red, blotchy legs fill up the length of the steamy mirror when I step out of the shower. Even with my towel wrapped tightly around my body, my legs are exposed to the harsh air outside of the protection of the shower and my body begins to shiver. For a moment, I don't move. I just stare at the reflection of my legs. Sometimes I forget that they're mine.

I wish I could forget that forever.

Forcing my eyes away from my reflection, I go into my room and put on my outfit for the first day of senior year. As soon as I pull my jeans up, they begin to slip back down my waist. I frown and pull them back up, but with one step forward they slide down again. I should be used to this by now. Most of my clothes are becoming too big for me. Even my belts are getting too large, unable to keep my pants firmly around my thinning waist. Still, I manage to work with the very last hole on my belt and my wide-legged jeans stay comfortably on.

In the early stages of staying with my grandmother, she was coherent enough to notice how all of my jeans were hurting my legs. Wearing anything relatively tight was out of the picture, but all of my jeans were stuck in the skinny-jean era. So, she bought me a few new wide-legged pairs to help with the pain. She had asked for my size to ensure whatever she bought fit me, and at the time every new pair of jeans did.

Aunt June and Uncle Tim already left for work by the time I go downstairs. The remnants of their breakfast remains on the counter: two nearly empty coffee mugs and plates with a few crumbs spilling off of the sides. I eye the kitchen hungrily as I step towards the door, but the clock on the microwave forces me to continue my trek to the front door rather than stopping for the food Aunt June left for me. If I am going to make it to school on time, I can't stop and eat breakfast.

Last night, after Allen alerted me to the concern of how I would get to school, I ditched my schedule for my phone and mapped out a path for me to walk. In theory, it should only take me twenty minutes to get to school. However, with my legs as a minor setback and the fact that I have never been inside the high school and don't know where any of my classes are, I allotted thirty minutes to make it to my first class.

With one last look at the eggs and toast left on the counter for me, I open up the front door and let the chilly morning air seep into the house. It brings with it the smell of fall and I take a deep breath, closing my eyes for a moment while I listen to the wind rustling through the trees. Fall has always been my favorite season. At one point, winter closely rivaled it. Now, I dread when it will start to snow again.

Seconds later, the sound of rustling leaves gets cut off by loud music matched with high-pitched singing. Kendall pulls into the Stallard's driveway and her car windows are rolled all the way up, but the stereo is so loud that all of the sound finds a way out. When she sees me standing on the porch, she shuts off the music and quickly gets out of the car with a huge smile.

"Laura! Are you ready for the first day of school?"

My eyes widen at her cheerleading uniform. The royal blue and maroon are nearly leaping off of the fabric at me and while I would look horrible in those colors, she looks incredible. Kendall is beautiful, though. I have a feeling she could make anything look nice. 

She looks down at herself and laughs, nodding at me with a giddy smile.

"I know, I know. It's a lot! But it's tradition for the cheerleaders to wear their uniforms on the first day of school. As Captain, I can definitely put the lid on this tradition, but... I kind of love it!"