Dreams Or How I Live My Life in Daydreams

After School Special

Ring! The alarm clock went off, startling Autumn awake. Rubbing her eyes, she leaned on her side to shut off the eardrum piercing screech. Her vision fuzzy, she focused on the time. "Shit!"

Chunking the blankets aside, she rolled out of bed and scrambled to her feet, almost tripping when her foot became entangled in the jumbled sheets. With a grunt, she set her foot free and opening the dresser drawer, grabbed a sweater and pants. She wouldn't have time to shower.

Grumbling at herself for her sluggishness, she changed out of her pajamas, bouncing on her feet, into her clothes, dashed out of her room, and hurried to the bathroom at the end of the hall—the only bathroom in the entire house.  She turned the knob.  It didn't budge. She pounded on the door. "I need to brush my teeth!" she yelled.

"I'm taking a dump!" her brother replied. Folding her arms, she leaned against the door and waited.

Three minutes later, that seemed more like ten minutes, she heard the toilet flushing and the spritz of air freshener. The door opened and her brother stepped out—-his hair sticking up like a porcupine—-an impish smirk on his baby face. "I wouldn't go in there if I were you," he said, sauntering off.

Her mood already foul, Autumn cursed under her breath. Having no other recourse, she held her nose and entered the small windowless bathroom.

After a quick wash up, she headed back, with great relief, to the fresh air of her bedroom. Pulling her damp hair into a short ponytail, she grabbed from her dresser a perfume sample that a pushy sales associate shoved into her hands as she tried to escape during a visit at the shopping mall.

Unscrewing the cap, she dabbed some on her fingertip and rubbed it behind her ears.

Cramming her feet inside her sneakers, she grabbed her jacket and book bag and rushed down the stairs. "Dad!" she yelled. "I'm in the kitchen," he answered.

She scurried into the kitchen as her dad ate a piece of toast and swiped a granola bar from off the counter to eat on the way.

Seated beside her husband, her mother, her hair in jumbo rollers and wearing a silk fuchsia robe, finished the corner of orange juice in her glass and set it on the table heavy-handed. "That's all you're eating?" she said.

Stuffing the granola bar into her pocket, Autumn regarded her mother. She had pronounced bags, big enough to fill a grocery cart, under her turquoise eyes from lack of sleep. "Yeah," she replied.

Adjusting his glasses, her father pushed himself away from the table and stood to his feet. "Ready?" he said. Antsy, Autumn nodded.

Wanting to get a move on, she barreled out the kitchen and out the door while the middle-aged man leisurely took his time.

Taking her seat on the passenger side, she waited for her father. The door left unlocked her father no longer bothered to lock the car anymore. Who would want to steal an old car with a muffler that sounded like it was taking its last gasp? The would-be thief wouldn't make it out of the driveway with the loud rattling.

Slipping behind the wheel, the left side dipping, her father fastened his seatbelt.  Next, he placed his android smartphone into the adjustable gooseneck cup holder phone mount.

Groaning inwardly at his listless movements, Autumn pleaded with him in her mind to get a move on it. Firing up the engine, it sputtered then roared. The muffler rumbled like a loud belch.

From the corner of her eye, Autumn saw a yellow glow emitting from her neighbors upstairs window. The boom woke them. Pressing her foot on her imaginary brakes, Autumn held her breath as her father backed the car out of the driveway, the rattling unceasing.

Turning the steering wheel, it whining, he straightened the vehicle. Her nerves frayed, Autumn looked out the window to see if the noise woke more neighbors.

Finally, they were on their way.

Anxiety bubbling inside her, Autumn checked the time on the dashboard. She wouldn't make it in time. She would get detention, this being her third tardy. She slumped in the chair, resigned to the punishment that awaited her.

Arriving at the placid school grounds, not a loiterer around, Autumn languidly retrieved her book bag from the backseat and stepped out of the car. "Thanks, Dad," she mumbled, shutting the door. He rolled down the window. "Have a marvelous day in school," he said in a cheery voice.

She smiled ironically. "Don't worry about picking me up after school. I will probably end up having detention," she replied. "I'll ask Nara to drop me off."

He furrowed his brow as though to say something. "Okay," he said, keeping whatever he was thinking to himself. Honking the horn, he drove off.

Not bothering to stop by her locker, she trudged down the hall to—-her doom—-her English class already in session. Mr. Axel's guttural voice bellowed from outside the door. You didn't have to worry about falling asleep in his class. His voice would keep you awake.

Her palms clammy, she turned the doorknob and entered.

The instructor stopped mid-sentence while the rest of the class stared at her as though a spotlight was on her. "You're late, Ms. Fleetwood," he said. "I'm sorry," Autumn replied, hastening to her empty desk. "Detention after school," he said without skipping a beat in keeping with the lesson.

Two minutes later, Maddox strutted into the classroom as though he stepped off a catwalk. "Detention after school, Mr. Zachary," the instructor said. The boy readied a smartass comeback when the instructor's next words silenced him. 

"Perhaps you and Ms. Fleetwood can work on your dangling modifiers," he said to giggles, earning the class a rebuke.

Suppressing a smug grin, Maddox glanced at Autumn, her long dark lashes lowered, her cheeks crimson. He wouldn't mess up the opportunity that presented itself to him this time.

Autumn exhaled a heavy sigh.  Of all people, why did he have to be the one I have detention with?