Alex stared at the ceiling, blinking slowly to clear the sleep from both her eyes and her mind. She could feel the beginning of a headache pushing at the back of her eyes as she rolled out of her bed. It had been another night of tossing an turning and trying to get to sleep. Slipping into her robe she shivered as the coolness of the floor crept up from her feet to the rest of her body. Like any other winter it was a familiar feeling and she had come to expect, if not, accept it. Stretching, she made her way over the hardwood floors and down the stairs, knowing each creak or groan with the intimacy that only someone who really listened could. While her body was awake, her mind was focused on sleep still, and totally unprepared to deal with human contact at this point.
Her mothers voice reached her just as she had almost reached the bathroom.
"Lex, I need to you to take the garbage out and don't forget your laundry!"
It was like nails on a chalkboard at this ungodly hour and it was all Alex could do not to yell something laced with profanity back at her. Instead she grunted "Fine!" Turning quickly on her heel she headed back towards the kitchen to obey her mother.
While getting dressed Alex would catch glimpses of herself in the mirror. She knew she was attractive but like most teenage girls had some issues with self image. Alex could pick apart her body and describe every flaw without so much as batting an eyelash. However she knew how to dress her body to accentuate whatever she wanted and today was a low cut black shirt with a lace back and a pair of blue jeans made to look worn and loved. As usual her hair would have a bouncy 70's flick and on her feet would be a pair of ratty old converse that had been around since she was in grade 8. Admiring herself in the mirror, Alex nodded with satisfaction and walked out of the bathroom to grab her lunch money from the counter and head to school.
It was a typical day, with a typical bus ride... and it became even more average as she stepped into art class. Her teacher was a stuffy religious man in his mid fifties. His eyes scaled her once with disapproval and then rolled as he went back to writing on the board. Alex took her seat next to her girlfriend, Leandra, and thumped her backpack and art bag onto the desk. Smiling she turned to Leandra to ask how her morning went, but was greeted with a listless stare. Alex knew exactly what was about to happen and tried to turn back to her books but it was too late.
"Did you honestly have to wear a shirt like that?" Leandra sneered. "It gives away too much and we already have to deal with enough stares in this shithole."
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