ATTENTION

Hailey Winston

English homework. Check.

Money for lunch. Check.

A bag of Skittles. Check.

Packets of chewing gum. Chec-

"Hailey, the bus is almost here!" My mother calls me from the living room.

"Okay okay I'm coming." I shout back at her as I look for my packets of chewing gum.

Finally finding them in my third drawer, I put them in my side bag, carry my bag and head for the living room.

"Hey, why are you walking like that? Aren't you so happy you are finally going back to school?" My mother asks as I walk sluggishly into the living room.

Our living room isn't fancy, it's a normal one with two big couches facing each other on opposite sides, a smaller one-seater couch in the corner in between the two big couches and a normal wooden table in the space in the middle of the couches.

There's a sixteen inch Hisense flat Television hang on it's stand as well and my mother is watching her favourite sitcom, Keeping Up Appearances.

Oldies!

I put my bag at one of the couches and go to grab a drink from the kitchen, and while there I pick an apple as well. Breakfast isn't something I care about so I don't take it. I'd rather sleep in my breakfast time.

"Hey mum, say thanks to dad for me. I appreciate the new phone." I say to my mother as I put my bag my shoulder to go get the bus.

"Be careful next time, okay? I know we're so hard on you sometimes but it's for the best." She says smiling at me.

"I get it mum, have a nice day."

As soon as I get out of the house, I hear the familiar hooting of the bus. I've been taking this bus since forever and it's my senior year now. Being familiar with it meant the driver knows me by face and name and he hoots everytime the bus passes by my house.

The perks of living on the road side!

I also have a favorite seat in the bus, behind the driver. Nobody ever sits there because it's reserved for me.

See, I'm a social person!

Unlike many seniors, I don't own a car. Hell my parents don't own one, apart from my father's company car.

He works for Global Bus Company and is in charge of bookings.

My mother is an elementary school teacher as well as a baker, she teaches at my four year old sister's school.

When the hooting gets nearer, I finally walk from the veranda to the road where the bus stops and I enter and occupy my favorite seat.

"Good morning Micheal. Sleep well?" I greet the driver.

"Good morning Hailey. Are you feeling okay?"

"Yeah, I feel good." I say brushing his question away.

Nobody needs to know I'm hurting, not even my mother.

After finishing highschool, I'll get better treatment then.

Twenty minutes later, I enter the school I last entered thirty days ago.

It hasn't changed much, just a bunch of teenagers fighting for parking space, couples making out in the hallway, footballer practicing in the football pitch and their girlfriends waiting at the bleachers.

See, cliche.

I continue to my locker and I try to open it with my usual locker combination.

However it doesn't budge. It doesn't budge the next time and the next.

Out of frustration, I hit the locker hard that it bursts open. All eyes in the hallway are on me, but I care less.

I'm happy my locker opens.

"Haileeeeeeey", someone screams my name and I'm sure it's one of my crazy friends.

"Hailey Winston, you can't just disappear like that for a full month!" My friend-boy Kai snaps at me as soon as he reaches where I'm standing.

"I didn't just disappear, you guys know where I was!" I tell him trying to divert the topic.

"Oh yeah, Hayden knew nothing about you going to the competition!"

"How dare you believe my brother over me! Hayden is just an idiot, he doesn't even know what goes on with my life!" I fake gasp

"Whatever, can we now hug?" He whines.

I don't wait for him to repeat it, I push myself in front and hug him tight. I miss him, I miss my other two best friends. I miss our hangout sessions, I miss our bickering.

I'm guilty of lying to them as well.

"Why I'm being left out if the reunion runaway bride?" Another voice says while I'm still hugging Kai. I'm sure that's Maya.

"Maya? What the hell are you doing in school right now?" I ask looking at her with a bewildered look.

"Oh come on! I come early just once and you make a huge deal out of it?" She asks crossing her arms on her chest.

"No offense,but you've never come early ever since I got to know you." I reply

"Wow, I'm offended right now but I'll let it slide because I missed you." She says she hugs me.

Now this is a hug of the best of the best friends.

"Who are you kidding Maya? We both know you come to school early these days to stalk someone" Kai says smirking.

At that, my jaw almost falls on the floor as I look at Maya. Maya Clarke? What happened to her in my absence?

"Maya, what is he talking about?" I ask her.

Maya is literally a saint, the one we will enroll in a convent. Why would she be stalking someone? It better not be a boy!

"N-no, I- I don't know--"

"Whatever, I won't listen to you right now"