"Tyler, could you please hurry up," Diana whined as she moved around the kitchen, trying to get things in order. She could hear the sounds from upstairs and knew that her mother would be down soon.

Her eight-year-old brother didn't reply. Instead, he stuffed his mouth with a final spoon-full of cheerios before laying his spoon to the side. He chewed on it noisily before swallowing it down.

"I'm done."

"Finally," Diana murmured irritably as she bent down next to him and began adjusting his school uniform. But she knew it wasn't his fault. She had been the one to wake up late. She was responsible for making his breakfast and getting him ready for school.

"There," Diana exclaimed, adjusting Tyler's white collar before standing up straight, releasing a breath of relief.

At that moment, fast-approaching footsteps were heard on the stairs and the breath Diana had just released seemed to be caught in her throat all over again. It wasn't long before her mother came into view.

"Tyler, are you ready?" her mother asked, placing her hardback heavily on the kitchen table as she began rummaging through it for her keys.

"Good morning, mom."

No reply. Diana felt her blood boil steadily as she watched her nonchalant mother before her. She hadn't even acknowledged her presence, hadn't even acknowledged that she had said anything at all to her. A few moments passed and Diana slowly felt the anger escaping from her. There was no point in being angry. After all, what did she expect? This was nothing new. This was exactly the way things had been for a while.

"Mom, I'm ready," Tyler responded, oblivious to the light tension in the air as he got up from his seat and raced out of the kitchen to retrieve his school bag from his bedroom.

It was then that Diana's mom looked up from rummaging through her handbag and glanced at her daughter, her eyes lingering over her from top to bottom.

"Is that what you're going to wear to school?" her mom asked. The judgement and distaste was clear in her voice, and it took everything within Diana to keep from rolling her eyes.

"Yeah. Why?"

Her mom just shook her head in reply and went back to rummaging through her handbag. Diana stood there, rubbing her palms awkwardly against her pants, unsure of what to do. There was nothing really bad about the way she was dressed. She was wearing an oversized shirt and cargo pants, but her mom just seemed to disapprove of everything she did.

"Mom, I'm ready for school!"

Tyler had reappeared in the kitchen with his backpack, and Diana couldn't keep from smiling at how adorable he looked. Her brother was basically a carbon-copy of herself, except younger and male. He was dressed in his school uniform, a white polo shirt and navy blue shorts, and as corny as Diana believed the whole 'uniform' thing to be, she couldn't deny the fact that it added to his overall cuteness.

"Oh, honey, look how cute you look."

Immediately a small scowl etched unto Diana's face as her mom began cooing over her younger brother. It was true. He did look cute, and Diana knew it. But as she stared at the manner by which her mother papered Tyler, a feeling of resentment began building up within her. This feeling was short-lived and soon disappeared as if it were never even there. Diana felt guilt eating up within her. Her strained relationship with her mother had nothing to do with Tyler.

"We'd be on our way," Diana's mom stated as she grabbed her handbag off the kitchen table and took hold of Tyler's hand in hers.

"Bye Di-di!" Tyler said, waving energetically at her, and Diana couldn't help the wide smile that crossed her face. She could tell that he was excited for his first day of 3rd Grade, it had been all that he had been talking about for the first week. Diana was happy for him, she knew that he would have a good time. He had friends at school, he was smart, his teachers loved him. Unlike her, he didn't resent the educational system.

Diana felt a dark feeling come over her as she thought about school. She had been so focused on getting her brother ready for school that she had almost forgotten that today was the first day of the new school year for her as well. Suddenly feeling slightly dizzy, Diana made her way over to the kitchen island.

The house was eerily quiet now that she was the only one at home. As usual, her father was away on some business trip in only God-knows-where. Diana closed her eyes and breathed in deeply, trying to calm her nerves.

Senior Year. This was something she had once looked forward to, something she had once yearned for with excitement. But now, she yearned for it to be over. She yearned to be done with high school, for it to be over and dusted with. As far as Diana was concerned, high school was hell.

You only have to get through this year, and you'd be done. Diana whispered to herself. You'd be over with this for good.

This calmed Diana down, but the calm was short-lived as she opened her eyes back up and caught sight of the clock hanging above the kitchen stove.

Shit.

Diana was in her room in an instant, stuffing notebooks and pencils into her backpack. She was running late; the school bus was going to arrive any moment soon.

Making her way out of her room, Diana took in the state of the kitchen. It definitely wasn't what would be considered a "mess", but she definitely knew that I would be what her mom would continue to be a "mess". Diana hesitated for a few moments, unsure of what to do. If her mom arrived home before her and saw the state of the kitchen, she was going to be in big trouble. The last thing she needed to do was to give her mom a reason to be mad at her, seeing as she had so much already.

"Fuck it, I'll do it later," Diana grumbled to herself as she made her way out the front door. She was instantly hit by the warm August air, but Diana didn't have time to take it in. She began walking quickly, checking the time on her phone as she did so, making her way over to the bus stop. Soon enough, she had broken into a light jog, panting slightly as she rushed to arrive before the school bus.

Too Late.

Just as Diana turned the corner, she saw the familiar yellow-and-black striped bus retreating from the stop.

"Great. Just fucking great," Diana cursed as she watched the bus appear smaller and smaller till it finally disappeared into the distance. She let out an exasperated breath before readjusting her bag over her shoulders and beginning the trek to school.

By the time Diana arrived at school, the hallways were already cleared. No doubt, all the other students were already seated in their classrooms, which was where she was meant to be. At the same time, Diana felt a slight relief. Not only was she sweating and panting heavily, but she had some time to recollect herself before having to face anyone.

"Diana Williams,"

Turning her head quickly, Diana let out a sigh of relief once she came face-to-face with Mr Jones, an art teacher. Also, probably the only person at the school that she could stand.

"Mr Jones," Diana said, acknowledging him.

"You're late, on your first day," Mr Jones said as he approached her. Although his voice was stern, he had a sly smile dangling from his lips, "that can't be a good sign."

"I know," Diana murmured, "rough morning."

Mr Jones had now completely stopped in front of her, nodding his head slightly as he regarded her. He was a white man in his mid-forties, dressed in a button-up shirt with a brown beard, which he now reached up to scratch.

"You're lucky I'm the one on duty," Mr Jones said, smiling slightly. "But don't be late again or it'd be a detention."

Diana nodded her head, thanking him briefly. She turned on her heel, ready to walk down the opposite side of the hallway.

"One more thing Diana, I have an important task for you this year."

Diana paused in her tracks, looking up at him, slightly confused. Mr Jones was just about to speak when he caught sight of Stefan waltzing in through the school's main entrance.

"Stefan, you're late!" Mr Jones yelled out.

Stefan didn't even acknowledge him, but continued making his way down the corridor. He was dressed in his varsity jacket and had his hands lying idly in his pockets; your typical high-school jock.

"Diana, we'll talk about this later," Mr Jones said, brushing past her and running down the corridor after Stefan.

Diana watched after him for a few moments, wondering what he was going to tell her. She brushed it off after a couple seconds, realizing that there was nothing she could do about it then. It didn't help the fact that she was already almost twenty minutes late for her first-period class.

Turning on her heels, Diana made her way towards the English classroom, wondering what horrors the new school year had in store for her.