PROMPT: 1-800-237-8255 by Logic, Alessia Cara, and Khalid

SONG CONTEXT: the title is the number for the national suicide prevention lifeline, so please call it if you need anything. the lyrics represent a conversation between a suicidal person and someone at the call center.

TRIGGER WARNING: ED AND SUICIDE

"Jae, it's time to get up." The soft hush of her mothers words swept over sixteen year old Jae Alexander. 

"No." She groaned, turning over in her bed. She pulled the covers over her ears in a failed attempt to block out the outside world. "Not today."

"Jae, we've been over this. You have to get out of bed, now." The voice at the foot of her bed was harsh now. "I'm giving you fifteen minutes and I expect you to be downstairs. Dressed this time."

Jae giggled. She knew her mother was referring to the first day of school, the day she shocked her brother and father at the breakfast table in her underwear. In her defense, she was tired. Her mother told her to be downstairs, but not dressed, so that's exactly what Jae did. How was she suppose to think for herself at six in the morning? No work was ever done at six am, she bet Albert Einstein always slept in late. 

The weight at the end of the bed lifted, and Jae knew her mother had went downstairs to start cooking. Eggs and bacon, the breakfast she always ate on Mondays before school. 

School, the one place Jae dreaded returning to the most. 

"Jae, it's been fifteen. Where are you?" Carl called from the breakfast table. The words "shut up" were not in her older brother Carl's extensive vocabulary. Jae came to this conclusion when Carl decided to tell their parents about her eating problems after she begged him to keep his mouth shut. Moron.

"I'm coming Carl. You should really add 'patience' to the flashcards you're currently studying. God knows you need some."

"Jae," The stern voice of her father drifted up from the table, "that was rude. Your brother is right, will there ever be a day where you're early, or on time, to the table?"

"Probably not." Jae called from bed. Getting up was hard, and it was even harder when she had to think about where she was forced to go. "I don't want eggs anyway, not hungry."

"Jae, you know that's not an option. Now get down here and eat your breakfast before you make both you and Carl late to school. Now."

With a groan and a lot of energy, Jae managed to sit up in bed. Strands of brunette hair fell in her eyes, but she didn't bother pushing them away. She didn't bother with a lot of things now, not since she had a therapist, nutritionist, and her mother breathing down her neck. 

Half awake, she threw on the clothes she was wearing the night before. Toothbrush in mouth, hairbrush in hand, Jae attempted to make herself look presentable. After all, morning breath was not cute. Even she, the girl who's infamous for not caring, knew she had to try just hard enough to eradicate morning breath. Unlike poor Morgan who always came to school in her pajamas with morning breath. Honestly, Jae didn't know why Morgan's parents allowed her in the car smelling like that. But, as Carl always reminded her, it was not her problem. If Morgan didn't want to invest in self hygiene, that's that.

"Ah, Sleeping Beauty is finally awake." Carl called from the car. "Grab a yogurt pot, we're late."

"Whatever." Jae called after him, swinging her bag onto over her shoulder before walking out the door. She didn't want breakfast, everyone knew that, and she failed to understand why that was such a big deal.

Once she slammed the car door shut, she heard her brother sigh. "Where's your yogurt?" He asked, not daring to look at her. They went through this every day, and Jae was surprised he hadn't caught on to the fact that she. Did. Not. Want. Breakfast.

"Fridge. Drive." Jae shot back, buckling her seatbelt. It was useless for Carl to argue, and he knew it. 

The car jerked out of the Alexander's driveway and down the familiar winding roads to Peninsula Preparatory High School. 

"Carl?" A tentative voice arose from the passengers seat. Carl slowed down to look over at his sister. "My life has been the scariest rollercoaster I've ever been on. I feel like my lows are valleys and my highs are Mount Everest."

"Yeah." Carl responded. Jae looked at him. Well, she was actually looking at the tear rolling down his cheek.

"What does dying feel like?"

"Probably like the inside of your stomach." He replied. "A lot of nothingness."

You're listening to 92.7, KIIS FM.

The radio broke the uncomfortable silence between the siblings. 

This is 1-800-237-8255, the new hit song from Logic featuring Alessia Cara and Khalid.

"Who?" Carl asked, turning to Jae.

"You know, that white dude Logic. Alessia Cara from Moana. Khalid was the one who sang 8TEEN."

"Oh. I hate 8TEEN. It's a horrible representation of what being eighteen is like."

"Sure."

The car rolled into spot 238, the assigned spot for the Alexander family. 

"See you at three." Carl yelled at her before running off to wedgie his boys. For a boy who's 18, he sure was immature.

Jae remained in the car. She didn't want to go to school. Not for the stereotypical "I hate school and learning" reason, but because her eating problems had been made extremely public last week. Her parents had called the school guidance counselor and alerted him, Mr. Jackson, of her eating habits. Mr. Jackson had then in turn alerted who he believed were her two best friends and all her teachers. Actually, Mr. Jackson had alerted two seniors she vowed to never make contact with ever again: her ex-best friends. Mandy and Toni, the school's new queen bees, had ditched Jae when they found out about her eating habits. Toni told Jae that "if she couldn't get skinny the natural way, she wasn't truly skinny." The next day, Mandy and Toni replaced Jae as the new "it" girls and Jae was left at the bottom.

So no, Jae did not want to go to school. She was tired, cranky, and ready to go home without making contact with anyone. 

Two short rings of the bell alerted Jae that first period was starting. Not that she cared, she had planned to not attend classes at all this week. What was it Mr. Jackson called it? A mental health break? That. She was taking a mental health week.

Jae's thoughts took her to the edge of a cliff. Falling. Plummeting. Nothing. Death seemed quite peaceful, not as boring as stupid Carl made it out to be. Jae would be content with nothing for the rest of her life. Just to disappear into herself, like a magic trick. The disappearing girl... 

"Jae?" A voice called from the outside world. Jae looked up from the slumped position she was currently situated in. Her legs were twisted into a pretzel and she had her forehead resting comfortably against the dashboard. Silently cursing the voice who pulled her out of her daydream, she looked up. It was morning-breath-Morgan.

"Morgan." She replied, nodding her head. "You're late to first period."

"So are you." Morgan shot back, her eyes defiant. "Walk with me, we both have gym."

"Actually, I was planning on not going to school, but thanks."

"How can you ditch school in the school parking lot? The answer is you can't. So get out of your filthy car and let's go to gym."

"Actually, it's Carl's car--"

Without warning, the side door flew open and Morgans firm grip yanked her out of her self pity. "Alright alright, I'm coming." Jae grumbled.

Mouth-breather-Morgan wasn't so bad once you got to know her. Jae quickly realised that Morgan's personality definitely was not as rank as her breath. Was it a stretch to attribute Jae's life to Morgan knocking on the window that one Monday morning? Maybe. But Jae was grateful for her all the same, for she did not know what would have happened that morning if Morgan hadn't come to talk to her. 

a/n:

this is my first time writing a short story, so please be kind to me in the comments :'). honest feedback and gentle critiques are always appreciated. also the song title is a phone number (if that confused anyone). i hope you enjoyed xo