Chapter 1

I wake up to the sound of my phone alarm. Reminding me that it was time to get up and head off to school before the bus driver arrived. I can barely open my eyes as the sunlight bounces off the window and on to my face. I check my phone. 6:33 AM Why must I wake up so early? My body is fighting with my brain, begging to stay asleep a little longer. Even though the thought is so tempting, I know we can't afford to get caught. I look over at my Mother, sound asleep. God she's so peaceful when she's sleeping. If only she was like this when she was awake. She's mostly either drunk or high, and it definitely didn't get any better when she first opened the letter that would change everything. The letter that basically told us to pack our bags and get the hell off the property, but in a much nicer way.

I remove myself from the comfort of my pillow and groan. I went through my bag, hoping I still had some clean clothes left before I had to go back to the laundromat. I find just one measly shirt and a pair of worn out jeans. I sigh as I put the shirt over my head and try to get the jeans on at the same time. Soon, when everything gets better for us, I would be done. Done pretending like I was just a normal 17 year old girl with a normal family, normal home, and a normal life. At least, that's what everyone thought I was. But in reality, I wasn't. I was a girl, who had a drug addict to call her mother, No home, and no money. At all. I know who I am, but sometimes it's nice to pretend. To pretend like you do have all those things, like you don't have a care in the world. It's like my life is a fantasy. Atleast, the life everyone thinks I have. Coming back to reality, I grab my backpack and the duffel bag that holds all my belongings. I open the doors and step off the bus. Putting the duffel bag in the buses luggage compartment, ready for me to come back to once school was over, and everyone was dropped back at their houses. Sometimes I would just sneak on the after school bus and watch the kids go one by one. Studying the kind of house they lived in, and who greeted them as they walked through the door. Afterwards, I'd get off at some random stop, and find my way back to the bus garage. It's not like the driver noticed me get on anyway, I'm pretty much invisible. Which is good since I'm trying to keep as little information about me a secret as possible. Before I head off, I look at the bus and let out a quiet sigh. I turn back around and walk away.

Just before I go off to school, I visit my friend Jaime Richardon. Jaime is basically the opposite of me. She's cool, pretty, and not to mention, she's stupid rich. When you first take a glance at her, you would assume she's one of those narcissistic blonde mean girls from almost every single High school movie. But she's not, at least not to me. I'll admit, she can be a bit mean to others, but she protects me. She's a good friend. Jaime's also the only person who knows about my current "living arrangement". I trust her, and even though she's practically begged me countless times to just leave everything behind and come live with her, I know I can't. She always seems to forget the fact that her parents hate me and would never approve. Not to mention they would totally report me to the authorities if they found out I was a 17 year old minor living in a bus with my Alcoholic mother. Once I reach Jaimes house, I walk over to Mrs. Richardsons freshly watered flower garden and grab a stone the size of a walnut. Trying not to crumple any of the plants, I walk over to Jaimes window and chuck it as quietly as I can. This was my way of getting Jaimes attention without having her parents know I was there. All of a sudden I hear the sound of her Window creak open. I climb up the nearest tree to her balcony and jump onto the railing. Making a nice and quiet entry into the Richardson home. "Took you long enough." I hear Jaime say as I'm trying to catch my breath. "I thought you wouldn't show up today!". "I'm sorry it took me a little longer to walk here this morning." Jaime gives me a look. A look I know all too well. Her eyes are suddenly filling with sadness and concern. She starts releasing her arms from the crossed position they were in before and takes a seat on her amazingly comfortable queen sized bed. I sigh, knowing exactly what words were about to come out of her mouth. "Go ahead." I blurt out."I know you want to say it so just get it out of your system." "I just feel like you're being so stubborn Prim!" Jaime says with a look of worry on her face. " Just let me help you, please? I have so much room and-" "Look, I appreciate your offer Jaime." I say interrupting her mid speech. "We've been over this million times. Your parents don't want me here. Heck, they don't even know we're still friends! My mom and I are working on it, we're getting closer and closer to our goal! We'll have our own apartment soon, you don't have to worry!" "Well I'm worrying! I'm your best friend! How do you expect me to just sit here and watch you live like this? How do you even know your mom won't go off and spend most of your money on Alcohol again?" I sigh and put my backpack down on the floor. "Is it okay if I use your shower?" Jaime also lets out a loud sigh. "You don't have to ask, of course you can." I give her a smile, just to let her know that I appreciate her and I would be alright. She looks at me and faces the other way. I could tell she was upset with me, but I didn't care. I knew I was right, I didn't need her help. I grabbed a toothbrush out of my backpack and headed towards the bathroom.

Checking on my reflection in the mirror, a wave of doubt starts to rush over me. What if she was right? What if my mom does use all of our money again? Would life be easier if I just lived here?

I start brushing my teeth, trying to take my mind off of all the thoughts that were rushing through my head. In case you ever wondered what I looked like, I have big brown curly hair, but it's usually always in a bun. I have brown eyes and long eyelashes. I'm a little skinnier than most of the girls in my grade and have freakishly long arms for my body. I'm what you would call "Mixed", my mother is caucasion and my dad is African American. Just as I was about to finish brushing my teeth, I heard someone enter the room. I immediately start freaking out. "Good morning Jaime, your mother asked me to come up and check on you." I could tell it was Channing, he was the family butler. He was also really skeptical of Jaime and was sure she was sneaking me in everyday. I swear, all he wanted to do was catch me, just once, so he could run to Jaime's parents and tell them all about the 'shenanigans' that she's been up too. That will surely get him the raise he's been trying to get for years.

I just stood there, waiting for Jaime to respond. "Oh! Uhm, I'm fine, I was actually just about to take a bath actually. I better get going, the waters running." Jaime says this with complete confidence. Even though I couldn't see her, I just knew she was looking at Channing with the most convincing look she had, you couldn't even tell she was lying. "Alright then, I'll let your mother know." Channing closes the door behind him, I could hear him walking through the halls besides the bathroom wall. As soon as the coast is clear, Jaime yells at me to hurry up. I quickly hopped in the shower, my mind was still crowded with all of my thoughts. But all I needed to worry about for now, is getting to school on time.