My bed had never felt so warm and inviting. It was Monday morning and I was definitely not looking forward to the next seven hours of my day. I still hadn't opened my eyes, but I could feel the slight burn as the sunlight shone through the blinds and directly on my face. I turned away and buried my face into my pillow, snuggling up in my cocoon of blankets. I wanted nothing more than to just freeze time and lie here forever, but unfortunately for me, no such miracle occurred.

"Brooke! Get up!" I could hear my mother's knuckles rapping against my door. "Come on, can't be late again!"

I groaned loudly, indicating to her that I was somewhat awake. Soon, the knocking stopped and I could hear her footsteps softly padding down the stairs. Reluctantly, I sat up and peeled the sheets off my body, throwing them to the side. I swung my legs over the edge of the mattress and stood up, catching myself in the mirror just in time to see my red, puffy eyes and my wild, knotty mane. I rubbed my eyes as I walked over to my closet to pick out my outfit for the day. I decided on my create destroy love shirt and since the weather had finally started to warm up, I pulled on my favorite denim cutoff shorts.

After I had managed to tame my knotty mess of hair, I went on with the rest of my usual morning routine. Looking myself over in the mirror, I finished my look off with a little mascara and eyeliner, slipped on my black Chuck Taylors, and was out the door. I quickly descended the staircase and entered the kitchen where I found my mother pouring herself a cup of coffee. Before she could even return the coffee pot to its place on the counter, I grabbed her mug and took a swig. She sighed, glaring at me with annoyance. I did this to her every morning even though she had told me hundreds of times that I shouldn't even be drinking coffee at my age. If not walking around looking half dead every morning was going to make me a midget then I guess that's just the way it was going to be.

"Brooke—" she started to say, her lecture voice coming on. Luckily for me, she was interrupted by the car horn honking from outside.

"Gotta go Mom!" I smiled, handing her back her mug and giving her a quick kiss on the cheek. "Alex is here."

She sighed and shook her head as she took a sip of her coffee and watched me disappear into the foyer. I picked my bag up from the floor and slung it over my shoulder and grabbed my keys from the rack as I headed out the front door. Parked in my driveway, the engine running and the radio blaring Third Eye Blind, was Alex. I noticed, in the passenger's seat sat my friend, Jack, and all by herself in the back seat was my other friend, Lisa. I cocked an eyebrow, eyeing the scene curiously as I approached the car and opened the door, throwing my bag to the floor mat.

"Hey douche bag," I directed at Alex as I buckled my seatbelt, "What is this? You're making your girlfriend sit back here all by herself?"

Lisa giggled softly, knowing very well that the usual morning smack down was about to begin. Alex simply shrugged his shoulders and pulled out of my driveway and onto the street.

"Well maybe if she wasn't taking forever to get ready, I would have picked her up first and I wouldn't be stuck sitting next to this one over here," Alex retorted, turning onto the main road. Jack's hand shot up to his heart and his face was filled with mock surprise as if he were insulted by Alex's remark. Lisa simply rolled her eyes.

"Excuse me, but how long did it take you to do your hair this morning?" she narrowed her eyes at Alex. He remained silent and turned the music up a bit louder. "Yeah, that's what I thought."

***
My classes today had dragged on for so long, by the time the bell sounded for lunch, I was ready to drop. After I had managed to pull myself through the lunch line and gotten my can of Snapple and a slice of pizza, I swiftly maneuvered my way through the bustling crowd of hungry high schoolers and took a seat at my table, next to Lisa.

"Hey guys," Kara was the next to arrive, setting her tray down across from mine. She brushed her long, brunette hair over her shoulder and took a seat. Kara was a tall, naturally pretty girl. We met here at Dulaney freshman year and had been best friends ever since. Almost immediately after she sat down, her boyfriend and another one of my good friends, Rian, came up from behind and quickly kissed her cheek before sitting down next to her.

The two of them were that couple who was so sickeningly perfect for each other that it just made you want to vomit. They had gotten together sophomore year and were still going strong. As much as I hated to admit it, Kara really was the best match for Rian and he was the same for her. The smile was evident on Kara's face and I could tell her cheeks were turning slightly pink as he scooted closer to her.

"Alright, alright you two," I rolled my eyes, clapping my hands together to get their attention. "Let's keep it PG today; I'd like to keep my lunch down for a change."

In spite of me, Kara grabbed Rian and pressed her lips to his. I groaned loudly as I pushed my tray away from me. I could hear Lisa's soft giggling and caught Kara's smirk as she turned back to me. "Gross," I said, popping my Snapple open.

"Is someone a little jelly 'cause they can't get none?" Rian teased. I scoffed, placing my can back down on the table.

"As if," I laughed.

"Mhm," he grinned, taking a bite out of his hero sandwich.

"Alright so, two more weeks until spring break. Please tell me we're not going to spend it in Rian's basement," Lisa cut in, ending mine and Rian's little glaring contest.

"What's wrong with that?" Rian sounded offended.

"What's wrong with what?" I glanced up and saw Alex and Jack approaching the table. Jack sat down on the other side of Kara and Alex squeezed into the little gap between Lisa and me.

"Personal space," I said as he pushed my chair down, "seriously, look it up."

"Sorry, gotta sit with my woman," he disregarded my glare and wrapped an arm around his girlfriend.

"You're such an asshole," Lisa sighed.

"But I'm your asshole," he replied, burrowing his head in the crook of her neck. While Alex had gotten himself situated, the rest of the table had continued talking about Spring Break plans.

"How about we go somewhere, like have a road trip or something?" Kara suggested.

"To where?" I asked, still chewing my pizza. Alex sent me a disgusted look as he saw me talk with my mouth full of cheese and pepperoni.

"Now I know they may not have taught you this back in the cave, but most people don't want to see what you're having for lunch…"

I simply smiled at him and continued to chew my food, making sure to be extra obnoxious. He shook his head, giving up. Satisfied, I swallowed the food and turned back to Kara.

"Yeah, we could go to my uncle's beach house in Jersey," Rian said. Everyone nodded, smiles spreading across their faces as the plans were all drawn out. Spring break in the Jersey Shore. I could already feel the sun on my skin and I could hear the waves crashing onto the beach. This was definitely going to be a week to remember.