BRIIIIIIIIIIIIIIING! Ugh, finally school is over for the day. Block 4 ended with as much excitement as it usually does. Oh joy, it’s an A day! I have to walk from the 100’s to the commons (about a mile) in under nine minutes. My popularity-inducing “short” bus loves parking there every day. I wish the worst part was that I don’t have time to eat before getting on the bus... but it isn’t. Even if I did have time to buy food on an A day, I would still have to use my own money because my mom never manages to send in a check for my lunch account. Whatever, at least I can relax on my hour-long bus ride home. I can’t drive yet, so I’m no expert, but I’m pretty sure it takes less than an hour to drive 11 miles and drop off three kids. Yep, there are usually only three students riding the bus home. The driver must drive at least 10 mph under the limit for the bus ride to take that long. I sit down and put my earbuds in. The thought of homework pops into my head. My subconscious tells me “If you do your homework now, you’ll have more time to play video games and binge watch episodes of ‘Lost’ on Netflix when you get home.” I consider what he says but decide I’m tired, “Screw you, subconscious, I’m going to sleep.” I close my eyes and think about having to get up for school tomorrow morning.
DING DING DING. I want to punch my phone as hard as possible but I can’t for two reasons. One- my body isn’t awake, only my instincts. Two- it will probably hurt my hand more than the phone. Awesome, it’s 5:45 a.m. I have to throw myself out of bed so I’m not tempted to fall back asleep. 6:25 a.m. is when the bus comes every morning and I’m not exactly an early bird, considering I used to wake up just before 8:00 a.m. for middle school. It’s pitch black so I have to stumble around for a while to find the light switch. Click. I cringe, “Oww my eyes.” I’m sure I must look like a zombie as I walk down the hallway. Haha, it’d be pretty funny seeing me right now. I pull a towel out of the closet and jump in the shower. “This hot water would feel nice if I was fully awake,” I think to myself. Wash, wash, wash. Get out, brush teeth, put in contacts, dress myself, pack lunch, eat breakfast, leave at 6:23 a.m. I’m so accustomed to my morning routine by now, it’s like I can sleep with my eyes open until I get on the bus. And yes, the bus stop is far away because we are the third house down on a gravel lane and about a half mile from the main road. I go out the front door and lock it, only to realize I forgot a jacket. I shake my head in disappointment, “Mondays.” I put in the code for the garage door. As it opens I secretly hope it wakes up my family because they keep me awake at night all the time. Not only do they blast the TV at 10 o’clock but they watch a show that I’m behind on and I’m able to hear what happens next. I swoop in through the garage door, closing it behind me. I grab my coat and bolt out the front door and lock it behind me for the second time. I have to keep an accelerated pace in order to catch the bus. It’s perfect timing -- as the bus opens its doors I walk right on. I hear a noise but I’m too tired to process what I heard. I trudge all the way to the back of the bus to the third row of seats and plop down. Everyone knows that a tiny bus means tiny seats. Those things are built for children, and I am definitely not a child. Coming in at 5’11” (6’0” in shoes), it is impossible for my whole thigh to fit in between the seat in front of and behind me. So I sit sideways in the seat with my back against the window. I throw my backpack under the seat, put my earbuds in, and fall asleep immediately.
    I wake up. I’m confused for a second. But then realize I just fell asleep on the way home from school and had a dream about falling asleep on my morning bus ride. Sleepception. I hear the noise again. It’s my bus driver telling me to get off the bus, “Jake... Jake...Jake!” This is slightly embarrassing. I try to get up but get the wind knocked out of me when I realize I’m still buckled. This is more embarrassing. Good thing I don’t care what my bus driver thinks of me because it’s finally my stop. After wasting 9 hours of my life at school I run down the lane, through my front door, and throw my backpack on the ground. I kick it a few times for good measure. “FREE AT LAST,” I proclaim. “No you aren’t,” my mom replies, “Do your homework.” “Okay,” I say. That was a lie. I scan the pantry for food that will satisfy my gluttonous hunger. Hmmmm, crap, crap, OREOS, crap, DORITOS. I make myself a nice bowl of an Oreo-Dorito combo and huge class of chocolate milk. I run up the stairs without spilling a thing. I plop down in my awesome, comfy office chair. I turn on my XBox and computer simultaneously, then open my backpack and stare into it for a full minute. I use all my willpower to convince myself to do my homework then and there. I smirk and slyly say, “I can multitask.”