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She walked through her messy room, stepping around the clothes and magazines that littered the floor, and stopped at her full length mirror. She looked at her reflection and saw the usual: a black t-shirt with red sleeves, a pair of tattered, ripped jeans, and her long, black, messy hair. It looked like she had just rolled out of bed and put on the first thing she laid eyes on. Perfect.
She walked out of her room and into the living room of her lower-middle class home. She stopped in shock when she saw her mother standing in the kitchen (which was connected to the living room). She was standing behind the small counter, getting a carton of orange juice out of the old refrigerator.
“Hello, sweetie,” she said as she poured the juice into a glass she found in the sink. “Want some juice?”
“No thanks,” Caitlin answered, still shocked that her mother was there. Her mother was a happy woman, despite how hard she worked. She had dark brown hair which she almost always had pulled back into a ponytail. “What are you even doing home?”
“What, I can’t wish my little girl good luck on her first day of high school?” asked her mother, still smiling.
“Uh, I guess,” Caitlin replied. “But you’re never home these days. I’m just surprised, that’s all.”
“Well, I’m going back to work after you leave. I’ve got an interview at the diner down the street.”
“How many jobs would that make?” asked Caitlin. “Four?”
“Three,” her mother corrected. “Assuming I get the job.” She heard her daughter sigh. “I’m sorry, sweetie. We just really need this money right now. But we’re going to make it, I promise.”
“I guess,” Caitlin sighed. “I’m leaving now.” She walked towards the door.
“Bye honey, have a good first day!” her mother called as she walked out the door and shut it behind her. Caitlin squinted as she walked into the bright sunlight. It was unusually bright, even for Malibu. She walked down the sidewalk, beginning her short walk to Truman High school.
“Travis, where’s Mom and Dad?” asked Travis’ little sister from her bed, which was in the same room as Travis’.
“I don’t know where Dad is, but Mom’s in bed,” Travis whispered back so as not to wake his four-year-old brother Peter, who was also in the same room. With three beds, one dresser, and a mirror, the already small room looked even smaller. It was crowded, and Travis had to maneuver carefully to get out and into the hall.
“Bye Maya,” Travis said just as he left. He walked down the narrow hallway, past his parent’s room and the bathroom. He took a right at the end of the hallway, which led into the living room. No one was in the living room, nor was there anyone in the kitchenette area, which was separated by the living room by only a curtain.
Travis sat on the old couch, arranging his things in his backpack one last time before leaving, not bothering to see if his mother was awake to say goodbye. It was Monday morning, there was no chance she was awake. Or conscious. His father was probably at work or something, but there was no way of knowing for sure. Travis got up, annoyed by how heavy his backpack was, and walked towards the front door.
“Where are you going?” asked Maya, now standing in the hallway. She was a very tiny girl, even for a six-year-old. She was still wearing her pink nightgown. Travis smiled at her; she really was cute.
“To the coffee shop,” Travis explained.
“You did this last year too,” Maya said. “Why doesn’t the carpool just pick you up here?”
“It’s complicated,” Travis said vaguely, partly because he didn’t want to burden his sister, and partly because he was already late. “Love you.”
“Love you too,” Maya responded with a smile as Travis walked outside. He squinted reflexively as he was greeted by the bright Malibu sun. He lowered the sunglasses onto his eyes and walked down the street, away from his tiny house and over to the coffee shop the carpool always picked him up at. He hadn’t seen his friends all summer, but they were all going to his high school, and he couldn’t wait to see them again.
He stopped in front of the coffee shop and sat down on one of the chairs on the outdoor patio. There were no customers at the moment, but in a few minutes it would be flooded with customers. But for now Travis sat alone until he saw the black BMW pull up. A blonde girl stuck her head out of the open sunroof.
“Hey Travis!” she called.
“Hi Julie!” Travis replied, standing up. In the back of the car, he could see his friends Jake and Aurora. He walked over and got in the back of the car, making his Jake and Aurora scoot over to make room. They greeted each other, but Travis turned his attention to the front of the car.
“Thanks for driving me, Mr. Allen,” Travis thanked as the car began to move.
“It’s no problem,” Mr. Allen assured kindly. “I know your parents are a CEO and a lawyer, so they don’t have time to take you, I’m sure!” Travis scoffed at his own lie, but no one noticed. “If you want, we could pick you up at your house,” he offered.
“No thanks,” Travis said quickly. “It’s… being remodeled.”
“Again? Dang, that place is always getting remodeled! I can’t wait to see the finished product,” Mr. Allen stated.
“Love your sunglasses, Travis,” Aurora complimented. “Want to see mine?” She reached into her designer purse and pulled out her designer sunglasses.
“They’re great,” replied Travis, looking only slightly at the glasses before looking out the window and thinking.
“One of these days they’re going to find out I’m not rich,” he thought. “But hopefully not anytime soon.”
“You look great,” Aurora said again. “Those clothes must’ve cost you a fortune!”
“Yeah,” Travis lied. It actually hadn’t cost him anything.
He looked out the window at the city passing by as he got closer to Truman High School.
