"Morning" by Justin Turner

At six o'clock I wake up to the annoying beep of my five-minute fast alarm clock and groggily get up into the seemingly cold air only to hit the snooze button and tumble back a few steps into my safe, cozy, and warm bed. Just as I drift back to sleep however, "BEEP BEEP BEEP." Once again I stumble out of bed, but this time shut off the alarm completely. I turn on the lights to avoid falling back asleep, and get dressed, literally just throwing something on and then I head out into the hall. After a quick stop at the restroom I head to the kitchen where my mom is waiting and making my youngest sister's and her lunches. I greet her with a hug and an Italian "Good Morning" and set off to make breakfast. I pick out the Cheerios and get a bowl and pour the milk. After such a "filling" breakfast it's 6:20. Time to wake up my sister. Usually I go downstairs and physically shake her  to wake her, but I'm feeling extra lazy today so I just knock on the wall next to her room. No reply but I continue my schedule because technically, it's her responsibility to get up on her own.

I head back to my messy room and grab last night's homework off my desk and stuff it into a binder and into my bag. Then I mentally go through a list of what classes I have today and what I need including after school activities, and I pack accordingly. Today is a Black day, so I go through my schedule. After that I go to the kitchen and drink some Red Zinger tea with honey and pack a sandwich, a granola bar, and an apple for lunch. I then knock on the wall again and out comes my sister, all set to go. Apparently she had been up the entire time but just didn't return my knocks.

I grab a hoodie and we head outside towards the bus stop. The brisk, cold air hits us, and any hint of grogginess is wiped away. We begin our five minute trek to the bus stop talking and chatting as we pass sleeping houses and the dark forest next to us. Leaves and acorns are scattered all over the sidewalk and our feet make crunching sounds. I look at my watch: 6:41. We begin to sprint. Our backpacks sway in time behind us. At 6:43  the bus stop is just in sight and we slow to a walk so no one sees us running. Wouldn't want to embarrass ourselves now would we?

We arrive at the bus stop only to have thirty seconds of idle chit chat before the bus arrives. Still catching our breath we climb aboard and I think of how close that was. I find a seat and sit down. I then realize...that I left my lunch on the kitchen counter.