Unbound (Unbound, Book 1) ~Formerly Casting Power~

Chapter 18

The first day of school arrived without its usual fanfare.

One day it was summer and the next, I was getting up early to get ready for classes. Of course, that was after my mother had ensured I was ready by hiding alarm clocks around my room the weekend before, all set to go off at six in the morning. She said it was because she didn't want me to skip out as I had with yearbooks; I thought she just had a mean streak that she refused to admit.

"Nora!"

I rolled my eyes but got out of bed before I wound up with more alarms. Hurrying, I got ready in my bathroom and then dressed for comfort in a pair of leggings and t-shirt, warm wool socks, and fur-lined grey boots that reached up to mid-calf. Looking around the room, I made sure that I wasn't forgetting anything, then grabbed my bag from on top of my bed, which now looked more grey than black from all the fur that Onyx shed.

"Noreena, if you miss the bus and I have to start driving you again, I'm picking up more alarm clocks!"

"Jeez, Mom, I'm right here," I said as I entered the kitchen.

She looked up as I took a seat at one of the chairs around the island. Raising her eyebrow, she handed me a plate of scrambled eggs and bacon. "Do you want juice?"

I snorted. "Coffee."

"You're going to be late for school if you don't start getting up early enough to get ready," she admonished as she got me a cup and slid it over to where I sat.

"You could just get me a car of my own? The bus smells like cat poop and takes over a half-hour when school is like, ten minutes away." I took a bite and tried to smile as I chewed. It was a familiar argument.

"I'm so glad you have such a vivid imagination. That'll take you far in life." She reached out to pat the top of my head, and I ducked.

"Whatever, Mom." I took a sip of my coffee, eyeing her over the rim. As I set it down, I added, "And you don't need to get me more alarm clocks. I slept in because I knew Nancy was picking me up. You know, in the car that her parents bought her."

"Is there anything that you can't justify?"

"The fact that I don't have my own car. If you won't buy one for me, then let me get a job so I can."

"You're just lucky that I love you." She smiled and ruffled my hair before I could move away. Once I squirmed out of her reach, she continued to step forward, hands outstretched as she wriggled her fingers at me in a useless threat.

"Mom, you're going to make me late." I dodged her, grabbed my bag and went towards the front door as Nancy honked from the driveway.

"Wait!" My mother ran after me, holding an embarrassing umbrella sporting clowns and balloons for me to use while I tried to remember where I'd left my Hello Kitty version, sighing as I pictured it in the trunk of Nancy's car.

"I'll pick you up after school." She smiled.

"Bye!" I ran outside without the gift before my mother could reply, hurrying to climb into the passenger side of Nancy's two-door Honda Civic, a present from her parents for her seventeenth birthday.

"Oh, my God, Nancy!" I looked at her as soon as I was settled, my eyes widening in shock. "What did you do?"

"Do you like it?" She shook her head but there was no hair to swing.

Nancy's hair had been chopped into a razor-edged pixie cut and dyed a lighter shade of blonde with red streaks that framed her face. She wore long, fake eyelashes to disguise her stubby natural blonde eyelashes, which I knew she detested. I'd never seen this look before, but the cut flattered her button nose and black-rimmed green eyes that always made her seem like she was squinting. Not in a bad way, of course, but like she was discovering your secrets. It was unsettling, usually because she seemed successful.