Arrabella

The alarm clock resting on my bedside table rang loudly like it did every morning, commanding me to awake from my relaxing slumber. Frantically, I smashed my hand onto the table in desperation to attempt to shut off the ear-piercing siren that screamed beside me. Just like every morning, I attempted to turn off my alarm from the warmth of my own bed and just like every morning i failed to do so, meaning I would have to leave my toasty bed just to silence the raging siren that sat next to me sounding loudly like it was a toddler having a raging fit.

In one swift motion I sat up and leaned over to stop the alarm. I swear, it sounds as loud as an air raid siren, probably even louder. Rubbing my eyes, I sighed and let out a loud winge-like groan as I rolled myself out of bed. A large thump sounded as my body forcefully smacked the hard, creaky, wooden floor.

'Damn, gravity's a killer' I thought whilst my stomach lingered with a throbbing pain caused by the impact of the fall.

Carefully, I pushed my broad body off the floor and stood up slowly, trying not the knock anything over in the process. As i clambered up from my fall, my eyes fixed on the silver picture frame that was nailed to the dark-toned wall directly in front of me.

'Hah, sorry you had to see that, mornings are hard okay?' I said awkwardly.

Tiredly, I strolled over to my raven coloured door and silently pushed down the handle, releasing the catch on door to reveal the dimly lit hallway that stood proudly before me. The hallway had a brown, swampy, coloured carpet with white painted walls which I presume must've been applied and spread with a butter knife - it looked that unprofessional. Some parts were chipped, some had very thin layers that barely covered the previous colour underneath, and some parts were even so thick it created an uneven bump on the wall.

I headed to the bathroom to carry on with my normal routine. First on the list, brush my teeth. Without thinking, I closed the door behind me and clicked on the light switch which shone a bright, clear, iridescent light from the circular bulb above my head.

'Ah shit, I forgot how bright you were' I shrieked whilst shielding my eyes from the blinding light.

A few seconds passed and my eyes adjusted to the bright light that no longer seemed as blinding as a few minutes ago. I rumaged through the bathroom cabinet to find my toothbrush and some minty toothpaste to commence my everyday morning routine. Grabbing my pink toothbrush from the pearl-white cabinet, I turned back to the glittery, grey mirror above the sink to brush my teeth until I notice something. There's no toothpaste left in the tube, not even a slither.

'You've got to be kidding, could this morning get any worse?' I snapped as I angrily slammed the cabinet shut, almost shattering the mirror that was stuck to the cabinet door.

Swinging the bathroom door open, I swiftly walked down the stairs in the hunt for a fresh tube of minty, green toothpaste. As i reach the bottom of the stairs, I notice my dad sitting in one of the leather arm chairs in the living room. He seemed to be quite dazed and had a lost expression displayed on his face as if he was intensely thinking about something.

'Hey dad, you okay?' I questioned as I watched him worriedly.

He still remained with his trail of thought and somehow didn't seem to notice my presence despite me calling his name.

'Hello? Earth to dad. Did the aliens take over your brain again and try and make you into their own personal messenger?' I quoted sarcastically.

He seemed to notice me this time as he let out a startled 'Huh?' in response to my sarcastic remark.

'Oh, hey. Sorry Bella, I was lost in my thoughts again you know what I'm like, what was it you wanted?' he questioned curiously.

Ever since my mother died my dad hasn't been dealing with life too well. He has been struggling to keep a steady job and look after himself, let alone a 15 year old daughter too. He tries his best to hide it from me to try not to worry me, but I always see right through him.

'Well I just came down to see if there was any toothpaste as we've ran out in the bathroom.' I stated.

'Oh have we? I swear I put a new one in yesterday?' my dad said puzzled.

'That was a month ago dad.' I admitted lightly, trying not to seem worried by his alarming response. His memory seems to be getting more worse by the day, and that's concerning as he's only in his early 40's.

'I guess I'm losing my memory in my old age haha, there should be some in the pantry Bella.' he pointed out.

My dad has always shortened my name to Bella despite my birth name being Arrabella. When naming me my mom and dad couldn't decide between Ari or Bella. My dad preferring Ari and my mom preferring Bella. So to compromise they put two and two together and named me Arrabella. Kinda cool if you ask me as it's unique and also kinda quirky. Most of my friends either call me Arabella or Ari whether as my dad is pretty much the only one that calls me either Bella or Bells. I guess the nickname Bella means alot to him as it was what my mom wanted. I actually resemble my mom more than my dad as he always says I'm like a mini Marigold because we both share the same emerald green eyes. My mother Marigold was a charismatic, friendly woman who was loved by everyone. She was widely popular in our village for her kindness, gratitude and her strive and belief in absolutely everyone. She used to believe everyone no matter what race, situation or academic ability could achieve and be whoever they wanted to be. She also did loads of charity runs and was the dedicated owner of the 'Little Learners' organisation. She held free classes and support for children of any age to join in and have fun. They did loads of fun activities varying from bungee jumping to pottery classes or science classes to art classes she really did it all.

However, ever since she died the place lost character. It was bought out by new owners who basically took the idea of helping people and children in need and turned it into a restaurant too expensive for the majority to afford. As the place was already signed to the owners and they purchased it, we had no say in what changed with the place. It was theirs, and we couldn't do anything about it.

Without acting concerned I let out a small, warming, smile and proceeded to head to the pantry where the toothpaste was kept. I slowly opened the pantry door and it was like a deserted island in there. Only a few tins of beans, soup and corn were stacked up in there along with some other items like a box of weetabix and two tubes of toothpaste.

'Bingo!' I exclaimed, happy that i had located another tube of toothpaste.

'Man I should be a detective, maybe even the next Sherlock Holmes?' I thought jokily.

I carefully closed the shabby pantry door and headed up to the bathroom once again where I could finally brush my teeth.

Two minutes had past so I spat out the minty mixture in my mouth and washed the remains of toothpaste that clinged to the sink for dear life down the drain. Wiping my mouth with an old towel I then proceeded to do the next step of my daily routine, Find something suitable to wear to prison. Haha only joking its school but let's face it, that place can be utter hell sometimes. All the dress codes and stupid rules really make the place feel like a prison but instead of setting rules to protect you they have some stupid rules like 'No skirt above the knee' or the 'don't show your ankles' mojo. Honestly it's not our fault if the boys somehow get attracted to our ankles which is ridiculous because it's just an ankle, chill. I can't see any boys apart from that one weird kid with an ankle fetish caring whether you can see your ankles or if our skirts are two many centimetres above the knee, literally no one cares.

My school is probably one of the only schools in the area that allows us to select our own choice of clothing, rather than forcing us to wear the ugliest uniforms with the worst colour combinations that makes them painful to look at. I feel sorry for the unlucky people who are forced to wear uniforms; you don't really get to express your own character or sense of style. I mean sure, you can use makeup or style your hair in different ways but some schools have restrictions on that too, makes me feel grateful that even though my school is probably the worst in the village, at least they're relaxed and laid back when it comes to clothing and hairstyles.

I scanned my wardrobe for something decent to wear but also something that would suit the temperature outside. As it's quite cold, I decided to wear a stripey black and white long-sleeved jumper with some black ripped jeans and my favourite boots that I've had for a solid 2 years now. And may i add, are the best shoes i own. I absolutely love these boots.

Before my mom passed, she gave me these lace-up, black, boots for my 13th birthday. They are comfortable to wear and on top of being comfortable look down right badass.

I changed into my outfit for the day and slipped on my favourite boots that truly top off the outfit. Gazing into the mirror, I looked at myself and see my mother standing behind me.

'Oh Arabella it's beautiful!' she shrieked excitedly.

'You look absolutely magnificent, especially with those boots I gave you, they really top off the look!'

'Thanks mom and I agree the boots do top the whole outfit off, I look like a spy who's been sent on a secret mission but i'm trying to stay low-key yet fashionable at the same time.' I said proudly whilst admiring the whole outfit.

'I should be going now I'm gonna miss my call! It's not easy not being alive y' know, all the time limits on being on earth.'

'Speaking of time, shouldn't you be going right now?' Marigold questioned.

'OH MY GOSH I'M GONNA BE LATE!!' I cried whilst frantically gathering all my things together and shoving them into my dark green rucksack.

Rushing out the door and quickly coming back in I said, 'Sorry mom, gotta talk later!'

'I'm a fragment of your imagination sweetheart, talk to me whenever you want' my mom reassured calmly followed by a small, motherly chuckle.

And with that I closed the door and hurried downstairs to meet my dad who was standing in the hallway.