His Heartwarming Secret

"Bella Winters, do not make me come in there!" My older brother Jedd bangs on my bedroom door which has become a daily routine of his. I cover my exposed face with the warm sheets, sinking back into dreamland.

"Bella!" He warns me through the cracks in the door and I sigh, feeling myself pull deeper away from sleep and merging further into the grim reality of my life. I'm not a morning person . . . At all.

"Leave me alone Jedd!" I murmur sleepily, my voice groggy. I hear him sigh behind the door, his footsteps retreating.

"If you're not up in twenty minutes Bella, I'm breaking down your door!"

"Keep your hair on Grandad, I'm getting up!" I yell in response, throwing my duvet to the side and groaning from the sudden cold that hits my warm sleepy body. I hear Jedd mumble something about difficult teenagers outside my bedroom and I roll my eyes at him. He's twenty, making him three years older than me but acts like the age difference between us is years apart.

I pull down my hair from its ponytail and head to the bathroom, pushing open the door. The strands of my hair cascade down my back, tickling the exposed skin. I rotate my head left and right, relieving the tension from sleeping in one position all night. I reach for my toothbrush, applying some toothpaste before getting to work on my teeth.

My eyes wonder over to the small photo pinned on my bathroom mirror. It's a picture of Jedd, Dad and I taken a few years ago at a summer BBQ. I'm holding a burger in my right hand, Dads arm swung over my shoulders. The smile on my face is the definition of uncomfortable from having my picture taken.

My parents divorced when I was five but truthfully it didn't affect me. My mother and I never seem to get along. She's into dresses, I prefer hoodies. She's into perfect makeup, I like the natural look. She's into long hair extensions and I religiously wear my hair in a ponytail every single day. My mother also loves her heels whereas I love and treasure my converse.

a quick shower I lazily walk over to my dresser, tugging my hair out of the towel. I begin to blow dry it,

the bridge of my nose and cheeks that I sort of like. I feel uncomfortable. . . out of place when my hair isn't tied in a ponytail. I chew on my bottom lip before grabbing a hair tie and scraping back my hair before

Hoody, denim jeans and

saves time in the morning and most importantly

a

deodorant before grabbing my school backpack and heading out the door. I run down the stairs two at a time and hear Jedd's old car rumble

breath, bursting through the kitchen door. I dive for the last

the passenger door with my free hand, wobbling unsteadily from everything I'm juggling. I slide in, throwing my backpack to the floor beside my feet. Jedd sighs, slapping his

grimacing from its

anymore." Jedd lectures me, keeping his eyes trained on the road ahead as he begins to drive. I

I tell him truthfully. I crammed hours of revision inside my brain and fingers crossed, it's going to pay

boosting my confidence. He's partially right, I'm a straight A student and proud of it. I work my bottom off studying every night after school because I have nothing else to do really.

I'm not exactly what you call a . .

school due to simply being socially awkward. I don't have a single friend. The idea of even keeping

What if I say the wrong thing?

they don't like me after