Every day, the moment she wakes up, it takes her a second to realize what day it is. She thinks to herself, “Ah… Monday. Today is Monday.” Now having realized that it is indeed a Monday, Irene instantly feels a sense of relief. For Irene, Mondays are her best days. She is obligated to wake up early, being that she has a class at 9:55 AM; yet she finished her day in school by 1:20 PM, leaving her the whole day to do as she pleases. So with that thought in mind, she willingly uncovers herself from the sheets, warmed for seven hours by her body as it rejuvenated from the day prior. As she walks from her bed to the bathroom, she feels as if everything is in a daze, almost as if her vision had been compromised in her sleep. Approaching the bathroom she catches sight of herself, a much puffier looking self, she notices. The reflection in the mirror staring back at her, squinting her terribly swollen eyes ever so slightly, due to her lack of a clear sight, looks awfully disheveled. She positions her fingers, cupping the under of her eyes, gauging down as if she were going to claw her own eyes out; but really, she just needed to wake the fuck up. Already taking too long of a time to play with her face and review the state her morning self, Irene finally begins her morning routine of brushing her teeth, washing her face, wiping all around with toner, and finishing off with a blue transparent face moisturizer; then it occurred to her, her moisturizer smells of a faint toothpaste.
“Never mind that,” she thinks to herself. The clock is ticking. Time is running out.
Now in a rush, she starts tearing her room apart looking for her simple black sweats, and her big baggy hoody; her go-to attire for a day like this. Just like that, Irene swings her backpack over her shoulders, recklessly getting her headphone tangled in the strap, scrambling out the door a mess. The clock now reads 9:45 and she realizes how late she’ll be if she tried to catch the subway. And so, she calls for an Uber and the Uber is now arriving in 2 minutes.
As the Uber approaches, she takes a look around to notice the beautiful day’s walk to school she has just missed by calling this Uber, but presumed to get in the car. “Hello good morning! Irene,” she says to the driver, validating that this Uber is really hers. The radio is playing classical music which Irene enjoys so very much on her ride to school; it eases her from the angst of being late. Minutes that once seemed like much longer minutes while waiting for the car finally quickened with the music. As the Uber arrived at her school, once again the angst is back and she has her hand already on the door handle, ready to jump out, before the car has even come to a complete stop. Irene runs for the stairs, skipping every other step. She begins to feel a slight sweat coming on and realized she’s dressed too warm because she had thought she was going to walk. Waiting impatiently for the elevator she irritably starts tapping her toes. The elevator arrives and she’s thankful for being the only one in the elevator. Straight to the 13th floor the elevator goes. She runs out of the elevator and speed walks to her class at the end of the hall as if she trying to win a fast walk race. Irene opens the door to a room full of eyes on her, and just for a second, a split second really, she feels awkward.