She woke up before her alarm went off, well-rested and refreshed from yesterday. There was something very satisfying about rolling out of bed and turning off your alarm before it had the chance to let out it's horrific noise. As if to say that you'd beaten back some cosmic force that was setting out to ruin your dream.
Sylvia set her phone back on its nightstand and stretched. Cool air filled her lungs as the first few rays of sunshine filtered through the tree outside her room and onto her face. It gave a contrasting warmth that did more to wake her up than any amount of coffee could do.
Spring was when the Earth woke up from its long winter nap - and it had the same effect on people. She felt almost as though she had to greet the morning sun and walked to her window to do so, bare legs sliding off the bed and scampering across the wooden floor of her bedroom.
She let out the long sigh of a beautiful sight as she took in the sunrise - fresh dew on the grass, flowers beginning to open up, the birds chirping with a fluttery glee.
One of those birds, flying overhead somewhere, pooped right on the collar of her pajama shirt.
Some cultures called this good luck, but Sylvia only called it gross.
She stripped off the shirt and considered tossing it in the hamper, but when she saw that it was empty, changed her mind and brought it with her into the bathroom so it could soak in the sink. It wouldn't do to have a stinky garment festering at the bottom of that pile for the next week until her mother did laundry again. A quick scrub would make it clean enough to be dirty again, and she was headed for the bathroom anyway.
While waiting for the shower to heat up, she took a glance in the mirror; The straight black hair halfway down her back didn't have a strand out of place - the opposite of the bedhead she usually had to spend minutes untangling in the morning. In fact, were it not for the small speck of bird poo running down her D cup breasts, she'd have a nearly flawless look to her.
She washed herself off in the shower, taking extra time to scrub at her collarbone until not only the bird's 'present' had gone away, but the feeling of dirtiness it left behind as well. She considered whether or not to wash her hair as well, and ultimately decided that the risk of tangles from the blow-drier was acceptable to make sure it looked its best. Today was a very big day, after all.
Her senior prom.
She had everything ready for this big day. The right dress, the right date, and her garage band even got permission to perform at the end of the night, after prom king and queen were announced (although this was likely because hiring a professional band would be outside the planning committee's budget.)
Her band-mates were just a couple of long-time friends/classmates. Monica was somebody she'd only met recently after the girl moved over partway through their Sophomore year, but the two got along immediately when they both learned of their similar musical tastes and the fact that Monica played drums while she was a decent guitarist.
The other band member was Lucas, the pianist, doubling as her prom-date. They'd known each other since their parents set them up on play-dates together as infants. Lucas and Sylvia went to the same schools, took the same classes, and eventually fostered the same interests. They were practically siblings, and she certainly viewed him that way.
Sylvia shut off the water and wiped her hair out of her face, feeling around for the towel. And then feeling a little further. And then touching bare wall.
Right. Today was laundry day.
She scraped off whatever water she could and gently stepped out onto the tiles of the bathroom, dripping wet the entire way.
"Mom?" she shouted down the hall.
No response.
Not a great way to start the day, but she wouldn't let it ruin anything. Sylvia crossed her arms over her chest and exited the bathroom, her wet feet splashing beneath the water that she dragged along with her. She'd have to dry the floor eventually, although when 'eventually' was was still unknown as the bus was only a few minutes out.
The laundry room was just past the kitchen. She heard the sound of her mother's voice in the kitchen but shrugged it off. Maybe she'd flash her parent, but it was her mother's own fault that she started laundry so suddenly.
"Mom, are the towels clean, yet?"
"No, hun, they're in the washer right now."
"What? I don't have anything to dry off with!"
"Err... I guess there are some dish towels I missed since they're mostly decorative. Just grab a handful and take 'em upstairs."
"Fine. I'll use those."
Sylvia rounded the corner and saw her mother, seated at the table with her laptop in front of her - she had her back to her daughter as she clicked a few things and began apologizing for muting herself.
She grabbed a handful of frilly towels that felt pretty useless for anything other than looking nice. Phrases like 'We love our kitchen' or 'There's no place like home' adorned them which Silvia scoffed at as she continued to drip. She grabbed a few and began patting down her chest as she prepared to leave. Then she heard a voice from her mother's laptop.
"Er... Mrs. Allen. Your daughter is on camera and uh..."
Sylvia froze. Her mother turned to look at her.
"Oh my god!" They both exclaimed at once. Sylvia covered her nudity as well as she could with the tiny towels while her mother's hands covered the camera capturing her.
"You didn't tell me you had already showered! I was in a meeting!"
"You didn't tell me you were in a meeting with your camera on!"
Sylvia winced at her mom, who then gazed down at the floor that was rapidly filling with a puddle.
"Oh, you're getting the floor all wet... Just- just go back to the bathroom, I'll get it later!"
"Uuugh." was all Sylvia could let out as she paced out of the kitchen and retreated to her room.
Great. A bunch of Mom's old-man coworkers had seen her naked. Hopefully that laptop camera was low-resolution enough that they couldn't make anything crucial out, but the fact that she was called out was still embarrassing.
Some of those coworkers had come to the house on occasion, mostly as her mother tried to impress them with how well she could balance keeping her home and work lives separate but equally well-done. At first, her mother would bring Sylvia out in her best outfit to show off to all the people she was entertaining, but as Sylvia got older she would more frequently be sent to Lucas' house instead so as not to embarrass her mother.
I guess even when company isn't over, she still finds a way to embarrass everyone.
Sylvia had managed to dry off as well as possible considering her equipment and changed into a decent outfit. She wore a wide-necked cream-colored shirt with a single bra-strap showing on her shoulder alongside a matching cream skirt that went down past her knees a considerable amount. She felt it was a very 'spring'-like with the skirt saying "It's a pleasure to meet you" while the top said "Your son calls me Mommy, too".
She ran down the hallway, nearly slipping in her own puddle from before and only managing to barely cling to the wall for support. Her knee took a slight bang from where it hit the ground, but she sprang back up. Sylvia was already running late today, she couldn't stop to be in pain. A quick-decision paired some high-heeled sandals with the outfit, a decision reached because they were next to the front door.
The bus picked students up only a few blocks away from her house. Moments like this made her wish she had a car of her own, but between the terrible traffic at her high school and the fact that Lucas already had a car and was content with driving her when and wherever she asked, it never really seemed that necessary to get one.
The bus drove past her as she lightly jogged along the sidewalk, the stop still a block away. She tried to pick up the pace so the driver wouldn't go on without her until she felt a stabbing sensation in her ankle as she fell to the ground.
"Shoot!" Sylvia screamed as she collapsed on the floor, the heel to her left shoe tumbling into the grass next to her. She scooped up the piece of cheap rubber and got back up, awkwardly limping ahead. The bus doors were right in front of her when the sound of air hissing filled her ears.
The bus began to move away.
"Wait!" She yelled, as if the driver could hear her over the noise of all the students behind him.
There was one more tugging sensation as she fell to the ground once more.
"Stupid shoe!" she cursed, squeezing the rubber in her hand as she looked down at the faulty footwear that fell her flat. But it wasn't only the shoe missing something.
Her legs were bare.
Sylvia looked up at the bus as it faded into the distance, a cream-white garment caught in the doors, waving around like a flag of surrender.
"No, no, no, wait!" She shouted, far too late for it to matter.
Sylvia got to her feet, awkwardly balancing on her good foot as she surveyed the situation. She had no skirt, the white underwear she chose that morning exposed to the elements. A car drove past, honking its horn at the bottomless girl. She pulled her bag in front of her legs as she began to run in the opposite direction. She would have to get a ride from Mom if she still wanted to get to school.
Although it was already late morning, the wonderful weather meant that a few people were still out walking dogs and such. A few people stopped in their tracks, eager animals tugging on the leash unaware of the spectacle that meekly dashed past them. Sylvia felt so many gazes on her bare legs that she wasn't sure where to hold the bag to cover everything. Eventually she settled on the front, as it was easier to run with your hands in front of you.
Home was still a few houses away. Some neighbor called out a greeting to her as she passed by which she forced herself to ignore, though the mocking tone in his voice was still clear to hear. Then, she noticed a familiar car to the side.
Sylvia dropped her modesty cover and waved both arms to flag it down.
"MOM! STOP!"
The vehicle pulled over for her.
"What the hell are you wearing?" Her mother shouted.
"The - the bus, my skirt... I - I need a ride to school!" She was exhausted. Something about running while people mocked you was so much more tiring.
"Slow down, slow down!" Her mother unlocked the doors. "Just get in and explain on the way before Mr. Shien thinks you're a pervert."
Once seated, Sylvia was able to relax a bit. She filled her mother in on the situation about the broken heel and the torn-off skirt as her Mom simply nodded along.
"Anyway, can we go back home? I really wanna change into something else." Sylvia finished.
"No, hun, I can't do that today." Her mother sighed.
"I got called into the office today during that meeting that you, er, crashed. On top of the fact that 'Somebody' tracked water all over the floor that I had to clean up."
"But Mom,"
