[i The Calm before The Storm; March 5th, 2018, Los Angeles.]
Addison woke up early, the sound of hymns playing from the living room were never going to let her sleep past 7 am, no matter how much she wanted to. Her parents were devout Christians, and even if Addison didn’t want to follow the religion like her parents, she wasn’t really given the choice. She attended church with them, prayed with them, and followed the rules her parents set in place. Addison just tried to be the best daughter she could, so she could easily get into a college and get away from the craziness of her home. The only way she was able to get through it all was Laura, her best friend. Laura was the only one who knew how rock solid her parents were in their beliefs, and how Addison did not think the same way as them at all. Like when Laura came out to her, she was so happy for her to tell her, accepting her right away. She had felt feelings similar to Laura, but it wasn’t safe for her to act upon, so she kept it down, hoping eventually it would just go away; for her, maybe it was just a phase.
Leaving her room with a pair of sweatpants and a t-shirt, she yawned slightly, heading to the kitchen to put on the kettle to make some tea. She headed to the fridge, where she heard her mother’s voice behind her. [b “Addison, darling, are you just getting up? Kind of late, don’t you think?”] her mother chimed. Her mother, 7 am and had already showered, did her hair and makeup and fully dressed for the day. Addison gave a confused look, [i “No, it’s 7am and there is no school today. I’m hanging out with Laura today, and before you ask, yes my homework is done and I did my bible study sheets you left in my room. Still don’t know why I am still doing them.”] Addison spoke, mumbling the last part to hide it from her mom. Her mother smiled, heading back into the living room and continued to clean. The high pitched scream from the kettle was enough to wake Addison up a bit more, before pulling it off the head and filling her mug. She placed in her tea bag and a dash of vanilla before heading back into her room to get ready for the day, what else she was going to do anyway.
Addison showered quickly, wrapping a plush towel around herself and headed toward her clothes. The outfit she wanted to wear would never be approved by her mom, so she had to be sneaky about it. Addison had learned how to layer her clothes well enough by now, she never wore the clothes she left the house with. She got her clothes out, a pair of distressed black jeans and a grey v-neck tee, with a flannel overtop. She took out a dress, something her mom would be obsessed with, a floral, maxi dress. Totally not Addison’s style, but it would allow her to leave the house. As she finished layering all her clothes, hiding the flannel in her backpack to shove the dress in once they got five feet away from her home, she sat on her bed. She reached over her bed, to answer her phone that was ringing. She couldn’t help but laugh as her friend had obviously overslept again. Addison wanted to accompany her to the concert last night, but her mom refused after looking up the band that was playing.
[i “Alright, come soon though. My moms already playing hymns.”] Addison said, before hanging up the phone. Addison did her hair, pulling it up in a clip to hide it from her mom and did a light face of makeup. She basically hid in her room, away from her mom for as long as she could until she received the text from Laura. She grabbed her backpack, heading out the door. [i “Bye mom!] Addison called, as she pulled on a pair of combat boots secretly as she headed out the door. [b “Honey, you look beautiful! See you later, do what’s good! God loves you!”] her mother called out after her.
As Addison’s eyes met Laura’s, she immediately smiled. Laura jokingly flipped hair as she was getting compliments from Laura. [i “Oh, stop it. Wait till you see what I’m actually wearing. /This/ is to appease my mother.”] she laughed, sliding into the passenger seat. As Laura pulled away, Addison pulled the dress off of her body, and let her hair down from the clip, shaking her hair out. She took her flannel out, before shoving the dress and clip into her bag and zipping it up. She adjusted the shirt, as it hit just a bit shorter than the jeans that sat on her hips. Pulling her arms through the hole, she smiled, turning to her friend. [i “Much better.”] she smiled. [i “So, where are we going? You said you had this whole day planned out! I can’t wait!”] she smiled towards her, fixing some hair strands in her visor mirror. [i “Oh, and how was the concert? Probably awesome, I was stuck doing bible verse worksheets all night. Man, that shit really sucks.”] she spoke. Addison never swore at home, but around Laura, she felt comfortable to be herself and speak as any other senior in highschool would. She knew her best friend would never judge her; and they would be friends for life.
