"Thalia!" I woke up to my dad shouting my name.

I didn't want to get up. My throat felt sore and I wasn't in the mood to go to school so I pretended like I didn't hear him and went to sleep.

"Thalia- why are you still asleep?" Dad asks, barging into my room.

I was sleeping on my stomach and my face was squished into my pillow. I groan and turned on my back, stretching out like a starfish.

"I'm sick" I let out a light fake cough to prove something. Recreating that once scene from mean girls.

"Are you actually sick or do you just not want to go to school?" He crosses his arms and leans again the door frame.

"Can't it be both?" I rub my hands against my face and groan again.

"My throat actually hurts and I don't know why." I clear my throat as the stinging feeling was coming back.

"I guess I have to stay home, I wouldn't want to get anybody else sick just because I was selfish enough to go to school sick, right dad?" I hope he would agree but knowing him he probably would, he was chill like that.

"Fine, don't go. See if I was your mother, she would've dragged you out of bed herself. But not me, I'm a cool dad" I roll my eyes at how he always manages to call himself a cool dad but he was right, sometimes I was actually proud to have him as my dad.

"Sure dad, I'm gonna go back to sleep now. Shut the door please." I turn on my left side and shut my eyes.

"Alright, sweet dreams sugar plum" He says leaving. Sugar plum? That was a new one, he was really weird sometimes.

I look up to see he didn't shut the door but I was too tired to even care so I went back to sleep. Ah, finally some peace and quiet.

My phone rings exactly three seconds later and I groan, I answer not even looking at the contact name.

"Thalia Kennedy is not available at this time, leave a message after the beep." I said about to hang up before someone speaks.

"Wait, it's Lola. Where are you? Mateo and I have been waiting for you to walk to class together." I hear Lola's voice and sit up a bit.

"I'm sick" I cringe when my voice cracks, I clear my throat which hurts when I do it.

"I would've came but my dad insisted that I stayed home. And like a good daughter I listened." I lie, I'm starting to get too good at telling these little white lies. Is that concerning?

What if I become a pathological liar.

"It was the other way around wasn't it?" She says and I slouch my shoulders.

"Maybe." I admit, biting my lip. I hear her chuckle through the phone.

"Fine but I'm coming over later. Alright see you." She hangs up and I finally lay back down to get some sleep.

The alerting alarm of the smoke detectors go off and I jolt awake, almost having a heart attack. I rush downstairs and see dad waving off the smoke with a towel.

"Sorry, I tried cooking but these things went off." He says, sliding his glasses closer to his eyes.

"But you never cook" I point out, feeling exhausted.

"I wanted to try something different, by the looks of it cooking is not my thing." He crosses his arms, staring at the smoke coming out from the pan.

"I thought you were going back to sleep?" Dad says turning around to look at me.

"I was trying but of course I can never get some peace and quiet when I actually want it." I shake my head and walk back upstairs.

"What's a girl gotta do for some peace and quiet" I mumble to myself and shut my door, jumping into bed.

"Ouch" I rub my head when I accidentally jumped too far, my head hitting the head board.

I dug my face into my pillow and shut my eyes.

"I'm not tired anymore." I said out loud and sit on my knees as I try getting out of bed.

I decide to get ready even though I had no plans, I took a shower and got dressed into a loose white skirt and a long sleeved shirt. I went to the living room and sat on the couch as I watched something on tv.

I'm bored. There wasn't much to do here, I go downstairs into my dads studio and see him there.

"Look whose all dressed up. Care to join me?" He glanced at me once before going back to his painting.

"I would but I have plans" I said and my voice comes out all wonky.

"yeah, maybe don't talk when you sound like that" He lets out a laugh and smiles.

"Thanks for making me feel better" I said and he's still laughing.

"I'm kidding! What plans are you talking about? I thought you were too sick to get out of bed" he dips his brush into a bottle of paint and puts it on the canvas in front of him.

"I'm bored and I have plans with a friend, you know what that is right? I know you don't have many of those." I joke and I'm the one laughing now although it sounds bad.

"I have friends, I just choose to be a good father and stay home with my daughter most of the time." He excuses but I knew he didn't really have much friends.

I should really find him some, maybe it'll make him less lonely and weird. It's not like he's that old anyway he's only forty one, he shouldn't be this lonely at his age.

"Ever think about life after kids? Like what are you going to do here all alone when I'm off to college?" I pull out a stool and face him.

"As if you'd get accepted into any college" he scoffs, jokingly.

"Hey, I'm smart.." I regret that as soon as it came out.

"Aren't you the same girl that had a reading level of a 6th grader in 10th grade?" He brings back even though he promised to never bring it up again.

"You promised you wouldn't taunt me about that!" I jump out of my seat and he laughs.

"Ok so I may not be that smart but I have a brain." I cross my arms.

"Could've fooled me-" he snorts and I fail to hold back a smile of my own.

"Enough of this, David." I said calling him by his first name.

"You went too far" dad says because he doesn't like when I call him by his first name.

""You brought this on yourself when you brought up my academic past" I point my finger at him like my mom used to do to me.

"Anyway, back to what I was asking before. What are you gonna when I'm gone? I know you're going to miss me" He doesn't reply, so I know Im right.

"You should start dating again, find yourself someone nice, funny and pretty. You're not too old and wrinkly yet." I said and he glared at me.

"Gee, thanks." He says and I apologize.

"I don't need to date, I'm happy being a father and single." He brushes it off but that couldn't be true.

And if it was, that's just sad.

"I am a pretty great daughter, aren't I?" I ask one hundred percent serious.

"Mmhm" he said making me unsure.

"What does that mean?" I ask, wanting to know what he meant by that. Was it a good thing or a bad thing?

"You're right, maybe I should look into dating." He shifts on his seat and changes the subject.

I ended up talking to dad for longer than I intended and I went up stairs to get my phone. Everyone else I could hang out with was at school, except for one person.

I decide to text Heath, hoping he'd respond and not be busy. I was still bored and needed someone to hang out with to cure my boredom.

I send him a text I know he would be somewhat worried and would respond.

I need urgent help. Come to my house ASAP.

I giggle when I finally hit send and imagine him worrying. What if he doesn't care and doesn't come? That'll suck. He's my only hope.

I wait and wait but he never texts me back. I lay on the couch, staring up into the ceiling bored as heck. Do Ants have brains? They must have brains, right? What if they don't, then what do they have?

I find myself starting to think about the most random things, things I'd think In the shower. I was so bored.

Suddenly there was a knock on my door and I didn't want to get up. I thought maybe it was one of those religious ladies that like knocking on my door to speak to me about how to clear my sins away.

I groan as I stand up and drag my feet to the front door. To my surprise I see Heath standing there, as soon as I open the door he looks me up and down.

"What happened ?" He asks, searching my face.

I knew my text would make him come fast. Come to my house, not the other thing. And he sure as heck looked worried.

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A/N

Thanks for reading💕

7/9/22