Aphmau's POV:
As I saw the sun shining through my purple ombre curtains, my eyes fluttered open. I squinted my eyes to check the time and realized that it was early in the morning, around 5 a.m., according to the alarm clock on my left. Feeling groggy and tired, I took a deep breath and shut my eyes, hoping to fall back asleep and get some more rest.
*One hour later*
I found myself tossing and turning in bed, struggling to find a comfortable position to sleep. With my eyes shut, I was unaware of what was happening around me. I kicked and squirmed, trying to ease my restlessness. Finally, I let out an exasperated sigh and opened my eyes to see my mum staring at me.
"Mijha do you even know how late it is?"
"What are you talking about, Mom? It's only like..." I looked over to my alarm clock and noticed it was already 7:35 am. I quickly sat up, realizing that I was running late.
"You're going to be late! Do you even know how many times I've tried to wake you up? You're like a sack of potatoes when it comes to sleeping!" my mom exclaimed.
"Hey! I am not. I was just getting my beauty rest," I replied as I flipped my hair sassily.
"Anyway, you're going to be late for your first day of school!"
"Ughh are you serious?? I thought that was next week?" I spoke in frustration as I plopped myself back into the position I was on my bed.
"Nope, you're getting your butt out of bed right now. I don't care if you have a rat's nest in your head. GET UP!"
"Ok, ok, jeez," I sighed as I made my way to the edge of the bed. I noticed that my mum had something in her hand.
"Uhh, Mum, what's in your hand?" I asked curiously.
"Oh, this? I was standing in front of your bed for 10 minutes trying to get you to wake up," she said, waving around the oven tray and wooden spoon.
"Wait, isn't that from...?"
As I lay in bed trying to mentally prepare for school, my mum began banging on the oven tray with a wooden spoon and singing loudly. She was singing that popular song that goes "I'm not gonna sleep cause of ya'll, ya'll not gonna sleep cause of me." Despite her efforts to get me out of bed, surprisingly it worked since I didn't even get a chance to decompress and get ready for school. Her singing and noise-making was so loud that I'm pretty sure the whole neighbourhood could hear her.
Sylvanna's POV:
My daughter ran past me to try and escape my enthusiasm for her first day of school. I know it might not be the best way, but wouldn't you do the same? I spoke to her in a sing-songy voice, telling her that she only had 15 minutes left before she had to go to school. But I'm pretty sure that only made her more upset. Anyway, I had to make her breakfast because I knew she wouldn't make it herself. What a lazy bum.
Aphmau's POV:
As I stood in front of the mirror, I could hear my mother walking down the stairs and into the kitchen. She was probably preparing breakfast for me since we both knew that I wouldn't eat anything if I had to leave in a hurry. I tried to fix my hair, which was a rat's nest, and make myself look presentable enough so that people wouldn't think I was homeless. When I was home-schooled, half the time I was, but it was pretty comfortable wearing oversized sweatpants and sweatshirts. After I finished trying to tame my hair, I looked at myself in the mirror and questioned my ability to step foot into my new school. I wondered why schools needed to exist and why we had to conform to such dull settings that made us feel less unique.
All I could think about were the "why" questions. Why this? Why that? Unfortunately, this caused my anxiety to kick in, and I found myself welling up with tears. I realized that I didn't want to leave my shell, my home, as I considered it to be my safe space. I had been doing homeschooling for so long and playing my MMO game that I forgot how to interact with the real world. That's what scared me the most. What if I didn't make any friends? What if I never made any friends? My head was filled with what-if questions, and now my face was covered in tears.Luckily, I wasn't wearing any mascara, or I would have looked like a clown. However, my hair and teeth were ready, but I wasn't wearing my uniform. I opened my bathroom door to see if my mum was still around and made a mad dash towards my room, which was parallel to my bedroom. I shut the door behind me and took a massive sigh of relief that she hadn't found me crying. I wanted to lock myself in my room so I wouldn't have to go to school. I was dreading any social interaction. Suddenly, I could hear my mum trotting back up the stairs, and fear kicked in. "Oh no, what am I going to do?" I whispered to myself. Staggering in my thoughts, I darted around the room to find a place to hide. I knew Mum would be angry that I wasn't ready for school. I found my closet and dashed towards it, closing the door behind me. Never in my life had my heart thumped so hard in my chest. It felt like my rib cage was shaking.
Sylvanna's POV:
I noticed that Aph had slammed the door to her bedroom, and I sighed heavily knowing that she wasn't ready yet. It was already 8:45 and I was starting to get annoyed, as the toast popped out from the toaster. I made my way up the stairs and leaned against Aphmau's door. It was quiet, too quiet for my liking. I opened the door and everything seemed to be clean. Normally, when Aph is late to something, her room is turned upside down, like a bombshell had hit her room. But I was surprised as her room was clean this time. However, I had a feeling that wasn't the case. I walked around her room for a bit before I went to her closet. I stayed quiet for a moment and noticed that there was sniffling coming from inside her closet. I opened the door and found her curled up in the fetal position, rocking herself back and forth. My whole world shattered as I couldn't bear the sight of my daughter crying. I'm sure no parent would want to see their child crying. It is the most heart-breaking, heart-wrenching thing for a parent to ever experience.
"Oh mija come here, tell mum about all your troubles." I sat next to Aph and wrapped my arms around her to try and comfort her.
"Mum, I'm scared. I don't want to go to school anymore. I can't-"
"Mija, it's okay. It's fine to be scared! Everyone needs to be a little bit scared to be brave." I spoke while stroking her hair.
"But what if I don't make any friends? What if everyone hates me?" She looked at me with her honey-brown eyes, glistening under the closet light as the water in her eyes made them look glassy.
"Well, you can make friends tomorrow, or the next day, or the day after that. You don't need to stress about that now. All you need to stress about is getting your butt to school." I chuckled.
"Muuuuuumm!" Aphmau whined.
"I'm joking, I'm joking. But seriously, just put your brave face on and try to get through the first day, okay?" I stood up, picked up Aphmau's uniform, and handed it to her.
"Okay, while you're getting dressed, I can make you toast and hot chocolate for breakfast. Would you like that?"
Aphmau nodded and smiled.
"Great! Mijha, after you're dressed, please wash your face and come downstairs to eat. And make sure you have everything you need, cause I don't want any phone calls."
Aphmau's POV:
"Yez, Mum. Jeez." I rolled my eyes at her, but it was all in good fun. We both smiled and chuckled. I cherish our closeness, but at times, it feels like we both live on different planets.
*5 minutes later*
I found myself staring at the mirror once again in my bathroom, feeling prepared to tackle the day ahead. After fluffing out my hair one last time, I made my way down to the kitchen to double-check the items in my bag.
"Books. Check."
"Pencil case. Check."
"Colours. Check."
"Computer. Check."
As I was busy talking to myself to make sure I had everything before leaving, my mum brought me a plate of toast and the hot chocolate she had promised. I smiled and started eating the toast and drinking the hot chocolate, but I ate it too quickly, causing the hot chocolate to burn my tongue and throat, leading me to cough. I ran to the kitchen sink and tried to drink water while sticking my head to the side and sticking my tongue out.
Mum found it funny and said, "Maybe next time, don't gulp down hot liquids, mijha." She laughed in between her words.
I grabbed some water and splashed it on her. She stopped laughing and looked down for a moment before turning her gaze to me. "Oh no," I thought, realizing I may have gone too far. It was only a joke, but now I regretted it. She silently picked up my things and put the dishes in the sink. Then she pushed me out the door, keys in hand, and I climbed into the passenger seat, refusing to speak."Time to take you to school, Mijha," she said as she turned on Beyonce. I loved Beyonce too, but not the way my mom did. She sang along, danced, and flipped her hair while we were still driving. We had a few close calls, but my mom was unfazed. I was pretty sure my life flashed before my eyes multiple times. I held onto the seat belt and anything else I could grab onto, just in case.
*A few moments later (I'm sure you get the gist, I was too lazy to write this bit)*
We arrived at the school's pick-up and drop-off zone, and my mother started to pat my head. I wondered if she was going to talk to me about what happened at home earlier. Perhaps she was waiting until I got home, so as not to stress me out on my first day. Thousands of kids were streaming through the front doors of the school, like a stampede. I turned to my mother and she hugged me, but I still felt uneasy about the morning's events. It was like waiting for a jump scare, and I hated that feeling.
She patted me on the back and said "Have a good first day Mijha!"
And she pulled me in for one last hug before I made my way out of the car. I waved goodbye to her, and as she drove off, I found myself staring at the school building in front of me. It loomed large, almost as if it was trying to swallow me whole. I took a deep breath and reminded myself to be brave. I knew I had to get through the first day somehow. So, I put one foot in front of the other and joined the crowd of students flowing in and out of the school.
"Cheers to my first day."
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Hi everyone! It's just me the author here and thank you for reading the first chapter of 'Aaron X Aphmau: What's in Between Revamp.' This did take a while to complete and I hope you all enjoy the first chapter. Thank you, guys, for the support, I do appreciate it and please don't hesitate to ask me any questions. I hope you guys all have a good rest of your day, wherever you may be!
