2 Get Up At Dawn

"Today's the day!" Connie quickly reached for her phone as soon as she had woken up.

[06:28 A.M.] Flashed the time on the screen and she smiled to herself.

"Right on time." Triumphantly waiting for her alarm to go off - she had been training her body clock to wake up at early hours for the past two weeks - Connie felt accomplished by the fact the trials were a success.

She glared to her side and took a moment to adore the glorious rays of sunshine seeping through her diaphanous, periwinkle blue curtains.

It was so peaceful. So quiet. So refreshing. For just a moment, everything seemed still like time wasn't moving forward at all.

[06:30 A.M] Despite the feeling, the alarm on her phone rang a joyous and upbeat melody which indicated that it was time for Connie to get ready.

Everything was already organised. Her outfit for the day lay at her bed's end. Her choice of bag was lightly packed with simple essentials: pencil case, pocket mirror, purse and so on. Her breakfast sat on the kitchen counter downstairs: a porridge bar to go, golden syrup flavour, sweet, just how she likes it. Her shoes by the front door waiting for her to put them on right before she leaves.

There was no way Connie was going to be late on her first day of her second year. She prepared all that she needed the night before and every box on her mental checklist was double ticked.

It was important that her reputation for being ridiculously early to college was maintained - that way she never has to worry over small things such as the possibility of being tardy.

Connie was a lot more motivated compared to her sister, Mariana, in the mornings.

Mariana was always more of a cat kind of person. She was sluggish at home, but when out and around people she loved to be showered in attention - although she'll become quite sour when she's fed up. Her intelligence was nothing short of amazing and she knew how to get out of trouble; as her friends were quite a rowdy bunch, she needed her sneakiness to literally save her life.

Connie meant so much to Mariana. Despite this, she could never admit that to her. Mariana was always protective over her sister in the most subtle of ways.

When she relaxed her hair, she told Connie that the reason for it was because she "didn't want to look like her twin anymore" - but, truly, it was because she didn't want her sweet sister to get into trouble if she had done something bad.

Because of this, Connie just thought that Mariana hated her - so she created the nickname 'Mimi' for her once look-alike twin. Mariana may have said it was a silly name back then, but she had always cherished it.

After getting dressed and doing her hair, Connie made her way to her sister's room.

"Mimi, it's time to get up. We both know how long it takes for you to get yourself fully awake and ready." She gently shook her sister in an attempt to wake her up.

"That time already? ...Wait... no... don't drag me into your early morning routine..." Mariana's groggy morning voice was muffled as she curled up into the warm comfort of her duvet.

"There's nothing wrong with being a little early. You know what they say; the early bird catches the worm 'n' all." Connie gave a dazzling smile as she drew the curtains back and let the sunshine pour into the room and illuminate it.

"Ugh... too bright... close it back up..." Mariana threw her cushion over her head, evidently unwilling to get out of bed.

Connie let out a frustrated sigh in response to her sister's stubbornness. She took a few minutes to relish in the light coming through the window.

Her curly, long, black hair had copper coloured highlights wherever the shimmering sunlight hit her head and her big brown eyes beamed with the excitement of getting to start afresh. A brand new academic year.

Her honey bronze skin turned golden and tan-deep, welcoming the sun that cast radiant light upon the town this fine morning.

"It looks like the weather is going to be lovely today." Connie closed the curtains.

"Don't... jinx it." Mariana was already half asleep. Her occasional and light snore was more than enough proof for her sister to tell she was in and out of being awake.

Letting out a second sigh, Connie patted her sister on the head. "Just don't be late, 'kay?"

And with that Connie grabbed her lunch, put on her shoes and left for college.

[07:04 A.M] It was also routine for Connie to wish everyone about the town a good morning.

Unlike her sister, Connie was full of energy and was always happy to be doing anything and everything. She would always put herself out there for volunteering and whatnot.

She'd be so focused on making others happy with her smiles and giggles that she'd forget that reality isn't always as bright - so it hits her hard sometimes; however, her tendency to make things better would always lift her spirits again no matter what.

That's probably the reason why she was such a people magnet. She's had more friends than she had jokes (and her list of a mix between memorised and original jokes was pretty much near the infinity mark).

Connie was just as clever as her sister and was always fond with learning, which explains why she was so keen on dedicating a lot of her time to excelling with school work and arriving on time.

The area they lived in wasn't amazing, but Connie loved it. It was a small town and herself and her sister shared a comfortable, two bedroom apartment. The people in the area weren't particularly as pleasant as she was and the weather is mostly atrocious - but she still found beauty in it.

She'd practically skip all the way to college and take in the scenery. When there's a new flower in bloom for the season or an adorable animal going about its daily business, she swore it her duty to examine it and perhaps take a few photos whilst she was at it.

Connie saying "Good morning!" to all the neighbours - and she was sure not to miss a single one out - was a totally normal occurrence.

A "Have a good day!" thrown at total strangers going about their morning business, giving her the odd confused stare.

A "How do you do?" to... the living dead.

Yes that's right... Connie believes that these people are alive and of course they are to her. This is because she has a special gift. Her ability to communicate with spirits has led others to believe that she's a bit delirious. Nobody else can see the 'people' she talks to, so she'd often be stared at weirdly or asked if she's okay.

It wasn't surprising that she thought they were just being polite asking her that, though...

[07:43 A.M] Arriving at the school earlier than usual, Connie stood by the gates and paced up and down in front of it, impatiently. She took a quick glance at her phone and a new message notification popped up.

{Note: '>' = Mariana texting; '<' = Connie replying}

>You'll be glad to know that your annoying voice woke me up

>You looked absolutely fine earlier btw good choice of outfit

Thank you!<

Oh, and make sure to eat something before you leave<

>Do you even need to remind me? lol

Just in case...<

"Connie!"

After hearing a familiar voice call her name, she looked up and witnessed her friend running to her from a distance. She quickly typed a last message before running to close the distance between them.

Have a good day!<

The two friends gave each other a massive hug and giggled as they greeted each other. "Sienna! Why were you running like that!? And yelling my name across the street as if someone was out to kill me..." Connie burst out into laughter. "People are gonna start to think they're on set for some live action movie!"

"Oh, you know me. Just doing my morning sprint around the block." Sienna grinned, stretching out her limbs then jogging on the spot as if she were preparing to go another round.

"And I thought I was the early bird! How long have you been waiting then?"

"Long enough to know that I'm parched, Cons. Let's grab a quick drink." Sienna grabbed onto Connie's hand and began to run towards the nearest vending machine.

"Haven't you done enough running already!?" Connie was never a big fan of sports and her shoes or outfit were definitely not suitable for the speed Sienna was dragging her along at. "S-slow down, Si Si!"

"I said I was thirsty, not tired! C'mon, Cons, let's get those joints moving!" Sienna said with a rhythm in her speech, which made her sound like a professional fitness instructor.

Sienna was always this bubbly and carefree. She was the captain of almost all clubs and participated in lots of competitions - as long as they were challenging in any way or form to her physical endurance and, physically, she was in great shape.

She was tall with fair skin, green eyes, brown hair - which was rarely ever let down from a ponytail - and had freckles dotted randomly about her face.

Her likelihood of being ditsy at times got the better of her and she would generally get distracted by things very easily. Connie likes to believe that she keeps Sienna's feet on the ground with her organisational skills.

That is the case usually, when she's not roped into Sienna's surprisingly contagious and curious ways...