Ella stepped exasperatedly off of the bus, Lana Del Rey still blasting through her headphones and most likely contributing to all the hearing loss she would have as an old lady. Her whole body jolted down the steep steps and out onto the little driveway of her home. The brunette watched her Vans thud quietly around the car and up to the front door while the great humming of the bus's departure made itself known behind her.

It took a few minutes of fishing and swearing to coax her house key out of the black hole that was her backpack. Pushing the little bronze-colored key into the lock, she had to use two hands to turn the old thing until she heard a tiny click. Pulling the key out was just as difficult, and by the time she was in the door, her hands were hurting and the music that was so blissful on the bus was starting to piss her off.

Ripping the headphones out of her ears, Ella made her way quickly to her room, so as not to run into her parents, who would probably bitch about the fact that she forgot to tidy up her room that morning.

As quietly as she could, she shut the door to her room and flung her bag and shoes onto her bed, to which the old springs protested with a faint screeching noise. Her hand slapped across the light switch, illuminating the room with orangish light.

[i]God, I can't hardly see in here...I need to change the bulbs...[/i]

Ella sat tiredly on her bed, reveling in the silence of her room. That is, until the faint vibration of her phone in comforters disturbed her. It was a short-lived noise, meaning a text. Flipping through the various folds of fabric, the brunette didn't manage to find the little computer at all until she just ripped the bedding off, which resulted in a small thud on the floor.

"Found you.."

It was a text from Parker: [b]You going to that party?[/b]

Ella: [b]Yea, stupid Audrey and Kate dragged (or is it drug?) me into it.[/b]
Parker: [b]You don't have to go, you know. We could go see a movie or something. Tell them you're sick.[/b]
Ella: [b]They won't believe me. They know I just hate everyone there.[/b]
Parker: [b]Still. We could just hang out.[/b]
Ella: [b]I wish, Parker. I wish.[/b]

Sighing, the girl let her phone fall out of her hand before falling back onto the bed herself. She needed to get ready, but she felt like falling asleep, right then and there. In fact, she was dozing off when a gruff voice called from the living room.

"Ella! Get your ass in here!"

[i]Shit.[/i]

Quickly, the brunette jumped up from her position on the bed, squeaks and all, and breezed into her little bathroom, flipping the light on as she did so.

Her expert hands got to work immediately, starting with makeup wipes to start fresh. She then rubbed a cotton ball of nail polish remover over her face, taking off most of the orange that the stupid tanning lady had made. However, she was still too dark for her taste. Ella then proceeded to remake herself, applying makeup and perfume and changing into her party clothes - a white crop-top that cut off at an angle with dark blue high-rise shorts and black converse. Her hair had slowly started to un-straighten, and now fell in dark ringlets around her shoulders.

"Ella! [i]Don't make me come in there![/i]"

Two more squirts of perfume and she grabbed her purse from it's perch on her dresser. With practiced fingers, she undid the latch on her low-set window and pushed the stiff hinges upward.

"Bye, dad." Ella breathed as she squeezed herself through and out into the quickly-chilling evening air.