My Favorite Numbers

My semi-sheer curtains let in a hint of the sunrise, subtly lighting up my deep teal walls. The frigidity of winter resulted in a pile of comforters upon my bed, which in turn led me to turn on my ceiling fan. The dull hum is like a lullaby, perfect for nighttime but counterproductive in the morning. Wrapped in my damp towel, I laid back on my bed. My drippy hair formed a puddle on the pillows as I unlocked my phone. The anticipation wasn’t killing me, for I had forgotten that the day had finally come. The clean smell of shampoo and soap sept in to the bed and filled the air around me, combining a minty smell with lavender for an oddly perfect fragrance. Just trying to stay awake, I continued browsing about on my phone, the slightly-too-bright screen forcing me to avert my eyes every now and again. I closed my eyes for just one second, just ten seconds, just a minute… my eyes opened to a better lit room, so I can only assume my eyes were closed for longer. My blue cloud-speckled ceiling was lined with faint rays as I incessantly yawned. Tears filled my eyes with each yawn and subsided a few seconds later. I was so tired. I opened my phone again; discovering I still had plenty of time to get ready for school, I continued to waste time. I bounced around from app to app, Snapchat to Gmail, and eventually checked my calendar to see what my commitments were for the day. That was what sparked my memory — the reminder on my calendar app that the day had finally come for ACT scores to be posted. A month prior, I took the ACT for the second time, hoping better time management would equate to a higher score. I opened Chrome and began logging in to see my score report. I selected to see my score, and everything stopped; my breath caught in my chest, time as frozen as the icicles clinging to my window. I have always had a few favorite numbers — 2, 7, 25, to name a few — but never have I been more overjoyed to see a 3 followed by a 6.
