Some days, I just listened to my i-pod and blocked everyone out. Today was one of those days. My little posse was standing infront of the orchestra room waiting for the first bell to ring. I love hearing what my friends have to say but sometimes I just wanted to sleep, and at that moment I was kind of in a daze as I leaned against the cold stone tiles on the wall.
"Misti" Ashanti nudged me. I looked up at her blankly.
"What?" I asked moodily.
"The bell rang and the Misti I know wouldn't want to be late." The other three friends of mine were already in the orchestra room, not bothering to say goodbye. Ashanti was the funniest and most awesome best friend I could have.
"Do I have to go to bio?" I whined as I stood away from the wall and waited for a chance to merge into the swarm of students in the hallway.
"Well honestly, I would skip soo..." Yeah, she wasn't much of a help there. Getting tired of waiting any longer I pushed my way into the crowd, sending people stumbling around me. I felt Ashanti on my heels. "See, I love this!! you just clear my way so I can get to class on time." With that statement I laughed. She was sooo right I just pushed people out of the way, not caring if they trip or fall. Eventually we came to a wider hallway and Ashanti started walking next to me.
I noticed her ebony skin was almost glowing under the fluorescent lighting. "New lotion?" I asked.
"What? Oh, yeah. Doesn't my skin look amazing?! I think I'm going to stick with this brand." She said proudly, her curly dark brown hair bouncing as we walked. Ashanti was always curious as to what different lotions' labels actually say the truth.
"Yeah it works well, bye" I told her before side-stepping into my Biology room.
I sat in my biology class. It was a small, rather plain room. The walls were painted white and the floors were green tile. Every tile had small specs of black within the green pigment, whenever I get bored I look at a tile and connect the black smudges as if they were constellations. Currently I was doing so, the tile was right next to my foot and the dots made a cat-like shape. Six round tables filled the room, three on the left side of the room and three on the right. At each table were six chairs.
I sat at the back most table in the back most chair all the way on the right side of the room. Why? Because I'd rather have people talk about me in front of me instead of behind my back. Whether the comments are negative or positive, I still would like to hear them.
The bell rang again and my teacher handed us an easy worksheet to do. Within ten minutes I was done. Sliding my finished assignment across the table top and into the center of the circular table, I brought out the book I had started last night and began to read. That's when the new guy walked in. I barely looked up, too focused on the words in the book. Yet the gasps and mumble of the room caught my attention and folding the corner of the page, I checked out the new comer.
He was very different from my peers and I. His black hair was gelled into a style resembling that of a hedgehog or porcupine, his eyes were bright red in color, making them really pop were the rings of eyeliner circling both eyes. Piercings could be seen in various places, his nose and eyebrow contained one each, he had snake bites and his ears were covered in rods and rings. Around his neck was a studded collar, his shirt was a plain black tee. Yet his shirt was a little small on him, showing his intimidating muscles ripple under the fabric. He wore plaid red and black skinny jeans with a studded belt that matched the collar, hanging from the pockets and belt loops were multiple chains of various sizes. Creeping from his pocket to his ear was an ear bud from his I-pod. Over all he looked scary and very rude, but I never judged a book by its cover.
I went back to reading as my teacher recovered from her shock and asked the new guy who he was. Glancing up from my book I watched as he shrugged and looked at the empty chair next to me. Ignoring anything the teacher said or asked he made his way toward the seat, walking around my side of the table and knocking down all of my books. My notes flew everywhere and I lost my place in two of the books I was reading because the bookmarks fell out. It took me a few seconds to realize what just happened, in those few seconds he sat down next to me and put his feet on the table. Nay, not the table, on the assignment I had just finished. It was now caked with mud.
"What the hell is your friggin' problem?!" I screamed at him, jumping out of my chair and standing over him. The class gasped with surprise, never having heard me speak in class before especially in such an angry way. My hands balled into fists as I tried so hard to control my anger, but I couldn't.
"Chill, just a few books." His voice was soft but his eyes were challenging.
"I'd like to see you pick them up and find the exact word I left off at." I sneered.
"I'll crush you into a pulp if you don't get off my back." He growled, his voice raising angrily. My teacher and peers weren't going to do anything, this was the best entertainment they had in a while.
"And I'll beat you senseless! Who the hell do you think you are? Waltzing into the classroom like you own the place and ruining my stuff!!!" I glowered at him, pulling my now muddy work booklet from under his mud covered Converse sneakers. He looked shocked as if nobody has ever stood up to him before. "So let me teach you a lesson," I was on a nasty streak and I wasn't going to stop until he cleaned up his mess, "pick up my books and notes that you so kindly pushed to the floor."
"Or else what?" He chuckled in amusement.
"Or else I'll give you an actual black eye to show off, instead of all the makeup you wear." I hissed as the class oohed like they would when someone was called to the principal's office. "Or should I pluck off all of your piercings one by one? Is that what I need to do to get some respect from you?" I could feel my eyes blaze with fury as they burned straight into his gaze. His eyes narrowed as he stood up angrily and tossed his chair aside, causing it to fall and clang against the floor. He stood over me, my was he taller than I thought.
"I don't know who you think you are, but you aren't the queen of this school or anything!" He jeered,"So back off!!"
"I'm Misti-f***ing-Hailberry! And with that said and done, pick up my books now!" I growled at the new kid. His eyes still widened with shock, he started picking up my notes. "I did have them ordered by date before you ruined them." I scoffed.
"Are you serious? You should be happy I'm even picking them up for you." He grumbled.
"Yes I'm serious!" I snapped at him before sitting in my chair and looking at the table as if nothing happened, the only sound in the room was the new guy picking up my stuff. Eyes burned my skin but I simply ignored it. Five minutes until the bell was supposed to ring is when he handed me my binder containing organized notes and the three books I had. He was going to say something but was cut off by the bell. I got up, side stepped around him and walked out of the room, leaving everyone to look after me in awe.

I walked to my locker and unlocked the lock with my combination, 15-13-15. Opening the door I heard a recently familiar voice from behind me.

"Oh come on." He muttered crossly to himself as the new guy walked up to the locker next to me. I sighed and rolled my eyes as I grabbed my sketch book from my locker. This was going to be a looooong day...

The bell rang and I smirked, what better way to start your first day of school than being fashionably late? I walked through the empty hallways until I finally found my room right across from the cafeteria. With Simple Plan blasting into my right ear, I stepped into the classroom and looked around. It was a decent sized room that had an open seat in the far back. Perfect. A woman (most likely the teacher) tapped me on the arm and asked me something, but I just shrugged already distracted by something, or rather, someone. The girl in the back looked like a shy bookworm type, maybe I could get her to do most of my schoolwork for me so that I could just relax this school year. Smirking I made my way to the back thinking that I could flirt with her and gain a nerdy assistant. While I was walking around the corner of the table, I knocked over her pile of binders and books…Oops. It wasn’t a big deal or anything just a few scattered books and papers I shrugged it off and took the seat next to her, propping my feet up on the table. The feeling of everyone watching really made me happy, of course, I wouldn’t show that, but I just loved attention.
“What the hell is your friggin’ problem?!” The girl screamed at me as she stood up dramatically. One of my eyebrows rose, was this a challenge? Did she like attention too? Her hands curled into fists. If she swung at me, I’d have to believe she’s a lunatic.
“Chill, just a few books.” I tried to keep my voice even and calm, not really wanting to start my first day with a fight.
“I’d like to see you pick them up and find the exact word I left off at!” The girl sneered. So this was a type of challenge then? Either way I really didn’t like her attitude and she was really starting to annoy me.
“I’ll crush you into a pulp if you don’t get off my back.” The words came out of my throat in the form of a loud growl. Her hazel eyes narrowed. Well she wasn’t pleased.
“And I’ll beat you senseless! Who the hell do you think you are? Waltzing into the classroom acting like you own the place and ruining my stuff!!!” She glowered at me, her honey brown hair had loosened from behind her left ear and cascaded around the side of her face. If she made an effort she could be pretty. The girl pulled out her worksheet from under my muddy converse shoes…Oops, guess I should really pay attention to things. I gaped at her, she was really something else. “So let me teach you a lesson and pick up my books and notes you so kindly pushed to the floor.”
“Or else what?” I chuckled.
“Or else I’ll give you an actual black eye to show off, instead of all that make up you wear.” She hissed. I felt a bit offended; did she just insult my eyeliner? “Or should I pluck off all of your piercings one by one? Is that what I need to do to get some respect from you?” The girl was staring straight into my eyes. It felt like she could see into my soul. Narrowing my eyes I stood, accidentally pushing my chair to the floor.
“I don’t know who you think you are, but you aren’t the queen of the school or anything so back off!!” I jeered and then realized how corny that sounded. What I should’ve done was ignore her, but she just got under my skin.
“I’m Misti-F***ing-Hailberry! And with that said and done, Pick up my books now!” I widened my eyes in shock, this short, book lover was telling me off? Not really sure how to respond to that, I hesitantly started shuffling the papers into a pile. “I did have them ordered by date before you ruined them.” She scoffed.
“Are you serious? You should be happy I’m even picking them up for you.” I grumbled as I took her binder and her notes to my seat and started organizing them. Why? Why was I giving in to a girl? I always won fights. So why didn’t I win this one? Basically I spent the whole period organizing her notes in the most confusing way. All even numbered pages first, and then the pages with no numbers, and following that were the pages with odd numbers. In the three different numbered sections I organized it by date. October then September, then October again. Smirking, I shut the binder and handed it to her. A smart remark was about to burst through my mouth but she left before I could say anything.
Shrugging, I sat back and put my feet back on the table. This was going to be a long school year. Soon, the bell rang and I went to my newly assigned locker. Looking up I noticed that my locker was right next to Misti’s. Great. “Oh come on!” I muttered in complaint as I walked up beside her and opened my locker. Quickly I grabbed my leather bound sketchbook and shut my locker heading off to my drawing class in room 125. If I had another class with that girl again I’d remember to keep my distance.

I walked into room 125 and inhaled the intoxicating smell of clay, paint, glazes and eraser shavings. The art room was always my favorite thing about Aurora High School; it spawned creativity and just had a relaxing feel to it. There were about thirty desks total, fifteen desks in the front of the room forming a square around a still life, and fifteen desks in the back of the room set up the same way. Making this room differ from most regular classrooms in this school is the cupboards that flanked the whole left side of the room, and the two storage rooms in the back.
Setting my books down at my desk, I felt a tap on my arm and spun around to see my drawing teacher Mrs. Vienna. She always wore blouses with floral print on it and had accessories to match, her hair was combed into a round shape atop her head, it was a reddish orange in color and you could always tell when she needed to re-dye it because a few grays would start popping out in places. The thing I loved most about her was her eyes; Mrs. Vienna never lies, ever. Her dark green eyes will never leave your gaze when she’s talking to you and she’ll always give you her honest opinion.
“So what did you think of the assignment last night honey?” Mrs. Vienna used the word ‘honey’ to address almost all of her students, I think its because she’s about fifty something years old. Sometimes the ‘honey’ gets annoying, especially when you’ve spent three years in the woman’s classes. Respectively I pulled out my ear bud when she spoke.
“It was too easy, when are we going to get to the oil pastels?” I asked, almost a whine. My talents we a bit more advanced than the freshmen or sophomores, I never understood why I didn’t sign up for drawing one sooner.
Mrs. Vienna gave a small laugh; “Oh you’re way ahead of the game sweetie. But if you’re done with that then you could start working on the still life there.” She pointed to a stack of boxes on the still life display desk that was in the middle of one of the squares.
“They’re boxes…” I didn’t mean to sound rude, but boxes were just so boring.
“Yes and they’re the next project. Think about it, you’ll be done with it before everyone else starts and you’d have more free time.” Mrs. Vienna smiled before going to the back of the room to make her tea. As tempting as that offer sounded it wasn’t actually good on my part, what she meant was, ‘you’d have more free time to help me clean up and move some things.’ The only way I know this is from experience. Last year during mid-term week I was hanging out with Mr. Stryker in the art room down the hall while waiting for my next exam time to start. Mrs. Vienna came in to ask him something and realized that I wasn’t doing much, so she made me go take down the still lives and put all of the items in the storage closet before going through all of the things on Mr. Stryker’s side of the room. (all the art teachers share each art room together) By the time I was done, I was nearly late to my exam.
“Well that sounds great, I’ll get working on it then!” I gave a fake smile and turned to take my seat, just as the new guy walked in. Of course of all art classes he had to choose mine, and better still, I, once again, had the only open seat right next to me… This had to stop happening. Rolling my eyes, I sat down and opened my sketchbook to start drawing the stupid boxes. Only my music could keep me quiet and sane. That’s another plus about art courses, the teachers don’t mind the use of i-pods. I put my ear bud back in just in time to hear Hellfire from Disney’s The Hunchback Of Notre Dome. Trying to focus on drawing three boring boxes is hard when you’re trying to silently sing to a Disney song while trying to hear what the new kid is saying to your art teacher. All I understood from their conversation is that his name was KC.

A frown formed across my face as I walked into the classroom, that bitch was there. Gritting my teeth, I made my way over to the teacher. She looked like a decent kind hearted person and I didn’t want to seem rude to her. Slowly, I approached her as she dipped a tea bag in a mug of hot water.

“Hello, I’m guessing you’re the new guy? I’m Mrs. Vienna.” The teacher greeted cheerfully.

“Yeah, I guess… I’m KC.” She took a sip of her tea and then stood and looked me over. There was something about her personality that caused me to remove my earbud. Mrs. Vienna had an air of authority that I was not going to disrespect.

“You guess? What do you not know if you’re new here or not?” She rolled her eyes, “Ugh, you guys are killing me! You are all the future and KC here doesn’t even know if he’s the new guy!” Mrs. Vienna announced to the class, it had filled up within the past few minutes and once again, the only free spot was next to Misti. Luck wasn’t with me today, “Here, follow me.” The teacher led me to her desk and she handed me a packet, “Hand the lab fee within a week and you’ll get a sketchbook and some charcoal pencils, for now just use a piece of paper and the class charcoals…Misti, honey, could you help KC out here?” Misti didn’t even look up, she just nodded and came over.

“What am I showing him?” She asked, only staring at Mrs. Vienna. Misti didn’t even bother to look in my direction.

“Just help him get started, show him where the paper and charcoals are…And nobody sits next to you right? KC, you can sit next to Misti and if you have any questions, just ask her.” When she was finished talking, Misti just nodded and turned around, heading for the back of the room.

“Follow me, New Guy.” Her tone was a bit bitter as she spoke over her shoulder at me. Reluctantly, I followed her to a huge storage cabinet in the back. Misti opened it by turning the handle at a weird angle. “Budget cuts.” She muttered as she yanked the door open. There were a great number of shelves, but only about half were filled with paper. Each shelf had a different type of paper, but none of them were labeled. “Okay get ready to memorize, because I’m not repeating this for you.” The girl turned to face me and pointed to the top shelf, working her way down as she told me the types of paper.

“They are organized by weight, color and grip. At the top, we have 90-weight paper, then 75, then 68, and it works its way down from there. After that you have this manila paper,” she brought out a beige piece of paper, “We will use it in drawing 2, if you plan on taking it next year. Under the manila paper is this grey paper,” she returned the beige paper and showed me the grey one. “It has a better grip and we’ll be using it for our charcoal ribbon drawings…Which brings us to charcoal…” To shut the cabinet she had to punch the doors closed and then turn the handle back to its original position. After that, she took me over to a counter with many drawers. “One of these will have the charcoals.” Her hands motioned to the drawers, “Vienna and Stryker share this room…This is Stryker’s section and he’s not organized…At all…Ever.”

“So I have to search for my own piece of charcoal? And what paper do I have to use for this project? What is the current project?” My mind buzzed with questions, and I was trying to seem nice after our little fiasco last period. If Misti could show me around the room after our fight without having an attitude, then I could try to forget about it too.

“Just find a piece of charcoal, get a 68 and start drawing boxes,” Her eyes narrowed and she pointed a finger at me, “But I swear, if you knock my books down one more time, you’ll have something to worry about.” Well, so much for thinking she was over it. Misti went back to her seat and started drawing and I tried finding a piece of charcoal.

By the end of the period, I had one box drawing done. Not sure what to do, I stared at Misti, wondering if I should ask her or not. For the past thirty-six minutes she was fully focused on her work. Hell, she had her full drawing done and it was almost finished. Biting my lip, I poked her. She glared at me.

“Um... Where do I put my drawing when I’m done? Is there a folder or a cabinet or something?” I felt pathetic asking Misti this stuff, but she had gotten up and collected her things, heading off to the back room. So I followed her with my drawing and piece of charcoal in hand. It was a small room, basically as big as a walk-in closet. On all of the walls were rows and rows of bins. She grabbed an empty bin and handed it to me.

“Use masking tape and put your name on the bin. You store all of your projects in here until the end of the year.” She instructed while putting her stuff in a bin close by. “The bell’s about to ring so hurry up before it gets crowded back here.” The warning was nice of her I guess. Quickly, I did what she said and returned to my seat just as the bell rang.
Checking my schedule, I headed off to my English class. Sitting in the back, I just waited for her to walk through the door and end up sitting next to me. Thankfully the bell rang and there was no sign of Misti. Maybe I wouldn’t have to deal with her anymore today. Without Misti around, I ended my English class on a high note and went to lunch after.

After explaining things to KC last period, I just wanted to go home. This kid required too much of my time, I could’ve been finished earlier with my drawing if the damn boy tried to figure things out for himself. My feet stopped moving and angrily I looked up to see what the problem was. Apparently, traffic by the stairs was terrible. Pulling my books to my chest, I dove in. It was a swarm of pushing, pulling, and sometimes awkward, accidental butt touching.
“Hey!” a girl hissed at me, someone else spat a few choice words in my direction.
“If you don’t want to be pushed, then don’t move so damn slow!” I shouted, pushing my way through the throng of people. Sometimes I think how nice it would be if they just parted like the Red Sea. That would be very convenient. Finally, I wove my way all the way through the group and turned into my US History class. My books fell into a pile on my desk as I slid into my seat next to Ashanti. She bit her lip and turned to me.
“So Brett texted me during first period… He said something about a fight… Care to explain yourself?” Ash set her phone on my desk and crossed her arms. Slightly curious, I glanced at the picture message on the screen. It was a picture of when both KC and I were standing up and arguing. “I thought we had a deal, I’m the trouble maker and you’re the book nerd.” She teased, “So tell me the story.” I nodded and put her phone back on her desk.
“Well this idiotic new guy just came in and pushed my books off of the table… So I yelled at him for it.”
“You know you could get suspended for even a verbal fight? Mist, I love you and I need you for motivation to go to my classes. If you weren’t here I’d have to go hang at your house during your suspension.”
“Yeah, okay mom it was just one little dispute and the teacher didn’t care.” I sighed and turned down the volume on my i-pod. The bell rang a second time within five minutes, signifying that class had begun. Somehow the class got the teacher off topic again and Ashanti resumed talking to me.
“So I’m just analyzing this picture…This new guy is pretty hot, your thoughts?” I rolled my eyes; she had a strong thing for emo and goth guys.
“If he wears more makeup than me, he’s probably gay. Besides, any guy who can’t respect my books definitely is not my type.” I flipped through a book I was reading. “Good thing I dog-eared the page I left off at.”
“This kid’s a rebel dou*** then?”
“Yeah, he probably just uses girls for sex. KC’s not worth your time.”
“Who?”
“That’s Rebel Dou***’s name.”
“Oh.” Ashanti went back to texting Brett and I resumed reading. That’s when I noticed it. My name was being whispered and I could feel stares burning into my skin. I bit my lip and tried not to hyperventilate like I usually do when people notice me. Quickly I put my book on the pile and pulled it to my chest, shooting out of the room as soon as the bell rang. It was time for lunch where my friends could distract me from what people were saying about me and the new guy.
Ashanti struggled to keep up. Eventually we walked into the cafeteria. It was about twice the size of my biology room, but with a lunch line, kitchen, and long rectangular tables. My friends and I sat in the middle most section of the room and nobody else sat at our table. KC, being new, didn’t know that the seat he was sitting in was mine. Not wanting to make another scene, I simply put my books down next to him and headed to the lunch line.
“Megan’s not going to like this guy at our table…What are we going to do? AJ and Chester already take up a bunch of space and I’m not sitting on the end of the table.” Ash was on a rant so I cut her off.
“Yeah but all of our skinny people share one side of the table. Besides the Rebel Dou*** and I aren’t friends, he probably already left.” Shrugging off the issue, I grabbed a lunch tray and scanned my school ID card, then waited for Ashanti to do the same. We went to our seats and I was pleased to see that KC had moved to the other end of the table. Soon our friends started showing up. As a group we were a bit more than twelve people. There were so many of us, sometimes it was hard to remember names.
“Why are people staring?” Megan hissed angrily as she sat next to Ash.
“Because some dude pissed Misti off.” Ashanti told her, “And he messed with her books.”
Megan rolled her green eyes as she started peeling the crust from her sandwich. Dylan, Pat, Chester and AJ sat across from us laughing about some inside joke they had. However, they quickly realized that something was up because us girls weren’t talking.
“Okay whats going on? What am I missing here?” Chester asked. He was a sophomore who had long wavy black hair that always looked greasy no matter how many times he’s washed it. Freckles dotted his cheeks and the bridge of his nose. Chester only had a slight weight issue, which we playfully teased him about.
“You guys really don’t notice everyone staring?” I asked, the boys were more clueless than usual today. Looking around I noticed people looking away from my gaze. Sure there was the normal babble of the lunchroom, but the stares just didn’t stop. My eyes rested on where KC had been sitting. I shrugged, maybe he left.
“Quite frankly, not everyone is staring at us.” Dylan stated matter-of-factly. His body was super thin and tall; which is why the gang often referred to him looking like a praying mantis. Dylan’s skin was a sickly pale color and his brown hair was cut short.
“Well a lot of people are.” Megan snapped, her eyes staying on her sandwich.
“There Chester, that text should explain everything.” Ash looked up at Chester. “Did you feel vibrations yet? I sent it a few minutes ago.” At the mention of the word ‘vibrations,’ AJ started to crack up. He was more like a hyena, just give him one thing to laugh about and he won’t stop laughing for a good few hours. AJ was inbetween Chester and Dylan with both his height and weight; and anytime he started laughing, his face will turn a turnip red. Whenever that boy laughed it was both entertaining and concerning at the same time.
“Oh dear God, why is AJ dying now?” Kat came up and sat on my other side, her friend Tanya sat next to her. Kat was one of the most kick ass friends I knew, and if I told her about what happened, she would probably hunt KC down. Sure her hair was dyed 5 different shades of purple, and she was a little skinny thing… But she can get pretty violent with her short temper.
“Ashanti mentioned something about vibrating.” I laughed, “can you tell if he’s breathing over there?” AJ was attempting to eat a sandwich that was half wrapped with plastic wrap while he was laughing uncontrollably. “Seriously, somebody take the sandwich from him, he could suffocate on the plastic.” Dylan took his sandwich from him and patted his back.
“Okay now just breathe, in… And out… C’mon man, calm yourself.”
“Why are we talking about vibrations?” Kat half spoke, half giggled at AJ’s laughter.
“I sent Chester a text about a fight Misti got into today…” Ash paused, “There just sent it to you too.”
“Please tell me you didn’t send them the picture too!” I groaned as I watched Chester reading the text he got.
“A fight?” Kat’s brown eyes narrowed at me. “What happened?”
“I’m sure Ash gave you a very overly detailed text.” I started to eat my lunch to avoid talking anymore.
“Hey,” Chester pointed to his phone, “Is this the same guy sitting behind you?” He kept his voice quiet, but at a volume where we could hear him. Ashanti turned around and pretended to take a look at the clock.
“Yep that’s him.” She agreed, her voice at the same volume.
“Oh my… I'm going to whoop his..." Kat was starting to get up but Tanya and I tugged her back down.
"Don't worry about it." I quickly stole a glance at KC. He was just sitting there listening to his i-pod and drawing in his sketchbook. I felt bad, the poor guy didn't have a lunch. When I got up to throw out my trash, I handed him an orange I didn't eat before making my way back to my seat. "Don't say anything!" I growled at Kat's expression.
“I don’t understand you. You fight with him and then you feed him…You know what they say, ‘If you feed them, they’ll keep coming back’.” Kat sighed and handed me her chocolate milk.
“Fine, then you go through the whole school day without eating.” I grumbled as I opened the small milk carton. Ashanti wasn’t looking so I came up with the brilliant idea to hold the milk by her shoulder to scare her. The boys watched with confused expressions.
“Misti, you shouldn’t…” Tanya’s warning came too late. From the corner of her eye, Ashanti had seen the milk and swung her arm to bat it away. The full carton of milk flew up into the air almost gracefully before spilling its contents on KC. The boys chorused with uncontrollable laughter as Ashanti and I gaped at the mess we made. Tanya was covering her mouth with shock and Kat was muttering something about how he deserved it.
“Guys…Ohmigod, we’ll be in so much trouble…” Megan’s face reflected fear, but she was laughing too.
“KC…I’m sorry it was an accident…I…” I was trying my best to give him my sincere apology, but when he turned around I couldn’t help but laugh. The chocolate milk had loosened his hair from the hedgehog effect and turned it more into a shaggy dog look. His eyeliner was running and his clothes were soaked. He looked like a miserable puppy who was sitting outside in the rain. People who had been staring at us didn’t miss this at all. They nudged their friends and pointed.
“Misti what the hell was that for?! Oh my God I feel so terrible now!” Ashanti cried out. Her voice was an apologetic laughter. It was my fault, so it was my responsibility to help him…I guess. Getting up from my spot, I took him by the arm and led him to the nurse’s office.
KC was tense and stiff but followed my lead. The nurse gave him a change of clothes from the lost and found and asked if he wanted to leave and go home early. The only reason why I stayed was because I felt guilty, this was my fault after all. Surprisingly the new guy shook his head and walked towards me. I stood up and we walked back to the cafeteria together.
“I’m really sorry…This must be a terrible first day for you…I’m sorry.”
The Rebel Dou*** ignored my apologies and grabbed his books from his seat before leaving the cafeteria. I turned back to my friends and sat, AJ was still laughing away. Kat had a smirk on her face and just shook her head.
“I feel so terrible!” I covered my face with my hands. “To yell at him is one thing, but to spill milk on the poor kid is just awful.”
“Hey…” Chester nudged my elbow and I looked up at him.
“What?”
“…There is no need to cry over spilled milk.”
“You’re an ass.”
Just then the bell rang and I had to start walking to study hall.

I only had three other classes with KC, which made me feel even guiltier because I had to continuously see him in the crappy lost and found clothes. But even with the hell I’ve gone through today I was still reluctant to go home. Nothing could compare to what I had to deal with there.

After the last bell had rung I headed off to my car. It wasn’t a high end vehicle, I wanted attention, but I didn’t want to seem like a spoiled rich kid. If I showed that I had money then people would just use me. And I’m the user and abuser, not anyone else. I got into my old Dodge ram and started the car.
“So are we going to get burgers or something? I’m starving, it takes too long for your school day to end.” At his voice I gritted my teeth, I thought I had finally gotten rid of him.
“Bentley, get out of my car.” I hissed, today was not the day. Its bad enough I had to deal with Misti all day, I didn’t need him bothering me too. Bentley let out a short menacing laugh.
“Its funny how you thought you could leave me. I’m a part of you, when you move, I follow…Kind of like a shadow.” Grimacing, I pulled out of the school’s parking lot without responding. “Hello, the spell, the girl, the kiss…remember?” I stopped at a red light and glared at him. His green eyes flicked over me. “Looks like the spell has gotten worse for you…What are you wearing?” He asked, brushing his bangs out of his eyes. Biting my tongue, I started to drive once the light was green again.
“Where are you getting off?” I growled with hatred, already knowing the answer.
“Your place silly…C’mon at least act like you miss me.”
“I don’t.”
“You only did this to yourself you know…And thanks for that by the way, without that spell I wouldn’t be here.”
I gritted my teeth as my eyes wandered to the tree line. Maybe if I drove the car into a tree it would kill the both of us.
A few years back I had found a leather bound book with a bunch of spells in it. So thinking it was just a hoax, I said one outloud. The spell I read split my personality in half. I used to be a normal nobody, but in the split I got the rebellious side and Bentley appeared with my good side. In order to break the curse you had to find your true love or whatever. If Bentley gets a true loves kiss, then my existence is no more; and vice-versa.
Apparently halfway through the drive, Bentley took the silence as an invitation for him to speak again.
“So I’ve decided to enroll into your new school, it’s a shame I’ll be a senior though. I really wished to have you in my classes. Too bad you were held back a year huh?” Once again I found my eyes glancing at the tree line. A strong enough impact should kill us both. “Oh Kent Charles, don’t think about it. I’d rather go through with our competition to find true love.” Bentley chuckled darkly. I wasn’t enjoying this at all.
“Only nineteen months left…Does the book say what would happen to the both of us if neither of us find ‘true love’?” I pulled up my driveway and to my new home. It was a huge stone mansion that faced a man-made lake.
“I have no clue.” He shrugged, “But I guess we’ll find out won’t we?” His eyes looked up at the building as we slowed to a stop. Bentley gave a little impressed whistle, “I’m still unclear about how your parents make so much money.”
Ignoring him I headed up to the front door and walked inside. “Mom? Dad?” I called out. Nobody responded, only my echo in the huge space greeted me. “Feliciata?” I asked, hoping at least the maid would be there. Still no response. Sighing I headed up to my room. Bentley followed behind me. His presence was really starting to piss me off. Couldn’t he just leave me alone?
“So where’s the book?” Bentley scowled as he walked into my room, noticing that barely anything was unpacked.
“Hey if you have a lot of free time, why don’t you go unpack the library.” I snapped, taking my i-pod from my pocket and pulling its charger from a box. “Because I’m not sure if you noticed, but I have my own things to unpack.” With a grimace, Bentley left my room.
I had to admit, I hadn’t expected my room to be so perfect. The walls were painted black and the window had been shut up. Apparently the past owner used to use this as his dark room; which meant that I could sleep in better on the weekends. I had both regular room lights and dim darkroom lights…It was so cool.
Quickly I started to open boxes and take out the things I needed most. My laptop went on my desk and I had hung up my clothes in the closet. Things were really starting to come together. Rummaging through a box, my fingers grasped a picture frame and I gulped, pulling it out. I knew what it was. A picture of my parents and I at Disney World when I was six. I gritted my teeth as I glared at the strangers in the picture with me, trying to imagine them older but still as loving as they used to be. My imagination avoids me and I toss the photo in the waste basket. If they had loved me, maybe I wouldn’t mind if they had a business trip here or there. But they were gone constantly. An absence nobody else could replace…Then I remembered that the trips became more frequent right after the spell was cast.
With this realization, I headed towards the library and opened the huge double doors. My jaw fell in amazement as I stared in awe at my library. All of the books were unpacked and put onto the shelves. All of the walls were covered with rows and rows of books that reached from floor to ceiling. There was no way Bentley could’ve done all of this by himself.
“How in hell…?” I murmured as I looked at Bentley who was sitting in the middle of the room in a recliner. “Did you do this?”
“Yep.” He motioned for me to go over and sit with him, so I did. “Here.” Bentley flipped through the spell book and pointed at one of the spells. “It practically does all of the work for you.”
“Cool…I need to see the book.” My hands took the book from him and I flipped to our spell, ‘The Personality Split’ one. “My parents seemed to stop coming home when I did this spell.”
“Maybe your part of your personality makes people want to avoid you…” His suggestion could be right, but we wouldn’t know until my parents decided to come home for once.
“Maybe you’re wrong.” I hissed, trying not to think too much of his suggestion. He shrugged and read the spell over my shoulder.
“Does it say anything about if we both don’t find ‘true love’ in time?”
“Not yet.” I flipped to the next page which listed the side effects and explained how to break the spell. Skimming over it, I didn’t see anything that stood out.
“Right there.” His finger landed on a part of the explanation where it mentioned us.
“Both halves cannot co-exist after the spell has been broken. If they both fail to find their true love then they will both perish. The first half that receives true love’s kiss will be able to continue living. The other half will fade away.” I frowned, “Guess I should start planning my funeral then. Love is so over-rated, and its not like ‘true love’ exists anymore… We’re screwed!” Standing up, I shoved the book back into his arms before heading off to my room again to sulk. Putting the dim lights on, I sat on my bed and rested my head in my hands. This was all such a headache. Only nineteen months to live. Never have I thought that a spell could be the end of me until I found that stupid book.
Looking down I noticed that I was still wearing the stupid lost and found clothes. I gritted my teeth and changed into some pajama bottoms and a tee. Sure I knew Misti didn’t mean to throw milk on me, but what the hell? Can’t a guy draw in the cafeteria without getting soaked? And what was up with that orange? It was a nice gesture I guess… But an orange? I sighed and happened to look over at the picture in the waste basket. A pang of longing and sorrow shot through me as I slowly reached for my cell phone. Quickly I dialed my mother’s cell phone number. There were five rings, which made me hopeful that she might answer.
“Hi this is Ally, I’m most likely working at the moment. Leave your name and number and I’ll try to get back at you.”
“Damn machine!” I hissed and hung-up, throwing my phone across the room. Why didn’t they want me? Was it because I had been acting up lately? Was it because I’d been bad? I could change. I would change if that would bring them back. My thoughts clouded my mind and I needed something to distract me.
I searched the boxes until I found it. A small razor was all I needed to make a small cut ‘across the street’. Sitting back on my bed I cut my left wrist, grimacing in pain as I did so. It wasn’t a deep cut, just something small to distract me from my emotional pain. I watched the blood bead on the wound and run down my arm. That was all I focused on in order to clear my mind from all of my stressful issues.

I walked away from the bus stop and headed up the road towards my house. I had finally let go of the guilt I felt for spilling milk on KC. Kat kept saying that he deserved it for pissing me off and eventually I started agreeing with her. My feet were scuffing the ground as I took my time to get home. Eventually, I made it to my driveway. Sighing, I passed the white picket fence as I walked through the gate and to my front door. My fingers clutched the door knob, and hesitantly I opened the door. I knew my careless mother wouldn’t be home, but she wasn’t the one I was frightened of. Cautiously I stepped into the house and shut the door almost silently. Hoping my father was in the garage, I started to head upstairs, careful as to not make a sound.

“I thought I heard my little toy come home for Daddy.” His gruff, drunken speech made me speed up, trying to get to my room before he could get to me. Somehow he managed to catch up and wrap his arm around my waist. I struggled as he pulled me closer and shoved his tongue down my throat. The horrid taste of alcohol overwhelmed me. His chubby fingers itched their way up my shirt. Angrily, I shoved him away from me and bolted to my room.

The lock clicked and shakily I headed to my closet, sitting inside it and closing the door. I got into the fetal position and started to sob into my knees. Everyday I had to go through this obstacle. My father was at my bedroom door, pounding on it and demanding that I opened the door for him. I just hid in the closet, afraid that one of these days he’d knock the my bedroom door down.

After a while I took a few deep breaths and fumbled around for my e-reader. My friends and books were the only escapes I had from this Hell I called home. As I waited for the screen to load, I debated whether or not if I should call the police this time. On one hand with his alcohol and drug abuse, I could eventually get hurt, or worse, pregnant. But, on the other hand he was my father and I didn’t want to go into foster care. I stared at my cell phone for a few minutes before putting it down and reading a few chapters in the newest werewolf series.

Eventually my father stopped pounding on my door. I knew he either passed out or went back out to the garage. So I turned off my e-reader and walked out of my closet, grabbing my bag as I headed to my window. There was a nice Loblolly Pine that had grown conveniently in the front of my house and the branches were just within an arms reach. It was a perfect climbing tree and made it easy to get in and out of my house without my father noticing. Once on the ground I wiped my sappy hands onto my jeans and walked casually away from the house.

I wasn’t sure where I wanted to go, my feet just sort of led me. My feet wandered as my eyes just took in the view, getting sidetracked from my home life. Eventually I stopped at a park in the next town over and sat on one of the swings. It was late and dark, and just simply relaxing. The air was cool and there wasn’t anyone to judge me or make sly remarks. Just me. Perfect. I sighed and threw my bag on the ground. Only one more year... well technically two if I counted the rest of junior year... until I could go to college and finally move out. I’d shun my family and live the rest of my life without my pedo father and my whore mother. And maybe, in my college life, I would find a sweet respectable guy who likes anime and books too.

Smirking to myself, I gently pushed myself forward on the swing slightly. The metal groaned softly in the quiet night air. When you’re a kid you watch TV and think that in highschool you will become popular. That you’d have a boyfriend and everything would be perfect. That you’re parents would support you and help you through life... Then reality punches you hard in the gut and makes you vomit what you thought you learned during your childhood.

I was a stupid kid.

But that had quickly changed.

I started to hum quietly to myself a song that I had found in one of my many books as I felt the urge to just break down and cry. However, I couldn’t, my sobbing from earlier reaped me of all my tears. So instead, I focused on my song and kept swinging slightly.

“How come you always have an aura of misery around you?” A voice asked. I shrugged as he sat on the swing next to me. “And don’t you live in the neighborhood over?”

“Demitri...” I sighed and shook my head, looking over at my friend. He was a year younger than me and had a slight childish look to him. His maroon colored hair created a dramatic look against his pale skin. If he were straight we would’ve already been a couple. He was so perfect and just knew me too well. “I don’t even know how to respond to that... I’m not miserable...”

“No... But you’re upset... You know I can sense it.” Demitri nudged me. He was the curious gossiper at the school and I wasn’t sure if I wanted to tell him anything.

“Just because you’re a witch doesn’t mean you can weasel your way into my business.” I stuck my tongue out at him. He studied wicca, and I admit, he was pretty skilled. I wasn’t a believer in magic myself until I met Demitri. He showed me some interesting spells and junk at one point in time, but I didn’t hang out with him much outside of school.

“I’ll bring my tarot cards tomorrow and give you a reading after school. I really think you need it.” Demitri stood up and stretched, causing the swing’s chains to jump and chatter. “But I need to get going home now, stop being so sad, its bringing me down and I’m supposed to be the joyful flamboyant one.”

“Okay, sounds like a plan.” A fake smile curved across my face before he turned around and walked away. Once he was out of sight I gave a small breathy sigh and got to my feet, digging a pen out of my bag, before taking one of the long, winding backroads home. It was a nice old dirt road, forgotten and beautiful in the crisp autumn night. It lead slightly away from the suburbs and curved just beyond the lights and houses. Nothing but forest and the sound of the lake’s water lapping at the shore in the distance. It calmed me but I was still reluctant to go home. The pen was clenched tight in my hand, its funny how I could fend myself from a stranger but once my father attacks, I don’t defend myself.

Frowning, I looked at the ground, watching my shoes drag along the ground, sending up small dust clouds.

“Hey are you alright?” It sounded like KC and I immediately snapped my head up. Squinting in the bad lighting, I noticed that it wasn’t KC, but someone else.

“I’m fine, what do you care?” I snapped and kept walking, brushing past the weird guy in a white hoodie.

“Because its dangerous walking down here at night.” He responded, grabbing my shoulder and turning me to face him.


Oh, I’ll turn for him I thought, spinning around and slamming the point of the pen hard into his shoulder. The thickness of his hoodie was an inconvenience, but he’d have a nice bruise in the morning.


“Don’t touch me.” My voice came out as a hiss, a warning. I noticed that his sleeves were pushed up to his elbows. If he touched me at all, I’d stab him in the forearm. “I’ve been walking here all my life, who are you to tell me where I should and shouldn’t walk?”

He pointed to the huge old creepy house that was in the distance behind him.

“I just moved in, I’m going to start school tomorrow.” The guy said with a grin. It was creepy and weird. I liked this guy.

“Interesting. You’re the only one that would live in that creepy ghost mansion, good luck with that.” I turned away and started walking towards my house.

“Wait! do you want a ride?! I’m Bentley by the way!”

I just waved him off and went home. Done, I was done with people today.


Getting home eventually, I went in through the front door. My dad is normally in the garage this late at night. Normally I’d be able to go into the kitchen and get dinner and everything would be fine.


I can’t believe I let my guard down.

My eyes snapped open and I hissed in pain as I subconsciously moved my cut arm. The blood had dried my arm in place on the sheet, the fabric pulling my wound open again. Biting back a hiss, I pulled off the sheet and wrapped it around my wrist before heading towards the bathroom to clean up. Fumbling in the dark, I finally opened the door and headed down the hallway.

“Hello there!” Bentley called out in a chipper voice. Ignoring him, I continued to the bathroom. Why was he so happy? I elbowed the wall until it found the light switch and the light flickered on. He walked over and leaned in the doorway, making me feel on edge as he scanned the scenario. “Guess what…” He chuckled and folded his arms. I just glared at him from the mirror as I cleaned my cut. “I met a girl last night, she was totally swooning over me… The time’s ticking for you though, especially if you keep doing that.” He nodded towards my arm and just stared at the cut. That little bitch was judging me!

“If you liked her so much, what was her name? Or was she just a toy to you?” I asked, my interest waning as I finished cleaning and bandaging my arm. So he was flirting with a girl, what did I care? Leaning against the sink, I watched him through the mirror. It was so weird to stare at someone who looked like my twin.

“Psht, a toy? C’mon, I’m in this game to win.”

“Game?”

“I mean my life… You can’t think you’d find love faster than me. I have the grades and the looks of the normal American scholar, while you look and act like something from American Horror Story.” Bentley snorted and started walking towards me, his eyes flicking across us in the mirror. “I was once trapped inside your mind, you think I’m going back to that? I love school, I love food, and I love sex. I’m not going to give up on trying to live…”

I gritted my teeth. The only person that could piss me off more than that book-nerd girl from school was this sleazy bastard.

“Love is more than just sex, and life is more than just school. You being here was just an accident.” I snarled, turning around and storming towards my room. His cackling laugh sent a shiver down my spine.

“And if you knew everything, you wouldn’t have read that spell that brought me here!”

“F off!”

“Well I would, but I need a ride to school. And I would have my own license but I’m pretty sure the government wouldn’t take kindly to the fact that I have no identification due to being somebody’s ‘Alternate Personality’.”



He was such a smartass, Bentley didn’t have to give me any sass.


“How do you manage to keep switching schools then?” My voice was a grumble as I grabbed my school bag and headed downstairs.

“Well, see, your parents’ money can buy a lot of things.” The cockyness in his voice was so infuriating!

“Whatever.” was all I could mutter as I walked out to my car, getting in the driver’s seat and blasting the radio so that I wouldn’t have to hear his voice anymore. It was an hour before classes actually started for today, but I honestly didn’t give a single f.

Driving slow is really painful. I could’ve gone 45 but I had to kill time somehow, so 25 was the new 45. Bentley didn’t approve, but he was studying his schedule, not really paying attention to my driving. The radio had to be turned off after a while because I started to get a headache. I just had a feeling that today was going to be a terrible day.

An hour later I was sitting in my biology class in the same seat I had the other day. But, lucky me, Bentley sat to my left and now I was just waiting on Misti to come in and sit to my right. Surrounded by bitches and assholes, great!

I sighed as I stared at the clock. She did try to help me out the other day though, so I guess I couldn’t completely hate her. A few minutes went by before I realised why I was watching the time.


I was waiting to see her again.

My head was throbbing and all I could see was black. All I remembered as crying and repeating the word “no” over and over again, just hoping and wishing that he would’ve left me alone. I saw spots and then I started to come-to, I must’ve blacked out when he slammed my head against the wall. Looking down, I noticed that I was naked from the waist down. Cuts and blood covered my legs along with other fluids that I didn’t want to know the origins of.

Slowly I touched the side of my head that my father had so nicely pounded into the wall. As I expected, my hand came away with blood. I didn’t understand. What kind of a sick person would get turned on by injuring someone in such a horrid way? A groan escaped my lips as I tried to move. Everything was so painful, and it didn’t help that I was slouched in an awkward position on the stairs. I didn’t even have any energy to cry, but I had to do something before he came back.

My body was just radiating pain as I grabbed onto the railing and slowly brought myself to my feet, my face contorted in agonizing pain as I tried to wait for my dizziness to go away. My head felt like it had exploded and my legs were as useful as a pair of noodles, but somehow I managed to stumble into my room. Safe at last.

Then I just layed there on my floor, debating verbally with myself whether or not I should still go to school. On one hand, I could use 8 hours away from my father. And on the other, with all of my injuries, my friends might notice and I didn’t have any excuse. I was afraid the truth might come out and I’d be sent into foster care.

In the end, I decided that I had to go to school and get out of the house. So I crawled over to my school bag and popped some pills to numb the pain before going to take a shower and get dressed. One of the cuts on my leg were stitch worthy, so I cleaned it out and sewed it up myself, hoping that I wouldn’t get an infection. Moving sluggishly, I got dressed and brushed my hair in a way so that it would hide the long cut that was on the right side of my forehead.

Some how, I managed to catch the bus in time and sat in my regular front seat, soon to be joined by Chester. Smirking, I distracted myself from my pain by remembering how I met him last year.

I was sitting alone in my bus seat and this asshole comes up to my seat. “Can I sit here?” Giving him a blank stare, I just replied “Sure” in a monotonous voice. And some how we became friends.

“Are you okay? you didn’t respond to the story I was telling you, and you look sick.” Chester had a look of genuine concern. His voice snapped me out of my memory.

“Yeah I’m fine, I twisted my ankle this morning and...uh… was just wondering how I twisted it… What were you saying?” yes! I just easily lied through my teeth, school was going to go by just fine.

“I was saying that I found your white cat ear hat at my house the other day. Remember that time you Ashanti and I went to the fair and you bought that hat because it “represented your spirit animal”?” He shifted and pulled my hat out of his pocket. I could feel my face light up.

“Ohmigod!!!! Chester I’ve been missing that thing like crazy!!!” I smiled and took the hat from him, putting it on my head to help hold my hair in place. He chuckled and shook his head.

“You’re weird”

“Says the music prodigy.” I rolled my eyes and nodded towards the door of the bus. “We’re at school now dork, lets go.” Chester rushed off the bus and I slowly limped after him. Sure tears were forming in my eyes, but I didn’t care, I had my favorite hat back.

Like usual, I hung out with my friends by the orchestra room until the bell rang. Ashanti was a bit annoyed that I couldn’t push people out of the way due to my limp, but she helped me hobble in the hallway. In the end, we both made it to our classes late.
“Sorry I’m late, I tripped in the hall and twisted my ankle.” I apologized to the teacher as I took my seat next to KC and another new guy. I didn’t really get a good look at him, more focused on my class work than another guy I had the potential of fighting with.

I definitely love her

My Social Class Gem.

Always making sure that she’s not one of them.



Her eyes are distant

And her words are sweet,

She’s a girl that can never be beat.



She’s sweet,

And kind

Like a jewel that’s very hard to find.

As she helps me leave my troubles behind.



I won’t ever stop loving her

My Social Class Gem.

As she stays in this hospital, apart from all of them.