“Hey, new girl.” He grins manically.
“Hey,” I answer curtly. I just want him to go away.
“I’m Seth.”
“Nice to meet you,” I mumble.
“I know who you are.” The way he says it makes me so uneasy I unconsciously shudder.
“Yeah? I think everyone else does too.” I motion to all the people in the room staring at us, including the teacher though he’s trying not to be obvious about it. Looks like if anything happens I’m all on my own.
“Well, I just wanted to give you a proper welcome.” He reaches down and cups his dick. I can’t help the disgusted sneer that flashes across my face.
His crazy eyes gleam as he watches my reaction.
“I’m going to make you scream.” And with that, he walks back to his desk.
I stare at him, open-mouthed. Was that a threat? The way he leers back at me makes me think it definitely was. I turn away.
The teacher teaches nothing the whole class and so I just try to edit photos on my phone while hiding it so no one steals it. The rest of the students are loud and obnoxious and I can’t wait until it’s over.
When the bell rings, I rush out of there so quick I think I leave a cartoon cloud bubble in my place. The halls are full of students that would never have fit in at my old school. They are all dressed in black with piercings and brightly colored hair. Half the girls are pregnant and most of the students seem drunk or high. I didn’t fit in at my old school either, but I definitely don’t fit in here. I belong nowhere.
As I’m walking down the hall, trying to find my math class, I see a gorgeous guy leaning casually against a locker and I do a double take. He’s not my usual type, he looks like his picture would be under the definition of “bad boy” in the dictionary, but I can’t help but notice how attractive he is—I’m only human.
I can see a couple tattoos weaving their way around his jacked arms—arms so ripped that his black t-shirt sleeves look like they are about to rip. He has thick chestnut brown hair that’s cut short on the sides and the rest is slicked upwards so he looks even taller than his already large six three frame. There’s a scowl on his face and his eyes are narrowed in a way that makes him look like he’s constantly sizing up everything—like nothing gets passed him. He looks like someone who is never impressed.
He turns suddenly and meets my eyes. I’m startled, and also a bit embarrassed to say that I jump slightly before recovering. But I won’t let the sexy guy intimidate me—and also I don’t want a repeat of how Seth reacted—so I tilt my chin back and walk right by him as if he doesn’t exist.
I know guys like that, so gorgeous that they have everything handed to them—too sexy for their own good, so they can’t handle being ignored. And when I sneak a glance back, I’m right. He’s staring at me like he wants to murder me and I think maybe I shouldn’t push it with the students here. They probably could kill me.
2
My next class is a bit better than the first. The teacher actually tries to teach, but the students don’t listen to her at all. I can tell she’s been worn down. Her spirit broken by the constant disobedience and she’s on the cusp of giving up just like the History teacher. It’s kind of sad—and a little frightening.
When lunchtime comes, nobody’s talked to me at all—besides Seth and a couple other kids who said rude comments—so I head to the lunchroom alone. I try to keep my head held high so they know I’m not an easy target. These kids look like they are constantly trying to sniff out a victim and I have to show them that despite my outfit, I’m not someone to be fucked with. I may look like a prissy bitch, but I won’t go down without a fight.
The food looks inedible. I can’t even identify what half the dishes are and so I just get a carton of milk and turn to the tables. I know that I’m not welcome at any of them. If Olivia and I were normal sisters, we would be sitting together so that we aren’t alone, but we’ve never been “normal” sisters.
She’s only a year younger than me so theoretically we should be close, but she’s always seen me as her weird and embarrassing older sister who’s into photography and doesn’t care that much about fitting in. She changes everything about herself to fit in with whoever she’s around.
Despite the fact that we are basically the same age, I’ve always been protective of her. I see her as someone who’ll fall for anything and even though that annoys me, I still love her and don’t want her to get hurt. It makes sense that she wouldn’t want to start her time at this new school being seen with me. She’s scared I’m going to embarrass her. Doesn’t want to risk me ruining her reputation before she’s even established one.
There’s an empty table in the corner and I sit down. I try not to look around but I can feel all the eyes on me.
It’s not long until a group of girls comes up to surround me. I can tell the girl closest is the leader by how she carries herself. She’s pretty in a kind of tacky way, with her hair poorly bleached, her bright pink tube top and short gym shorts pulled up her crack.
“Hey, rich bitch,” she says in a sing-song voice.
“Nice to meet you,” I answer, trying not to sink to her level.
“You think you’re better than us don’t you?”
“No, I don’t. I’m here just like you are,” I answer coldly.
“You’re still a stuck-up bitch even without your family’s money. You’re poor like the rest of us now.” She bends down closer to me as she says it, threatening. “We know what your family did and we are going to make you pay. You never should have come here. This was the stupidest decision you’ve ever made.”
Another girl in the crowd who looks like she’d be pretty if she didn’t have huge bags under her eyes and greasy hair, leans in close too. It’s five against one and I don’t like those odds. I’ve also never been in a real fight before. The girls at my old school fought with words, spreading rumors and having passive aggressive arguments in hushed tones. There was no way they’d raise their hands to anyone. They’d ruin your reputation, not your face.
I kind of want to see if I could knock these girls on their asses, but the odds are against me—and they seem like the type to pull out a knife, so I decide I should just leave. I stand up, but they don’t move away.
“I don’t want to fight with you,” I say as I try to move around the leader without touching any of them.
This is apparently the wrong thing to say as all five of them start to get even more riled up. They crowd even closer to me so we are almost touching. They start calling me names and making threats. They say that this is their school and I should have never shown my face here. It’s getting intense and I know I need to leave. Everyone in the cafeteria is watching us with hungry eyes. They want to see a fight. They want to see blood.
I refuse to bow down to them. I keep my head high and manage to slip through a space between two of them and try to leave the cafeteria. This pisses them off and they follow me. The mean shit they are saying is starting to make my blood boil. I walk through the hostile crowd and I’m almost free when suddenly I’m falling.