Jema

The Evil Kelliver Twins and Superhero Blondie {Three}

I forgot his name again... my science teacher, the hot one. I forgot his name. Shit.

It's only the first week of school, and I'm already ecstatic for the weekend. As I stand in front of the stupid class with the stupid paper, I feel them glaring at me. My paper isn't done like everyone else's. I should've gone first. This guy named Chase went before me, and his paper was amazing. How the hell will I follow that up? I don't know why Mr. Science Teacher is making us present these in front of the class. I don't know why I had to go last. Maybe I should've told him I didn't have mine done. That would've been easier.

"Any day now, Gerbil," a brunette girl sighs. Her eyes are so light, they're almost grey and icy, piercing daggers into my skin. Her comment snaps me back into reality. When I make eye contact, she twirls one of her two braids in annoyance. I hate Colorado already.

"S-sorry," I stutter. Ugh, my bladder feels full all of a sudden, and I'm hoping to God I don't piss my pants. "Ahem, we all know Uranus-

"My anus?" a boy interrupts. I stop speaking instantly as the class gets a chuckle out of his remark.

"Jace..." Mr. Science Teacher warns from his desk. "Proceed, Corbin."

"I'm just playin'. Go ahead, Gerbil." Something about his voice isn't right... I know he's not just being playful.

"Um... we all know Uranus is the-the... um... fifth planet from the sun, and is-"

"What? Are you serious?" Brunette Braids cuts in. The class giggles again. I finally put my finger on it: the two are related. The boy, 'Jace', has the same light eyes and brown hair color. "Uranus is definitely not the fifth planet from the sun, Gerbil." My breathing quickens. I have no clue about any of our solar system. This whole thing is a mess. I didn't have time to research my topic... we don't have internet. I've screwed myself over. I screwed up so bad.

I don't want my nickname to be 'Gerbil'.

"The whole point of a research paper is to research, Newbie," Jace adds.

"I-I tried-" I begin.

"You don't even know what order the planets go in?" his sister, I'm assuming Brunette Braids is his sister, blurts.

"Alright, alright," our teacher butts in. "Corbin? Go ahead and continue."

I shake my head. "I can't. I didn't have-I mean I couldn't. I don't have my paper done." I feel the stinging pressure behind my eyes. Don't cry, Jema, don't cry--

"Oh my gosh, seriously?" Jace torments again. "You have the simplest topic ever."

"They didn't teach the planets in first grade, Gerbil? Where you from again?" the girl laughs out loud.

"Shut up and leave him alone," a girl snaps from the back of the classroom. "You guys suck, you know that?"

"Corbin," Mr. Science Teacher says from his desk, "why didn't you do the assignment?"

"I don't have internet... and I-I couldn't make it to the library..." I explain, my voice shaking like crazy. "I'm sorry-"

"That's no excuse! Everyone has internet, Gerbil. Mr. McKormack if you let him get away with this-" the girl snaps.

"Shut up, Tracy, I mean it. How do you know everyone has internet? Should the class know how you failed your permit test four times?" the voice from the back of the classroom fires again. All of the freshmen 'oooh' while Brunette Braids goes beet red in the face. "And Jace? You were the one who broke your wrist because you tried to ride a bike downhill without using your hands. You lied and said you tried to run away from a rabid dog."

"That's enough from all three of you," Mr. McKormack snaps. "I don't know what is wrong with all of you this Thursday, but it will stop. Go ahead and sit down, Corbin. We'll speak after class. As for Tracy and Jace, you will write your own additional reports on the planet Uranus, and you better be pretty darn accurate when you present them on Monday. Trinlee, you will not call out other people's fault as insult, understood?"

"Yes, sir," the blonde girl in the back of the classroom confirms. It seems like pretty extreme measures to protect me, since I didn't do the assignment, but I'm not going to question it. "Corbin is welcome to use my laptop if he needs, Mr. McKormack," Blondie, or Trinlee, offers.

"That is very nice of you. I'm sure Corbin appreciates that, yes?" My cheeks flush hot and I quickly nod before retreating to my seat.

After class, Trinlee quickly shuffles over to my desk. "The Kelliver twins are shitheads," she explains. "I hate them." She hands me her shiny, pink laptop.

"Thanks." I smile at her. Her hair is so blonde, it's almost white. Her eyes are blue and friendly, which surprises me, since her tone was so harsh a few minutes ago. She must be the prettiest girl in school. I'd be flattered, except... I don't like girls. "Why do they call me Gerbil?"

"Because you're small. Don't worry about it; the name won't stick. I'm Trinlee, by the way."

"Jema."

"I thought you were Corbin...?"

"I hate that name. Call me Jema."