Not so Cinderella (SAMPLE)

Chapter 1

With one last glance at the gravestones, we turn and start walking.

"You've got a fight tonight," Mason mentions. I smile and nod, letting him continue. "You're fighting a beginner." He cringes as I cut my eyes to him and raises his hands, "Don't ask me. He's the one who thought it was a smart idea to challenge you."

I roll my eyes. If this beginner were as smart as he thinks he is, he'd cancel the fight. He's going to get crushed, and for what? A few laughs with his friends? An attempt to defeat the undefeated? Maybe I should go easy on him. The thought passes through my head before I shake myself.

No cheating. The fight has to be fair.

"Anyway," Mason sighs, "His name is Lightning, and the fight is at nine." I nod again, and we continue walking.

The school isn't far from the house. After a while, we're making our way through the parking lot.

People stare as we walk up, but like usual, we ignore their gazes. With Lexi as Queen Bee, everyone listened to the rumors she spread about me around the school, so most students watch us, or more clearly, me.

Mason and I make our way to the front doors and enter the school. The students in the hallway are bustling around, grabbing their friends, and walking to their lockers. It's only the fourth week of school, so everyone is still on their summer brains.

"I'll see you after class," Mason tells me.

"Yeah," I murmur, and we turn in opposite directions. Without a word to anyone, I push my way through the hallway. I stop at my locker to grab books before making my way to English.

By the time I reach my classroom, a few girls are already seated by the far wall. I immediately make a beeline for the seat in the back corner. Since the start of school, this has been my seat. I wanted a seat away from everyone else, especially Lexi, who sits up where the giggling group of girls sits.

"OMG, did you girls see those hot, new guys?" One of Lexi's ditsy friends asks with her annoying, high-pitched voice. New guys? I tilt my head to listen, curious at the development. We rarely get new students, so this is something everyone will talk and gossip over.

"I did," another Barbie wannabe states, "And the blond one is h-o-t, hot, and I totally called dibs." A laugh threatens to explode from me, so I slap a hand over my mouth to keep it in. Dibs? Are they in third grade or something?

Lexi's fake laugh fills the room as she sits down, making me roll my eyes. "If anyone gets to call dibs, it's me," she says, and the other girls slump down in their seats. What a great girlfriend she is, I muse as I tuned out the rest of their conversation.

After a minute, the warning bell rings. I pull out my sketchbook and pen as the last few students filter into the room. I watch as friends cluster together at their desks, talking about their weekends or what they would do after school, while the teacher enters the room.

"Class, settle down," Mr. Richard, the teacher, instructs. Students sit but continue to whisper to each other. Mr. Richard scowls at their disobedience but picks up the class roll and calls out names.

It didn't take him long to get to my name, and as usual, his gaze lingers for a couple of seconds longer than it should. Before he can move on, the door flies open, banging against the wall, and all at once, every girl seems star-struck.

Four guys stand in the doorway. I study them, the way they stand, and the way they dress. They're hot, I'll admit.

The guy in the front hitches his backpack up on one shoulder, his blue eyes running over the class. He has brown hair that's shorter on the sides and longer on the top, slightly hanging over into his eyes. My eyes move down his body, taking in the tattoos painted over his arms and peeking out of his shirt collar.