The Rule Breakers

Prologue

Riley, Age 14

I'm either falling for the strange girl who sits beside me in class every day, or I need to see a doctor for my upcoming heart attack. Either way, I wipe my clammy hands along the side of my jeans before I coolly ask her what I've been meaning to ask all week.

"Will you be here next year?" I finally ask Skylar Cohen, the girl who has eaten in the back of our science class every day. And who has somehow riddled my mind like an earworm playing a catchy tune over and over. 

Skylar is pretty in a way I've never seen on anyone before. She's got big brown eyes that remind me of Puss in Boots whenever he does the face. But the face is a permanent feature on Skylar like she's always playing innocent. She might as well be considering she's broken a class rule every single day without fail. 

Mom says she's proud of me for making a new friend this year, though I never told her my new friend's name. Mainly because Skylar and I aren't friends – not really. I started sitting back here with her because I figured if she could get away with eating noisily in the back row, I could get away with chatting during class. It worked, too. Every day, as Skylar chowed down on her lunch, I chatted her ear off while Mr. Rydel stood up front and taught the class.

Every time I joked about how Rydel looks like he's permanently sucking on a lemon, Skylar never laughed. TJ told me she must have a stick up her ass, but I think it's something else. I think she's oblivious to the world around her. We learned that word in Language Arts two years ago and it's stuck with me. 

Oblivious. 

Skylar is oblivious, and that is why she doesn't laugh at my jokes. It's also why she eats with no problem in class when we aren't supposed to. 

"I will," she says. "Mom says we're here for good now."

"Good," I say.

"Yeah."

Those are the last words we exchange. In high school, she will become another stranger to me. Just a face in the sea of students, shoving their way through the crowded halls.