Rebel One (Now Published!)

Rebel One - 2

We got into fights about it. He would just yell and bring up my mom. I would apologize.  Right before I turned sixteen, I told him that I could go anywhere once I got my license. He locked me in my room for a night and told me he wasn't going to teach me how to drive. I apologized to him the next morning. Eight months after I turned sixteen, I got my license. 

Now, he spends most of his days withdrawn from the world and in his study when he's not off at work. I still get angry with him a lot of the time, feeling like he can't keep me in the boundaries of the city and doesn't have the right to. But then when I look at him and see the pain from the loss of my mother, the anger goes away and I stop fighting him on it. By now, it's just something I've gotten used to.

Thinking of my father's eyes, my mind drifted back towards earlier today and Travis. Why on Earth would he be staring at me? I made a mental note to stop in the bathroom and check my appearance, there had to have been something wrong with how I looked. I wanted to scold Allen for not saying anything himself. I gripped my pencil tighter in my hand as I wrote, thinking of walking around with something on my face and no one having the nerve to tell me.

"You coming, Lace?" I heard from above me. I looked up to see Allen looking down at me with a concerned look on his face. Glancing around the classroom, I noticed everyone was getting up to leave. I scrambled to get my own things, cursing myself for not realizing the bell had rang.

"In your own world again?" Allen guessed and I nodded with an innocent smile.

I stood up quickly and as I started to walk down the aisle, I noticed something. However, it was one of those things that you notice too late and are fully aware of the fault, but there is nothing that you can do to change it. My foot ran into one of the chair legs and I found myself quickly falling towards the ground. I dropped my books in an attempt to stop myself from falling into my face, when I felt a pressure on my arm, holding me up. I looked up once again, to see Allen.

"Seriously, you are probably the clumsiest person I have ever met," he said, leaning over one of the desks with his arm reaching out to grab the upper half of mine. I laughed nervously, because that wasn't exactly true. When I wasn't at school or home doing work, I was at dance practice. It wasn't very often that I ever tripped, but I didn't correct Allen. Picking up my books off the floor, I heard him grumble as he walked in front of me.

"He's doing it again."

"Who's doing what again? Your imaginary friend bothering you?" I joked and he glared at me.

"You're funny. No. The delinquent," Allen said as we walked out of the classroom.

"Again, he's not a delinquent," I sighed as I looked straight outside of the doorway to see Travis leaning up against the lockers, again staring right at me as I looked at him. Weren't people supposed to look away when they were caught staring?

"Oof!" I cried as I ran into something. I looked away from Travis to see that I had walked into someone's back. Lovely.

"Watch where you're going, Lacey," One of my friends, Melissa, laughed as she talked with Allen.

I looked back to where Travis was but saw that he was no longer there. What was with him today?

The rest of the day went by in the same manner. I was constantly pointed out when Travis was looking at me, and each time he wouldn't hide the fact that he had been.

I was now in my second to last class, Chemistry, and trying as much as I could to ignore the stares that I felt on my back. Seriously, was I not matching today? Was there a sign on my back? Growing self conscious, I reached up my back just to make sure there was no 'Kick Me' sign plastered on there. Unfortunately, I had this class with him. Well, I used to think it wasn't so bad because he was always something that was nice to look at inconspicuously, but he was just making me uncomfortable now.