Paraplegic (COMPLETED)

Chapter 3

"We have to take a picture!" She yanks me in close, jamming our cheeks together. "Cheese!" we gleefully scream. "Aw! We look so cute. I'm gonna send this to you." My phone jingles a moment later. "So, what'd you get for graduation?" Her narrow eyes light up with curiosity.

"Dunno. I haven't been given anything as of yet. Pretty sure my lame parents forgot to get me something."

"Oh, I'm sure they will. Maybe they're just waiting to surprise you?"

"Uh, yeah. I won't hold my breath."

Jace Thompson, the Shadow Hawks' point guard, jumps in front of us to open the school door. "After you, ladies." He waves us inside with a smile. I return the smile, tossing my hair in a flirtatious manner as I walk by him.

"Thank you very much!" Aurora says to Jace as she walks through the doorway.

The school hallway is stuffed with students. It's times like these that I'm reminded of how much I don't like people. If no one is standing around admiring my beauty, then what good are they to keep around?

A group of nerds are standing in a circle, gawking at the cover of some new comic book. It's so stupid! They're practically salivating over a fictional character, someone who doesn't even exist. Soooo juvenile. You would think that after four years of high school some people would learn to grow up. Clearly, that isn't the case.

My nose twitches at the all too familiar scent of Gucci cologne. With a quick scan of the crowded hallway, I spot Xander casually leaning against one of the school lockers talking to Samantha Strauss. My hands clench with jealousy. Samantha is arguably the prettiest girl in school, aside from me of course. She has olive skin and raven colored hair, which today is held together in a French braid. Her petite height makes her look like a child in comparison to Xander's stately frame. I don't like her. Never have. She's Greek, I think. Not that I don't like Greek people. I do, I guess. I just don't like her. Her presence is . . . irritating.

Xander says something next, which makes her laugh. My jealousy spikes. Samantha's laugh is this lighthearted, bubbly kind of laugh. As much as I don't want to admit it, it's kind of a cute laugh. Why can't she sound like a starving hyena or something?

My locker is six down from Samantha's. I spin around and begin walking backward, pretending to not notice where I'm going. The back of my shoulder bumps into Xander's. "Oh! I'm sorry, Xander. I didn't see you standing there."

He looks down at me and grins. "No worries." My insides flutter.

Samantha gently taps me on the shoulder. "Hello, McKenzie!" Her eyes crinkle as her perfect lips reveal a set of straight, white teeth.

"Oh. It's you. Hi, Sammy." I know from previous experience that she hates it when people shorten her name from Samantha to Sammy or Sam, but I don't get the irritated reaction I was hoping for.

She clasps her hands together and rests her chin on her fingers. "Xander and I were just talking about how fast time has flown. I can't believe tomorrow's graduation day! It feels like just yesterday I moved here from San Diego and walked through the doors of this place for the first time."

"Uh, huh. Yeah. Whoop-dee-do for you." I turn my attention back to Xander. "So, you nervous about the big game tonight?"

He stuffs a hand inside his jeans pocket. "Nah. Coach has us running some new plays and screens to trip up the Knights. It should be fun."

"Speaking of fun, Hollywood Ending is just a few weeks away. You going with anyone special?"

He leans forward, the scent of his cologne growing stronger. "I am now." A smile finishes his words. The bell signaling the start of first period shrills throughout the hallway. All the students frantically rush to their desired classrooms. "I guess that's our cue," he says. "Hey, I wanna tell you something later. I'll see you out on the court, okay?"

"I'll be waiting." He leaves in the direction of Mr. Harold's chemistry class. I flash a smirk at Samantha before heading to English Lit.

As I turn the corner at the end of the hallway, some girl rushing to class collides with me. I'm shoved backward, my head slamming into the row of lockers behind me. The girl tumbles to the ground as well, her textbooks scattering across the speckled linoleum floor.

"Watch it, you little freak!" My voice carries throughout the almost vacant hallway. The girl hides her face from me and quickly picks up her books.

Aurora hears my screech and rushes over. "What happened? Are you two okay?"

"No! This oaf wasn't watching where she was going." I rub the back of my sore head.

"Sorry," the girl mumbles, still gathering her textbooks from the floor.

Aurora kneels down to help her. "Here ya go."

The girl grabs the books from her, then darts down the adjoining hallway.

Aurora stands to her feet. "I don't think I've ever seen her before."

"So what? It's a big school. There's gotta be like five thousand students here or something." I rub the back of my head once again. "She's probably just a nobody. Forget her. We need to get to class before we're given a tardy slip on our last day of school."

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