Living A Lie

Chapter II

"O-oh... does it? I can never keep track of these things..." I stuttered, laying a hand on the doorknob. Marks looked up at me, his brown eyes calculating, yet warm. Tiffany stood, her eyes falling on my hand as it rested on the doorknob.

"Jenna..." she began, but I didn't hear the rest of her sentence. I was out the door as the bell rang, signifying that the day was over. A flood of kids swarmed out the door, and I got lost in the crowd, only to run into one of the most nightmarish kids in our high school; Brandon Nixon, the leader of our local gang-the Timberwolves.

"Whaddya want, freak?" He bellowed, causing a pathway to form in front of him as he advanced on me. Brandon picked me up by the hood of my jacket, and I gasped for air as he tightened the strings around my neck. "I asked you a question..." he snarled, and I shuddered.

"N-nothing..." I said quietly, and winced as he pressed my bruised body against the wall. He lowered his face and pressed it closer to mine, and I looked down.

"Don't look like nothin'." he grumbled, and spat in my face. The force of his phlegm pushed the hair out of my eyes, and I blinked nervously as I squirmed in his grasp. "You in some sort of girl gang? You look like hell ran you over with an 18 wheeler." He dropped me to the floor and kicked me into some lockers, and I could feel the vents dig into my back.

"Brandon!" I heard a voice ring out. Looking up in a daze, I saw Tiffany. Her eyes burned with a fury I rarely saw in them. "What on earth do you think you're doing?!" She demanded, and I slowly got up off the ground.

"Tiff, d-don't..." I croaked, and she turned her back to me as she addressed the leader of our school gang.

"Answer my question... dog..." she glowered. The leader of the Timberwolves smirked and feigned surrender.

"Oh, no... Tiffany, don't... not your glare..." he whimpered mockingly, and picked her up by the collar of her varsity jacket. "I'm not interested in answering your petty questions, doll." Tiffany was practically shaking with rage now, and she reared her hand back and clocked him right in the jaw. Brandon cringed, dropping Tiffany as he moved his hand up to his swelling jaw. "You little..." he said, and swiped at her, but I stood and leaped into the air, landing on his neck, which caused him to topple to the floor. Tiffany looked at me incredulously as I straddled him, releasing pent up rage towards Brandon-- and probably any male who had ever beaten me, including my uncle-- and soon Tiffany had also joined in the small little brawl we had going in the hallway. Soon, a ring of students had formed around us, and a vague chant rang out.

"Fight! Fight! Fight! Fight!"

I could barely hear the words as I felt Brandon rise again, knocking me to the floor as he towered over me. Tiffany was in one of his giant, meaty hands, and she struggled in his grasp.

"This is all your fault, you little no good rat." He said, and dropped her. "But it looks like you have already been beat up enough... be glad I'm feeling merciful today..." Tiffany scraped herself off of the floor, and glared at him, until Mr. Marks pressed through the crowd of students.

"WHAT IS THIS?!" He boomed.