A Ticket Out of Life

Chapter Nineteen

The sun was shining brightly despite my mood. I walked along the sidewalk towards Bards Academy, dreading every step I took. My cheeks were still a bit swollen from the other night, and small bruises were forming on my jawline and hip where I hit the wall. As I walked, loneliness came over me as I realized how alone I used to be before I met Carrie. I missed having Carrie walk with me. I never knew how special it really was until it was gone. I sighed heavily as I continued walking. This day can't possible get any worse. I walked into the school and headed straight for my assigned classroom. I heard the whispers of the other students as I passed and I got annoyed by it. I had forgotten how low I was in society even at school. I reached the classroom and saw the door was closed, but I didn't feel like waiting outside. I took a deep breath to calm myself and I opened the door. I walked in and saw my teacher was already in there, writing formulas up on the wall. She turned around and my mouth dropped. The universe just loves proving me wrong, doesn't it?! I screamed in my head as I glared at Mrs. Bearings, my teacher from my junior year.

"You're kidding me," I muttered as Mrs. Bearings smiled at me.

"Good to have you back, Miss Reynolds," she stated boldly. "I was wondering when you were going to leave that horrid Academy and come back to the more sophisticated one."

"Trust me, I would rather be at the other one," I said as I took a seat at the back of the classroom. Mrs. Bearings raised her eyebrows at me. She walked over to a desk in the front row and tapped it with her ruler. I looked at the desk then back up at her.

"I want you here, Miss Reynolds. There will be no daydreaming or distractions in my class."

"You can't be serious," I said as I stared at her wide-eyed. "Since when did you care what I did?"

"I'm on strict orders from your father to give you a good education and that can only be achieved when the student is actually paying attention."

"I still passed didn't I? And if I recall correctly, I had the highest grades in the class," I muttered as I slouched in my seat. We glared at each other. I wasn't about to give in to this. This is ridiculous!

"Miss Reynolds," Mrs. Bearings said tapping the desk again. "I mean it. Do I have to go make a phone call to your father?" Narrowing my eyes as she played the father card, I picked up my stuff and moved to the front. She smiled wickedly at me as she went to stand behind her podium. She started reading the student handbook to me and I turned my eyes to the window, completely ignoring every word she was saying. I wonder what Mr. Stevens is teaching today. My luck it'll probably be something we could do a lab on, and I'm missing it. Is Carrie doing alright? I hope they don't go to the competition without me. I wonder how Lance is doing?

"MISS REYNOLDS!" I jumped and looked into Mrs. Bearings red face. I leaned back a bit, her face edging closer to mine. She narrowed her eyes at me and then walked back towards the podium. "Now that I have your attention, we will begin the class. No wonder you are such a failure in the Reynolds household. You can't even keep your head thinking straight."

"Thanks for pointing out the obvious," I said as I leaned back in my chair and crossed my arms.

"Honestly! I feel bad for Mr. and Mrs. Reynolds. They had to have a child like you around. I guess one child has to be bad out of a perfect bunch."

"Oh yeah, what a hard life they live," I snorted. "To have someone like me around must be horrible."

"Well, at least you understand that part," Mrs. Bearings said as she started writing math equations on the board. She looked over her shoulder at me and narrowed her eyes. "I will be taking a grade on note taking, Miss Reynolds."