We Are Stars | OLD DRAFT

Chapter Two: Whispers

It took me fifteen minutes to get myself together in the car, and even longer to gain the courage to walk in the school and face everyone. I can't say that I'm not angry with them, because I am, but I'm more angry at myself for letting my guard down so easily. I should be used to them pulling this kind of stuff by now.

As I walk into the school, I can feel a few pairs of eye on me. My eyes, on the other hand, are puffy and red from the crying. My clothes are spotted with tears. My hair is tangled in places I can't reach. In other words, I look like something the cat dragged in.

The walk to my locker feels like an eternity. Fortunately, no one else seems to notice me as I enter yet another corridor, but that's only because they haven't heard the news that the famous nobody, Rowen Clearwater, was crying her heart out not a half an hour ago. Olivia is bound to let the news slip sooner than later. She'd never pass on a chance to embarrass me in front of the entire grade.

Olivia and I have a rough history, and if I knew then what I know now, things might be a whole lot different.

Finally, I get to my locker and I retrieve my books and other needed supplies for my classes. My first class is science and I end the day with honors geometry. Now that my senior year is almost over, finals are just around the corner, and I need to get my priorities straightened if I want to have any chance in passing. My grades are fine at the moment, but are slipping quickly.

I peer into the small mirror on my locker door, looking past the finger print smudges on the glass. As I'm trying to make my blonde locks appear decent for the public to see, I hear a recognizable voice next to me. "Okay, no offence, but you look terrible," Taylor comments.

I turn to face her. "You know, when someone says 'no offence', their following statement is obviously going to be offensive," I point out sarcastically. "But yeah, I know."

My best friend, Taylor Lark, flips her long, flowing hair out of her face. She's wearing a light blue t-shirt with darker denim jeans that hugs her waist perfectly. Her hair is styled in its all-natural state as it drapes straightly over shoulders. Overall, her getup is supreme, aside from the concerning look she wears on her face. "Seriously though. Are you okay?" I tell her everything that went down with Olivia and the coffee incident. When I finish my story she merely smiles and chuckles a bit. "I think I speak for everyone when I say you should've ran over Olivia and her sidekick. It would make everyone's lives ninety-nine percent better," she exclaims. "Also, that little accident with the coffee? I would've payed good money to see that go down."

I roll my eyes and relinquish a smile. "As much as it would've been somewhat amusing, it doesn't take away from the fact that we'd still have finals on our hands." I close the door to my locker and begin to walk with Taylor.

"Please. Accidental man-slaughter is just what this catchpenny school needs to put it on the map," she jokes. She waves and says her hellos to a few people that walk by. Taylor is a good friend, but I can't compare with a select few that she's close with. She's been inviting to a half a dozen parties alone this year, and I've been invited to none, not that I care. Parties have never been apart of my lifestyle.

Suddenly, the thundering school bell symbolizing the beginning of first period boomed throughout the long hallways. It isn't long before the hoards of irritable teenagers come bombarding into one another. "Well," Taylor slightly yells over the noise, "I'm gonna get going before I too become roadkill. I'll talk to you later, Rowen."

"Okay," I say as she walks away with a graceful stride in her step. If only I had her self-confidence.

~~~~~