Dangerous

Chapter Two: The Fight

"I don't understand that," Justin sighs.

I blink in confusion, forcing myself off of the train of thought I'd been mentally riding for the past forty five minutes of the boring lesson. "Understand what?" I whisper to him.

He gives me a look. "Why this is something we'll ever need to know."

"Oh- oh, yeah, I know." I nod, though I don't know what exactly I'm agreeing with.

"Excuse me," Mrs. Hannon, our health teacher, says loudly, crossing her arms. "Is there something you'd like to say, Ms. Montgomery?"

I snap my head to the front and narrow my eyes. I don't like being talked to like that by anyone, no matter what the state says about their position above me. "Oh, there's plenty of things I'd like to say," I sneer, looking her up and down.

Justin laughs nervously. "Actually, Mrs. Hannon, that was my fault," he interjected, sparing me an alarming glance.

Mrs. Hannon ignores him. "What did you just say?" She makes her way to the back of the classroom, toward me.

"I said that there's a lot of things I'd like to say, particularly about you." As I open my mouth to hurl insults at her, Justin kicks my shin hard. I grit my teeth to hold back a groan and he whispers, "Ari, come on."

"Such as you look nice today," I spit out through a forced smile, hating the fact that I'm holding back what I'd really like to say.

She narrows her eyes, "hmph"s, and triumphantly goes back to her horrifically boring lesson.

I turn around to glare at Justin. "Happy?"

"Yes, I am," he says with a satisfied, teasing smile. "If she had given you detention again, you'd be suspended. What would I do without you here? I'd die of boredom."

The corners of my mouth begin to curl upward, but I quickly swallow the smile.

I take a deep breath. "Don't be so dramatic," I say stiffly, looking back at the board.

I expect my sudden change to confuse him, but he seems to have been expecting it.

He leans forward in his chair and whispers in my ear, "I saw that smile you had to force back."

I swallow and fidget nervously in my seat, hating that he can make me nervous with just a simple flirtatious whisper. "I don't know what you're talking about," I mutter just loud enough for him to hear.

He laughs breathily and sits back into his chair.

* * * * *

After Health, I go straight to my locker to get my supplies for math with Mr. Jenner, the only class that doesn't make me want to hang myself.

I'm about to turn the corner toward the classroom, but I hear my name and stop, turning my ear toward the voices.

"Why were you talking to that freak? What's her name- Ariana?" I hear a boy say in a disgusted tone.

I look down at my feet, hoping no one who heard that can see me listening in. I'm not embarrassed or upset- I know what people here think of me, but it doesn't matter because anyone who dares to say something out loud about it while I'm around, soon finds out what they're dealing with.