The Bassist's Angel || C.H.

Chapter 1 - Stay Calm

"Ahem."

I glanced up from the mountain of textbooks my head was buried in, to greet my teacher, glaring down at me.

"Would you mind telling the class the answer to question eleven, Yvonne?"

Okay, so I lied when I said textbooks. I meant my sketchbooks. But hey, same thing, right?

"Uh... Yeah, I sort of mind right now, miss." I mumbled, snapping shut the book I was drawing in and reaching for my maths textbook.

The bell rang as I grasped the book, and a few of my classmates spared me a helpless shrug before they filed out of the doorway.

"I think I'll be seeing you in detention." Ms. Urchla barked at me before collecting her paperwork and briskly walking back to her desk.

I mimicked her stupid expression once I was sure she wasn't looking and shouldered my bag, anxious to get out of the classroom.

I walked into the canteen area with a sour expression, searching for my table. I met Mia, one of my best friends' eyes as she waved me over. I huffed as I sat down, my friends turning to me expectantly.

"What was it this time? You drew an "unacceptably large and less than flattering portrait" of Urchla on the side of your textbook again?" Eric speculated, and I rolled my eyes at him, pulling out my lunchbox.

"No, you called her Ursula, didn't you?" Mia giggled, sipping her popper. "That never gets old."

"Hey, to be honest, she does look like a sea witch if you stare at her long enough." I defended myself. "Or if you look at her at all."

Delia rolled her eyes, a ghost of a smile at the corners of her mouth. "I don't think you could hate someone more."

"Well, sorry to let you guys down. I just wasn't paying attention this time. Of course, that was enough to get me a detention." I shrugged nonchalantly, picking up my devon sandwich and taking a bite. "Should I just skip?"

"Oh gross, girl, don't talk with your mouth full." Mia scolded me, and I responded by opening my mouth and showing her all the chewed up food inside. She squirmed and laughed. "You're foul!""

I swallowed and smirked at her. "It's a gift."

"Look, you're not gonna skip, Yves, you know why?" Del pressed, and I turned to look at her, shaking my head. "Because your Aunt would flip."

"Does she have to know?" I whined, staring glumly at my sandwich, praying it would come to life and help solve all my problems.

"Does it look like any of us are capable of stopping the school from ringing your Aunt and Uncle?" Eric asked, poking at the mystery meat on his plate.

No, this wasn't from the canteen. This was from his dad. It was one of the perks of having his mom go away on a huge business trip, leaving him with a dad who, to his credit, could barely figure out how to cook two minute noodles.

"No," I answered, even though I knew it was a rhetorical question.

My mind drifted away for a moment as I looked around at my friends. We were a bunch of rag-tag teenagers that were thrown out of most fancy shops before we so much as looked inside. People just knew we'd be up to no good if we were in the presence of something really snobby looking.

Nathan looked up from his food. "Where would you even go if you skipped? Not home, they're probably being told you've got a detention right now."

I sighed. "I don't know, maybe–"

"Ooh, how about she goes to a councillor, like the principal suggested? Or, even better, a mental institution?" A nasally voice suggested behind me. "I mean, we all know it's about time."