{2}
A lot of things bothered me. For example: large crowds (though I could get through a concert without a problem), the color pink, Rap music, reality TV shows, texting, shopping, driving in a large city, people who stopped in the middle of the hallway to chat, the list could go on forever.
But the two things that bothered me the most were being stared at and whispered about. As if Crimson Heights High couldn’t get any more cliché, the moment I stepped foot into the building the loud chatter stopped for a few seconds before whispers replaced the conversations that had been dropped seconds ago.
It was as if I were some unknown species to them all by the way they stared as I walked down the hall. People moved out of my way as I made my way to push through the crowd and stared as I walked further into the building without a single glance at any of them.
Though I played it off as their staring didn’t faze me, on the inside all I wanted to do was pull my hood over my head and disappear. I hated being center of attention which was another reason why I hated being a part of the ‘in crowd’.
They thrived on attention.
It wasn’t until lunch that I finally had enough of the stares and whispers and decided to skip lunch and head towards the football field. The bleachers were always deserted during lunch since mostly everyone spent their lunch hour in the cafeteria or quad hanging out.
I was about to push open the gym doors when I heard a voice that made me cringe every time I heard it.
“Did you see Malia this morning?” Stephanie Grove said, her annoyingly high pitched voice making me want to ram my head into the brick wall. “She walked right past us and strutted her skinny ass into school like she owned the fucking place.”
I rolled my eyes and pushed the door open, knowing exactly what would unravel next. Stephanie would continue to talk about me and whoever she was ranting to and they would nod their head and agree with every word she spit out.
Stephanie Grove was the reincarnation of Regina George from the movie Mean Girls. She was beautiful, a total slut, and a major bitch. She enjoyed the pain of others. She was straight up the Wicked Witch of Crimson Heights, yet, even though everyone knew that, she was still the most popular girl in school.
In past years, she and I had gotten into so many altercations that it was no surprise to see she was talking about me already. Stephanie never liked me. She made it perfectly clear that I didn’t fit into the ‘in crowd’ with the way I dressed, acted, and saw things.
I was half way down the track headed towards the bleachers when the wind picked up and the smell of cigarette smoke filled my nostrils. Turning my head towards the right, I spotted a girl wearing all black leaning up against the wall of the brick concession stand that was open during football games. With hair as black as mine, the bright pink highlights were noticeable since it was the only trace of color the girl had.
And as if my legs had a mind of their own, I suddenly found myself drifting towards her. By the time I reached her, she had stepped out her cigarette and pulled out half a pack along with a black BIC lighter.
“You look like you could use a smoke,” she said before handing over both objects. As I dropped my backpack onto the ground, I took the pack and lighter from her and gave her a small smile.
“What gave it away?” I asked as I hit the top of the pack on my wrist and placed the cigarette between my lips. Flickering the BIC lighter on, I placed the flame to the tip of the cigarette and took a deep drag.
“Well for starters, your twin sister was killed not even a week ago.” The girl replied without hesitation.
Catching her gaze as I handed her lighter and pack of cigarettes over, I took in the passive look on her face. Her light brown eyes caught the light of the sun and turned into a pool of honey. She didn’t look familiar, though she couldn’t have been new.
Her comment though did strike something in me. At the mention of my sister, the strings of my heart were pulled and suddenly, I needed something a hell of a lot stronger than a cigarette.
“Sorry,” she added after a few seconds passed. “I sort of don’t have a filter between my brain and mouth.” She shrugged. “I’m Bay.”
I nodded and took another drag, “Malia.”
“I know,” Bay nodded as she pushed back strands of her hair. “I’ve been in at least one of your classes since middle school. I sat behind you in Physics last year.”
Taking one last drag from my cigarette, I dropped it onto the floor and stubbed it out with the point of my boot. “Thanks for the smoke,” I said as I bent down to grab my bag from the floor.
“Any time,” Bay replied. I was half way back onto the track when Bay called my name. “Listen, I was planning on ditching the rest of the afternoon. Meet up with some friends. Did you want to come?”
Taking one look at Bay then another at the building standing behind us, my decision was made without a second thought. I couldn’t be asked how I was doing, or told that what happened to my sister was horrible one more time without blowing up on whoever it was.
The last thing I wanted to do was face someone from the ‘in crowd’ and it was more than obvious that Bay, wasn’t a part of that crowd. So with a single nod, I inhaled deeply and hitched my bag higher up on my shoulder.
“Yeah,” I replied as I stuffed my hands into my sweater pockets, “Sure.”
