I Hate You More

Carter | Nightmares Do Come True

It was a nightmare. An utterly inconceivable nightmare. Only 8 minutes into my first day of high school, and I already had a reputation.

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It was first period, Bio 101 with Mrs. Delagante. "Rumor has it she's been divorced and remarried 6 times, switching out husbands like toothbrushes," Jack, my best friend since 6th grade, whispered a too loudly across the room. "Weird comparison, but okay." Of course, I'd already done some digging on this topic myself, aka talked to my other best friend, Mr. Davis, who happens to be my Film Club advisor and new English teacher. According to Mr. D, she goes on these month long "breaks" totally icing out the husband of the moment, then ends it cold turkey. Currently, she is on one of those "breaks".

Besides having a wacked out teacher, I wasn't too mad about the class itself. For one, Jack was in my class, so we were destined to sit together. I was about to go over to him and his basketball buds, when a group of girls came flooding into the room. 

Out of the hord, Laney Patel, Bailey Bockheimer, and Josie Davis stood out the like a sore. Always together and always ANNOYING. I had to sit sandwiched between Laney and Bailey in Mrs. Moore's 6th grade English (with Jack behind us of course), and well, let's just say I never caught a break. Since then, I've been blessed enough to never encounter them in any of my classes. Well, that is until now.

As I attempted to flee from the ever growing heard of girls, Ms. Delagante began shoving wires into the projector. A white screen flashed on the board and loud static crackled out of the speakers. Then, names matching faces of all shapes and colors appeared. The dreaded seating chart.

Unlike the past 8 years of my life, I would not be sitting beside or evenly remotely close to Jack. Instead, I would be sitting with the one out of three ANNOYING girls I hadn't had the pleasure of enduring yet, Miss Josie Davis.

I quickly sat down and pulled my hoodie tight over my head, as to not risk attracting attention from the one of three now setting her backpack down next to me. Ugh, spoke too soon.

Josie towered over my desk, long tree branches sprouting from all over except they were attached to her body, and they were arms and legs. All 65 of them.

"Sooo not ready for a year with this wacka-doo, Mrs. Delagante. I heard she went on another one of her backpacking trips this summer, and everyone knows how those make her go a little..." and then she attempted to make a twirling motion with her finger.

Ugh, please make this stop. Maybe if I don't move she'll forget I'm here.

"Hey Carter did you hear me."

No please go away, it would be so much easier.

"Carter??"

A hand started moving toward me. She was about to take my hood off! Without thinking, I shot up out of my desk and blurted out the first excuse that came to mind.

"I have to pee!"

But she was standing right in front of me. The only way past was through.

"Oh ok, um..." 

I have to get past her, get away from her. There's a crack between my desk and that wall, maybe I could go through---but before I could make my move, tree branches began moving towards me, brushing against my body. 

"...Can I just scoot past you to my de--"

Oh no.

We locked eyes. She knew it before I even knew it because the normal, balanced expression on her face turned to pure terror.

There it was. In the middle of Mrs. Delagante's ninth grade Bio class, and of all people, Josie mother-freaking Davis gave me a boner.

It was a nightmare. An utterly inconceivable nightmare. Only 8 minutes into my first day of high school, and I already had a reputation.