Don't Give Up

Chapter 2

Chapter 2

                The house was dead quiet when I woke up the next morning.

                I wasn’t surprised, though. My father was probably gone, and would return some time in the middle of the night, hopelessly drunk.

                I went downstairs to the kitchen, where the sink was overflowing with a scattered stack of dirty dishes. I opened the refrigerator door to find nothing in it but a jug of expired milk and a carton filled with two broken eggs. Groaning, I slammed the door shut, clenching my fists into a tight ball as I made my way out the door to go to school.

                Walking on the sidewalk, I noticed a cotton candy pink Bentley driving by me. In the Bentley was a group of giggling girls, with Clarice being one of them. The driver was Clarice’s best friend, Aubrey Small. Aubrey’s fire red hair tossed behind her effortlessly, as she drove by me.

                “Loser!” I heard one call after me as they drove away.

                I dropped my head low, as I made my way towards school, while they were probably already halfway there in Aubrey’s stupid, pink Bentley.

                When I got the school, I walked by the parking lot. I couldn’t help but notice Aubrey’s pink Bentley standing out from all the other cars. I had to claw my fingers into my palms to resist myself from keying her car.

                The hallways were empty when I got to school, signaling that I was probably late. Again.

                Pushing open the doors to my first period class, history, I grudgingly made my way towards my desk. Before I even got to sit down, Mr. Lieberman called me out.

                “Aerial Mason, care to explain why you’re late for the second time this week?” Mr. Lieberman asked, tapping his fingers impatiently on his desk.

                “I drove by Aerial while going to school today, and I saw her smoking weed!” Aubrey Small answered before I got to say a word. She batted her eyelashes innocently, pouting out her lower lip. Was she actually that delusional to think that she looked cute batting those spider legs that hung on the edge of her eyelids?

               “Is she telling the truth, Miss Mason?” Mr. Lieberman asked, raising a bushy eyebrow at me.

                “Of course I’m telling the truth! I have five girls as witnesses!” Aubrey exclaimed, pointing to her row of friends. One of them included Clarice.

                 Four out of the five girls immediately nodded. Clarice was hesitating, but after a while, she finally dropped her head low, nodding weakly.

                I took in a deep breath of air, feeling my cheeks flush with embarrassment. “Mr. Lieberman, I was not.” I quietly said, digging my nails into my flesh.