"Where you heading?" Henry Called out. He had one arm hanging out the side of the window.
I carried on walking and tried to ignore him as he was beginning to bug the hell out of me. I hadn't known him for more than half an hour and I could already tell he was a complete maniac.
"We could give you a ride," Patrick said smirking. He and Henry looked at each other almost turning their smiles into laughter.
"Are you sure?" One of their other friends whispered, although I heard him very clearly. At least he seemed fairly sensible.
"Shut up belch I know what I'm doing!" Henry hushed him. I don't know what they were thinking, I could hear them loud and clear. I was still walking but turned around to force some sense into them.
" What is with you? All the other kids around here might let you push them around but I sure as hell ain't letting you do that to me!" I hissed at them. I paused and then turned back around to storm off. I assumed he would forget it and drive away.
"Damn, you like me!" Henry cried out.
Hearing those words built up pure anger inside of me and just as I was about to walk away I turned back around and kicked right into the side of the car. He made me feel sick and I didn't know how to show it and make him leave me alone, although I was slightly glad that at least he wasn't bullying those poor kids back there. If he'd have carried on he would've beaten them senseless.
He was laughing heavily along with his friends and I had the good sense to run off home before he could talk to me more. He didn't even seem to care that his car was damaged and to be honest it was already a piece of trash. I ran home and had to forget about my exploring for the day.
I slammed the door closed and threw my shoes straight off. My mother was sat reading a newspaper when I walked into the living room.
"How are you, sweetheart?" She asked me, licking her finger and turning a page.
"Well apart from being stalked all day by a group of nasty teenage boys and watching them beat a few new friends of mine I'd say great. How about you?".
She raised one eyebrow and opened her mouth slightly.
"You don't like it here?" She said, looking slightly upset but covered it with a little smile.
"...no I like it here. I just have to learn how to handle those guys. I can't let them treat kids like that but I just don't know how to teach them a lesson. I want to fit in mom. I need to!" I told her. I knew the first thing she'd advise was to dress right and act cool and that wasn't the exact result I wanted from my parent, but it was something I admitted to myself would probably be the most effective.
"Hey, you wanna go shopping? I need to get groceries. If you want you can pick a few things out in town," she offered me. I was going to decline but what was the harm in it. I barely ever got new clothes, in fact that was the first time in almost two years I'd gone shopping for something to wear. I always bought large clothes so I could fit into them for a good few years before they didn't anymore. Her offer did make me happy.
"Sure. I guess it won't hurt!".
I slid my boots back on and then changed into a thinner top that was clean. My other one was damp and smelt due to the humidity and heat outside.
When we left the house we didn't take the car, we just walked. There wasn't much need to use our car in this place at all. It was pretty small and almost everywhere was walking distance.
I wasn't much shorter than my mother when we walked next to each other in the streets and often when our heads bobbed we looked the same height.
"I'm just going to be five minutes in here, okay? If you like you can go look in some other stores. I'll meet you after,". My mother took her bag and wandered into the store while I took a trip over to a store which seemed to have some wearable clothes hung up here and there. It seemed sensible to pick up a basket and put a few items inside so my mother could pay for them when she got back and possibly help me decide which to get.
I found a shiny black jacket similar to leather and tried it on. It looked nice on me I must admit and kept a hold of it along with a skirt which matched perfectly with the material and design and although it seemed a little short I knew I'd look better than those girls who laughed earlier. They'd have no reason to laugh at a girl who stood way better a chance than them at getting through a school like that.
I found a few other pretty items I liked including some more boots and a few pairs of shorts which looked great on me. When my mother returned she was surprised at the price of it all but I think she bought them anyway to support me. She knew I wasn't going to get anywhere in that school without popularity.
"Well that's my money gone for the month," my mother smiled at me and raised the bag of clothes to show it full to the brim.
"Sorry mom, I didn't think you'd buy it all," I apologized taking the bag from her and offering a hand. With the food she'd bought she wouldn't need much money for the rest of the month.
When we got home my mother started to cook dinner and I picked up a magazine I'd read over and over. I liked to circle things I wished I'd owned. Things that were expensive and I knew I could never afford.
