The Misfits

Chapter 2

2's boring, 3's exciting

Kate spotted the other two as they came barreling out of the gym. They were hard to miss.
She would have gone over and said hi like Laurie said she should had it not been for her friends murmured comments.
'God they should just throw those pot heads out of school. Honestly they are just wasting space.'
'Wait are they smokers?' Kate turned to one of her friends from her previous class. Of course Kate knew they were smokers, she'd smelt it on Julia when they first met. But she was trying to figure out everything she could about these girls before she let anyone see her with them.
'Well I know that Julia is but I don't even know who the other one is. Julia is one of the kids who goes 'round the back to smoke with all the other weirdos, she's in my math class.'
Kate sighed, so it was just social grouping gossip, not anything interesting.
'Right' And with that Kate decided she'd just have to figure out another way to determine her befriending choices.

•

After Laurie departed to go eat Julia did in fact go behind the school to have a smoke. Something she did most days, but today it seemed boring. Over these few days she'd become quiet attached to the idea of these two new friends. She didn't really have many friends, only really Peter and he was a bit of a drag. Peter was also a 'pothead' as Kate's friend had so elegantly described them. He was currently stood next to Julia and got the pleasure of watching her dramatically slide down the wall.

'My Juliette what's wrong.' He mockingly gasped as he looked down at her crumbled form.
'I got another detention.'
'Honestly love I don't know how you do it!' Peter said as he flicked away some ashes of his cigarette. Julia just made a noise sounding like 'hmph' and reached up to his cigarette, wiggling her fingers like a toddler reaching for a toy. Without even looking down he habitually handed it to her.
Julia looked off into the clouds and puffed out some smoke. She hated the colour of cigarette smoke. She really wished it was the colour of the clouds. Maybe than she could blend it all together and take off for the sky. Spend her days lounging on the soft billowing water molecules instead of trudging around this shithole.

•

Laurie was sitting in the canteen eating whatever slob the lunch ladies put in front of her. She didn't mind her lack of friends as much as Julia did, she was rather good at meshing in with other groups of people. Right now she was sat at a table full of people who smelt like flowers and looked like they spent hours in the sun. Hippies. Laurie had a weird disgust with hippies, maybe it was the vibes they held or the way society framed them. Or maybe she was jealous of the way they lived. Without a care in the world. Laurie liked to pretend that's how she lived when in reality she was scared. She was scared people would find out who she really was and she was scared they wouldn't like it. Maybe scared isn't the right word here. Maybe she was worried she didn't know what the right word was. Does her worrying she doesn't fit in make her fit in? Or does it make her more of an outcast. A lone wolf. A misfit.

•

Kate picked up her books and made her way for her locker. It was after school hours but Kate had stayed behind to help tutor a classmate of hers, something she did regularly. She was just closing her locker when screams and yells echoed down the halls. This wasn't unusual for the end of the school day. It was a well known fact that all the 'drop out' kind of kids hung around after hours to mess with peoples stuff or even the people that did linger. And today Kate was one of those people.

Her shoulders stiffened and she stood upright but she also seemed to suck in on herself, like a turtle. She shut her locker and turned to make her way to the exit when she heard whistles and yells, they'd spotted her.

Kate could only describe them at a pack. She mentally titled the ones in the front as the alphas. They were mainly guys with ripped cloths and messy hair, looking like they'd just come from a emo rock music video shoot. The rest were quieter and less harassing but still intimidating to someone like Kate. Someone who didn't like confrontation of any sort.

'What's a pretty thing like you doing in a place like this?' One of the 'alphas' laughed.
'Oh calm yourself rocko she's not even a seven!' Another one chuckled. Kate's head hurt from embarrassment and she seemed to shrink in on herself even more. Her cheeks must've been beyond red by now.
'I reckon she's gorgeous.' The comment came softly and from behind the initial row of alphas. And it was a girls comment. The girl in question stepped forward to wink at Kate before turning around and telling the 'pack' to not waste their time around here. Kate got a feeling that maybe she was really in charge and the row of hardy boys at front was but a front. Feeling like she was out of harm she let her shoulders slump. Only to be pushed into her locker as the boys passed. She slipped down to the floor and diverted her eyes to her sneakers only to notice a shadow lingered.
She looked up. She looked up and saw a girl. Not the one that had made that flirtatious comment but a girl who preferred more sarcastic comments.
'Her names Zoe and she's a player. Don't let her get in your head.' Julia murmured as she stepped over Kate's legs and made her way to the doors the group had just exited.
'If Zoe hadn't have spoken up would you have let them beat me or something?' Kate yelled after the other girl after she had stood from her place on the floor.
Julia who was at the doors by now looked back and grinned before replying with;
'Nah.' And spinning out the door into the late autumn weather.