The Shadow of Class 203 (Freedom Writers Fanfic)

Chapter 1

  The sound of glass shattering filled the room. Kianna turned around to see a bronze woman limp in a chair. Her eyes were rolled back with a foam sitting on her lips. A glass of blood-red wine was shattered at her feet. Suddenly, Kianna was shoved to the floor, and everything went black.

  Kianna shot up from her bed, breathing heavily. She felt something wet trail down her cheek. A fire lit inside her, and she growled lightly in disgust as she wiped the tear away. She got out of bed and looked at the mirror on her closet door. There were cuts and bruises that littered her arms. Kianna stared at them blankly for a while before she pulled off her oversized shirt to reveal more bruises sprawled across her light bronze skin. Although, this time, she didn't bother to look at them as she changed into a black hoodie and navy blue jeans.

  Once she combed her deep chocolate brown hair and brushed her teeth, she went down the stairs quietly. Kianna grabbed her bag at the bottom of the stairs and winced lightly as she slugged one of the straps onto her shoulder. She suddenly froze as heavy footsteps came up behind her. She felt a hand on her shoulder as the person bent over her to speak into her ear.

"You better not cause trouble. You already destroyed my reputation in two cities. If you screw up here...." The man's deep raspy voice said sternly as he gripped her harder. "You know what will happen. Do you understand?"

"Yes," She said blankly as she stared forward. The man then squeezed her shoulder even harder as he felt ticked off.

"Yes, what?"

"Yes, Father," She said with a drip of disdain. Not noticing the disdain in her voice, the man huffed, feeling a bit satisfied, before letting go of Kianna's shoulder.

"Get to school," He said as he walked away. Kianna re-adjusted the backpack strap as she walked out of the house.

  When Kianna got to school, she got some stares as she walked through the halls. Not wanting any attention, she pulled up her hood as she went straight to her first class. After all, it was clear she was some kind of mix of Latina and white. She stopped in front of class 203 and looked into it from the open door. There was a white woman wearing pearls and a red professional suit. It was obvious she was some rich white lady. She was writing her name in cursive on the blackboard. Kianna quietly made her way in and sat near the front, against a window.

  She silently observed the woman as she re-did the last two L's on her name. The woman was definitely anxious, showing she was inexperienced as a teacher. Kianna grimaced silently as the woman wiped her chalk dusted hand on her butt, which left a chalk mark on her pencil skirt.

  The bell rang, signaling a new beginning as a freshman in a new city. And, most importantly, a chance to be a shadow, forgotten by the world for Kianna. She stared out the window as students shuffled in. The sounds of talking and screeching desks filled the room. Kianna glanced away from the window and wasn't surprised to see students separated and talking to their own pack, but couldn't help to crack a small grin as she saw the only full white guy in class looking around nervously. Kianna glanced at the teacher to see her frown. When the teacher turned around, some students noticed the chalk mark on her skirt.

"Hey girl, you wanna give me some fries with that shake," a black guy with a green jersey said. The class laughed slightly. Kianna rolled her eyes and looked back at the teacher, who had turned around to face the class with a smile.

"My name is Erin Gruwell. Welcome to Freshman English," the teacher said with a smile as she looked over the class. She then pulled out a list for rollcall.

"I give this bitch a week," the black guy with the green jersey joked with his friend. Kianna scoffed at the comment as she redirected her eyes back out the window.