Cracks

Chapter 3 If promises were diamonds

Intending to keep her promise and keeping a promise were two completely different things. After three weeks of torture, Allison was ready to throw in the towel and take her chances elsewhere. The only thing she had managed to accomplish was a compromise on the school uniform. She wore the blouse and blazer, but instead of the skirt she wore dark colored pants.

Instead of PE, the school had assigned her Spanish and Art. Spanish she didn't mind too much. She had heard enough of it in her life, though most of it probably wasn't appropriate to use in class. Art, she could go without. She could admire a good piece of art for its value, but didn't care much about creating it. When she had mentioned that, the school had informed her it would look good on her college application. Allison had refrained from telling them she wasn't planning on going to college. She recognized a no when she heard one and wasn't in the mood for a 'firm talking to'. She just wanted to get out of here as soon as possible.

Her life was a far cry from how it had been. In school, her classmates kept their distance, discouraged by her hostile glares. At home, she was surrounded by kids whose lives were just as screwed up as hers.

For the first time in her life she was completely on her own. She had always thought she could manage by herself just fine, but in truth there had always been others to back her up.

Until there weren't.

Allison stared at the red F on her English test and he 'see me after class' written underneath. She crumbled the paper into a ball and tossed it in the trash. Stupid ass teacher, telling her that 'ain't' wasn't proper English and that 'yes, artists use it in their songs all the time, but poetic liberty has nothing to do with daily conversation and proper grammar'.

"Are you alright?"

Allison glared up at Eric. He was no longer her guide, but they still shared most of their classes. He was the kind of guy she really couldn't stand. Privileged, smart and a show off. He excelled in almost every class, was usually the first one to speak up if a teacher asked a question, and was involved in various school clubs.

And of course, they hadn't exactly hit it off well on their first encounter.

"What do you care?" she asked annoyed.

Eric rolled his eyes. "It's a common courtesy when you see someone upset."

"So you don't really care," Allison stated dryly.

Eric sighed. "Is it really so much to ask for you to have a conversation with someone without biting their head off?"

Allison glared at him. "It's easy for you to say. I'm sure you have colleges lined up for you. Have you ever had to work for anything in your life? People like you get born with a silver spoon and the brains to go with it."

Eric raised an eyebrow. "That's a little judgmental, don't you think? For your information, I study hard for my grades, because yes, I do want to get into a good university. And my family is not that rich. We use common cutlery."

Allison stared at him. "What?"

"I'm saying you know nothing about me. Or anyone here actually. Look, I don't know why you want to shut everyone out, but if you need help in class, just ask."

Allison gritted her teeth. "Asking for help is showing weakness."

Eric raised an eyebrow. "Where did you get that nonsense? You know, it takes more courage to admit defeat than to stubbornly carry on and fail."

Allison narrowed her eyes. She had heard it all before. They made it sound so easy, but they didn't understand a thing.

"So, meet me at the library at four. We'll go over what you're struggling with."