Sarah and Carly walked side by side the following Monday at school listening to the buzz of the previous party that weekend. Sarah's name was mentioned a couple times during the conversations that could be heard in the hallways but nothing major because most kids that night were so drunk they barely remembered the night.
Carly was trying to avoid Tommy. It was easy during the weekend because he probably had been running a hangover from the drugs and alcohol but now that they were both present at school it would be harder. Carly couldn't stay home because it would have raised suspicions to her mother and she didn't want that at all. But Tommy was relentless. He had sent her a dozen messages the next day and multiple phone calls trying to explain himself or tell her how sorry he was for the way he acted.
"Carly" someone yelled behind them. Carly's friends, Hana and Matt, were walking rather fast towards them. Once they stopped in front of the two girls, Hanna threw her arms around Carly's shoulder and hugged her tightly.
"What happened Saturday?" Matt asked her as he hugged her next. "We were supposed to go home together but we couldn't find you"
"You guys didn't see the commotion that night?" Carly asked.
"No but Tommy called us a couple of times to ask us if we talked to you. Carly, did something happened between you two?" Hanna asked with concern. Carly flinched a little but covered it fast because she didn't want to talk about it.
"We broke up" Carly simply said before turning part of her body towards Sarah, who was obviously getting bored and annoyed. "Guys, this is Sarah. She is living with us for the time being. Sarah, these are my friends Hanna and Matt"
Sarah nodded to them while Hanna grinned at her and welcomed her. Matt said a simple hello and looked at her up and down. His stare made Sarah uncomfortable which made her twitch. She looked around until she found the person she was looking for.
"I'm leaving" Sarah said to Carly before walking away without so much as a glance back. After Carly watched her leave, she turned around and smacked Matt on the arm.
"Ouch" he yelled "What was that for?"
"Way to be subtle, jackass" Carly grumbled "Now she thinks that my friend is a pervert"
"I'm a guy Carly. What did you expect?" he asked and received another slap on the arm.
"She's uncomfortable with people. Tone it done, will you?"
"I'll try. But she's so hot" Matt complained and ran away before getting yet another slap. He didn't need bruises on his arms. Hanna and Carly followed him down the hallway to his locker.
"Is everything okay?" Hanna asked again.
"I'll tell you later" Carly said to her friend who nodded in return. They continued their small talk for the rest of the morning until the bell rang.
-
"Nim" Sarah said as she raced to greet him. It felt odd for her to chase after someone because it was the first time she ever had a person she could talk to during school. The small Latino boy turned around and smiled at her. He also was not used to being called by his name in the hallway, unless it was Ken to push him around.
"Hey" he said. "How was your weekend?"
"Eventful. Yours?"
"Uneventful"
After such an intensive greeting, the two introverted students walked in silence to their first class. They had no idea what to say or how to say it so they both stayed silent which was no bother to them. They both took notes in class and listened the teacher without interrupting him. Once in a while, Nim would study his desk neighbor in curiosity and she would do the same. Sarah noticed that Nim was amazing at drawing as well. He would draw anything in his blank book every time the teacher was going off topic or when it was unimportant. She thought that maybe one day they would compare drawings.
Nim, on the other hand, noticed that Sarah was struggling with the subject, which was history. She was getting uncomfortable, sitting in the chair for an hour and her leg started to shake up and down uncontrollably. He also noticed a scar on Sarah's left wrist which he assumed was a rope burn. Nim was curious about the brown haired girl who came from the streets; everyone was. But he would never ask her personal questions out loud. He was too shy and they weren't friends enough for them to go into such depth.
When the class finished, Sarah was quite happy to get away. She didn't like to stay sitting in one place for too long. She also didn't like the teacher who was always looking at her disapprovingly, probably because he was a local rich man who was always around his kind and didn't like differences.
Sarah knew trouble would find her sooner or later but she didn't expect it to be this fast. She groaned loudly when Ken was waiting for them at the door. He waited for everyone to pass him until everyone was gone, including the teacher. The rest of the students who were lurking around didn't dare to interfere but wouldn't pass listening in. Ken leaned off the wall and strode towards Sarah, completely ignoring Nim beside her.
"You think you're something don't you? Coming here from the ghetto and receiving our generosity, thinking you can come here so we can feel pity for your kind. Well, guess what, there is no pity here" Ken said with venom.
"Pity, me?" Sarah asked with an exaggeration of surprise. "Nah. You can give that one up Ken, I don't like pity" Sarah waved a hand I the air to dismiss the thought.
"You think you're funny?" Ken whispered darkly as he came closer to her. He trying to intimidate her but Sarah had seen worse. Hell, she was the victim of worse and was not ready to back down. But thinking about Sunny, she was not in any position to do anything either.
"No I don't" she said as she tried to walk around him but he caught her arm and pushed her back to her place. She hated being touched without her consent and gritted her teeth in annoyance.
"You're going to pay for what you did" Ken said menacingly. "I will send you back to Juvie before you can even say a word to defend your pathetic self"
Sarah grabbed Ken's hand with her hand and used her fingers to pry it off. It didn't take much effort because Sarah used a technique she found and had been mastering for a while.
"If ever you decide to be a coward, which I hope you won't, your charges will be dropped" Sarah said confidently.
"You really believe that?" Ken said.
"Yeah I really do"
"We'll see about that" he said before he walked away with the rest of his team. Everyone else dispersed, a little disappointed that there was not more entertaining. Nim let out a heavy breath. He dragged his shaky hands through his short hair and looked at Sarah in awe for confronting the only guy nobody dare to.
"You shouldn't have provoked him" he said as they walked away from the scene.
"I couldn't help it. It's a defence mechanism" Sarah said sheepishly.
"Or you could have given him what he wanted"
"I've tried that tactic before Nim. Trust me, it never works. They just take more and more until you crack. This is a dominance game. Ken is the king of the school and is trying to impose himself to make sure I know where he stands. But, I have not submitted to him so he and I are going to find a balance where he won't bother me and I won't bother him. It's that simple"
"And how many times has that worked for you in the past?" Nim asked.
"So far?" Sarah thought about it for a few minutes then shrugged "Never"
Nim stopped short in the hallway leaving Sarah to walk alone. He was expecting her to be surer of herself. She had seemed as if she knew what she was talking about, not hypothesising on behaviors.
"Were doomed" he said and Sarah laughed. Unfortunately, her laugh was cut short when she was yet again confronted by Dr. Evil number 2. Vivian was waiting for her by her locker with her minions standing a little away.
"Hey there Green" Vivian said smugly.
"Can Barbie and Ken ever leave me alone?" Sarah said grumpily.
"I'm not Barbie and Ken is not" Vivian thought for a second "well, he's not my Ken"
"What do you want Vivian?" Sarah swore she was going to break her teeth by how she had been grinding them today.
"Just passing by and wanted see how you were doing" Vivian shrugged her shoulders. "I never thought you had balls Green. Well considering how you used them to destroy Ken's house" she let the sentence linger before changing the subject. "I noticed that you looked a little thin. And because I'm only looking out for you, here"
Sarah was thinner than she ought to be because of malnutrition and lack of eating. She was getting better though since she came to the Murray's. They had been feeding her excessively well and with enormous quantities.
Vivian stepped closer and cocked her head to the side and handed her a banana.
"What's this?" Sarah asked wondering what Vivian was planning on doing.
"It's a fruit" Vivian said slowly to taunt the other girl. "There are proteins and vitamins and I thought a street rat like you would appreciate good food for once" Her minions snickered at that comment but Vivian was totally serious.
"Aww, just like a good samaritan" Sarah said with fake happiness.
"I do try. Enjoy" Vivian wiggled her fingers while her minions burst into laughter. They were walking away when Sarah called her back.
"You really don't want to fight with me" Sarah warned.
"Who said I wanted to fight with you?" Vivian looked confused. "I'm not that kind of girl" She turned around again and this time she didn't stop.
"You've been warned, darling" Sarah whispered and rolled her eyes. She was not getting herself out of trouble anytime soon that was for sure.
"You really have a knack for trouble, chica" Nim whistled.
"Shut up" Sarah groaned.
"What are you going to do now?" Nim asked.
Grinning, Sarah stretched her hands over her head and winked at the Latino boy. She knew she shouldn't reply to such an invitation, but Vivian's action was very tempting. Even though it was a horrible idea, Sarah couldn't help her heart from beating faster in excitement. She needed to have some fun in her life and as much as she hated it, creating havoc was one of her speciality.
"We're doomed" Nim repeated and Sarah laughed again.
-
Luckily, Barbie Vivian and Ken didn't bother her for the rest of the day and for that, she was glad. She kept her head low and her mouth shut. Sunny hadn't talked to her for a whole day and it was bothering her. Sunny rarely ever stopped talking to her sister. The only times Sunny ever did was when they were unable to communicate due to severe circumstances.
Sarah tried to talk to Sunny throughout the day but the younger girl gave her the cold shoulder. She stayed with her friends all day and refused to answer the text messages.
Sunny acted that way because she was worried. She was only twelve years old and had abandonment issues. The last thing she wanted was for Sarah to leave her. Sarah had always been there for her and taught her ways to survive. Sarah always got in trouble but it was on good intentions. She was often misunderstood but Sunny feared that her ways were becoming bad habits. The Murray's were different which made Sunny want to be different, to be better. But because of that, it changed everything. Sunny didn't think she could continue living the way she did with Sarah, but she knew she couldn't leave her. Sarah was her family.
"Sunny, wait" Sarah yelled when the day was over. Most students were leaving the school and Sarah was desperately trying to get to Sunny who was walking away with her friends. Sarah wanted to talk to her before they went back to the house.
"What?" Sunny asked. She said goodbye to her friends and turned around to face her Caucasian sister but not looking at her.
"Please let me explain" Sarah said desperately. Once Sunny was listening properly Sarah continued. "I did something bad. But not too bad- just bad. Things are going to get worse pretty soon but I have it under control"
"Is it going to make you leave again?" Sunny asked harshly.
"Maybe" Sarah said disappointed in herself. She felt depressed and thought a fool of herself for giving into her ways when she promised Sunny she wouldn't get into trouble.
Sunny took a deep breath. "I think" her voice croaked. She was having a hard time keeping her emotions from taking over. Sunny wanted to hit her, scream at her and yet hug her and hold on to her like she used to before.
"I think I better take the empty room for a while" said finally said.
"Anything you want" Sarah heart's fell. She felt like crying but tears wouldn't fall. Her eyes had been dry for years which gave her the inability to cry. Sunny hugged her tightly; showing her she still cared, and walked to Leanne's waiting car.
That night, Sarah and Sunny, with the help of Leanne, cleaned the second guest room so that the young Japanese girl could sleep peacefully without boxes and old smells. Leanne kept her mouth shut but she knew that something had gone wrong during the weekend. All three girls were acting weird and Leanne couldn't get an answer from any of them.
-
The next day, Sarah went to a convenience store and bought a pack of cigarettes. The cashier looked at her skeptically because of her age but refrained from speaking as it was not his business.
In school, Sarah shrunk shoulders and walked quietly through the hallway. Her head was low and her eyes were down. She was still upset from last night; being in conflict with her sister always bothered her. Anyway, Sarah walked silently, with her hood up, subtly looking for someone. Once she found who she was looking for, she changed her road path.
Vivian was slowly walking with her friends in the hallway. She was a quiet girl and didn't speak much unless it was necessary. Her snowflake eyes were dull as her friends were talking animatedly non-stop. She didn't notice the hooded student behind her until the person rudely bumped into her and walked away.
Vivian was stunned. Nobody had ever done that which gave her the conclusion that it was Sarah who lacked manners.
"Watch it freak" Vivian yelled but Sarah was already far away.
Sarah arrived in class fairly early. The English teacher was sitting at her desk reading some papers. Sarah approached her and cleared her throat to get the teachers attention.
"Hello Mss. Green" the English teacher said nicely. She was not one of the rude ones and treaded all her students equally but she was the perfect teacher to use because she liked to embarrass her students. "How may I help you?"
"Well" Sarah started with fake concern "You see, I made a friend, Vivian, and I'm very concern for her" Sarah waited patiently to make a more dramatic effect. She started to shift her waited restlessly as a sign of nervousness.
"Go on"
"Well, this morning, I caught her putting a pack of cigarettes in her purse and I know that the policy in this school is no smoking. You see, I was taught to be a good Samaritan, so I'm very worried about her health and reputation and-" Sarah paused again and looked down to her feet "sorry, I'm rambling"
She didn't tell the teacher that she had done a 'Slip of Hand' and put the pack of cigarettes into Vivian's purse when she bumped into her. The teacher looked at wondering if she said the truth but after a while, she nodded her head.
"It's alright Mss. Green. I'll have a talk with Vivian before class"
"Thank you ma'am" Sarah said with a smile before walking to her desk in the back. Most students were already seating while looking at her cynically. Nim raised an eyebrow in curiosity at her sneaky smile. He knew she'd done something wrong and Sarah made his suspicions worst when she winked at him before looking away.
Vivian walked in right before the bell and sat down in the front row at her desk. Everyone was seated, waiting for the teacher to start the lesson, except, the teacher started her class very differently than usual.
"Rules are made for a reason. They are made to be followed so that order can be bestowed in our school. If there were no rules, chaos would take place" she said to confused students "It has come to my attention that someone has violated a rule this morning, and if it weren't for a student who acted ideally by expressing concern and worry about her friend, I would never had known about such a violation"
The students were now looking around the class in wonder of was accused. The teacher had been walking around the class randomly until she stopped in front of Vivian. Vivian looked up confused as to why she was being looked at. She had a reputation about being the perfect student and found no interest in breaking the regulations of the school.
"Why you, Vivian, of all people, would go to great lengths to ruin your health over an addiction?" The teacher said as the students gasped in shock.
"I'm sorry madam?" Vivian said startled.
"Someone told me she saw you put a pack of cigarettes in your purse. She has shown a great responsibility to tell me so that we can stop such actions in the future"
Whispers burst into the class as the gossip started spreading. People quietly laugh as most of them didn't believe the accusations.
"Please remove the pack from your bag" the said.
"Madam, I don't smoke. I have never smoked in my life, so why would I have cigarettes on me?" Vivian asked.
"I do not know, but let me look in your bag. If you are innocent, then the culprit will have detention for starting false rumors" the teacher waved her hand impatiently. Vivian, knowing she was not a smoker, gave the teacher her purse.
The teacher looked inside and a few seconds later removed and pack of cigarettes form the bag.
"That's not mine" Vivian raised her voice. She had never raised her voice before.
"Mss. Kingly, you know very well that this toxic thing is not good for your health. What would your parents say?"
"They would agree that, that is not mine" Vivian was getting angry. She had passed the surprise faze and was now trying to figure out who put her in this situation. Her body froze when her thoughts stopped to the only person who dared make such a stunt.
Vivian turned her rigid body, making sure her face was as expressionless as possible. Her parents always told her being angry is bad for business therefore she never got angry, except for this moment. She looked behind her and directly to the girl who was not supposed to be in this school. Sarah stared right back at her, trying not to laugh, and gave the snowflake girl am innocent shrug.
"Meet me after class Mss. Kingly. We will discuss this then" The teacher said and went into her subject of matter. Vivian ignored her and kept staring at the pest sitting in the back.
To everyone, Vivian looked expressionless Sarah knew the snowflake girl was holding her anger. Sarah was good at reading body language and Vivian was not as hard to read as she had first thought.
And thus started a feud that bestowed hatred between both girls from different worlds.