"I swear, if we're late again. Both of you will be in the dog house." I threatened, checking the time on my phone for the tenth time since we left the house.
"Cj. Chill. We won't be late for school." Leo said. I looked at him and raised an eyebrow.
"Well, with the way you're driving right now, we just might." I said. He growled and held the steering wheel in a death grip, his knuckles turning white. Sebastian barked out a laugh from in the backseat and I smiled.
"Would you rather I drove fast in the snow? Where I could lose control of the car and I don't know, maybe kill the three of us. Then what do you know, we won't make it to school." Leo said. I pursed my lips together and looked out the window at the passing scenery. It wasn't much to look at; a sea of white, the snow covering the ground in a light blanket of soft coldness.
I didn't have a comeback, so I remained silent. Leo and Sebastian chuckled - knowing I admitted defeat - before going back to what they were doing; Leo driving, and Sebastian looking out the window, listening to Leo and me bicker. He leaned forward and poked his head between the front seats. He wasn't wearing a seatbelt. As he moved forward, his black hair covered his hazel eyes. "How does me ending up in the dog house work? I'm not a dog." He asked. I looked at him, laughed, and pushed him back. "Dude!"
"I'm not a dude." I said.
"Fine. Woman?" He asked and I just rolled my eyes.
We finally made it to school and I was the first out of the car. It was a fair drive from our house and I thought we would be late for sure, but we made it just in time. "There you go, your majesty. You're at school." Leo said, getting out of the car at the same time as Sebastian.
"On time." Sebastian added. I rolled my eyes at the two of them.
"We're cutting it fine. There's only three minutes until class starts. Jeez, did you think you could find a cure for cancer? Since it took like years to get here."
"Oh hardy-ha-ha. Would you like to drive next time?" Leo asked and I smirked.
"Well actually-"
"Dude! You're gonna let her drive?! We'll be killed for sure!" Sebastian joked and I shot him a look, unamused.
"Yeah. Hilarious." I said. "But, yes, I'd love to drive next time. Hand me the keys." I held out my hand, waiting for the keys to be handed over.
"On second thought. Maybe not." Leo said. I pursed my lips together in a tight line.
"Fine." I whispered harshly, walking off. "I'll see you guys at break. Bye." I called out just as the bell sounded, announcing the start of first period. I sprinted to my first class, Math, and took my usual seat near the window in the middle row. Dropping my folder on the table, I sat down with a sigh. My 'friend' in my math class took her seat next to me, pulling out the textbook we shared and all the other equipment she needed for this class. She hummed to herself as she pulled out a blue and red pen and a ruler, placing them neatly in front of her pencil case. I raised an eyebrow and watched her. She was like this every lesson. Shaking my head, I rested my chin on my hands and looked out the window, tapping my nails on the desk, waiting for the teacher to start the lesson. My nails were long and painted black, like always.
I was the low key Goth, wearing mostly black clothes - jeans and shirts. I'd wear dresses only on special occasions and when I was forced to. But apart from that, it was always black jeans. The only people that didn't seem to care what I dressed in were those who were nice and stayed out of other people's business, and of course my best friends who were like brothers to me; Leo and Sebastian. All the judgemental little pricks called me an emo freak.
The teacher started talking and I zoned out, still staring out the window. I had other things on my mind, like my eighteenth birthday - which was today. It was a day to spend with family and friends but I hadn't seen my actual family in over a year. They betrayed me and I couldn't go back. I couldn't and I wouldn't. Someone nudged me in the side, snapping me out of my thoughts and sending me back into reality, or more accurately, hell; Math. "Ow!" I growled, glaring at the person who elbowed me.
"Cj Jenkins?" The teacher asked. I looked up at her.
"Yes?" I asked.
"Pay attention. Mark Johnson?" I scowled and listened to the teacher mark the rest of the roll. When the roll was marked, we were instructed on what we had to do today. Pythagoras' theorem. She stopped talking after a few minutes and everyone got started on the work. I looked around the room before I glanced at the opened textbook. Triangles and many words covered the pages.
"Ugh." I complained to myself. I ran my fingers through my silky brown hair and blew out a deep breath. I tapped the end of my pen on the desk, earning a stern glare from my teacher. When she looked away, I rolled my eyes. Old cow, I thought to myself. She didn't help me much. I always got help from Mandy.
"Do you need help, Cj?" Mandy asked. I looked at her and smiled.
"Yes, thanks. Math is the only thing I can't get my head around." I said. Mandy grinned and made me mentally cringe. She was too enthusiastic about math. English, I was great at, it was one of my favourite subjects. Science, I wasn't the best, but I was still better than some in my class. Pe, I was a pro at! Geography, I loved. History, well, that was on my list of non-favourite subjects, and math... Let's not go there.
I stared at the triangle on the page in front of me. I pushed the textbook away. "Why do we need to learn about Pythagoras' Theorem? When, in my life, will I ever need to measure a triangle using A-squared plus B-squared equals C-squared?" I complained, making Mandy laugh. It wasn't funny, I was dead serious, but I sighed and looked at the textbook again, groaning and resting my forehead on the desk, mumbling, "I give up."
The bell finally sounded and I mentally sighed. I packed up my things and left for my next class - English. I sat down at the back of the classroom, where I sat by myself. No one wanted to sit next to me and I was glad they didn't. No one talking to me and annoying me, it was just me and my thoughts. And of course, my English teacher who came and talked to me every now and then, as she did to most of the students in the class. When we didn't do much work in a lesson, I'd spend the time drawing pictures - of horses, wolves and panthers - I'd read, or just stare out the window, as I occasionally did in most of my classes. It let me escape the stress, if there was any, from school. I would go into some trance and dream or think about things.
My English teacher, Ms Robinson knew more about me then most of the students in the whole school. She understood what I had been through and she listened to me. She could tell if I was unsettled, distressed or just not happy through the day and she'd understand if I wanted to just sit. Most of the students in my class were nervous around me or just ignored me, so no one would bother with what I did or didn't do. In this class at least.
One of those days was today and I just stared at my desk with all my books and equipment out, not doing any work. Ms Robinson looked at me and frowned as I looked up at her, then back to my desk, opening one of my books and scribbling before drawing a horse.
The time passed quickly. By the time it was five minutes before the bell, I had finished my drawing; a horse rearing. I felt no proudness from completing it, I just frowned. "Ok everyone you can pack up now and talk quietly amongst yourselves." Ms Robinson instructed. Straightaway, everyone talked to their friends and put everything back in their bags. I slowly collected all my stuff and put them in my bag too but I paused when Ms Robinson sat next to me. She was one of the younger teachers, early twenties. She had light brown hair, which she wore in a high pony tail, and brown eyes; and today she wore navy blue jeans and black T-shirt. I looked at her and gave her a small smile. "What's up?"
I sighed, "It's my birthday today." I said sadly.
"Ah," she sag back in her chair. "It must be hard not being able to spend it with your family."
I nodded and looked down. "Yeah," I agreed. "Leo and Sebastian are my family now. They are like my older brothers and sometimes they act like a father."
"How is it? Living with those two?" Ms Robinson asked and I laughed sadly.
"It's interesting. At least the two actually help cook and clean. Then again, when they don't, they know I'll 'persuade' them to help." I said with a laugh and Ms Robinson smiled.
"Of course. I'm sure the 'persuading' works well." She said.
"There's only a few threats." I said. We both laughed quietly. "No, they're really good and they always help. Sometimes they're the ones doing most of the work." She smiled.
"Have they planned anything for your birthday?" She asked.
I snorted, "I certainly hope not. Those two should never be trusted with planning my birthday. They'll have something up their sleeves which will be hilarious and most probably embarrassing for me."
Ms Robinson chuckled and stood up, pushing the chair back under the table. "Happy birthday Cj."
I smiled. "Thanks, Miss." I watched her walk to the front of the room where she talked to a few other students and I sat back in my chair, waiting for the bell.
Edited 01/12/2017