Skye and I walked in the halls of our High School. We were considered to be the outcasts. As we walked passed everyone they stared at us and snickered behind our backs. We learnt a long time ago that it is safer for the two of us to be together. That whole saying; "United we stand, divided we fall". I wish we could be home-schooled, but that was not an option.
I groaned as I saw Ashley and Brian kissing in front of class.
I never understood the whole PDA; Public Display of Affection thing, maybe it is because my mother is not exactly the most loving person. The emotions she usually displays towards us are either sadness or anger. I cannot remember the last time my mother hugged either of us.
A flock of girls were flying around Harper Brown across the hall. Desperate for attention. Every school has that one person in school who everyone obsesses over. They pretend to love him, but in truth they are all secretly jealous of him. That guy in our school is Harper Brown.
We walked into our home economics class with our heads held high. A sign of fake confidence on our part. Never let them see that they get to you.
We walked to the back of the class and I took a seat next to my best friend Tyler. Skylar sat down next to Edith Cyres. Tyler Hawkins is what people refer to as the perfect example of a nerd. He has dark brown hair and very thick glasses. Behind the thick glasses he has ice blue eyes. Next to Skye he is my best friend in the world and I have been secretly in love with him for years.
I am kidding. Sort of. Even if I did like him, relationships only complicated things.
We are friends. At the moment that is enough for me. It is nice to hang out with him and he is good at listening. I do not like the idea of having someone in my life who is more than friends, it is the same with my brother.
He has this one friend that is a girl who I guess could be referred to as his best friend. Her name is Natasha Westwick. To be honest I do not like her at all. She is nothing but trouble and my brother cannot see that. He is set on saving her. I did however promise him that I would give her a chance, but I do not have to be happy about it.
"What up Mac? You look like you ate one of my Aunt Tracy's brownies, if you know what I mean?" He yawned. I could not help it and I started to laugh out loud.
It was one of those random rumors people believed regarding me. The fact that I smoked weed. There is a small amount of truth to that rumor. For the last year I have been taking off-the-counter pain meds for my damaged knee. The day I fractured my knee was also the day I discovered that my boyfriend was cheating on me with my ex best friend Ashley. I squinted my eyes and saw the blonde girl look in my direction. She turned around and spoke to Christina Brown who sat next to her. They both laughed and I groaned.
I remember the exact moment like it was yesterday when I found out.
I was taking part in a Tennis relay match against one of our rival schools. The match was going exactly according to plan. I was on top of my game and I was ahead when it came to the score board.
There was only a few minutes left in the game. I threw the ball into the air with my right hand. I hit it with my tennis racket. As the ball flew towards my opponent my eyes caught sight of Brian and Ashley behind the bleachers. Ashley had her grimy hands all over him and he was sucking her face off. In other words they were French kissing. As you can imagine I was caught a bit off guard and I got distracted. I ended up losing the game.
At one point I had to lunge for the ball. As I lunged the ball flew passed me and I miss-stepped on to the gravel.
Bam!
Just like that, in one second, my Tennis career went down the drain and I lost my boyfriend.
Perfect.
My mom did not have enough money to pay for the surgery needed to fix my knee and that is why I have to take pills because otherwise the constant pain would be too much. There are days where it literally feels like I cannot walk. In the long run the constant pills is going to cost way more than the surgery would have, but I do not really have a say in it; mother knows best, right?
The other reason she prefers the pills over going to a clinic to get it done on welfare is because she tends to drink a few of the pills herself.
"Nothing is wrong Tyler. I just did not get a lot of sleep last night." I sighed and lay with my head on the table.
Even though I occasionally talk to Tyler there are a lot of things that he does not know about me. It is easier that way. I tell him small things, if it comes out by accident, small things that could not be used against me to hurt me.
Apparently I am quite the hot subject in school and the whole town. Everyone jumps at the chance at spreading a rumor about me. As if though they do not have anything better to do with their time.
I remember a few months ago I was standing behind the bleachers at school during one of my off periods. I had a serious case of the flu. I was feeling really sick and I had this really stupid medicine I had to take. It was this nose spray that was supposed to help. So there I stood behind the bleachers trying to get the courage together to spray this stupid stuff into my nose when I saw Weasel around the corner. Off course that is not his real name, but everyone calls him that. He has this habit of starting rumors. He is everywhere like Big Brother.
The next thing I know McKenzie Prince does not just smoke weed she also sniffs 'coke'.
Everyday more and more things seem to go wrong and sometimes it feels like I am going crazy.
"Miss Prince...Do you have any objections to what I just said?"
Oh fudge
Why do I always have to day dream? As usual I did not pay attention to the class. It was unfortunately this very moment that I realize that there is no one else in class except for me. No wait, there is one other person. Harper Brown. Why is Harper Brown here? He was a year older than me.
"Um...Whatever" I said dryly and shrugged my shoulders.
If Harper was not one of them, the fakes, he would actually be kind of attractive. His hair was a mixture of light brown and blonde. His eyes were blue and at this very moment it looked like he wanted to kill me with the look he gave me. As if though he was a lion and I was a small defenseless Springbuck. He looked annoyed.
"Do you agree with these terms...?" Miss Alexander asked me with her strange accent and sharp nose. Her left eyebrow lifted slightly.
"Um...Whatever..." I shrugged my shoulders. What on earth did I just agree to?
"Good. Then Harper will start tutoring you for your home economics classes as soon as possible"
What?! No! No! No!
Wait. I am going to get private lessons by him? A guy that is popular? A guy who is best friends with my ex?
I know that when it comes to making food I am really terrible at it, but still, does it have to be him?
"I really do not see the point in him giving me extra classes. I am doing perfectly fine on my own." I bit my tongue as I told the lie. I was a danger to myself and everyone around me in the kitchen.
"No you are not Miss Prince. You are failing. So either you accept Mr. Brown's help or you are without a doubt going to fail my class. Your choice..."
The truth is that I am failing more than just one class. It is really difficult to concentrate on school work when I have to fight for my life almost every night. If I do not do something soon I will end up failing the whole year. I hate it when people say that something is your choice. As if though I actually have a choice in this matter.
If I wanted to admit it or not, I did need Harper's help.
One thing is for sure we are definitely not going to practice at my house.
"I am in." I said with a frown on my face and I walk out of the classroom before Harper or Miss Alexander could say anything else.
I can only imagine what it is going to be like to be alone in the same room with him.
There was a real possibility that we would end up killing each other.
"What was that about?" Tyler asked as I almost ran into him.
"I am going to die or I am going to end up going to jail for murder." I said blandly.
"Why?"
"Harper Brown, the golden boy, has to give me extra classes." Tyler burst into a fit of laughter.
"This is not funny. We are going to kill each other."
"I will visit you in jail and bring you some of my aunt's brownies."
"Ha ha" I gave him my best impression of the death glare and walked towards my next class.