just a quick author's note, this was my very first book on here so please forgive any mistakes or gaps in the plot. its not my best writing so please don't comment about the plot being wrong, etc as i had just started to write when i published this. thank you, and enjoy :)
Arielle Evans
"Oh, Little Mermaid!" A high voice screeches behind me. I snort and keep walking, ignoring Chelsea, the head cheerleader who picks on me every day. I feel someone tug on my hair, and I whip around, my long hair smacking Chelsea across the cheek.
"Excuse you, Mermaid!" She shrieks, her face turning red. She fixes her obviously dyed blonde hair back into a side-part whilst glaring at me. I look down at my worn knockoff Toms and adjust my glasses. "So, Mermaid, I heard it's your birthday today."
"Yes," I answer quietly.
"So that must mean you have a gift or some crap, yeah? Hand it over," she demands. I blink back tears when I think of what she will do if I don't give it to her so instead I unzip my bag and sift through it. I pull out the red velvet cupcake my mom had packed me and hand it to Chelsea, looking down so I can avoid her angry glare. "That's it? God, Arielle, your mom must actually hate you like everyone says," she laughs. She takes it and glares at me evilly before sashaying away. I sprint through the crowd that was watching us and into the bathroom. I push the heaviest trash can in the bathroom against the door and let my tears fall freely. I press my back against the wall, remove my glasses, and freely sob into my arms, in a crouching position. I am so glad I didn't let my mother talk me into wearing makeup this morning. I knew this would happen. A knock interrupts my sobbing, but I ignore it.
"Go away!" I cry. Another knock. Thinking it's just Miss Robinson, my guidance counselor, I push the trash can out of the way and open the door, wiping my tears. Just my luck. Mason Richards stands outside the door, his hands in his pockets. The second I see him, I start to shut the door. He stops it with his foot, much to my annoyance. He winces at the same time I do when I hear a sickening crack from the foot he jammed in the door.
"Are you okay?" He asks.
"Are you?" I ask softly. My anger bubbles at the fact that he's one of them too but I feel awful for what I did to his foot.
"It's alright, I'll go get some ice later. Right now, I just want to help you."
"Just go away, Mason, please." I beg.
"I just want to help you, Arielle." He says calmly, unfazed by my outburst.
"No, you don't!" I weep. "You're one of them, Mason. You're one of the populars. All you guys have ever done and all you ever will do is torture me."
"Arielle-"
"Please, Mason, leave." I beg, my voice just barely above a whisper. He sighs and nods, leaving me alone to cry. I wipe my tears after a few minutes, blow my nose into the cheap toilet paper at our school, and walk out of the bathroom. A few snickers and giggles resound from around me, and I struggle keeping my cool. I open the door to my advanced math class, and my teacher, Mr. Young, gives me a sympathetic look before continuing. I zone out as usual as he continues talking, because I already have this lesson and the next six finished. I rest my head on the palm of my hand and stare at my teacher's messy handwriting on the chalkboard. A piece of paper whacks me in the ear, and I wince from the sting. I ignore it, knowing it is another insult note. Just like the ones I get every single day. More fly at me, and I wince from the stinging pain all over my face as they hit me.
"Enough!" Mr. Young roars from the front of the classroom, just as I wipe the first tear from my eye. "There will be no more notes or insults thrown at Arielle, is that understood?" Murmurs come from every person in the room, but sure enough, the notes stop. Mr. Young gives me another sympathetic look before dismissing us to do our independent work. I scribble down the answers, knowing each one by heart. I stand and walk up to Mr. Young's desk, stumbling over none other than Mason's desk. Insults like "clumsy", "teacher's pet", and "nerd" are thrown at me in hushed whispers. I ignore them and hand in my paper. Mr. Young smiles at me and immediately begins to grade my paper, handing it back to me with my usual 100% on it. I grin anyhow and make my way back to my seat, this time being careful around the desks. I step over a leg that had tried to trip me and plop down in my seat with a sigh.
"What an excellent birthday," I mutter under my breath, noticing that one of the notes had popped one of my pimples, and I was now bleeding. I pull a tissue from my pocket and press it against the pimple to stop the bleeding. More snickers. The bell finally rings, much to my relief. I grab my bag and scurry out of the classroom before any of the populars can get to me. Next I have free period, so I sprint through the clusters of people to the library. Miss Smith, the librarian, looks up from her book at me and smiles. She adjusts her glasses on the bridge of her nose before speaking.
"Happy birthday, darling. I ordered a book for you that I thought you might like. It's in the back on your chair." She says kindly, and I grin. Miss Smith and the library- it's like my safe haven. I can come anytime and she always welcomes me with open arms. I wrap my arms around her, say thank you, and hurry to the back of the library. My favorite worn tan recliner sits in the corner, with a book tied with a ribbon on the seat. I smile when I see the cover.
"The Fault in Our Stars. John Green," I whisper to myself, smiling. I plop down in the recliner and flip to the first page. Written in purple ink is, "Happy birthday to the smartest and prettiest bookworm of them all. xoxo, Katie". I smile. It has always been our inside joke about her name. When we first met, I always wondered what her first name was, and she would never tell me. This is the most perfect, fitting birthday present I could have ever received. I read and read, and time flies by. I hadn't even realized I have gotten to page 120 when the bell rings. I grin at Miss Smith as I walk out, feeling happier than I've been the entire year. The feeling immediately stops when I see Chelsea sashaying toward me. I frown and turn the other way.
"Not so fast, Mermaid," She snarls from behind me. I freeze, not knowing what I did wrong. She tugs on my arm to make me spin around and face her. My hair whips her yet again, and I internally chuckle. She stays with her eyes screwed shut, wiping her face with her hand in disgust. I smirk and immediately wipe the look off my face when her eyes open and her icy blue orbs meet my gaze. "What was that for?" She hisses.
"It was an accident, I'm sorry," I say, frightened of what she will do or say next. I bite back a smile though I keep my scared expression up in hopes she'll leave me alone for once.
"You better be. I heard Mason was talking to you. Is that true?" She spits. I remain silent. "Answer me!" she demands.
"Yes," I admit softly.
"You better stay away from him, Arielle, or you'll be sorry. Do you understand me?" She barks.
"Yes," I reply quietly. She storms off, her blonde hair swaying in all directions. I let a tear escape, but quickly wipe it away and walk to science. Mr. Hart shoots me a quick smile as I take my seat in the front row, and I return it with the pitiful smile I can muster. He starts class, and I zone out yet again, knowing all the answers to the questions he is asking.
"Miss Evans, would you care to answer the question?" He asks me pointedly. I groan internally at his mere thought that I do not know the answer.
"Kinetic energy," I say blandly. He purses his lips and nods that I got the the answer right. I smirk but the look immediately falls when I feel Mason's gaze on me from across the room. I look down at my notebook and pretend to be taking notes until his eyes shift back to the front of the room. I sigh in relief and drop my purple pen. Just as Mr. Hart is asking Mason a question, the bell rings. I immediately pack up my stuff and shove it in my bag, not bothering to zip it as I run out the door. Not fast enough, though. Mason quickly catches up with me and grabs my arm.
"Yes, Mason?" I say quietly, not wanting to upset yet another popular today.
"I wanted to apologize," I immediately look up. Did he just really apologize?
"You didn't do anything wrong," I point out softly, looking down at my shoes again.
"On behalf of Chelsea, I mean. She doesn't treat you right," he responds, his voice just as soft as mine.
"That's okay. I'm used to it," I lie. I drum my fingers against the book in my hand, staring down at the blue, black, and white cover.
"I, um...I brought something for you." Mason says, sifting through his bag, and I stifle a gasp. The populars hardly ever even interact with the nerds, let alone give them something. He comes up with the container that holds my cupcake. Yes, the one that was confiscated by Chelsea this morning. I guess he saw my eyes light up, because he let out a small chuckle. I took the container in my hands, beaming.
"Thank you," I say genuinely, fighting the urge to give him a hug.
"No problem," he says, shifting uncomfortably. I adjust my glasses awkwardly and roll back and forth on the balls of my feet.
"I should probably get to class." I clear my throat. He nods, and I take that as my cue to leave. I spin on my heel and walk to social studies, feeling on top of the world. Before I turn the corner I turn around to find Mason still staring. "Mason!" I call. He looks up and smiles. "Thanks for caring," He nods and I keep walking. I hide my precious cupcake in my backpack as I enter the classroom, and take my seat at the front row. Mason walks in, his arm wrapped around another popular, Ashley. She laughs loudly at something he whispers in her ear, and they each take their seats next to each other in the populars row, a.k.a. the back row of the classroom. I look down at my notebook and fix my ponytail while we wait for Mr. Todd. He enters the classroom a few minutes after the bell rings with several papers in hand.
"Ari, be a dear and hand these out for me, will you?" Mr. Todd requests when he stops at my desk. Mr. Todd usually hates his students, but he has a soft spot for me. People call me his teacher's pet. I nod and smile kindly at him, taking the papers from him as he gets settled in his desk. I pass them out first to the nerds row, my row, and each of the students say thank you when they get their sheet. Now onto the hard part. I cautiously hand the papers out to the second row, and thankfully manage to stay up without falling. Two more rows to go. I pass the sheets to half of the third row successfully before being tripped by Nick, the rudest of the populars. I fall to the linoleum floor, hitting it hard with my arms. The papers go flying. Mason immediately pulls his chair back and helps me up. My arms are red and already bruising. Mason and Ashley, the two kindest of the populars, help my pick up the papers. Nick snickers before full-out laughing with his entire row, excluding Mason and Ashley. Mason stands, his face red with anger. He lifts his arm, and before I realize, he punches Nick square in the jaw. Nick's face turns red, and before he can lift a hand on Mason, Mr. Todd shouts.
"Nick and Mason, to the office!" He orders. "Arielle, hand the papers to Ashley, she will take care of it." As Mason and Nick grumble at each other on their way out, Mr. Todd snarls angrily at Nick, "Mr. Thompson, I will see to it that you are punished for what you have done to Arielle." Nick glares at him one last time before leaving. "Arielle, are you okay?"
"Yeah, I think so,"
But of course, I really wasn't.
Mason
"So, boys, what are you doing here? I thought you two were friends," Principal Ruth scolds.
"He punched me," Nick grumbles immediately, rubbing his jaw.
"With good reason!" I defend.
"And what would that be?" Principal Ruth asks, tapping her chin.
"He tripped an innocent girl for no reason, and she got hurt," I snap. I don't know why I have this sudden connection to Arielle, but after seeing the way she got treated by Chelsea on her birthday of all days, it felt like I had to help her.
"Is that true, Nick?" Principal Ruth scolds. He just grunts in response. "Okay, Mason, you can head back to class. Nick, stay here. And don't punch anyone else, Mason!" I smirk as I walk out of the office. That was easy. When I get back to the classroom, Arielle still looks unhappy. But I'll fix that soon enough.
author's note-
i'm not entirely happy with the way this chapter turned out, it was actually kind of boring, but as you read on, it will get better!
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also, please be patient with this, its my first fic so it might be pretty bad or not as good as the rest you read, but please don't comment about that
i love you all, xx