"Big day today," said my dad as he stood in front of the stove flipping bacon. "I can't believe how big my baby's getting."
I roll my eyes as I push my eggs around my plate with my fork. "It's not that exciting."
"Rose, you turned sixteen today. That's a major milestone." My dad countered. He always made a huge deal out of everything I did in life. He practically passed out from excitement when I first rode a bike, cried when I lost my first tooth, and basically everything else imaginable. I guess as a single parent he must be extra excited for the lack of a parental figure.
"It's just a normal Friday that will involve cake," I shrug. I was never one for birthday parties.
"How can you say that?" dad gasped as he placed a hand over his heart, mocking as if he were hurt. "There will be more than just cake today. There will be singing, presents, and maybe even a clown if you behave."
"A clown?" I question as I raise an eyebrow. "Even after the great clown incident of '09?"
"I didn't know there was going to be a clown there," dad said as he walked over towards me and scooped some bacon onto my plate. "And how was I supposed to know that you were going to punch him?"
"Maybe next time you won't forget to leave 'It' on when your five-year-old daughter is playing in front of the tv," I countered back to tease him.
"Ouch. Low blow," he said as he bit a piece of bacon.
"Are you working late again tonight?"I ask as I stab a piece of egg with my fork and plop it in my mouth.
"Yeah, I have to be back there by eleven. We got a late shipment coming in, so I need to be there," he explained. "You know I hate leaving you alone at night, right?"
I nodded. We didn't live in the nicest part of town, or even the second nicest part of town. Our house was old and run down. The paint was gray and peeling and the wooden floor boards were lifting in the corners. That makes walking around without shoes or socks on a fun game of 'will I get a splinter?'. With our current financial income, this was the only place we could afford.
"You better get to school, or you'll be late," my dad says as he glances at the watch on his wrist.
I mentally groan but I don't let it show. It's not that I hated school or even the fact that it's Friday. I like school and I like learning, but there are a lot of people there who I don't agree with. Most of the time I try to ignore them in hopes that they would leave me alone, but bullies are complex creatures that should be studied by scientist's deep underground.
"Okay Dad, I'll see you later," I said as I stood up from my seat and took my plate to the sink. As I walked past my dad I gave him a quick kiss on the cheek and grabbed my bag before walking out the door.
It was late October and the ground was covered in crunchy orange leaves. On days like this, I enjoyed walking to school. I would put my headphones in and blast my music while I feel the satisfying crunch of leaves below my feet. And that's what I did.
The school was only a fifth teen minute walk from my house. As I walked I passed more houses that were rundown as well, but as soon as I crossed the train tracks, it was newer homes.
There was this one home I always liked in particular. It was a two-story yellow house with a wraparound porch. The front yard had a massive garden full of dozens of flowers. The old woman that lived there would always sit on the porch swing and watch the street as if she were expecting someone. I've never talked to her, but when I waved she waved back.
The moment the high school came into view I instantly regretted getting out of bed this morning. All I wanted was to be left alone. That's not too much to ask, but to these people it seems impossible.
"Hey ugly," I heard someone shout loud enough for me to hear over my music. I choose to ignore whoever it was. The front door was just around the bend up ahead of me and I knew there was a teacher standing there.
Before I could make it, a pair of hands shoved me on the shoulders, causing me to fall to the ground. I landed in the grass, but my hand scraped a rock. I hissed in pain as I yanked my headphones out to look at my assailants.
It wasn't a shock to see Mia Cater standing over me with her group of friends hovering around her. She has hated me since the first day in preschool and has refused to give up this petty feud. I don't know what her problem was with me, but I really didn't care. This was such a great way to start my birthday.
"You answer me when I talk to you, Bitch," she spat at me.
"Obviously I didn't want to talk to you hence me ignoring you, you dense twat," I said back to her. Just because she was a bully didn't mean I had to take her crap.
"What did you call me?" she seethed.
"A dense twat," I repeated. "Do I need to spell it out for you slowly?"
"Why you little-"
"What do we have here?" asked a voice that came from behind Mia. Mia turned around and I saw who it was.
Nathan Hart stood there with a small smirk on his face. He was wearing his red and white letterman's jacket and dark jeans. I have never talk to Nathan once and why he stopped Mia was beyond me. Normally when others walk past, they ignored it.
"Nothing Nate. Get out of here," Mia said and he minions chimed along with her.
"No, I don't think so," he said as his eyes made contact with mine. "Five against one? That's not a fair fight unless all that hair dye seeped into your brain and you forgot how to count."
Mia's face suddenly became beet red. "Let's go girls," Mia said in a huff as she stormed away with them trailing behind her.
I let out a sigh of relief as I got back on my feet. As I was dusting my pants off, I noticed Nathan was still standing there but he was digging through his backpack. A second later he pulls out something.
"Here," he said as he held out a band aid. "For your hand. It's bleeding."
I looked at my hand and saw a small cut. 'Must have happened when I fell.' "Thanks," I say as I reach out and take it.
"So, did you call her what I think you called her?" Nathan asked as I pressed the band aid on.
"It was true at least," I say as I shoved the wrapper in my pocket. "Bye."
I started to walk away but Nathan started to walk besides me. That was the last thing I wanted.
"What's your name?" he asked suddenly. It didn't surprise me that he didn't know. Our paths have never crossed until now, but I wished they hadn't.
"Rose," I say.
"Like in titanic?" he asked.
"Something like that," I say and then the bell rings. "Look, I'm heading to class so bye."
"I'll see you at lunch then," he said as I started walking down the hall.
"No, you won't," I whisper to myself as I pushed through the crowd of people.
I stop at my locker and quickly dial the combination. The faster I did this the faster I can get out of this hall. I quickly shoved some textbooks into my bag before slamming the door shut. The moment I turned around I nearly gasped when I was face to face with Mia again.
Mia was staring at me with hatred and her lips were pressed in a scowl. She always kind of reminded me of a Barbie doll by her appearance. Her hair was blond, and her eyes were blue. She was super skinny, and her ribs could clearly be seen through her cheerleading uniform.
Before anything could happen, Mia slapped her hand across my face. The sound was deafening and everything around us quieted down. Other students stopped what they were doing just to get a look of what was going on.
My head turned from the impact of her hand. It stung, and I knew my face was going to be red for a while, but it wasn't going to bruise.
"You need to know your place," she said with a smile on her face.
"And you need to learn not to hit people," I retorted back.
"You'll learn your place soon enough," she chuckled before walking away.
I let out a sigh and walked to class. This was going to be a long day.
____________________________________________________________________________
When lunch time came around I was honestly contemplating between staying in school or leaving. I was alone in the library eating a PB & J and there was an exit not even ten feet from me. The alarm would sound, but it would take a few minutes for security to get here, and by then I'll be long gone.
My day did somehow manage to get worse. I was tripped at least three times on three separate occasions, books were smacked out of my hands, and I was the target today in gym class during dodgeball. Stupid Mia with her stupid face being in my stupid gym class. Because of her I was pelted by foam balls by everyone, and by everyone, I mean people on my team joined in.
Now I was sore and tired and I just wanted to leave this hell hole. Quickly, I looked around just to make sure there was nobody around. There wasn't. I grabbed my bag and stood up. It took only four steps to reach the door. Slowly, I lifted my hand and grasped the handle.
"Skipping?" asked a sudden voice behind me and I nearly screamed. I released the handle and turned around to see Nathan standing behind me with a smile plastered on his face. "I never thought of you as a skipper."
"Hasn't anyone ever told you its rude to sneak up on people?" I asked as I placed my hand over my heart in an attempt to slow it down.
"Sorry," he said as he leaned against the table in front of me and crossed his arms. "Why are you leaving?"
"Because I'm having a shitty day," I told him, but I didn't expect him to care.
"Why?" he asked and that threw me off. Something about this seemed off.
"It's pretty obvious why I'm leaving," I said. "Why are you here? I never pegged you for a reader."
"I wanted to make sure you were okay," he said, and I narrowed my eyes at him in confusion. "You're new here and Mia can be a bit of a jerk sometime if things aren't to her liking."
It all made sense now. He thought I was new here and had the unlucky fortune of running into Mia. "I'm not new here."
"Really? Did you move here last year or something?" he questioned.
"Nope. I've been here since kindergarten," I sigh as I make my way to the door again. "If you don't mind, I'm leaving now."
"You know there's a camera there," he stated as he pointed to the ceiling and I swore to myself. I never noticed it before. "They'll know you left."
I dropped my hand in defeat and groaned. Now I was stuck here unless if I came up with another plan, but that was highly unlikely.
"You really want to leave?" he asked as he raised his eyebrows and I nodded. He reached into his back pack and pulled out a pencil before dropping it on the ground. I looked at him in confusion and he just smiled. "Ow, my head. I slipped on that pencil and smack my head on the door and it opened."
"Are you going to say that when security comes running?" I asked with a smile.
"Well, I'll be more dramatic, and I might even shed a tear," he chuckled lightly. "But if it helps you escape so be it."
"Thanks, I guess," I say before turning and walking out the door with the alarm sounding behind me.