"I want you to read chapter 8 of your textbook, there is going to be a quiz on it next week." My physics teacher announces and the whole class groans, "and no I will not tell you when, so you better prepare, class dismissed."
The bell rings for lunch, as the class scurries out of the class I quickly write down the homework and quiz page in my notebook.
Thanks to Miss Smith and James Anderson, I didn't attend homeroom, so I got a 2000 word essay on the American power plant or I'll have detention twice next week, I tried explaining, but the teacher didn't want to hear it.
I would have gone for detention, but I heard the delinquents in detention are not the type of delinquents which nerds like myself want to get mixed up, so I chose the essay. It's not that hard I can just google it and change it in my own words.
I arrive at the cafeteria and it is fully full if that's a saying. To say the cafeteria is crowded is an understatement, those people who always skip lunch to enjoy the best burritos in town are even here and this is all because of Will freaking Tucker!
Where in the name of cheese balls am I going to sit?!
I don't have any friends and I can't go to the library, I still haven't returned the book I borrowed last year, not that I don't want to return it, my cousin Peter, who is also a book nerd like me, came around last summer and he took it back with him to Canada. So the library is a huge no-no for me.
I slumped and was about to walk out of the cafeteria when I hear someone call my name, I turn around and see Jenny waving at me to seat with her. I look at her table and see that she's the only one there. Now that's an advantage of being a loner, nobody wants to be friends with you, so you don't tarnish their reputation, that is if they have one.
Oh, the beauty of high school hierarchy!
I tell you, there is nothing beautiful about that.
I smile and make my way over to her table. "Hey" I greet as I sit down.
"Hey yourself." She smiles. "Talk about attention," she says nodding her head towards the center of the cafeteria where the CPK seats.
"You don't like him, do you?" I ask as I unwrap my homemade sandwich.
"No, it's not him I don't like," she corrects, "it's the fact that they give him too much importance."
"This is the closest they'll ever be to a celebrity_" which is very lame. "_So give them a break."
"I know, but that doesn't mean they should worship him like a god." She scrunches her nose up in disgust.
"You know most of these people just want to win the competition," I say
"Oh I know, you see miss Barbie doll over there," she says pointing to the cpk table.
"There are a lot of Barbies over there, so you have to be specific."
"Yeah, right." She giggles, "Stephanie, your ex-best friend Stephanie."
"Okay?"
"You should have seen her at camp, following Will around like a lost puppy, I'm sure he gave her the award because he wanted to get her out of his hair," she says scrunches her nose. "You should have heard her song, it wasn't that good."
Ouch! I wrote that song!
I didn't want to say that so instead I said, "you went camping?"
"Yeah, as an instrumentalist." She boasts.
"What instruments do you play?" I ask with interest.
"The guitar."
"Cool, I play the guitar too."
"I thought you were more of a piano person?"
"Well I am, but I also play the guitar."
"Speaking of pianos, I love the way you played it at the school play last year, I could feel the emotion."
"I'm sorry, I can't tell if you're being sarcastic right now?" Because I know I wasn't putting on any emotion when I played last year, in fact, I was bored.
"What?" She laughs. "No, I'm not. I loved it."
"Well, in that case, thank you." I bow a little.
"My sister was Juliet in that play." She says.
The play the drama club performed last year was the famous Shakespeare book, Romeo and Juliet, I always showed up to practice that I thought if I ever heard any more Shakespeare I'd jump into the lagoon.
"Wow, I can't believe that." I can't believe your sister could participate in that boring play.
"She was so cool." I am a terrible person, in fact, I don't deserve any friends. I deserve to die in loneliness with my sixty cats.
"Yeah, I know. I slept through the whole play." Huh?! Well in that case I don't consider myself terrible anymore. "Don't you think it's unfair that those people helping in setting up for the competition don't get to participate in it?."
"What?!" I shout almost choking on my soda.
"Yes, it's on that stupid poster down the hallway."
How come I haven't seen that poster?
Maybe because you don't always pay attention to your surroundings.
"Why would they do that?" I ask
"I think it's to reduce the number of people participating in the competition because most of these people can't even sing." She whispers the last part and I giggle.
Well, there goes my superstar dream.
Hey?! Maybe if I sing one of my songs to Will Tucker, he'll let me audition.
"That sucks, cause I was planning to audition."
"Really?, I never knew you could sing?" She says sounding surprised.
"Yeah, I don't flaunt my talent around like Miss Barbie doll over there," I say pointing at Stephanie who is currently singing along with Will Tucker. I shift my gaze and my eyes meet James Anderson's who is busy making crying faces at me. I stick my tongue out at him and shake my head.
"That's great!" Jenny says making me look away from James and focusing on her. "Maybe you'll sing to me one day."
"Yeah, maybe." I chuckle lowly. I have this thing about singing in front of people, I can only sing to people I am comfortable with, like my mum, sister, and Stephanie, and that's why this ban is also an advantage. But again, am I supposed to become a superstar If I hide my talent.
"Anyway, I gotta go." She says picking up her bag and I follow her lead after dusting the crumbs of the bread in my hand. "Mr. Harrington wants to discuss the stage preparation with me and I don't want to be late to class." She says as we walk out.
Mr. Harrington is in charge of anything theatre in our school.
"No problem," I say crumbling my foil paper and throwing it into the dustbin and it enters perfectly.
"And she scores!" Jenny roars while I nudged her and started laughing. Having someone to talk to is nice especially if she's a loner just like you. Lame.
"Here's my stop," she says as we reach the teacher's lounge. "I'll see around, yeah?"
"Sure, bye." I wave as she walks into the office. I quickly walk to my locker to take the next class books. As I reach my looker I am attacked by Stephanie and Kimi.
"Ugh! What do you want?" If she wants to be mean to me, two can play that game.
"I never thought you'll replace me that quickly, but really? Jenny Reynolds? Really? Looks like you just lowered your standards." Stephanie sneers.
"There aren't any standards when it comes to making good friends, but of course you wouldn't know that," I say as I work on the lock of my locker.
"Yeah, whatever."
"Is that all you're here for?" I ask taking out my books.
"Well, no....." Kimi starts to say but was cut off by Stephanie.
"I need your lyrics book back." She says and I stop taking my books out of my locker as I turn to look at her raising my eyebrow in confusion. "I wrote something in it, so I need it back."
"You..need..my..lyrics..book," I repeat slowly, so I'm not the only one who thinks she's crazy.
"Yes." She simply says looking down at her manicured nails.
"The one you said sucks?"
"Yes,"
"The one you used to win the battle of rock?" I ask with a smirk.
"Yes, goddamit!. And I did not use it to win the battle of rock." She seethes.
"Yeah, and I didn't write you that song on your birthday," I say sarcastically.
"Look, Maria, I don't have time for this..."
"Neither do I," like I said I don't want to be late twice a day.
"But like I said I wrote something in it that I need to get back."
"Sorry about that, cause I don't have it."
"Liar!" Kimi yells.
"What do you mean?" She says scowling at Kimi.
"I mean, you said it sucked and I thought my dreams were over, so I burnt it." I lie, I'm pretty sure I just dumped it somewhere around my room.
"I know you wouldn't do that!" She says.
"What makes you think that?" I ask slamming my locker as the bell rings for the end of lunch.
"Because you never let what anyone says get to you."
"Exactly," I say sweetly before making my way to class. "Farewell ladies."
"I told you to be nice to her," I hear Stephanie say to Kimi as I walk down to my class.
"She's lying I'm sure of it.."
Well duh?! I'll never burn something so precious to me even if Chris Brown says it sucks.
Don't forget to vote & comment.
Hannah