DODGING THE BULLET
A TOTAL DRAMA ISLAND STORY
A/N: And so another story begins. I'm writing this really late, but I have no idea when I'm going to put it up. This one's a whole lot more in-depth then Life for Rent, and I hope you guys enjoy it as well. Also, a big thanks to Eternity's Angel of Mercy, with her story Dismantle, Repair. It greatly inspired me to write this
(though it won't be based on it). Read and review, please!
This story isn't a songfic, but a few good songs that I think inspired me:
Whatever It Takes, by Lifehouse
I'm in Love with a Girl, by Gavin DeGraw
Time of My Life, by David Cook
Keep Holding On, by Avril Lavigne
Sorry for the extra long A/N, I just was to kick this story off right!
CHICAGO718
--
CHAPTER ONE: SECONDHAND SMOKE
--
Courtney Anderson sat in class, trying to take notes and block off the childish banter of her classmates.
There wasn't really a teacher teaching, she was copying a paragraph in her textbook. Better safe than sorry, she always said.
Chris MaClean, her teacher, and an obvious drug addict (though the principal of the school was oblivious – it was clear she had a thing for him), was murmuring incoherently and making obscene hand gestures at what appeared to be himself.. There was an open bottle of wine on his desk, only a quarter full, and a drained crystalline glass with a crack running through the middle.
School these days, she had no idea why she even bothered to come. She would learn more from the crazy, rich old lady next door than from this addicted fool.
But then again, it was hard not to take advantage of the point in time: Duncan, renowned class 'bad boy', had gotten himself locked up in juvy. Again, this time for a longer period than ever: four months. It was nearly a record, he should have broken out my now.
Courtney…and she hated to sound sophomoric…but she hated his guts. If he dropped dead, in her opinion, the world would be a better place.
It might have only been her, though. He was in with 'The Clique' (at least that's what she called it). Also known as Trent, Tyler, Geoff, and DJ. It never ceased to amaze her. They never got tired of his endless tales of crimes he'd committed, of which there were plenty. And she was sick of it. How couldn't they see he was a jerk, a user? Maybe it was because of those reasons that they liked him, it occurred to her.
She did pride herself, however, on being able to see right through him.
But then again, she might have been the only girl of some sense in her class, besides Bridgette and Gwen. Heather, to be straightforward, was a bitch, Lindsay was a mindless blonde, and Katie and Sadie were wrapped up in their own world.
The boys in her class pretty much ignored her, only breaking that rule when asking her for answers on their assignments. And she was fine with that. She didn't know them, she didn't want to know them, and everything was fine, in her eyes.
She had been able to gather this much on her classmates, and she had only been here for a little less than one year.
Last year she had moved from the quiet, unremarkable but beautiful town of Jameswood, and the next thing she knew she was in a classroom with a drunken teacher in the middle of California. It was a chute from heaven straight into hell.
The only friends she'd managed to make were with Gwen, the sensible artist, and Bridgette, who was game to get along with anyone as long as they were willing. And Courtney had been a little more than willing, try desperate. She needed someone to lean on in this strange new place that she would probably never get accustomed to.
She remembered the day her mom had broken the news to her about the move. The horror. The California school district was sadly inadequate for Courtney. She needed the best of the best. And sitting pointlessly in a classroom with a teacher giving himself the middle finger and muttering something about 7-11, well, that just wasn't going to cut it.
There was only one thing Courtney could gather that had been an upside to the move from Jameswood to Huntington Beach: her new house. It was three times the size of her old one. It was painted a friendly blue on the outside with a pretty white trim. At that point, Courtney hadn't thought it was so bad. Her room was huge with a connected bathroom and a walk-in closet, the ceiling white and the walls a light yellow. There was a picture of a white bird sitting on a brown branch painted directly onto the wall in the space above her bed. There was a wall-sized window and white curtains that fluttered of you let in a breeze. Everything was just so modern and efficient, she loved it.
Well, that just shows that nothing's perfect. Far, far from it.
From the first day she'd hated Duncan, as soon as she saw a pack of cigarettes fall out of one of his backpack compartments. This just wasn't where she belonged. She was scared.
Duncan had winked at her, slipping the cigarettes back into his pack, then lit one and puffed right in the middle of the hallway, blowing the smoke in her direction. She'd waved away the offending odor, coughing, and hoping that she wouldn't get lung cancer due to the spread of secondhand smoke.
She momentarily shook herself out of her thoughts, re-copying a sentence in her textbook. She checked the clock, it was a few minutes before the bell. She packed up her stuff and was out the door when the bell rang before anyone else.
She grumbled inwardly to herself, stupid teacher, stupid classmates, stupid…life. She adjusted the huge pile of books on her arm, tucking them one by one into her locker.
Something hard bumped into her from behind, making the books spill from her hands to the ground to land in a disorganized heap.
"Sorry about that," a deep voice said, and a hand reached over, picking up four textbooks at once with one hand. She stared at it, amazed. She couldn't even pick up one textbook with just one arm.
"Oh, thank…" she picked up the last book and turned around.
It was Duncan, holding a stack of her books with a flat expression on his face.
"You?" Courtney exclaimed, studying Duncan's face. "You're back?"
"Why? Missed me?" Duncan said, the smug smirk winding onto his face slowly. His breath was so strongly minty that it made Courtney's eyes water.
"No," Courtney said, grabbing her things from his arms and turning around to stuff the books back into her locker so she wouldn't have to look at him.
"Yeah, well I actually got out on good behavior."
"You? I don't believe it," Courtney said, closing her locker and locking it.
"Well, I've decided to take a ride on the different side of the road," Duncan said, his arm still crooked in the same position it had been when it had been holding her books.
Courtney stared at him. "Does that mean you won't be in jail for a while?"
Shit, she thought inwardly.
"I'm going to be around her a lot more often, babe. I'll bet you're happy."
"Not even close," she murmured.
"See you, sweetheart," he said, winking and turning to catch up with Tyler and Geoff.