Here is the first chapter of what will be Temperance Brennan's entire past. Please R&R.
"Temperance!" called a curt voice from the front of the room. A woman wearing a hideous, grey, wool skirt, large glasses worn lower than the bride of her nose, a paisley, button-down shirt complete with frilly collar and tucked into the revolting skirt, and a bright read sweater worn over the shirt, although she kept her arms out of the sleeves, stood at the front of the room with a stern, glaring look on her face.
"Huh?!" asked the girl the woman had referred to. She had been lost in a daydream about the coming weekend. Her parents were taking her brother, Russ, and her skiing. They had said the cold weather called for it. It was now late December and the full storm of winter was fast approaching.
"Number twelve, Temperance," she stated, glaring at the girl. 'That girl will never amount to anything. Never turns in her homework or keeps her head in on the discussions,' thought Miss Jainkette, Temperance Brennan's English teacher.
"Oh," she said quietly, flipping through her notes for the answer to the question. "I think I misplaced that question," she said, looking up with a pained expression at her teacher. 'She thinks I'll never amount to anything. She's wrong,' thought Temperance.
"Very well, do number thirteen for us then," said her teacher, the redness in her cheeks boiling, ready to simmer or spill over the top depending on the response she got.
"I misplaced that one, too," Temperance said quietly.
That was the final straw. The teacher's eyes just about bulged so far out of her head they looked ready to pop out. The redness in her face had changed to purple and the veins in her neck were about to burst.
"Stay after class, Ms. Brennan," she stated calmly, despite her currently vicious mood.
Tempe winced at the words but slowly nodded. Suddenly she heard the window across the room open slightly.
"Marco?" a voice asked from outside. The voice was rough, but had an indescribable 'cool'-ness to it. Her face immediately lit up, a light behind her grey eyes flickering on, a smile spreading across her face. She glanced towards the window, trying not to get her hopes up to high, but she had recognized the voice from the single word he had spoken. At the slight glimpse of her brother her head whipped towards the source of the chilling air now flowing into the classroom. Her brother stood there in a leather jacket that only made him look cooler.
"Polo!" she replied with enthusiasm. He grinned back at her before closing the window and disappearing into the darkness of the winter day.
"Ms. Brennan, please try to concentrate on your studies rather than your brother's tactics of getting himself into trouble!" her teacher yelled at her sternly. Tempe's head turned back to her teacher with a frown. She nodded slowly before turning back to her notebook and doodling until the bell rang. She pushed her books into a small stack and tried to rush out of the room before the ugly woman could stop her but it was no use.
"Ms. Brennan," called the curt voice from the desk near the chalkboard. She slowly turned her head towards the teacher and edged her feet to the desk.
"Yes?" she asked.
"Ms. Brennan, you have no hope of ever being anything. You will be a failure your entire life. I still expect you to do the work in some form and pay attention in my class."
"Yes, Miss Jainkette," she replied with her usual words at any of these after-class meetings. She waited patiently for the 'you are dismissed' that usually followed.
"I'm not sure you understand, Ms. Brennan. I do have control over you. Your parents don't know about your horrible grades but if you disappoint me one more time they will. And a detention will come with it," she said with a curt smile. "You are dismissed."
A scared look crossed over her eyes before they went back to their normal emotionless stare. Slowly she nodded, before running out of the classroom.
I'll hopefully be able to post the next chapter tomorrow. I plan on this being very long since how much information it has to include. Reviews are greatly appreciated, especially with this being the first chapter.