October 19th 1998.
Dylan woke up in the car and looked around and out of the window. A school was outside. James woke with a long groan and grumbled slightly. He sat up and cracked his back and ran a hand through his hair. She looked at her older brother with a frown. Their dad was looking at a map and a compass. Dylan sat up in the back seat and stretched.
"You two ready?" He asked. Dylan grumbled slightly and walked out of the car. James followed her. His blood red hair blew in the slight wind of Nebraska. "I'll be back in a week, keep the phone on you at all times, the motel is on the first in the yellow pages under Mike Chadwell." Dylan and James nodded and walked towards the school.
"So we're staying here for like a week? Awesome." Dylan grumbled. James rolled his eyes.
"Oh come on." He said. "We have a motel room, money, no one to look out for us, we can do whatever we want. Do you have your books?" Dylan nodded. "Phone?"
"Yes."
"Butterfly knife and salt?"
"Yes, now let me go to my classes will you?" James nodded. Dylan walked to the principal's office with James and then to her first class. The English teacher, Mr. Morris, stood with her at the board.
"Now class, this is Dylan Wesson, would you like to say anything about yourself?"
"Not really." Dylan said and half-watched her class. They looked half interested. She walked down the rows to a free seat and slumped down. Some of the girls looked at her and she raised her eyebrows at them. They looked away. The guy sitting to her right smiled at her. She looked up at her teacher.
"I would like you to write a story about your best summer, it's for our writing program, it is not a fictional story, but write as well as you can of course." Dylan looked at the guy sitting to her left. He was picking at the boy in front of him. He was rather skinny and looked like he couldn't fight. The bully was rather big and looked frightening.
"Hey." Dylan murmured. The guy looked at her. "Stop it." She said.
"Shut up." The guy told her and went on to flick his ear again.
"Hey, stop that!" She said irritably.
"Do you want to take his place?"
"Yeah." Dylan said irritably. He looked a little surprised. The bell rang and the short, skinny kid pretty much ran out of the room.
"Hey." The guy to Dylan's right said. "That was really cool of you, standing up for Oliver. I don't think he's too stoked, but it was nice of you. I'm Duncan." Dylan shook his hand.
"Dylan." He nodded. They walked out of the classroom.
"So, new kid, how's it working out?"
"Well that guy…" she pointed to the bully, "hates me." Duncan smiled.
"That's Johnny, he's a bully. I've only been here a week so he hasn't killed me yet."
"You move a lot too?" Dylan asked.
"Army brat." He said. "My dad's a devil dog."
"He's a marine? Cool." Dylan said. She looked at her locker and opened it.
"Most people don't know that. You move around a lot?"
"Yeah, cause of my dad's job, he moves a lot so."
"Wesson." A voice said behind her. She turned around and found Johnny standing there, holding Oliver by his collar.
"Yes." Dylan said.
"Sure you wanna switch places with him?"
"Let him go!" Dylan said. Johnny let Oliver go and grabbed Dylan's collar instead. She looked down at his hand and looked at him with interest. "Let me go dude." Dylan said.
"You wanted to take his place didn't you girly?"
"Johnny let her go." Duncan said.
"Shut up James."
"If you don't let me go within three seconds I'll make you let go." Dylan said calmly. Johnny laughed. Dylan shrugged, grabbed his arm, stuck her hand through around his arm and twisted him around and kicked him in the stomach so he collapsed slightly, doubling over. Duncan looked impressed at Dylan. She smiled. Johnny stood up and slapped her across the face. She stroked her cheek.
"Johnny, with me, now!" A teacher said. "You okay Wesson?" Dylan nodded and cracked her jaw and rubbed her cheek.
"That was amazing." Duncan said.
"Hm?" Dylan asked.
"You kicked his ass, amazing, you're like yey tall." He said and indicated with his hand. Dylan rolled her eyes and pulled out her books.
"Dylan." James's voice called as he came walking down the hallway. Dylan groaned slightly and closed her locker. Her brother reached them and he grabbed Dylan's chin.
"Ow." He looked at Dylan's cheek and turned her face to both sides. "Would you stop? Ow."
"You're not the one who's supposed to get into trouble, I'm the one who gets into trouble. Who are you?" He asked Duncan.
"He's in my class, would you stop touching me?" She hit his hand away. "He was a bully and I stopped him hitting another kid, now would you stop with the fidgeting?" Duncan smiled. "I'm going to class, go back to your girls and stuff." Dylan said and shoved him off.
"If dad saw this he would be furious."
"Well dad isn't here, now go." She started walking and Duncan followed.
"I'm gonna kill this kid." James grumbled.
"Your brother?" Duncan asked. Dylan nodded.
"Idiot." She grumbled. "He gets into fights all the time and I get in trouble for once, and he acts all superior." She murmured. Duncan smiled.
"Well you were good to Oliver." Duncan said. Dylan shrugged. "So where did you learn to fight?"
"When you have an older brother that all sort of just comes with the upbringing, especially for girls." Duncan smiled.