Chapter 1

My eyes looked up from my paper and carefully scanned the classroom.

Karen's handed in her test already, Matt like always was eating in class secretly and Audrey was fiddling around with her thumbs not even bothering to attempt the stupid math questions. I glanced up at the clock and was surprised by the fact that it was 9:45 already. Great, that gave me 15 minutes left… another test incomplete.

I sighed and started to sketch a flower in the corner of my paper. It turned out horrible unfortunately. I looked behind me and I can feel my mouth turn into a grin. I'll face it, I hated math, and I hated literally ALL the subjects in school. I found all of them just too boring to pay attention too. Okay well- music's the exception, other than that nada. So I guess it's safe to say mathematics was my second favorite subject.

"Ahem."

WHAT?I focused my eyes back to the real world since I had been simply gazing off into space. I stared at what I had been staring at for the last 2 minutes. My eyes widened as he raises an eyebrow with a frown.

OH SHOOT!

I automatically faced forward, my face burning with embarrassment and fear. Just then the bell rang and I jumped to my feet, dumped everything into my school bag and I was the second to hand in the quiz. I hurry out of the classroom and down the hallway.

"Oof!" I collided right into a person. I lost balance and fell to the ground, my books went flying everywhere.

"Oh-sorry!" I hurriedly apologized as I start to pick my books off from the ground. I could hear giggles around me. The person I've bumped into gave no reply. Was he still even there? Whatever.

After collecting all my books I rushed towards the girls' washroom and locked myself into a stall. I drop my school bag onto the floor, lean against the door and sunk down to the ground.

I put my hand to my head to my knees and face the truth. Tyler Shanter had just noticed me… I was in big trouble.

The rest of the day passed without anything exciting, nerve-wrecking, or horrible happening. I had avoided him for the remainder of the day like usual knowing if I didn't, I'd be in big trouble. Soon it was my least favorite part of the day: Home time. I sighed as the bell rang. I got my lazy butt off from my seat in English class and trudged towards my locker. I grabbed my chemistry book and headed home by walking. Soon I arrived at the mansion on Bralvery street. I walked up to it, took out my keys and slowly opened the door.

"Cassie." A man's voice maliciously said my name and I can't help but shiver. He was sitting on the leather couch in our- I mean "his" living room. I felt like I couldn't even call this house my home, our home. "Where have you been? You were supposed to feed the cats half an hour ago and change the light bulb in Lara's room! You also forgot to get the toilet fixed and do the laundry!" my step-dad stated sternly.

I swear he's enjoying ordering me around.

I gulped. "Sorries! I'll get right to it!"

"Don't "sorries" me! How many times have I told you it's stupid to say "sorry" with an s?"

"I'm sorry dad! I'll do it!" I yelled back starting to feel annoyed.

"This house isn't the place for raised voices young girl." He said, his voice less projected.

Says the one who was shouting just five seconds ago. I gritted my teeth. I was about to point this out but then I remembered someone. She had said, "When in times of people acting agitating towards you, smile, pretend your patient, and try your best not to let your temper out. It's better for you not to explode your anger in front of the one who pisses you off, for he or she will probably just continue to do so. I'm used to it because I work with customers all day!" she had exclaimed as she scanned the packages of food I was buying. "The old ladies and men especially! Man they're so annoying! Don't tell them I said that."

I plaster on a fake smile, "Okay, I won't raise my voice and I will finish my chores."

"Hmm… you better," he grunted. He turned back to the TV and continued watching his typical daily crime investigation shows.

I turned away from him and start for the front door going to my so-called "room." I don't own a bedroom on the second floor like my adopted step-sister Lara. I don't live up in the attic like other certain Cinderella stories. And no- I do not sleep in the basement. All those places were apparently "too crowded to live in" which is what my step-father, Eric, had said.

I opened the door and stepped out into the fresh air, locking the door behind me. I walked to the side of the large house(remember it's a mansion) and into the back. I walked across the bright green lawn enjoying the summer scenery. The backyard was probably my second favorite place to be in on my dad's property since he and Lara almost never enter the backyard. It was extremely large with a white fence giving the square border, bright pink and purple morning glories growing on the fence and in the far left corner of the backyard, was a small garden, raised by me.

On the opposite corner was a little shed. Luckily it was made out of strong wood. It could last through the winter. However there was one problem: it had no heater. So what would I do on those cold winter days? I would stay at the mall or a coffee shop or any public place with a heater for as long as I could, then I'd be forced to go "home." Luckily winter isn't too cold, gives very little snow and doesn't last too long. A month is the longest, really.

You needed a key to get in. When I had been first dumped here, the shed had no lock. I ended up buying one and replacing the old doorknob with it, also getting a key.

I unlocked the door and went in. It was summer, so the shed was pretty warm. It had four glass windows; one on opposite sides of the shed, one on the upper half of the door, and one large one replacing a part of the ceiling. I had to admit I, in a way, was lucky to get glass windows in this wooden shed.

I dropped my school bag on the floor when I heard a vibration. My phone. No I did not buy it. I won it back in elementary school. A raffle you see… I guess luck was just on my side then.

Taking the phone and unlocking it, I saw it was a text…

Umm… I thought. I don't recall giving anyone at school my number. So perhaps it was-

"CASSIE!" Just then I hear my name being called. Lara. She was hurriedly knocking on my door and from the sounds of it, it sounded like she was angry… I gulped. I knew why she had come.

"CASSIE, OPEN THIS DOOR IMEDIATELY!" she continued to yell angrily. My heart sank, this was the reason I couldn't make eye-contact with Tyler, why I couldn't talk to him a single bit.

"CASSIE!" the voice got louder and I could tell not opening the door was making her even more furious.

"What do you want?!" I shouted back now sitting on my air mattress which was my bed.

"To talk to you of course!" she yelled, "Now stop being such a b-"

I flung open the door and stepped back.

"You little-!" she screamed stomping into my room. The blonde didn't look too happy.

"Look Lara, I didn't-" I started.

"Oh yes you did you little runt! You looked at Ty didn't you!?" Lara yelled furiously at me.

"What does it matter if I made eye-contact with him or not?" I asked. There were no senses in this girl. It was only making eye-contact!

"STILL! I don't want Tyler, the hottest guy in the school to be looking at a stupid, useless nerd like you!" Lara yelled. She continued to scream about things that made no sense to me. I sighed. Was this supposed to be an average teen? She was acting like one of those "bad girls" from those Cinderella stories. She was my step sister, adopted though.

She grabbed me roughly by the shoulders and pushed me down.

"OW!" I yelled. This was what I had feared at school. I had become very anxious since making eye-contact with Tyler.

She stared piercingly at me with rage and grabbed me by the collar. "You better listen to me, useless," she said very seriously looking me in the eye, "You talk or look at Ty again you'll-"

"Be sorry?" I finished for her. This was typical. The usual "you'll be sorry" threat.

She pursed her lips let go of me roughly and backed away from me acting all superior. "You better stay away from him, useless."

"Yeah- that's kinda hard to do Lara." I said sarcastically," He's in my math class, you know? It's just so hard to avoid him!"

I bat my eyelashes all innocently like Lara would in front of Eric to get what she wanted.

She rolled her eyes and stomped out of my "room."

Oh boy. I thought agitatedly.

I checked the text on my phone. It read: CASSIE! Get out of your little ghetto and start cooking dinner! NOW!

Typical Eric. I sighed as I trudged towards the mansion thinking about the science project due tomorrow. Another all-nighter was what I had to pull… preferably at the library, where there were computers. Life…was hard.