I OWN NOTHING
This is obviously an OC story so you must tell me if you thing it's a bit Mary Sue because that is my worst fear. Any feedback is good feedback so please review.
Enjoy
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As I general rule for my day/life/existence things have to keep on getting worse and worse and worse before we can even begin to contemplate the concept of better. And I'm well aware of this fact as I sit in school with a detention metaphorically hanging over my head; as a cheap pair of leggings that are in fact rather transparent clothe my legs; as I sit on a regular chair instead of the swirly chair because class decided to start with out me and as a paper cut stings between my fingers. It has to get better but it isn't.
It's a Friday morning so the teacher has moved me to the front of the class, because I tend to get a bit disruptive on Fridays. The fan on the ceiling whirs pathetically around in circles doing nothing to aid the fight against heat exhaustion and I once again wonder whether the teacher would find it rude if I attempted to hang myself from the projector.
"Miss Lawson, please pay attention! If I remember correctly you're failing this class," Mrs. Bosworth calls from the other side of the classroom, and like a wave all the faces in the room turn towards me, I twitch uncomfortably, puh-lease ma peeps nothing to see here. My mind is foggy and slow but I register Mrs. Bosworth's severe smirk and equally severe wrinkles are getting closer as she stalks towards me.
"But Miss that's not my fault," I try to get out, my mouth is dry and my voice is raspy, understandably so, considering I was almost asleep.
"No more of your excuses, I'm becoming increasingly tired of them, you need to pick up the slack and actually work Miss Lawson, because you aren't going anywhere until you do" she states scathingly as she hobbles towards me, I nervously note the way she's fondly stroking a meter ruler with one hand like she is just itching to whirl it around her head and strike an unsuspecting, innocent, defenseless pupil aka me.
"But, I've come to the conclusion that the reason I get D's isn't actually my fault," I continue anyway. "I get D's because my middle name begins with a D, so if it's anyone's fault it's my mom's for naming me such a failing name," I finish giving a little hey, what can you do shrug, broken snickers erupt around the room and Mrs. Bosworth glares at me in distain.
"Stand outside Miss Lawson, I'll be out in a second to have a little private chat," she demands turning away from me.
"Why?" I almost whine acting like I feel hard done by.
"Why? Why?!" she asks hysterically, stepping closer and gettin' all up in ma grill. "Because you're rude, disrespectful, lying, lazy, obnoxious, hopeless and verging on stupid, that's why," she snaps (in the mental sense as well). Please Miss stop with the lovin' you're embarrassing me.
I realize too late that I said the last bit out loud, oops, the class laughs uneasily, they seem equally aware of Mrs. Bosworth's freaky, sexual obsession with her ruler as I am.
"Get out," her greasy, rubbery face twists into ugly rage but her words are even and calm as she swishes her ruler of doom threateningly, I think I've out stayed my welcome.
"Your disrupting my education Miss," I say as I leave the room, I can feel everyone's eyes burning into my back and as I make my dramatic exit, don't worry kids, you'll be proud of me, I stayed sassy as always, even when I pushed repeatedly at the pull door and dropped my pencil case and had to kick it across the room. Don't judge me, I didn't choose the awkward life the awkward life chose me.
Lindz, on the not so sassy hand was going to flip like Gaby Douglas when she found out about this, this is the fifth time this week that I've been kicked out of lessons, I might not go home right away I might just be able to avoid the fit she'll throw if she falls asleep first.
Obviously I'm not going to wait outside the classroom, a psycho science teacher yielding a demonic cane is not my idea of a good time, so I keep walking down the down the abandoned corridors, my boot's squeaks and clicks being the only sound that echoes down the hall. My stomach lurches anxiously in response to the utter silence, it feels all wrong and unnatural, I've been out of class before and it's quiet but there's always an underlying buzz of energy, a few wanderers here and there, shouts and calls from an unusually unruly class, but today there's only silence. I feel suddenly very unsafe and claustrophobic in the confines of the stark school walls, an uncontrollable need to get out of this silent cage hits me like a bowling bowl in the gut, and it leaves me breathless and trembling. I forget about class and Mrs. Bosworth, about Lindz and her soon to be anger, all that consumes my thoughts is the exit, how far away is it, best roots, calculations of chance and predictions. It's like primal instincts have taken over me, fight or flight. Adrenaline pumps through my body as I start to run, not even for a second humoring the thought that this is silly and ridiculous, because I can hear irregular footfalls thundering behind me, and this feels really bad and really scary and I don't think I can risk it. The thundering draws ever closer and squawking and cries fill the air, they sound like animals, birds to be exact, they sound terrified and panicked and I want to turn around but don't for fear of falling. It feels like a stampede doing their thing behind me, like a wall of sound about to engulf me, rustling feathers, cawing, tendrils clawing at the floor, the smell is horrendous like a sweaty, hot farm enclosure filled with animals that hasn't been cleaned for months.
The door to the exit seems to glow at the end of the hall and I'm so close and I know I'm going to make it, the mysterious beasts are closing in on me though, I can feel their body heat radiating off them as a unit. I zero in on the double glass doors and push with both hands and they go swinging open with a bang. The warm stuffy air hits me and I feel someone grab my arm tightly and yank me out of the way of the stampeding… chicken ladies?! I look at them with mixture of awe and disgust as these winged, feathered things stream out onto the streets, oh my god I've finally cracked, this is it, time to book myself into the nut house, maybe I'll get a room with a view, and I'll get a private nurse to order around like a slave and no more Mrs. Bosworth, maybe it won't be so ba-
"You all right? I think you hit your head pretty hard against the wall here," I voice sounds to my left cutting off my inner ramble attack and then I realize for the first time that the owner of said voice has his hands wrapped firmly around my waist. I twist out of them and turn to look at him.
He's like the personification of the word 'mess', his sandy blonde hair is windswept and tangled with mud and various pieces of vegetation, a bruise shadows his eye, dirt is smudged all over his cheeks and his lip is cut, still I can see the outline of a handsome guy beneath the debris and blood, a certain glow to him that demanded attention, this guy knows he is hot and is unashamed. His blue eyes crinkles in amusement as I take an unsteady step back, the close quarters were in fact making me a little disorientated.
"No, no, I'm fine, I didn't hit it too hard," I mutter, my mind going completely blank, is this what denial feels like? Hhmmn interesting.
"Okay lets get going, I'm sure you'll want to meet Chiron, and see camp etc, etc, come on lets go," he says with a charming smile as he walks off, what the hell is he talking about? I'm about to walk after him when my mind whispers stranger danger, I wince; even in my head I embarrass myself. Whatever, the chances that this guy is a rapist is one in a hundred, those odds are fine. Sort of, not really, but I don't care, a herd of deformed chickens almost trampled me two minutes ago and I want to know what's going on.
"Wait, slow down, what's going on?" I run to catch up, my knees are still shaky and the adrenaline I had in school is draining away steadily.
"I don't have the heart to tell you to be honest but you'll find out when we get to camp," he drawls calmly. "So what's your name?"
"Laura here at your service," oh my god did I seriously just say that? At your service?! No! I'm done being me, that's it, I might as well just fly to Uganda and live with Kony, this is just too much.
He must have seen my mortified expression but he just laughs.
"That's nice," he says grinning, "I'm Caleb by the way, I am also at your service," he smirked, with a flirty glint in his eyes. Hey when I said it, it was never meant to be sexual, but if he wants to go there then who am I to stop him?
"Yeah I'm sure. Anyway how about you tell me what's going on, because I'm… erm… are you seriously leading me to a van? Could you even be more shady and murderer-ish if you tried?" stay cool sista you can handle this.
"I'm not going to kill you," he states casually opening the van door, "can you get in the car?"
"Please just tell me what happened in my school like five minutes ago? That's all I want," I ask tensely, irritation eating away at my nerves slightly as the throbbing in my head grows more insistent now the adrenaline's fading.
"Well it's all very complicated and we will get to it, you just need to get in the car and you'll find out at camp, so can you get in car?"
"Is this a joke? Firstly that is not a car, it is a van. Secondly you can't honestly, swear to god seriously think I'm going to go with you to some camp. I mean is it a boot camp? A summer camp? A prisoner of war camp? A concentration camp?" I question with a mocking edge that conceals my curiosity.
"How about if I say please get in the car?" I give him an incredulous look. "Okay please get in the van, same difference really."
"What? No! There is a difference, a vast difference in fact, especially when it comes to levels of creepiness!"
"Yeah, yeah, well take it up with The Big Man because it's not like I actually want to cruise around in a delivery van, it's not the way I roll," he says rolling his eyes.
"I don't care about the van! I just want to... no it doesn't matter actually, forget it, I'm going home," I say in the end as my shoulders sag, and the tiredness hits me, this situado is just way too crazy for a basic bitch like moi.
"Why are you being so difficult?" he asks in exasperation.
"Why? WHY?!" Oh god I'm turning into Mrs. Bosworth.
"Jesus, okay, okay, lets go get a coffee and I'll explain, you really need chill out though, you're making me nervous," he rolls his eyes and I want to wipe that smirk of his face.
"excuse you Mr. shut up and get in the van, I didn't realize that strangers chasing ugly hybrid birds through my school should be something I'm accustomed to," I feel drained, my head is really sore where I hit it, I think I'm going mad, and I'm not sure if I'm being kidnapped or not, I can not be dealing with his chilled out macho shit.
His amused smirk is the only way he replies.
The coffee shop bell tingles as we walk in, there are cute little fairy lights lacing everything, floral table cloths conceal the sturdy oak table sets, and the tea cups are all brightly colored and charmingly random. We take a seat and I notice how Caleb looks mildly disgusted, he looks so out place, dirty and ragged against all the prim and clean surfaces, it's almost funny.
"I need to call my aunt, she'll already know I've left school and won't know where I am," I start wondering if I'll regret having this conversation in front him. But like Yolo and all that shit.
"But school isn't finished yet," he notices.
"I know but my headmaster has Lindz on speed dial, so she'll know." We both grimace at the same time, I've come to accept it now though, Lindz likes to merge her business with my business and I can't do anything to stop it.
I dial the number slowly trying to prolong my freedom for as much as possible.
"Where the hell are you?! You little brat, I know you left school an hour ago; I've been worried someone might have killed you before I could!" Lindsay screeches through the phone before it's even reached my ear, the sound rings though the café and I wince.
"Why can't you try Laura? This is so difficult for me, do you realize that? I'm trying to keep you from getting expelled when you're off running around getting thrown out of classes! Ugh! I swear to god Laura when you get home…" she trails off, letting the threat hang in the air between us.
"Lindz, umm, hi," I say casually pretending her voice hadn't just made the whole cafe fall into silence.
"Why do you do this? You're so rude to your teachers; I thought I taught you better than this."
"She threatened to decapitate me, that is not what I call appropriate teaching," I try to amend.
"No she didn't-"
"Well not in those exact words! But she was getting her greasy face-"
"I don't care about her skin!" she interrupts me sharply.
"You would if your saw it, does she marinate in motor oil or what?"
"Laura I'm warning you, I'm at my wits end with this, I can't take it anymore. I know you're not stupid so I can't understand why you act as such. Mrs. Bosworth is the best teacher the school has ever had, she could have helped you, if you actually put the effort in you could flourish in that class," the anger is melting from her words leaving only disappointment, desperation, and tiredness.
I roll my eyes, "I'm stupid Lindz get over it. Besides I got full marks in the history test, so congrats to me for being a champion," I say dismissively trying to change the subject. I honestly try not to be a moody teenager with Lindz because I know it's an ugly trait but the hormones seem to be creeping up on me more forcefully recently and it takes all my will power not to hang up on her when she gets in these emotional moods.
"No Laura, don't you dare say that, is this a self confidence issue? Is this what this is about? Is it because you don't have many friends? Is that it? Because I'm sorry I can't help you more with it and I'm so sorry you don't have your parents, honestly I know I'm not your first choice but I try really hard to be the rock that you need," her voice is strained and thick, but good lord Caleb is right there, can she shut up, why is she so dramatic? I mean I have friends, I guess. Who does she think she is? Still her tone causes a little bit of tiny microscopic guilt to slosh around in my stomach.
"Of course you're my first choice; I don't know why you would think otherwise." I say shortly, and I hear heavy labored breathing at the end of the line. "Oh my God are you crying again? Seriously, why are you crying? Lindz can you not. You're turning into Kris Jenner and I'm just not comfortable with that."
"Okay, yes, yes, of course I'm sorry, we'll talk about it when you get home, hmm?" she asks between hiccups.
"Yeah, sure, whatever, my phone is about to die, so over and out, deuces," I announce hanging up on her, oh lord I think I'm having an allergic reaction to all those emotions in that conversation.
"That was interesting," Caleb says with a smirk and it's meant to be a joke but it's badly executed and timed even worse, so it just makes me want to slap him, and yes I realize that it is very extreme. So shoot me.
"If I remember correctly you had some explaining to do," I reply tensely, flipping my hair over my shoulder and giving him a glare.
"Yes well basically to sum it up, you now have to say oh my gods, rather than oh my God," he says leaning leisurely back on his chair, like the sentence he had just said meant a scrap of sense.
"You are going to have to start at the beginning."
"Beginning, shemiming, what's the big hype about the beginning anyway?"
Oh boy this was going to be a long day.
Please review xx