I'm telling you, juggling is quite enjoyable. I'm no longer stuck to one specific category. I have more options! :D Anyway, this one's dxc and the one I predict to be the longest of the three. So dxc fans rejoice. lol
It was the first day of school, the first day after the move, the first day to start anew…and she hated it. She'd loved her old home, school, and tight nit group of straight A friends. She hadn't wanted to leave, not even a little. But they, her parents, didn't listen. Despite the countless hours she'd spent protesting, blackmailing, and purposefully failing school they ignored her. The didn't care about her opinion. They only cared about themselves. At least that's what they'd basically told her. They'd said 'Honey, it'll be fun. A new opportunity, an aid to your resume.' When she complained about this answer, they replied simply, 'This place is old, tired, worn, boring. You're to young to understand it, but in the end you'll love it too. Trust us.' She pretended to trust them, but deep down she loathed the idea more then ever. She practically wanted to pull out a knife and stab the both of them for their bull crap. Only she didn't. She took a deep breath, told herself that the satisfaction wasn't worth the price she'd have to pay and went on. And that is how she wound up stuck in this screwed up mess. They drew her to the car with the enticement of a fake contest for gifted students, held her down once, halfway there, she fully realized the malarkey of their words, and then shoved her out onto her butt on the new driveway upon arrival. They asked her to help unpack after she quite pitching a visible fit, knowing all the while she'd say no. And she did. She gave them a dirty look and stomped into the house, up the stairs, and into what she deemed to be her room, slamming the door after her. This was where she was now too after a long night of restless sleep. Sleep being used very loosely.
The slender brunette sighed irritably, the realization of where she was setting in on her. She glared out the window at the burning sun, despising the light after what felt like so little time. Already there was a negative to pile up on the list of crap. She rolled over to her right then, glancing at the clock. Seven o'clock. "Damn it…" she cursed under her breath, rolling back to face the wall. "Five more minutes…" she breathed, conscience fading in an instant, unlike the rest of the night before, due to the wonderful fact that brains liked to piss people off by making it easier to sleep when one couldn't.
It didn't feel like but a minute when the sound of her mother's high pitched voice pierced the silence and Courtney's in the process of forming dream. "Courtneeeeyyy!" When, in the next thirty seconds, there was no response, another yell issued. "GET. UP." the door flew open, slamming back against the wall with incredible force.
Courtney jolted up into a sitting position, screaming, "I didn't do it! I swear!" She was clutching her hands to her chest, finding it hard to keep the delicate forms from shaking uncontrollably. She then tentatively moved her gaze from in front of her to her blonde haired, green eyed mother, a scowl forming. She was no longer quite so scared of the dream, knowing it had not been real. At least not completely. Some of it, unbeknownst to her, had or would truly happen to her and her family. "What?" Courtney hissed, eyes narrowed into slits.
"Don't what me!" her mother snapped. "You know how important it is to be on time for school! Especially the first day!" she whined, sighing irritably in a way identical to her not so alike looking daughter. "You must be perfect." she added, hands clenched into tight fists.
Courtney emitted a low threatening growl as a warning to her foolhardy mother. "I don't care." She answered curtly, looking back to the window which still sent a beam of blinding light into her beautiful emerald green eyes. She cringed at it, having forgotten that the positioning of this god forsaken room sucked worse then ever.
Her mothers eyes shot open wide. "W-What?" she choked out, shakes working their way into her body, but not from sadness or fear, it was due to pure anger. "You did not just say that." she hissed, looking about ready to explode. But her mothers anger didn't faze her. She was so used to it that it was the equivalent of something as natural as eating. So as her mother went on and on and on she merely zoned herself out. She didn't want to hear what her mother had to say.
"Shut up mom!" Courtney snapped, hopping off the bed to her feet. "I'm going!" she didn't agree to get ready because she was giving in to the annoyance that was her mom, she agreed because she missed school. The summer was so depressing for her that, despite her newfound hate of her new surroundings, she couldn't stay away. No matter how badly rolling over would please her she couldn't let herself do it. She needed a way to forget the shittiness that was her life. And she was finally grasping the fact school was her way out. "So get!" Courtney bellowed, pointing at the door, venom dripping from her words as well as her body language not matter how odd the latter sounds.
Her mother glared at her a minute more before snorting indifferently at her daughter and turning about sharply on her heel. It wasn't to noticeable, but as she slammed the door back shut her middle finger flipped up, visible to Courtney for a fraction of a second.
Courtney shook with fury for a moment more before doing as a counselor had once told her to do in stressful times and breathed deeply inward, exhaling soon after. It helped. She once again had control of her body. Mind you she still wanted to kill her mother for being such a controlling bitch, but not enough to act on it. She then coolly walked over to the mirror hanging from the sea blue walls. It was old, obvious by the crack that stretched halfway across it diagonally. She frowned at what she saw. It wasn't right. Not the same as the girl she'd seen before this whole mess started. The once sleek shiny hair was dull and lacking of color, her emerald green eyes once so full of life were drained to the point she felt they belonged to another person entirely, and her dark skin which was always so clean now had dirt caked all about it. She needed to take a bath, she knew, but there wasn't time. Her first impression would be an awful one because of it too.
She sighed, moving away from the mirror, leaving her God awful appearance behind so she could look for suitable clothes. She dropped to her knees by the boxes in the corner of the room and carefully opened the one labeled 'Summer Clothes.' Granted it wasn't exactly summer anymore, but it was still warm enough to pretend. She dug through the piles of clothes, tossing the ones she hated to the side for her mom to deal with during the day or herself when she felt like it. Shortly after the pile had reached a height of two feet she found what she wanted. It was her favorite outfit, the one she always wore on the first day. She did this in order to come off as anything but a slut, she wanted to make sure all guys realized she was much more invested in her school work then them. It wasn't summery, so why it was always classified as such was beyond her, but it never failed to be in the section 'Summer.' She pulled it out easily, hugging it close to her chest. After cherishing the memories it brought to her she laid it on the bed and smoothed the creases which it garnered from the lack of use completely out. She smiled faintly at the accomplishment. "Time to put you to good use." she nodded, pulling her nightgown up over her head and swiftly replaced it with her green Capri's and gray top with the cuffs of the sleeves and bottom fourth being white. "I'm…beautiful…" She murmured, not really believing it, eyes full of immense displeasure and pain.
"Courtney!" it was her dad this time. "Do you want me to take you to school today!" he called up, sounding loud but not harsh like her mother had earlier.
Courtney perked, glancing back at the clock to see it was already seven fifty-eight. She took in a sharp breath. "No!" she cried to herself, dashing for and then flinging open the white door to her room so she was able to sprint toward the bathroom. She brushed her teeth vigorously, making sure to get rid of every bit of accumulated particles from the night before. She then clumsily put on a bit of blush so that she didn't quite look like a monster from the swap, and pulled off a few other fast paced odds and ends before starting back into her run. This time she was heading for the stairs. Once at the bottom she looked about herself furtively, searching for both her father and a brush. She found him first.
"Hey sweetie." he cooed, walking up to her and ruffling her hair. "Ready to-" he stopped mid-sentence, finally taking in his daughters appearance for what it was…a mess. "Um…" he muttered, rubbing the back of his neck nervously. "Are you ready?" he sounded tentative and almost afraid of the answer but, unlike her mother, he would not come right out and tell her that she was a wreck because he figured it was Courtney's intentions and he didn't want to make the first day any harder for her.
"No!" she snapped, rolling her eyes at him. "Just because I don't want to be here doesn't mean I'm stupid. If I'm stuck here then why burn bridges by going out looking like a hobo?" she snorted. "Really dad." she turned away from him, immediately regretting her words. He hadn't done anything to her. He had tried his best to be nice. She supposed this fit right along with the saying 'nice guys finish last', especially in her screwed up family. She saw the brush sitting on a coffee table in the center of the room. It wouldn't be it's official position though. She knew very well that by the time she got back from school today everything would look perfect. Her mom would make sure of it.
Courtney grumbled something under her breath as she picked up the brush and ran it continuously through her greasy brown hair and turned back around to face her father. She sighed, "Dad…I didn't…"
He held up a hand, chuckling lightly. "You didn't mean it. I know." there was a twinge of bitterness in his voice as he reminisced about the many times Courtney's mother had convinced him to say the same to her.
Courtney sensed the tenseness floating into the air and quickly made to distract him and her both. "Dad, are we going?" she half demanded, tapping her wrist to indicate what the time was despite not having a watch.
Her father nodded slightly, smile gracing his lips once more. "Sure honey."
"Great!" she said as 'thanks'. "Now c'mon!" She added, throwing down her brush to grab a hold of his wrist and drag him out the door towards the car. And much like her parents had shoved her out of the car the day before she shoved him into it, shutting the door in his face before swinging around to the passenger seat, opening the door to the sleek black SUV, jumped in, and latched her seatbelt about herself. "Now drive!" she commanded, pointing ahead. As they pulled out of the driveway she made sure to shut the door so as not to create problems further down the road.
And so they drove hastily on, neither realizing how their desire to be on time would change their lives forever.
Far on the other side of town Duncan, the local delinquent was starting to stir. It was eight o'clock for him. "Duncan!" a woman's sweet voice called to him. "Duncan?" she said softer still, slowly opening the door to his room to peek around the corner of it. "Honey, it's time to get up."
Duncan grumbled a series of curse words under his breath, rolling over to face his short, skinny, blonde haired mother. Five more minutes mom." he paused to yawn. "I won't be late this time." he insured, not meaning a word of it. He would definitely be late. He rarely ever wasn't. And she knew this, much more so then his dad at least. He had to go to truancy court multiple times a year and, since she loved him dearly and hated seeing him being yelled at, she would make an excuse up for the both of them to get out to the hearing. His father never was there, never knowing about the ordeal at any point after. This pleased Duncan greatly which in turn pleased his mother ten times more. She was the definition of a parent being wrapped around their child's finger.
The high maintenance woman bit at her nails, uncertainty flashing in her baby blue eyes. "I don't know…" she muttered in a hushed tone. "It's the first day and…" she trailed off, catching Duncan's icy stare.
"Mom." he growled coolly. "Just go to work." he smiled softly, eyes widening to form the perfect 'good boy who wants nothing but his parent to be happy' expression. "You don't want to ruin your perfect record. Unlike me who has nothing left to blemish." he chortled lightly, propping himself up, his head resting easily in his large palm. "Besides…" he waved his free hand about in circles for some reason or another. "We live right next door to the school. I don't need a ride." he smiled amusedly at her, waiting for her inevitable reaction of embarrassment.
She grinned sheepishly over at her boy, a light blush rising to the surface of her face. "You know me." she shrugged her shoulders, looking over at a poster of a zombie impaling a citizen on the wall adjacent. "I can never worry enough about you and your safety. I-" she stopped as Duncan's deep voice cut her off. Although, for once, she'd expected this from him. He loved mocking her for this silly saying of hers. In fact, she'd grown to love the closeness it created for them.
"-only want what's best for my little baby. You're my world. I know mom. You tell me, every. Single. Day." he sighed in mock frustration, falling onto his back in the bed to illustrate how much it killed him. But he made sure to smirk at her to be sure she understood he was only playing. He knew for experience that she had extremely delicate feelings. One had to be very careful with her.
Her smile widened greatly and she full out laughed. "I can't help myself." she admitted, silliness dying away as she glanced wide eyed at the watch on her wrist. "Oh goodness!" she brought her hand to her mouth in surprise. "Gotta go!" she twirled around, scurrying off toward the front door. But of course she had to say one last thing over her shoulder moments before the door shut behind her. "Be good!" she told him this every day that was important, i.e. the first day, club day, days with a dance after school, and most importantly the last day. The day before freedom was always the day that tempted Duncan to do mischievous things the most, much like the first day where he had to assert his dominance over all the other measly kids in the school. This year it was especially true because he was on the top, a senior. It would be his last year in the dump that was high school and as such he had to make sure to leave the biggest impression imaginable on all for which he'd forever be remembered.
Duncan's trademark smirk spread across his light skinned face, a light dancing in his eyes that had been missing since the end of school last year when he pulled a prank of bringing a herd of cattle to the school and stuck them in as many classrooms as possible. Nothing could ruin how high up and ready to go he was feeling, not even the time before his face. Eight Five. "Oh well." he shrugged, rolling off the bed and onto the floor, catching himself with both hands and the tips of his toes so that he could immediately start doing push-ups. He wasn't in love with the idea of hard work, but he was however incredibly in love with the strength and good body it gave him. Not to mention it attracted a heck of a lot of hotties. "One…two…three…four…" he huffed to himself, his heart pounding in his ears and drowning out the ticking of the clock on the wall.
After five minutes straight of this activity he jumped smoothly up to his feet, breathing heavy as sweat formed on his brow. He wiped it away with the back of his hand and headed lackadaisically over to his black dresser. The surface was hidden beneath layers of useless junk he had collected over the years. There were a couple of old clothes he'd either stolen or grew out of balled up, an assortment of his piercings in a little pile, some lipstick random girls had given him, hair pieces, lockets, there was even a poster with his favorite band which one crazy obsessed girl got signed by them just so he would 'go out' with her. He didn't know why but he kept it all. But really the only thing he cared enough about to take with him everywhere was his black dog collar with teal tinted spikes jutting out from it. And this was what he was looking for. He found it right where it always was, sitting on top of the lamp he threw it on every night. It had been given to him by his grandfather a few years ago not long before he died. It may sound odd for someone so old to give a gift so creepy to their grandchild, but his grandfather wasn't exactly normal. He had touches of schizophrenia which made him believe heavily in demons and ghosts so as a 'guard' he carried around the collar. Duncan never believed in the so called powers of the trinket but that hadn't kept him from hanging on to every one of the old mans words. And that's why, when given the chance to keep what his grandfather had loved so much, he gladly took it. He wanted so much to remember him forever and be able to retell his bizarre stories, no matter how fake they'd been.
Duncan shook the memories away, snatching the object from its place and snapped it tightly about his neck. He wasn't sure why he'd taken it off in the first place, but like most little things it made no difference. He adjusted it a bit, watching himself in the mirror, before trotting over to his walk in closet on the wall opposite his bed. Although there was so much junk piled up in there it wasn't much of a walk in closet as it was a keeper of limitless things. He chuckled lightly, rubbing his hands together, before he dove into it. He swam around in the filth for a while, finding what he wanted right on the very bottom. It was his trademark shirt and jeans which he made sure to wear on most days of the year, especially the first. It showed his personality through and through, making up for what the green Mohawk and piercings lacked. "Yes!" he cried as he burst from the depths of the clothes and trinkets to the surface.
He walked out smelling a mite bit worse then previously, shaking his body to get any clothes that stuck to his skin off. He noticed the clock then, eight twelve, but didn't worry. So what if he was a couple of minutes late? It would merely solidify the persona he wished to show people. However he did fasten his pace a bit as he threw on the skull t-shirt and faded greenish pants, moving on to the bathroom for a moment afterward. He turned the faucet knob to the right, clear water spilling forth. He was still a bit drowsy so this was a must. He cupped his hands together and held them beneath the chilling water. It sent a chill through his body, but he ignored the fact. Duncan splashed his face a split second after, the cold water hitting his face like a wave on a beach and did as it was intended, waking him up. "Done." he nodded, wiggling his eyebrows at himself in the mirror. He loved his reflection, but he wasn't vain. He was merely thankful he was so gifted in the looks department unlike his father.
He made a face at the notion of his father's face before turning from the bathroom and heading down the narrow hallway to the front door. For you see he didn't own a grand house as Courtney did. His was only a one level home which grew increasingly harder to live in. But they managed. Much like he managed to get by school each and every year. A miracle. As he exited the tiny house he snatched his father's watch from the floor, clipped it around his wrist and took in the time. Eight thirteen. "Better run." he said to himself, breaking out of his slow paced walk into a full fledged sprint. He went faster and faster as the seconds sped by, all his surroundings becoming a blur. Many said he should be in track, but as much as he wanted to he couldn't. He didn't have the money. But that's not what he told them. He acted as if the notion interested him very little. Such a boring topic for someone with as exquisite tastes as himself. But all the while, deep down, it hurt. Every lie, word, and deceitful action towards topics that involved their money made him cringe. So he tried his best to avoid it, even in his own mind. Just like now as he hopped the fence surrounding the school. It was an amazing sight, he didn't have to stop for the slightest second. He just took a hold of the metallic material, locked a foot in a hole, and thrust himself up and over to land softly on the other side. He paused then to get his bearings but took off like before immediately after. His feet pounded on the black asphalt, heart beating faster in his ears every step he took, breathing heavy, sweat covering his body. He had the slight feeling in the back of his head that he might pass out but he paid little mind to it, instead concentrating hard on the doors of the quickly approaching school. And it was this intent that made him oblivious to the girl who was also growing closer to him.
"Thanks dad!" Courtney yelled over her shoulder, waving in a nonchalant manner. "And love you!" she decided to add after thinking about it and realizing no one would be there to hear her moment of weakness. One of the few times she allowed her guard to slip for an instant so she could admit she cared. It was this distraction of being weak that held her attention, that and getting in school before the bell rang for class. Thus in the next moment the two collided.
Duncan stumbled back, gripping his head tenderly as his brain rattled in his head from the contact of their foreheads. "What the hell!" he barked, scowling down at the girl will pure malice.
Courtney was smaller then the average girl under normal circumstances, but compared to Duncan she might as well have been a rag doll. Hitting him at the rate he'd been going knocked her off kilter to the point she was thrown back onto the concrete with a thud. She made a squeak like noise as she fell, making sure to look up at whatever she'd ran into. Upon seeing it was no one of great value, a punk, she returned his scowl, looking deep into his teal colored eyes. "It's your fault!" she snapped instinctively.
"Me!" he recoiled in disgust. "You should have looked where you were going!" he sighed irritably.
"Yeah right!" she scoffed. "Do you know how fast you were going?" she pointed back in the direction from which he'd come. "We wouldn't have hit if you had been going the normal speed for a human being!" she crossed her arms, head held high. She was one of those girls who refused to lose a fight, no matter how trivial. The thought of school was long gone from her one track mind.
He snorted amusedly at her. "Yeah. You got me. I'm an alien." he smirked slightly, hoping getting a rise out of her would give him relief from his aching head. "That's why I'm so fast."
She shook with fury. "Shut up!" she bit back, hopping up to her feet in an instant. "Just say you're sorry!" she demanded, jabbing a finger at Duncan's chest. "NOW!" she stamped her foot impatiently.
He chuckled lightly. "Fraid not princess. I'm not that kind of guy." he put a hand on his chest indicating himself. "I don't say sorry, especially not when I didn't do nothing." he shrugged lightly. "Sorry."
This furthered her anger another ten degrees or so. "You're such an idiot!" she gripped her free hand into a tight fist, leaving the other to grip onto the books more tightly then previously. "And it's anything! Not nothing! Take an English class." she wanted to say a mouthful more to this Neanderthal, only she wasn't sure if he was the type to run off and tell. Whether he told the principal or his possibly high up parents it didn't matter. It would wind up getting around and damaging her spotless reputation which was the last thing she needed right now. So instead of running her mouth she swiftly turned on her heel towards the school.
Duncan smirked contentedly. He didn't care much for this girl at all, she seemed to bitchy, but for a one time argument used to control a headache she sure did what she was supposed to. And in a way seeing her blow her top was fun. It was this factor that pushed him to follow after her. He was quick to catch her, sliding in between her and the door to the school just as she reached for the handle. "Aww, come on. Leaving so soon?" he questioned. He didn't care what she did. She could kill herself as far as he was concerned.
Courtney sent daggers his way, a redness attributed to anger rising in her face. "Get. Out. Of. My. Way." she said each word as if it were it's own sentence, teeth clenched to prevent worse words to come spewing from her mouth. "Now." she added after a second.
His grin broadened. "What if I don't?" he asked playfully, eyes widening.
A hissing sound erupted from her throat, but she refrained from saying anything. She merely threw her head into the air in a conceited manner, turned to her right, and made to go around the punk.
He saw her move before she could complete it and easily moved with her. This was pretty fun for him. He only wished he didn't have to be late to have this kind of fun. "I don't think so."
It was becoming harder for her to keep control of her tongue and body. She wanted to murder this inconsiderate hooligan! Didn't he realize the bell would ring any given moment? She'd never make it to class in time. Not unless hers was right inside the doors. Still she didn't want to snap at him again and tried to see if moving back to the other door would work.
Of course it did no good. Duncan went back and forth with her, like a game of ping pong might have worked. "Talk to me." he pleaded, stretching his arms out wide as she picked up her speed and attempted to dart past him in a less then collected manner. The books in her hand weren't making this any easier either.
She was extremely worked up now, on the verge of tears even. She couldn't be late. No. Not on the first day. This was an impossibility. She hadn't been late a day in her life. So now was not the time to start, not her junior year. "Get the hell out of the way!" she finally let loose, throwing her free hand in the air. "Don't you get it! I'm going to be late! You're going to be late too! That bell will ring any freaking second! Does that mean nothing to you!" she spat, inches from his light skin, such a contrast from her own mocha skin.
He frowned lightly, raising half of his unibrow as he looked back at the door. He knew how he should answer, saying that why on earth wouldn't it matter. Because it should matter. To any other boy she asked the answer would be instinct, but not him. As much as he wanted to care he just didn't. Never since elementary school had he cared about anything but girls and fitting in with all the other bad kids. "Nope." he said shortly, small smile returning. He was imagining her response.
"God!" she screamed to the sky, a rumbling sound issuing in the distance to accompany her distressed outcry. "What is wring with you!" she lightly hit her head to emphasis he had brain issues.
"Everything." he said in a much more serious tone, his bright wide eyes losing some of their shine and returning to their regular size.
She was slightly taken aback by how quickly his persona had changed. She blinked a couple of times to make sure it was real, anger faded quite a bit. Although the sudden lack of fury had very little to do with his change. She was just now realizing that the bell didn't matter for her. She didn't have a class to be in when it rang, she was free. If she wanted she could show up hours late and have no penalty. Of course she would never even dream of doing something so fool hardy, it was merely an option. One she figured this brute would love to have. "Just let me go." she sighed, rubbing her temples methodically.
Duncan snorted. "I said no." he shrugged, smiling once more.
"You -" she started, being cut off by the shrill ringing of the late bell. She shuddered at the sound, not liking the feeling she gathered from hearing it and not being seated in a classroom. It had never happened, so it was to be expected.
"Oops." he muttered in a mock apologetic manner, that brightness coming again to light up his whole face.
Courtney groaned in irritation. Just because she wasn't technically late didn't mean she wasn't fully pissed at the guy before her. She still had to get in the building. That hadn't changed. "Please." she growled through her teeth.
He hesitated upon giving her an answer, not sure if please was good enough for him. He smirked deviously when a better option popped into his head. "Hmm…nah. As sweet as it is for you to say please, I must say no." he lowered his arms back to his side because they were getting tired just sitting in the air. "But…" he trailed off, tapping his chin thoughtfully. "Maybe, if you kiss me." he wiggled his unibrow suggestively then.
Her eyes grew ten times wider in the moments that followed. "What! No! Never!" she recoiled with disgust and stuck her tongue out as if to hack up what she figured he must taste like. Bad.
"To bad then." he said simply, tucking his hands into the pockets of his jeans. He'd have to let her go in a minute though. If he waited to long his secret passage into the school would do him no good. Nobody waits forever, not even for a friend.
"That's it." she said only half to him.
He raised a brow in question to her soft words, but had no time to do anything more. A split second after her foot was jabbed into his crotch. He let out a high pitched yelp, collapsing to his knees immediately after, body shaking from the semi shock it sent him into. He stared up into her sinister eyes, trying his best to glare back at her while he practically doubled over in pain.
She snorted triumphantly, tossing her head back to throw her hair back behind her. "Next time you'll think twice about screwing with me." she said in a sing song tone, hands now on her hips. She felt so much better now. It helped that him being so far below him, completely at her mercy, gave her the feeling of a dominatrix. She knew what that meant too. She didn't find it healthy, but it was interesting to her. With a final nod and a devilish grin now on her lips she stepped around his crumpled figure and through the door.
Duncan watched as she went down the hallway until she vanished around the corner. "What a bitch." he groaned, slowly picking himself back up. "I hope she jumps off a cliff." he grumbled snidely, staggering away from the back door of the school so he could find his way to his secret entrance. He sure as hell didn't need an absence on top of all this shit. His mom would be so upset with him, and that was as bad as it got for him.
Courtney breathed in the fresh scent of this new place. It smelled like an abundance of flowers which she attributed to the fact that a lot of teachers probably had them somewhere in their rooms or in the cafeteria. So as she passed the room that was now void of life she made sure to peek in to see if she was right. She jumped back out the second she was in. The place smelled vastly different from the halls. She coughed and spluttered like an old car as she leaned back against the wall that formed the entrance to it. She would have sworn they had been manufacturing old sweat socks in there if she wasn't a hundred percent sure this was a cafeteria. "I hope it tastes better then it smells." she gagged, quickly moving on from the awful room. Besides, she needed to get to the office.
And get to the office she did. After a while of peeking in the windows of a few rooms she passed she found her way to the front of the school. It was much bigger then the way to come in. If she had been on this end she would've thought she were at a museum, not a school. The ceiling was raised high above her, giving it a dome like appearance. There were plants that looked to good to be real sitting all around the room, a to fancy to be a trashcan trashcan, and the tiles were made of some really elegant looking marble. She was tempted to bend down and touch it to see if it was as smooth as it looked when a voice snapped her to attention and made her jump a mile.
"Hey! Girl!" it was a blonde woman sitting over at the desk of the office. "What are you doing out here?"
Courtney looked over at her shyly, smiling with embarrassment. "Me?" she muttered almost inaudibly, placing a hand to her chest. "I…"
"Come here." the woman commanded, tapping her manicured nails rhythmically against the gray counter. "I can't hear you."
This served to further Courtney's already intense embarrassment. "O-Ok!" She swiftly jolted from her place over to the desk.
"Now what did you say you were here for? You're supposed to be in class."
From here Courtney could see that this lady was more like a stripper then a receptionist. Her shirt was shortcut, more like a mere bra then anything, she wore black pantyhose covered with a really short miniskirt, she wore mountains of makeup as well as had limitless jewelry hanging from all over, and upon further examination she had cartoons of cigarettes hidden in her purse. Courtney unintentionally made a face at his woman's slutty appearance and god awful habits. "I'm new." Courtney said distractedly, still not over the way this person looked.
"Mm hmm." she said with her nose instead of her mouth, reaching over to grab a pen. "What's your name?" she mumbled, resting her head sideways in her penless hand.
Courtney frowned at her. "Why not use the computer?" she asked lamely.
The woman scribbled in the corner of a piece of paper before looking coldly up at Courtney. "You're not in the system."
Courtney didn't want to make a bad impression so early on, but she was finding it hard to control the part of her that couldn't stand ignorant people. "Um…that's why you put me in there. So that I can make my schedule and stuff." she rolled her foot around the outlining of the tile, uncomfortable with undermining authority.
The woman huffed, puffing her cheeks out. "I'm leaving a note." she growled. "You can go home today. There's nothing I can do." she licked her lips, wrapping a piece of hair around her long slender fingers. "Now gimme your name." she repeated with much more sternness.
Courtney glared at the woman before her with as much malice as she had with Duncan. She was so easily frustrated. She knew it must be bad for her health. "Fine." Courtney said in the same manner as the girl at the desk had. "Courtney Manning."
"Age?"
Courtney frowned deeply. "Junior." she said as to evade the question of her actual age. She didn't like others, even the school system, knowing her age. That was the only reasons she wanted to be here at the moment. They'd find out her age based on her grade anyway. It was just one of her little quirks that she could do absolutely nothing about no matter what she tried.
The woman looked as if she might call Courtney out on her answer choice, but instead she decided to bury her annoyance in ashes. She drew from her purse a single cigarette and a lighter from out of her shirt, smoothly lighting the cigarette like she'd done it millions of times before. She brought the small item between her fingers to her lips, sucking in a deep breath and exhaling slowly. "Last lived?"
Courtney noticed she liked to keep her sentences as short as possible. It was actually kind of annoying for her. Then again, what wasn't? She sighed. "North Dakota."
The lady took another deep breath, exhaling again before saying shortly, "City?"
Courtney scoffed at the idea, folding her arms across her chest as a guard of the sorts. "I don't think so. If you want that you can get it yourself."
She rolled her eyes, scribbling a few more notes on the paper before dropping the pen back on the counter. "Fine. You can leave." she waved Courtney away, leaning back in her rolling chair to prop her slender legs up on the desk.
Courtney couldn't believe this was allowed in the school. Maybe immature freshmen could get away with something like it. But a staff member? It furthered her already high level of disgust toward this obviously low kept school. "I'm going to just sit around then." Courtney informed her, knowing she wouldn't give a damn.
The blonde looked up a half second as Courtney crossed the room, but largely did as Courtney predicted. She went right back to smoking the cigarette of hers and drew a magazine from a pile to skim through. She had plenty of time to kill. It was always this way at the beginning of school. So boring.
The woman's boredom was nothing compared to Courtney's. Added to the stack of her many flaws and minor things she couldn't stand was the tiny factor of doing nothing. Unlike most kids she had to do something. It killed her killing time. She wished she had homework to focus on, but it being the first day of school there was obviously none. She groaned lightly, leaning her head back against the wall. She needed to find a 'hobby' for the time being. She looked all about her, searching desperately for a task, no matter how trivial. She was mildly pleased when she decided to count the tiles on the floor to pass the time. This would definitely take a while.
An hour and five hundred tiles later she was bored once more. She let out an irritated sigh. She was amazed that she had gone through the floor so fast. "Boy does that sound gay…" she whispered to herself, leaning forward and clasping her hands together thoughtfully, lips resting on top of them. What else to do? She thought to herself, scanning the room another time. What else could there be? Counting the ceiling tiles? Or the specks on the wall? She shrugged, deciding on neither. Instead she chose to take a walk around the school. Though before that she made sure to set her books down beneath the chair.
"Where ya think your going?" the woman at the desk called as she noticed her stand and move to leave.
Courtney bit her lip, telling herself over and over again in her head that she mustn't snap or make so rhetorical comment to her. Although she didn't intend to stop either. So she merely said over her shoulder, "Out." She opened the glass door, peeking back at the woman. "But I'll be back."
The woman watching rolled her eyes at the strange teenager, never having understood or liked them very much. But it didn't bother her mind to long. She was soon back to reading her magazines.
Courtney walked at an average pace, making sure to take in her surroundings as she went as well as enjoy the outdoors. She rarely got to anymore. The pea green grass swayed rhythmically with the aid of the wind, forest green trees still as stone, only their branches and leaves moving along with the grass, and the bright blue sky was as serene as it gets, a few puffy clouds floating by at a snail pace. As she continued down the sidewalk she also noticed that the wildlife wasn't as obvious here in Canada as it had been in North Dakota, but it was still there. Squirrels bounced around the couple trees, playing a game with one another and she swore she glimpsed a rabbit dash past in her peripheral vision. It brought a small smile to her lips. Her barely their happiness grew deeper still as she fully felt the wind blow against her skin and through her brunette hair, cooling her down a couple of degrees. She hadn't felt this at ease in quite a while. All this business of moving, losing her friends, and even the boy earlier had left her flustered to an unbearable extent. It was nice to finally relax a little.
She was rounding the side of the building now, breathing in deeply, the scent of the fresh air filling her nostrils. Her eyes were closed as she did so so that she could better enjoy the smells swirling about her and the little feelings that came with it. Besides, she'd looked about her already, she was sure of where she was going. She wouldn't fall. At least that's what she believed. It turns out she isn't as good at measuring distance as she thought. She took one to many steps to her left and lurched forward, stumbling over into what could've been a traffic infested lane if it were the end of school. He eyes shot open immediately and she caught herself quick enough to stay on her feet. She praised her quick reaction time.
A cackle issued forth as she straightened herself back up, causing her to perk. "Way to go." an unfamiliar voice said to her.
She perked, turning about to look at whoever it was who thought her misfortune was so entertaining. She was horrified to see it was someone of the same class as the boy she had run into earlier. What was with there being so many punks around here? But at least it wasn't the same boy. She knew she couldn't tolerate him, but maybe this guy would turn out to be different. "What's so funny?" she growled, narrowing her eyes into slits.
His laughter died down, him shrugging. "I dunno. You're clumsiness I suppose."
"Why!" she demanded, hands on hips as she leaned forward to scrutinize him further. He had on a white shirt with chibified figures stabbing each other with miniature weapons while his pants were a dark black, his hair gelled up into a mohawk that was oddly the same color as the rest of his hair, black, and he had both ears pierced. "Does peoples unluckiness bring you some kind of sick thrill?"
The boy's eyes widened and he turned a bit defensive. "No, no not at all." he waved his hands in a manner matching his insistent words. "You just look so…perfect." he breathed, smiling a bit. "You don't seem like you're used to tripping up in any way."
Courtney's anger faded and she grew quite pleased with the boy before her. He was actually pretty sweet for a punk, especially one she just met. "Perfect?" she pressed, moving over in is direction. "You really think so?" her eyes were soft and her voice sweet.
He nodded. "Sure. I mean, just look at your clothes." he motioned toward her. "They look like they were ironed or at least well kept up until this day. And your hair falls right to your shoulders, not an inch above or below." he shrugged lightly. "I may sound crazy, but it's what I think." the only thing that ruined this picture for her was the fact that between each sentence he'd bring his cigarette to his lips, reminding her so much of the woman at the front desk. But…no one was perfect.
She chuckled. "No…I'm not that great." she said with modesty despite the fact she fully believed she was perfect. "But you aren't crazy either." she decided to add for extra brownie points.
He chuckled right back at her. "Thanks."
She was over by the wall which he leaned back on nonchalantly, positioning herself so that she too leaned back against the brick wall. "It's nothing." she said, holding up her hand to enforce her words.
"No, it's everything. To me at least." he looked over at her face, noticing she wasn't quite as perfect as he had said. Yet he wouldn't tell her this. He didn't want her to kill him. He knew she would if he spoke his mind from past experience, preps were always quick to anger. This was further proved by how she'd jumped on him when he did nothing more then laugh.
Courtney frowned lightly, sliding down the wall into a sitting position of the sorts, knees up at her chest. She sighed softly. "What's your name anyway?" she asked lazily, craning her neck to look up.
He followed suite in her actions, slowly sliding down onto the lush grass. "Zane." he said shortly, a hint of contempt in his tone. He didn't like his name one bit. He couldn't wait to change it.
She noticed he didn't seem to like it and immediately tried to make him feel better. "Cool name. Much better then mine."
He glanced over at her. "Oh? What might that be?"
She looked away from him. "Courtney." she said through clenched teeth, gripping the grass beneath her.
He chuckled. "It's not bad." he insisted. "Really. It's kinda…pretty." he admitted, drawing circles in the grass.
Courtney lost the tenseness creeping up on her and slowly released her grip on the innocent grass. She smiled warmly over at him. "You think so? I know I don't." she grumbled the last sentence.
He shrugged. "Everyone hates their name. Everyone I know anyway. It's practically human nature. I mean, when you're stuck with one name for so long you can't help but get tired of it." he paused to think of how stupid he must sound, but decided to add anyway, "That's how I see it at least."
Courtney giggled softly. "It makes sense." she shrugged. "More sense then what most idiots come up with these days. Everything is scientific." she made quotation marks with her fingers around the word scientific as she said it in a deep voice that didn't belong to her. "If it isn't then it must be based around God." she sighed heavily, rolling her eyes.
"Whatcha got against God?" Zane questioned, frowning deeply as he raised a brow at her.
Courtney froze for a minute. When she looked at him she didn't see someone who believed in something like God. If anything she figured he'd be an atheist. So he sounding so offended by the mention of mocking God caught her off guard. "Um…Nothing." Courtney said, rubbing her arm. "I was just making a point!" she snapped, nodding firmly.
He snorted. "Easy firecracker." he put his hands up in defense. "I don't care what you believe in. Honestly I don't know what to believe in sometimes either." he dropped his gaze to the ground, recollecting an awful memory from a couple years ago.
Courtney too lowered her gaze, sensing she'd accidentally dug up something that was best left buried. After a few minutes of awkward silence she thought to move the topic away from religion. "So…have any hobbies?"
From that point on it went rather smoothly for the two. She asked, he'd answer, and more times then not he'd send the same question back her way. She was a bit uncomfortable with it at times, but it was more fun then anything. They went like this for hours on end, learning so much about the other that most wouldn't learn in months. They just clicked so well to look so different. At least they did until Courtney brought up one final question.
"So what are you doing out here anyway?" she scrutinized, narrowing her eyes at him as if it might pressure him into telling quicker. Not that he needed the persuasion. In fact, she didn't really care to hear the answer. She was pretty sure she already knew anything he was going to give her. Smoking, he felt like it, he hated a certain class. None of the reasons were very good.
He smirked, liking the fire that came to her eyes at the topic of missing school. She was definitely a type A. "Dunno." he muttered with a shrug. "I felt like it."
Bingo. She hit the nail right on the head. Her observation of his getup hadn't failed her with this topic. "That's an awful reason!" she was upset by the thought no matter how obvious the answer had been. "How can you 'feel like' missing school?" she sighed irritably, draping her arms around her knees as a chill flowed through her.
He laughed at her quickness to snap. "I just do. It's boring, you know?" he paused, taking in her 'are you stupid or what?' expression and blushing in embarrassment. "Yeah…never mind." he started talking faster after that. "But it's just like this urge! I've been there, cooped up, all day and I just want out! I can't explain it, but it's like I need it!"
She rolled her eyes. He was right. She didn't understand his 'need' at all. For someone like her the notion was the silliest thing she had ever heard. In her mind it was a need to be at school, not away from it! She was amazed that she had made it as long as she had without having a freak out. "If you say so." she begrudgingly agreed to compromise.
He narrowed his eyes, pointing at her. "Here you are preaching, but what are you doing out of school?" he jabbed his finger into her arm, eyeing her suspiciously.
She groaned. "Not doing it because I feel like it. Heck! I don't even want to be sitting here right now." she threw her arms into the air. "I'd love to be back in one of those classes." she shook her head from side to side in annoyance. "But no! I can't because my stupid parents didn't think to get me put into the school. God! They are so stupid." she smacked her forehead.
He laughed at her again. "Why not just go sit in a random class then?" he suggested. "Not like those idiots running the place will see there's one extra student, especially on the first day."
Courtney frowned lightly. "No…" she couldn't believe what she was saying. "I wouldn't be getting any credit."
"Ah." he proclaimed as if he had won so prestigious award, pointing toward the sky. "I get it now. You only want to be at school because it gives you a sense of accomplishment. It makes you feel like you did something that matters. It isn't the school itself." he nodded, smiling smugly. "I get it now."
Courtney's eyes widened dramatically and she had to struggle to keep her moth from falling flat on the ground. "N-No!" she snapped. "You're full of crap!" she quickly stood back up, huffing.
"Hey! Wait a minute." the boy followed her in standing. "Where are you going?" he pried expectantly.
She leaned in inches from his face, arms sticking out like chicken wings as she clasped her hands behind her back. "Somewhere else." she said shortly, turning on her heel after a moment of sending daggers into his red eyes.
"But…" he trailed off, watching as she went at high speed away from him. She was sure interesting. And she most definitely had the shortest fuse out of all the girls he'd mingled with. He wasn't sure he liked this factor, but her nice body made up for that. She smiled unconsciously as the thought of her chest crossed his mind.
She was back at the entrance of the school in a minute flat, much faster then the time it took for her to leave. Only this time she was a little more then flustered. She crossed her arms over her chest as she glanced back from the direction she'd came. Her eyes were sad, frown forming on her lips. She hadn't really wanted to up and leave like that, she was rather enjoying talking to Zane. It was merely that she knew better then to mess around with people like him. That and she wasn't about to let him dig so deep into her inner feelings like he had tried to. All he needed to know was that she was perfect, which he had easily deduced.
"Can I help you?" A voice she didn't know said.
She perked, looking over to the front desk to see that the stripper girl was no longer there. Instead there was a mature brown haired, blue eyed woman. She wore a freshly pressed white shirt and gray tinted pants. This made Courtney sigh in relief. She only hoped she was as capable as she appeared. "Um, hi." she waved as she stepped closer. "I'm new. I tried to get myself put into the system earlier today, but…" she trailed off, pulling at her shirt sleeve.
The lady shook her head. "I know."
"You do?" Courtney blinked twice.
"Courtney Manning, right?"
"Uh…yeah!" Courtney chirped, smiling happily.
"The woman you sadly had the misfortune of meeting was my sister." she sighed, shaking her head again. "She's pathetic. I was just late. School caught me off guard." she chuckled. "A minor miscalculation is all."
Courtney nodded in agreement to her thoughts on the previous lady as well as because she understood what she meant. She made miscalculations all the time. She never admitted the fact out loud, but it did happen. "So does that mean I can go to class!" Courtney was quick to ask, gripping the side of the desk eagerly, face glowing.
The woman smiled softly back. "You're schedule is subject to change, but here's a rough draft of the sorts." she handed Courtney a thin piece of paper with everything she needed on it. All six classes, science, english, math, spanish, social studies, and drama, it had her locker number and combination, and all her personal info.
Courtney rolled her eyes. They'd probably called her mother while she'd been out. She cringed, thinking about leaving made her think of Zane. That was the last thing she wanted. "So, what class so I go to?" Courtney pointed at the paper she now held in her hand.
The woman started to glance over at the time on her computer when the bell rang. Doors shot open and the sound of feet on tile filled the once silent air. Along with this came the sounds of a mixture of many voices.
Courtney peeked around the corner to see that it wasn't the end of school. The kids were loitering at the lockers, in the middle of the halls, and anywhere they could. They certainly seemed anxious though. It was obviously later then she thought. She looked back at the woman expectedly. She wanted a time.
The woman understood. "Well, it looks like they're switching from 5th to 6th." she smiled a false smile of cheer as her words faded from the air. "So, go there." she waved Courtney off.
Courtney didn't bother saying anything about the woman's apparent desire to be done with her. She just did as she was told, making sure to grab her books, and scampered off to find room 127. She had no clue as to where she was going so she was panicking some as she scurried through the halls of chatting friends. Watching them this closely hit her with a pang of bitterness. She felt shut out from them, a foreigner if you will. She didn't belong with a one of them even the tiniest bit. Sure she knew Zane and that idiot from earlier, but those were pretty sad boys. She needed a girl. Someone she could talk to about anything, what was ruining her mood, how to get over it, and most importantly boys. She couldn't imagine talking to guy about another guy or guy troubles. They'd look at her like she was high. She knew it was so.
She glanced up at the clock as she plowed on. It read 1:57. She swallowed hard, looking back and forth between each door as she passed. "Hey!" she yelped as some loser practically ran her over. She fell backwards like she had earlier that day, losing her books she had been carrying in the process.
The boy who had slammed into her looked back, surveyed the situation, and deemed the girl before him unworthy. He let a quiet laugh escape him as he continued on his trek to his class.
Courtney couldn't believe what she was seeing. Had he really just knocked her over? And more importantly had he done so without thinking to help her back up? Her blood boiled beneath her caramel colored skin. She shook from the fury, quickly moving about to sloppily put her papers in a stack while simultaneously working to avoid being trampled. All the while no one offered to assist her. Some laughed, others rolled their eyes, and the rest whispered something to whoever was next to them. It was so different from where she'd been before. She almost wanted to cry. The only thing that stopped her was the clock.
It was a minute till the bell rang and she was desperate to make it to class on schedule. She sprang up and darted down the hallway, scanning like crazy. 125, 126...127! She cut across the hallway with no regard toward the few who were going the opposite direction of her. Because at this point she didn't care. Those who would laugh while she was down didn't deserve her courtesy.
The sound of the bell reverberated in her ears as she crossed through the door. She sighed with relief, lowering her head and closing her eyes as she held on tighter to her books. "Thank God…" she surprised herself by saying this, but she couldn't help it. Sure at first forces seemed to be conspiring against her, but now they had helped her. She made it to class just in time. Only as she opened her eyes to take in the faces of her classmates she'd be stuck with for the duration of the year did she freeze. Her eyes met with him and he too reacted in the same manner. Then, eerily enough, they said the same thing in unison. "No, not you."
What do you think? I think it is the most boring thing I've ever turned out. Honestly I don't know how I got through it, lol. The only interesting bits for me were ones with Duncan. For some reason I love writing anything that focuses on him. He just seems like he could be a really complicated person without ruining his character. But please don't think the other chapters are going to be this dull. First chapters are almost always kinda slow. x.x Plz review! :D