Present Day

"There he is," whispered the blonde girl next to me. She shook her hair, and turned away from the entrance, putting her back to it. I snorted, but struck up a conversation just as Jay entered the hallway. His black hair was smoothed importantly, and he was pushing at the small glasses on his nose. I had glasses too, but mine were so much cooler.

I smoothed my brown shining hair down, and peeked past Anna, who was trying to block my view. I hissed at her, and she moved aside, just as Anthony entered the hallway. His brown hair was spiked up in agitation, and he was whisper-yelling at his girlfriend, who was called Lindsay. She glared at him, and he narrowed his beady eyes.

Jay finished putting stuff in his tiny locker, and sauntered down the hall, heading to advisory. He had South, while Anna had Peterson, and I had Bosalin. Jay exits the hallway, and I turned my eyes back to Anthony, who has gotten rid of his girlfriend, and is glaring heatedly at Tyler, his friend. Then he looks at me.

I glare at him, summing up all the hate in my eyes, and firing. Anthony blinks, and looks away, reddening. I give a small yes of victory, and look to find Anna, who was shaking her head at a small kid named Matthew. He glares at me.

Me and Matthew, we have a very hateful relationship. He tolerates me because I am friends with Anna, and I tolerate him because he is friends with Anna. I shake my head, and then I freeze. Anna freezes too, and Matthew takes off with a small "Crap". I blink. Anna blinks. And the hollow turns red, and I yelp. Anna is still frozen, her mouth half open.

There he was. Chris, shrieking cruel words at Jay, who has come out of South's room. The hallway has frozen, and Lindsay was skittering to exit the scene. Anna looks confused, finally becoming unfrozen. Anthony pokes his head up and away from his locker, and balks at the sight of Chris.

Maybe I should start over.

At the beginning.

And explain last year.

Or…try to.

Last Year, Same Scene:

I smile teasingly, and Anna laughs, throwing her head back. I couldn't help but look at her. She drove me crazy. I laugh too, and she reaches out a hand to feel something. When her hand touches nothing, she looks wounded. I pat her shoulder, knowing she was missing Matthew, who was still in elementary school.

I lowered my voice, saying, "What's up with you and Jay?"

She blushes, and says, "Nothing, Riley. Nothing, I swear on my life." I smirk, and she swats at me, which only makes me smirk more. Than she smirks, pointing at a figure a good distance away from me. I stare, and look at her, confused. She raises an eyebrow, and mouths, "A."

I roll my eyes, and turn back to look for him. Anthony is picking his way through the crowd of seventh graders. He reaches his locker, and Anna whispers in my ear, "Is that Anthony?"

I nod, and say, "I'll get revenge this year."

She looks confused. "For what?" she wonders. "What did he do?"

"Everything," I answer, and become purposely vague. She hates it when she can't tell what I'm feeling. It confuses her. I look down to the book in my arms, and open it, sliding down to the floor. Anna follows, peering at the book.

"How many books?" she wonders aloud.

"None," I answer, and add after she rolls her eyes, "the system is awful this year. Notecards."

"Oh," she says, and pulls her phone out. She promptly begins texting Jay, who was sitting across the hallway. Peeking at her cell, I smirk. Lots of texts, and lots of history.

"How long with you two?" I ask, which makes her jump. I look at my page number, put it in my memory, and close the book. She turned the phone off, blushing.

"Nothing," she mumbles, reaching around to slide her phone into her pocket.

"Sure." I change the subject, saying, "Revenge plan. Anthony. I got it."

She looks interested, and nods, telling me to go on. "I have rhubarb plants," I say, and she narrows her eyes, and raises her eyebrows, suggesting she has no idea what I'm talking about. I tell her, "Rhubarb plant leaves are poisonous."

She blanches, and looks me in the eye. "We're going to poison him? Are you crazy Riley?"

"Not enough to kill him!" I protest. "Just enough to make him vomit. Ten pounds of the plant leaves will kill him. Maybe just enough to make him do a spit take when he drinks it. Not poison, Anna."

"Same thing, Riley."

"No."

Anna throws her hands up. "That's what you meant. Don't give me that crap."

I roll my eyes, and there he is. Jay. I smirk at Anna, who slowly looks up at the tall boy with black hair. I stand, and look at Jay, who glares at me. I know he hates me, but I never did figure out why.

I bow slightly, and walk away. I laugh when Anna stands, and begins talking, stuttering a little. I finger my book, and slide into the seat at a vacant table in the C-Pod. Opening it up, I continue reading until the bell rings. Then I'm heading to Hour 1, with Campbell.

When math is over, I go to reading. Then lunch. Social studies. Critical thinking. Science. Learn to study effectively. Band. There's Anna, staring out the window, anger flitting across her face as I exit the band room. I walk up to her, and she smiles at me, but I can tell it's as fake as the faux fur on Lindsay's new coat.

I raise my eyebrows, and Anna sighs. "Taryn," she says. I blanch, and she nods, putting her head down.

"She did?" I ask, breath shortening.

"Attacked Jay," Anna whispered. "She attacks him regularly now. He came by to tell me. Mainly kicks, but occasionally punches as well."

"That's not new," I say, and Anna glares. "You attacked him this year too," I point out, and she sighs.

"Yeah, I did," she says. "A mistake. He's forgiven me. But Taryn…"

"She's a savage," I say, and Anna nods. "A terrifying savage," I add, and Anna laughs.

The final bell rings, and the two of us head up to collect stuff from our lockers before heading out into the snow. Rounding the first corner was easy, and then Anna was on the ground, someone sprawled across her. I choke slightly, and Anna yelps a little to late. Jay climbs off her, blushing so badly he might've turned into a tomato. Anna clambers up, and Jay scampers away, his limbs moving irregularly. I turn to her, and raise my eyebrows. She chuckles, and we continue on to her locker.

After stopping at hers, we head to mine, and then head out. A hand on my shoulder stops me. I whirl, and I'm face to face with Anthony himself. I wrench my shoulder away from his hand, and he backs off. Anna smirks, and I resist the urge to slap it off her face.

"What?" I demand. He blinks, and says,

"Where you headed?"

I raise an eyebrow, and answer, "Uh, home. Where else would I go?"

"To Tyler's place," he says, his eyes narrowing. "Tyler said you were—"

"I don't have time for this," I say, and start walking again. Anna stumbles to catch up, and we're in the snow, heading away. Anthony is glaring at my back, and I whirl around. Anna turns too, and I stare him down. Anthony cocks his head, and smirks. And, because I'm a little devil, you know what I do?

I walk back in that school, Anna tailing me. Anthony is still smirking when I slap his face as hard as I can.

Present

I don't like visions. Yet, I seem to see things that will happen later on. But, if what I dream is true, means I'm ending up single for the rest of my life, and Anna going to have about three different husbands. Which, is a little disturbing, personally. And all those dreams about Anthony being a clown? No, those were completely wacko.

I'm headed to advisory, which is a new thing this year. I have Bosalin, who is also my social studies teacher. He's a little weird, but not enough teachers are weird. It's cool. Anna sighs, sliding down into her seat.

She fingers a strand of dirty blonde hair, and looks at me teasingly. I raise my eyebrows, and Anna smiles. "It's so on this year," she says, and I grin.

Anna has been leaving notes on Jay's locker all of this year, and he's been throwing them out without even looking at them. Anna's reaction being a couple swearwords and more post-it-notes.

I had completed my monthly prank already, dumping red juice into Anthony's locker. Grinning at the thought, I wait to hear what Anna's prank idea will be.

"I think I'll do it on Jay," she says, "and I'll duct tape the whole locker shut. It would be hilarious to watch him try and get it open."

"Oh yeah! There's a worthy prank outa your mouth!" I shout, and high-five her. Then we're headed to my locker. When we get there, I freeze in astonishment. Someone has duct taped my locker shut. I rip at a piece, and it come loose instantly. There's a name etched on the sticky side. Anthony.

I snarl, and begin ripping down the duct tape. Anna picks up the duct tape I've thrown, and reads the name. "It's on," I snarl, and she grins. Nobody loves a good prank like me and Anna.

She throws the tape at the garbage, and it lands inside, not bouncing out. "YAS!" she exclaims, dancing around. I smirk, and finish with the duct tape, throwing it out. I shake my head, making a sad puppy face at Anna.

"To bad that I've already done my prank this month," I say.

"It'll be more surprising if you do it later," Anna mumbles, biting off part of an airhead.

I smile at her, and she flashes red stained teeth. I gather the tape, and dump it in the trash. Anna finishes her airhead, and grins.

I'm hit with a flash of suspicion. "Did you have a hand in this?" I ask, pointing at my locker. "You did suggest duct taping Jay's locker, you know."

Anna puts a hand over her heart, feigning a wounded expression. "Are you calling me a snitch?" she asks, making a pouty face.

"Maybe," I respond, and then laugh. She grins, and scratches her ear. Blinking, I stare around the almost vacated school. "Let's get out of here," I suggest. "Janitors are cranky." Anna laughs, nodding in agreement.