High school is an environment where teenagers may act like idiots and do almost anything they please. And I hate it.
You'd think a teenage girl like me would love hanging out with her best friends. Well, I would, except the problem is... I don't have any friends. To a much less extent, acquaintances.
Don't judge me, I am very shy and very different.
My mornings are always the same. I live in that old, crumbling, excuse for a building they call an orphanage. My guardian couldn't give a single penny about me or my feelings. I am the skinniest girl in that orphanage, as the other children, who are all older than ,me have appetites of gorillas.
Miss Bophide, my guardian, is a pale woman with short, blonde, curly hair. She wears bright red lipstick with blue eye shadow. She wears too much blush and green pant suits, a different shade everyday. Her earrings are obnoxiously large and golden hoops, that match her necklace. She has a short temper and strict rules. If something does not go the way she wants, I pay for it. I am the youngest, after all.
There are five boys and four girls, including me. Adam and Sophia are nineteen years old, but not related, although, they could be. They love soccer, have brown hair with hazel eyes. They are smart and very funny.
Chris is eighteen and he pretty much just sits on the couch, listening to rock and roll music. He has olive skin and red hair with deep, dark, brown eyes. He doesn't say much and he always seems to be in a grumpy mood.
Kinzie and Patty are sixteen year-old twin sisters that love to text each other and give me make-overs that I wash off as soon as thy leave me. Their white hair is an equivalent to how dim they are. They love pop music, especially Justin Bieber, oh joy.
Sean and Ivan are best friends. Sean has blonde hair with blue eyes and Ivan has tan skin, brown eyes, and brown hair. They are so hilarious, they make the likes of me smile. They have nicknames for me, that I find absolutely funny. They ae both fifteen years-old, and are just like my brothers.
In the morning, I make my bed, do my chores, brush my teeth, eat breakfast, get dressed, and leave the house. I make my way over to Charles Street, towards the bakery for my job.
I work at Georgiana's Sweet Shop. Georgiana founded the shop on the corner four years ago, and she gave me a job as soon as she opened it. You see, she was a friend of my parents before they... Nevermind.
Georgiana is a middle-aged woman with deep hazel eyes, brown hair, a sweet smile, and she is very giving. She donates money to charity every Sunday, goes to Church, and loves the opera. She seems plain, but she is very ambitious and friendly. She even gives every child who goes to her bakery an extra cookie for free.
Georgiana is not related to me. She isn't even my godmother; I don't think I have one. But she is the closest thing I have to a mother. She makes me lunch every morning, she gives me pay, and she takes me shopping with Kate.
Kate is Georgiana's daughter. She is a beautiful girl five years older than me, with golden blonde hair, and deep blue eyes. She is almost my sister, compared to Kinzie and Patty. Devin and Pete are nothing alike, but they get along so well. Devin has blue eyes with black hair, meanwhile Pete has green eyes with white hair.
I work from eleven in the morning to four in the afternoon, three days a week. I earn three dollars every hour I do my job. I'm saving up money for a car. I take drivers ed. I live in South Dakota, so it is alright for fourteen year olds to drive. Yes, we will be reckless, but that's okay. That's just how we roll, some would say.
When I have school, I just feel like I don't belong. I am small compared to most girls. I don't have curves, I have a bony structure. I am very skinny, and my chest is less than average. When I take tests, my anxiety kicks in. I hear voices in my head, and I go into panick mode. So serious that I throw a fit and have to be escorted to the nurse's office.
I am not on any sport teams, or in any clubs. I don't talk to anyone. I know the answers to every question my teachers ask, but I don't raise my hand. I fear that my answers will be wrong, and I will look stupid. Then there are the teachers who pick any kid they don't hear from that day. When they look at me, I shake my head "no." They know why I don't talk out loud, and they don't tell anyone else. They don't have to and it isn't their business.
I throw my pillow up in the air and catch it as it falls back down to me. It's a good thing that I don't have school today. I wouldn't be able to hang out with Kate.
I tumble out of my bed and my bare feet fall to the cold, wooden floor. I lean over my bad and fluff up my pillow. I pull the comforter over it and flatten my bed down. It looks as if I never slept in it.
I open my closet and pull out my favorite blue cardigan sweater. Under it I am wearing a white tang top. I pull on dark jeans and black slipper-shoes. I grab my bag and shut my door behind me. I walk down the stairs and when I get to the bottom, someone yanks my arm, pulling me to the side.
Sean stares at me with satisfactory visible on his face. "Morning Alli. Can we ask you something important?" he asks. I nod my head and then it's Ivan's turn to speak.
"So, we accidentally broke Miss Bophide's favorite vase. Would you be a dear and let us borrow some money?" he puts on a mischievous smile on his face, but I'm furious.
"You two broke her vase? Again? Guys, this has to stop. I'm fourteen, you two are fifteen, and this is so ridiculous. I'll pay you this time, but this is the last time. Okay?" I whisper harshly. They nod and smile.
I pull out my wallet and give them twenty dollars. I shake my head and walk away. I grab a corn muffin and I pour myself a glass of orange juice. "Good morning, Chris. Did you have a good sleep?" I say to Chris. He gives me a look.
"'Good morning?' What makes it so good?" he asks. I am taken aback, but I'm used to it. He hates being an orphan, and I don't blame him. Not having someone there for you in times of need is no picnic in the park.
I finish my juice and throw away the rest of my muffin. The orange juice made it taste sour. I put my glass in the sink and clean off the counter. After Chris left the table I washed it off. "WHAT HAPPENED TO MY VASE?" I hear someone shout. Miss Bophide comes scampering into the kitchen with to broken pieces of glass in her hands. "You. You did this!" she shouts.
"No I didn't, Miss Bophide. You're being-"
"Liar! How dare you lie to me, you little brat!" She cuts me off. Miss Bophide puts the broken vase down and hits me across the face. I stand there in shock. She's never hit me before. She grins evilly, and walks away.
I feel my face and curse. She cut me, and I'm bleeding. I throw down the sponge and run to the front door. I slam it behind me and run across the lawn. I head down the street to Georgiana's Sweet Shop.
I arrive just as Kate emerges from the shop. "Hey, babe. I was just coming to get you. What happened to you?" she says. I shake her off when she comes to examine my face.
"Nothing, I'm fine. Let's just go and have a good time, okay?" I tell her. She smiles and we start to the curb. "So is the rainbow-sprinkled sugar cookie bandit back?" I ask with a small grin on my face. For the last five months, we have made rainbow-sprinkled sugar cookies. And once a month, a whole batch goes missing.
Kate groans and I laugh at her. "Do NOT even bring them up, Allison. They came back last night. And you know how we got a security system? It didn't go off, and it broke, in fact. So the thief might be a possum, ew," she says to me. I laugh and it feels good to smile.
We turn the corner when someone calls my name. I stop dead in my tracks and groan. Keith. "What do you want, Keith?" I ask. He flicks his shaggy black hair to the side and stares at me with cold brown eyes. He is the captain of the football team and Kate's ex-boyfriend. He's been bullying me since their break up.
"I'm gonna make this simple. Katie, leave us alone for a minute. Alli, you come over here," he demands.
"Don't call me Alli, Keith. Kate, I'll be fine. Just wait over at the bus stop and I'll meet you there in ten minutes," I say. Keith grabs my arm and shoves me into the ally. He grabs my chin and makes me look at him.
"Listen, kid. You have to get Kate to go back out with me, or your buddy Chris won't be so nice-looking anymore," he threatens me.
"You leave Chris out of it-"
"Then you better get Katie to go on a date with me," he retorts. I shake my head.
"This is so stupid! Leave Kate alone and do not call her Katie. She doesn't like you!" I shout.
He shoves me into the wall and grabs my shirt collar. Mt feet fly from the ground. "Listen to me, little girl. You don't tell me what to do, alright. Kate does like me, she just doesn't know it yet," he says. I kick his leg and he drops me. I plan to run for it but he grabs my waist and pulls me to the ground on top of him. He pushes me off of him and punches my stomach. I cry out in pain. I try to stand but he grabs my bag and yanks me down with it. I kick him in the stomach and he recoils by kicking me in my stomach. I end up on the floor when someone emerges from the dark and grabs Keith.
I go into a fit of coughs as I pull my bag back on. I hear Keith grunt and look up expecting to find Kate, fighting for me, or something, but she's not there. Instead is a boy, wrestling with Keith.
I hear Keith shout in pain as he falls to the ground. The boy comes over to me and yanks me up by my arm. I stand up and the boy looks carefully into my eyes. I end up lost in a sensation of green. "Hi," I say. "Um, thanks? My name is Allison."
He is about to tell me his name when I clutch my head. The voice is back. It starts off as an irritating ringing so I know when he's coming. The boy bends down next to me. "Allison? Allison, are you okay?" He said. I shake my head and groan loudly. I fall on to my back when I hear his voice.
Come to me, child. You know you must. You know what lies ahead in the future. You want your father, yes? Then you know what is best. If you do not come I shall simply wish for you to... I wish, I wish, with your strong Endowment powers...
I scream as he says that and I feel myself standing up. He is forcing me to go to him. The boy grabs me by my hand. "Come on, Allison, come on!" He shouts. I yank my hand from him and fall to the ground.
"Leave me alone! Please!"I writhe around in pain, as if someone was stabbing me with a dagger. The boy drops down next to me and lifts me up. He starts running and I try to stop wriggling in his arms, but I can't resist it. He runs into something hard and my head hits the solid concrete.