Now, remember, a month has passed since that happened. I fight at least 3 of those freaky jellyfish-possessed animal things every week. I have to admit, it gives me something to look forward to. I guess I'm pretty good at it, 'cause I've never even come close to losing to one.

Anyway. Time to tell you what happened at school.

Clutching my books to my chest, I made a beeline out of the hallway. Tips on getting down the hallway safely for friendless dorks: Always keep your head down but eyes up, avoid touching ANYONE, ignore any laughs whispers or stares, and keep on walking at a brisk pace. That should keep you good, for the most part.

Here's where the exception is: if you know Misaki Torres. She's a pro at catching the flies buzzing around the web that is "her" hallway. I was almost to the door, when I felt two manicured hands grip my shoulders. Next thing I knew, there was a severe pain in the back of my head as my brain bounced around my skull while I was slammed against a locker. I glared down at the floor, avoiding eye contact with her.

"Cough it up," she demanded. Normally, I'd hand her the homework I'd done for her (usually I filled out wrong answers on purpose) or notes she was too lazy to take. But today, I was feeling brave and feisty.

I coughed overdramatically.

"Ha ha. Now where's my homework?"

"Right here." I pushed a binder at her. She smirked, flipping through the pages with one hand. Then she frowned.

"You put the names of Winx Club fairies for the list of important women in history!" she hissed.

I grinned. "How would YOU know they're Winx Club fairies? I thought you've ALWAYS been such a toughie."

Anger boiled up in her face, and she tightened her grip on me. "Shut the HELL up, you bag of shit."

"Naughty naughty language!" I sang. I knew I'd be dead in a few minutes, but I was really enjoying myself.

Through my peripheral vision, I saw two girls- one with boy-like grayish-brown hair, and one with short blonde hair- push a red headed girl toward me. She gulped and shakily said "You leave her alone, you big bully…!" This was certainly not what I ever pictured my savior to be. Oh, right. I never pictured a savior. Just my life dragging on as a living Hell.

Misaki and I both blinked, and the pale black haired girl tossed back her head and laughed. "This is classic! A little girl playing hero."

The redhead put her hands on her hips. "Little girl? Hello, I'm only 3 years younger than you, Ms. Flunk-So-Bad-I-Get-Held-Back." I liked this girl.

"Whatever. I need a new punching bag anyway." Misaki released her grip on me then strutted over to the girl. The redhead let out a sharp "Eep"ish noise that was awfully similar to the noise Daisy makes when she's frightened. I didn't hesitate to bolt away from the scene. But halfway down the hall, I stopped and glanced behind me. Misaki had the girl by the neck.

I bit my lip. This stranger had stood up for me, ME, and now she was paying for it. I had to do SOMETHING. Sighing, I turned and ran back the hall. "Look, pick in someone your own size," I growled. Misaki just smirked, letting go of the girl who was now gasping for breath. Misaki started twirling one finger in her dark hair, slowly stepping toward me with one hand on her hip. She always acted like she was so hot, yet she chose to wear the BOY'S uniform. Obviously she was hiding something.

"Well well, when did Razzy Dazzy get so brave?" I shuttered at the stupid nickname people had given me. Supposedly, it had been a thing for kids- mostly girls- to be named after food. At the beginning of high school, some kids that felt bad that I was such an outcast started calling me Raspberry. I hated it. My name was Jessica Haywood. They couldn't change that, even if it was supposed to be an act of kindness.

Anyway, adrenaline was boiling up in my veins. I so badly wanted to claw up every fiber of her being, whether as a human or a- what did I call myself? Oh, right- Mew. I wish that as a Mew I had some more qualities of the animal. Like rabies.

As I thought up ways to hurt her- though I knew it'd only happen in my fantasies- while clenching and unclenching my fist, she just stood there, grinning cruelly down at me with her head tilted back a bit. I wondered if we'd stay like this forever.

My eye suddenly landed on the clock in the hallway. It was 2:29… and school let out at 2:30. I slowly started walking backward, both hands behind my back. Misaki copied my every step, except she went forward. I kept one eye on the red needle on the clock. 5… 4… 3… 2…

The bell rang, and kids started pouring out of the hallways. They shoved and pushed past Misaki, not noticing it was her. She looked around in bewilderment, but was soon swept into the crowd. I smirked, gripping onto the wall. Mission achieved. I looked around for the girl that had stood up for me, but she had melted into the sea of people as well.

However, the moment I stepped outside, I was greeted by someone tapping my arm. "Hey, excuse me…!" I glanced behind me and gave a small smile. It was the redhead.

"Oh, hey. Uh, thanks…" I murmured.

She smiled real big. "You're welcome… My friends and I were sick of her picking on people, and they decided I should go stop her, so um… Oh! My name's Ichigo Momomiya, by the way! You are?"

Ichigo. That meant Strawberry. Of course. "I'm Jessica Haywood." I hoped Ichigo could hear me, because my voice wasn't cooperating. I wasn't used to this interacting with people stuff.

Ichigo had a look on her face that screamed "I really really wanna ask you something, but I know I shouldn't!" I looked at the ground awkwardly.

"So, u-uh, see you around?"

Ichigo gave an overly emphasized nod. "Yeah! See you Jessie! Um, can I call you Jessie?"

"Well, I guess… I-I mean, it's what my friends called me, you know, when I had friends…" Smooth, Jessica. Real smooth.

"You mean you don't have any friends? I could be your friend!"

I started to wonder why the heck she was so eager to befriend me, but shut it out and smiled. "That'd be awesome…!" Ichigo smiled and opened her mouth to say something, but closed it when her phone vibrated. "Oh! I gotta go! Catch you later?"

Now I nodded. "Yeah. That'd be great."

Ichigo smiled and ran off. I never, ever would've even thought about how she was running in the direction of the café.