A/N: Wow, I am surprised I was able to update this quickly! Although I did stay up until midnight trying to finish it so you guys could read it. I hate to keep annoying you with all my notes, but someone brought up in one of the reviews that Stella keeps saying how she is a bitch, but we can already tell that by seeing her interact with others. The reason I am writing that is because I am writing was is passing through Stella's mind right at the moment that she is in. Stella's really not that bad of a character and I personally love her, but she has such a low opinion of herself and you will learn more why she is the way she is later in the story. Give her a chance please! P.S. I know this chapter is rather slow and a little boring, but things will start picking up soon and the chapters will get better and better as they come. Enjoy!
Mrs. Husk's office was one of those really neat and organized ones that made you so uncomfortable. Or maybe it was just me. Her office even made me fidget around nervously and I was never big on authority. People that claimed to be adults to boss me around never intimidated me or made me back down in any way, but her office just had this weird, sketchy feeling to it. Or maybe Mrs. Husk just did.
Mrs. Husk closed the door after I stepped in and indicated the chair I was supposed to sit in. Well, she just kind of jabbed her finger at it. The way she did it made me think that she looked like a cavewoman. If I wasn't going to get in so much trouble, I would have laughed aloud at her. Why did that woman have to be so damn intimidating with her damn office? I hated admitting when people intimidated me. Yeah, I am one proud bitch.
Anyway, she whirled on me and gave me a really stern look before saying, "Miss Luce, this is the third time this week that you have been sent to the office!"
I looked down at my shoes and she moved to sit at her desk across from me. All I could reply with was, "Yeah?"
"Is that the only thing that you can say for yourself?! Don't you have any sort of respect for your teachers or peers at all? I always have to deal with hearing about how you start fights with your peers, use foul language, and mock your teachers!"
Hidden from her view, my fists were clenching so hard that my arms were shaking. I was angry, but at myself. I hate to say this, but as she said that to me, I knew she was right. Sure my classmates and teachers were jerks to me and just in general, but I just brought all this on myself. I am such a dumbass and a jerk. I seriously felt like I wanted to cry, and I never cried. It just wasn't my thing.
My face must have looked pained because Mrs. Husk softened her expression. She sighed and said, "Stella is something wrong? Did something happen to make you upset?"
If only she knew. "No."
She hadn't given up. "Are you sure? Do you need to talk to someone like the guidance counselor?"
No way in hell. "I don't wanna talk to the damn guidance counselor."
She was so determined to get something out of me that she even ignored my language. "Stella talking to someone is a really good idea. We all have stress and problems that we have to deal with, and talking to other people helps us so we don't bottle things up."
My anger was rising. This woman was being so annoying. I wish she would just shut that fat ass of hers up. "I don't have anything to say to you or anyone else." No way was I gonna tell her anything.
She sighed for the second time and seemed to give up. Rubbing her forehead like she had a headache (probably caused by me); we sat in silence for a moment. Then she stood up and declared, "Fine Miss Luce, but you will be receiving a detention and I will be giving your father a call." Shit, shit, shit! "You may leave now." She waved me out the door and I was just about ready to sprint outa there.
The door closed behind me and I tried to not look scared as I approached Miss Sherry. My stomach was doing flips and I felt nauseous. I seriously might puke.
Miss Sherry gave me a warm smile. That was good. Obviously I looked totally normal on the outside. "Detention?" she asked and gave an almost apologetic look. She had never been stern or strict and she hated punishing 'the kids' as she called us.
I nodded.
She shuffled through papers on her desk and finally handed me one of those pale slips that I was so used to.
Grabbing the paper, I hurried the hell out of that place. I couldn't even stand the feeling anymore. I was so glad I hadn't eaten anything. Food was a bad idea right now.
The bell rang and it made me jump out of my skin. That stupid, damn thing, scaring the crap out of me right now when I already felt disgusting, but I don't think it would solve anything if I beat the living daylights out of a clock. Wow, I was actually thinking rationally. Not.
A hand came down on my shoulder and I jumped and turned around fast.
It was Viola. "God! Jumpy much or what? What's up with you anyway?" she asked while giving a light laugh, but her face fell when she caught sight of my face. "What's wrong?"
All I could do was show her my slip.
"You got another detention? Well, I can see how you're bummed out because you were supposed to swing over to my place with Jack, but detention isn't that bad. Besides, it isn't a new process for you and-"
"V, Mrs. Husk is calling my dad," I interrupted her in a quiet voice and she broke off from her long rant. Her eyes widened in horror; she was one of the only people that knew what getting my dad involved would lead to.
"For real?" She was suddenly very quiet too.
"Yeah she is."
Viola didn't seem to know what to say. Truth is, I didn't either. After all, it was my fault for getting in trouble and there was nothing she could really do. "Maybe you should crash at my place for a while. You can borrow anything you like; it really wouldn't be a problem."
Much as I wanted to do that instead of going home, I knew I couldn't bring her or her parents into this. It was my problem, not hers. I was just going to have to suck it up and deal with it, alone. "Thanks V, I really appreciate it but I think that'll just make things worse. He'll be even angrier with me."
Again, Viola seemed at lost for words. Trust me, rare thing for her really. She whimpered and said, "Sorry I can't do anything."
I growled, "V it isn't your fault and you don't have to do anything for me! Don't even start to feel bad; you know that I hate that!"
"Okay, okay; sorry, I'm sorry. I just feel like I can't even do anything for my friend. I just want to help."
Guilt consumed me for yelling at her. I knew she was just trying to help, but as I said before, I hate being pitied. "I know you were and sorry for yelling. I just- just don't know what to do that's all."
She held up a hand to stop me. She gave a small smile as she said, "Relax, I know and I understand. If I was in your position, I would probably throw a fit and be ten times bitchier."
I grinned at her, knowing we were cool again. "Well let's just head to class then."
She grinned back. "Alrighty then!" I rolled my eyes at her. Only Viola would say something like that. She even skipped ahead of me to her next class, across from mine.
"Good luck buddy!" She grinned again and waved energetically.
I laughed and even gave a stupid wave back before entering the classroom.
The classes seemed to fly by. That was unusual; they usually dragged on for hours, taking forever. Even history, which had to be the most boring subject for me and took completely forever with all those dates, felt only like five minutes to me.
Detention didn't last long and it was a usual thing for me anyway. I left the school and headed to my car. It was pretty old and small, but I loved it because it was mine and I paid for it myself. The keys were deeply thrust into my pocket, so it took me forever to find them. When I finally did, I roared the engine to life and set off away from the school parking lot.
I had decided sometime during detention that I would go to Viola's for a little while and head home later. Rick, my father (even if I thought the name Dick was more appropriate), wouldn't be home until later anyway. He would probably be out late drinking with his buddies anyway. But I really didn't want to get into that just now.
I had to say, Viola was pretty damn rich. Not overly rich, but enough to own a lot of things and have a huge house. And I mean a really big house. It was amazing. My little car looked like a piece of crap parked in front of her house. Even the door in front was all beautiful and fancy.
I knocked twice. Viola with Jack in tow answered the door and they tackled me as soon as they saw it was me. They both dragged me downstairs to the basement where they were watching movies on the new TV that Viola had been talking about. It sounded weird that Viola's room was in the basement, but it was wickedly cool. She had more room and privacy from her parents that way. Not to mention all the colors that would probably give her folks a headache. It seriously looks like colors just exploded all over her room, including the walls, her bed, and even all her clothes. As I said before, she was a very vibrant person.
We decided to watch Phantom of the Opera first. Of course, we had all seen the movie a million times and knew all the songs, so we all started singing along. Yes, even me. Then we all dissolved into laughter seeing at how retarded we were at singing. The rest of the time we mostly chatted about unimportant things and how we should just travel the world together when we turned eighteen.
Silently, I was thanking my friends and thanking the gods that I had them. They were lifting a huge weight from my mind and a load from my shoulders. I was extremely grateful, but I wasn't sure how I could say it without sounding like a complete douche.
The hours seemed to fly by, only instead of being glad about that like I had been at school, I was upset because I wanted to stay longer. Life would be so much easier if I could just spend the rest of it being with my friends at the perfect moment.
They both seemed reluctant to see me go and I had to try hard to reassure them. I think I was more reassuring myself really. I promised to call them if anything happened.
I drove as slow as possible home and tried not to think about the argument I was sure would take place when I faced Rick. Sometimes I really hated that house. I would do almost anything to be able to live somewhere else, somewhere where I could actually be accepted.
My thoughts had strayed on the way home, but when I climbed up the steps to the place I supposedly called home, I couldn't help but want to flee from the building my feet were dragging me to. Something awful was bound to happen, especially in this place. There were just too many memories. Painful ones.
