Chapter 1

"Can I have a pokemon yet?" I asked in a bored tone, already knowing the answer.

"No," Mom replied simply.

I sighed and looked out the dirty window at our excuse for a yard. The wooden fence was pushed over so far to one side you could see over, and the paint was so patchy it was practically spotted. Tall weeds grew up around a rusty old Buick with the doors still open, and they spread all across the yard, climbing up a gnarled old tree and then winding their way back to the long-forgotten back door. Heck, they came through the busted screen; it had way to many holes in it. I sighed, wondering why I had to be born into a place like this, but it was my luck.

"Robin take out the trash," my mom commanded, kicking our broken-down washing machine.

I rolled my eyes as I slipped on my ratty coat and headed outside. It was still early morning, so the grass was wet from dew and the sky a dark shade of blue. The trashcan rumbled down the gravel driveway, making me seem even more tired than I was. As you've probably already guessed, I am NOT a morning person. Morning is just way too depressing for my taste.

As soon as I snapped on the lid, a pair of headlights appeared in the distance, casting a faint shadow along the deserted road. The bright yellow school bus lumbered into view, and flung open its door with a loud squeak. I casually stepped on with a look that clearly read, "Don't bother me today."

So maybe I'm in a bad mood. Who cares, I'm ALWAYS in a bad mood. Nothing in my life has ever gone right. For example, just last week my-

SMACK! A paper wad made contact with the back of my head, and immature giggles erupted through the bus. I glared menacingly at everyone, sweeping my gaze from one end to the other. They seem to understand that I am seriously pissed and if I am bothered I may go off. But there are bound to be a few exceptions…disgruntled, I slouched down in my seat.

This is but one example of the idiocy of the world. The kids at school. I'm twelve now, so everyone who's going on a pokemon journey is pretty much gone. This leaves me in an absolutely hopeless situation, left with people who only care about whoring themselves to the nearest pimp and immature little bastards who get high on a pink marker every morning. I hate them all.

And as I've mentioned earlier, this is only part of it. When I actually get to school, I watch those idiots beat each other up. Following is an actual conversation from school:

"Say you do drugs!"

"You do drugs!"

"That's right! Say you're pregnant!"

"You're pregnant!"

"That's what I want to hear!"

What did I tell you? Stupid, aren't they? Then they all get high on the marker so-and-so brought to school today and beat each other up in their drunken rage. Pffft. And the teachers don't do anything about it. They don't care.

Home life? What home life? My dad ran off with some woman he met and left me. "Mom" doesn't love me. She just makes me do chores when I get home until she passes out on the couch and I can watch one of the five channels on the TV. Oh goody.

Now do you see why I'm so angry? I'd say I have a right to be. And some may call me a pessimist, always looking on the bad side of things, but there's only so much disappointment a person can take before they've had enough and I've had it.

With a screech the bus pulled into school, throwing us forward. The kids scrambled from their packed seats, pushing and shoving, rocking the bus a bit, while one kid yelled at the pain of getting his foot caught in the stampede. After a lot of effort, a mediocre line was formed up the aisle and they all came pouring out, half of them tripping over the person in front of them. Still in my seat, I glanced up at the mirror and saw the bus driver roll her eyes in disgust. I flashed her a knowing smile, and watched the end of the line slowly disappear. I got up and took my usual place at the end and filed out, with a quick wink to the driver. She and I are friends in a way, communicating with occasional expressions. She seems to be the only one in this entire school with any sense….

The idiots ran up the carved stairs, still shoving in some ridiculous race to reach their class first. With a sigh, I slowed down and walked up the stairs, only to be rudely shoved away by some pervert. "Watch where you're standing, bitch!" he screamed back as he entered the hallway.

Reaching the top of the stairs, I flung open the double doors to reveal the heart of the school.

Not exactly the thing I wanted to wake up to in the morning.