Mary and Amy shuffled through the school doors 10 minutes before class. "We really need a car." Amy pointed out as she put her red and black hair into a ponytail. "Neither of us can drive you idiot." Mary snorted as she opened her locker and tossed a few books inside. "Ok... sarcasm is not appreciated this early in the morning." The older girl replied, leaning against the lockers. "But I'm sarcastic... it's what I do." Mary replied as they started for homeroom.
Halfway there, the two hit traffic of other kids rushing to their lockers. "Watch it loser!" Tommy Warren, the football captain, snapped as he shoved a freshman out of his path. Mary's upper lip curled in disgust as the kid was thrown into the lockers. "That-." She began. "Mary." Amy said warningly. Mary shrugged Amy's hand off of her shoulder and shifted her path a few feet so she was directly in front of the jock. "Move you two-toned loser." Tommy ordered. "Sure thing Tom." Mary smirked as she slid over, but kept her foot in place. The captain was too busy thinking the world was at his feet to see the obstacle, and tripped right over it. Seconds later he fell on his face, causing the entire hallway to erupt with laughter. In an instance, he was up and had grabbed her shoulders. "You little bitch." He seethed, his grip tightening. "Ouch... that hit a nerve." Mary retorted, glaring up at the football star. His lips thinned, and he was about to react when a teacher walked up the hallway. Tommy's grip quickly loosened, and he grabbed his bag and started off.
Coward. Mary chuckled as she reached for her bag. "Ms. Dawson?" Mrs. Callaway called. Mary winced; Mrs. Callaway was not necessarily her favorite teacher. "Yes ma'am?" She greeted as she turned. "I was wondering if you could be able to be ticket taker tonight at the carnival. Jeff is sick and it's an emergency." She requested. "Oh, I don't-." Mary began, but didn't finish. "Ok wonderful! I'll expect you to be there at 7, it's over at 10." Mrs. Callaway cut in cheerfully as she patted Mary on the shoulder and walked off. "And this is why I'm not fond of Callaway." Amy snickered as she walked up to the still stunned Mary. "I can't believe her!" Mary exclaimed as she kicked the locker. "Want me to hang with you?" Amy offered. The white and brown-headed girl almost jumped with joy, but then remembered that Amy didn't want to go even more than she did. "Nah... it's fine... I'll just catch up with you later." Mary sighed as Amy slung her arm over her shoulder and they started for class.
The rest of the day passed without much incident. Mary had ducked away from Tommy and his thugs who had been looking for her and was now sitting in the old abandoned Janitor's Room. Last year, Eddy the janitor had complained that closet had been too far away from the main accident areas and after much protesting against it, the school had a new one built a few halls down. This one had since been abandoned, everything taken except a few crates. Mary sighed as the 60-watt bulb swung slightly, casting shadows on the gray walls. She leaned against the wall and picked up where she left off in her book.
Suddenly, she heard a noise and her head snapped up and she focused on the door handle; it was turning. It creaked open, and Mary took in a short gasp; if it was Tommy, she was trapped. "Hey, you loser... you skipped Math." Amy scolded as she peeked her head in. Mary let out a deep sigh of relief and shook her head. "Oh no... whatever shall I do?" She cried dramatically as she put her head in her hands. "I don't know... I really don't know." Amy sympathized as she walked in and sat on a crate. "Well it's time to go home anyway... ready to get outta here?" She asked, pulling the door shut. "Gimme some time... I don't want to catch up with Tommy and I don't wanna go home just yet anyway." Mary mumbled as she folded the corner of her page down and tossed the book aside.
"Mary..." Amy began, but paused as she looked at her friend. "What?" Mary asked defensively. "Your eye." The paler girl brought up. Mary shrugged her shoulders and turned her attention to the still light bulb. "No... it's a big deal. Why don't you talk to someone?" Amy pushed. Mary paused in thought, and Amy could see her eyes deepen, as if she was searching for the right answer. "Because its no big deal." She answered softly. "No big deal?" She responded shrilly. "Mary... it is and you know it." Amy chastised. "Well so what?" Mary snapped, but held her hand over Amy's mouth so she could continue. "I'm adopted. If I tell the police, they would snatch me up so fast my two-toned head would spin. I don't have any other family. I would be shipped off to another foster home and away from the people I care about here. So I bear this shit cause I know I'll handle myself." She finished as she stood and started for the door.
Amy sat there, staring into space and totally shocked. She regained her senses and stood with her shorter friend. "One day you may not be able to handle yourself, and what'll happen then?" Amy challenged. Mary paused with her hand on the doorknob. "We'll just have to see won't we?" She answered, quickly turning the knob and storming out. Amy Forest stood there shaking her head in the abandoned janitor's closet. "I hope we won't." She called softly, knowing Mary wouldn't hear her.