CHAPTER 4
Karin's eyes were blood shot from crying so hard. We sat pretty much at the back. We were still soaking wet and cold and not to mention uncomfortable.
I thought that she might need her space so I didn't talk to her. Karin just played with her hands. I couldn't believe what she was going through. 'I have to help her.' I was going to buy her lunch with the money I earn and work extra time so I could feed myself. I know it would be like having breakfast, lunch and dinner everyday but it would help even if she had a meal a day. If I didn't do anything, I'd feel guilty when ever I sat down for a meal.
"Oh my God! Did you see that girl? She was so skinny! She is sooo anorexic!" Exclaimed Shelly a few seats in front of me.
Apparently, Karin had heard it too because she looked at me once Shelly finished her sentence and mouthed the words 'See? I told you!'
"I know! At least you can pull looking skinny without anorexia!" Said one of Shelly's girl followers.
I looked at Karin who had a tear rolling down her cheek. Her head was down. I could tell Karin was in pain. I couldn't take it any longer! I arose from my seat and walked up to where Shelly and her followers sat.
"That girl has a name. It's Karin. And she is not anorexic!" I said in a stern voice staring at Shelly in the eye.
"Who she?" Shelley asked the girl sitting next to her.
"I'm not sure…" She replied. The girl looked up at me. "Who are you?"
"Rachelle."
Shelly seemed somewhat satisfied.
"Well, Rachelle, you can go because I really don't give a care what you have to say."
"I'm not going anywhere." I said staring daggers at her.
"Ok, why are you getting so worked up over the fact that that Karin girl is anorexic?" She asked.
"It's not a fact that Karin is anorexic you bit…" I could not have finished my profanity because I was suddenly pulled down into a seat diagonal from Shelly's seat.
"Who the hell just pulled me down?" I growled turning my head to see Richard. "Why do you keep tormenting me?"
"Well, I just decided to save you from getting kicked off the bus for yelling a profanity."
"You mean like how you threw me into the lake?" I asked with a hint of pout in my tone.
"Your still mad at me? I got wet too." I could tell that last remark was meant to be a joke. But it was a dumb joke.
"Yeah, you had on a swim suite and you have a towel." I said looking at the towel-covered boy.
"So? I came prepared and you didn't. Your point?" Richard said with a smirk.
"So, I had on clothes and am now cold!" I retorted. I was looking straight in front of me at the seat while he was turned in his seat looking at me. I could feel his eyes on me.
Richard took off his towel and handed it to me. I looked at the towel then at him.
"What? I 'm trying to be nice!" He exclaimed throwing his hands up in the air.
A few minutes passed of awkward silence.
"That was pretty gracious of you to stand up for that girl, Karin…But she is probably anorexic." Richard said trying to make conversation.
"Thank you and she is NOT anorexic. The reason why she didn't want to go swimming was because she was too skinny. Does that seem anorexic to you?" I looked at him. He was considering the information.
For what seemed forever went by before someone spoke.
"Are you friends with Karin?" Richard asked again trying to break the ice.
I nodded.
"Do you have any other friends?"
I shook my head slightly.
"Are you new here at Jump High?"
I nodded.
"What's your name?"
I pulled out my student ID that I had mailed to me before school started and handed it to him with out looking at Richard.
"You don't talk much, do you?" Richard looked at the plastic card.
I sighed in frustration and glared at him. "What do you want me to say?" I growled.
"Tell me your name…" He waited for me to respond.
"Rachelle Roth." I spoke in my monotone voice.
"Now shake my hand…" I reluctantly shook his hand. "And then I say…Hello, my name is Richard Grayson."
I sneered and went back to looking out the window. I pulled the towel tighter around me as I felt a draft of cold air hit me.
"Here…" Richard leaned over me and closed the window that was slightly open letting cold air leak through it.
"Thanks." I mumbled.
"You're welcome." Richard smiled this cheesy smile a million miles wide and took out his headphones and iPod. He zoned out while lip syncing to some song and bobbing his head back and forth. I took one look at the pathetic sight of the "bee-bopping" teen and rolled my eyes. Obviously he had noticed or he wouldn't have said, "Oh, I'm sorry. Did you want to listen too?"
"No." I said in an annoyed tone.
"But of course you do!" he said taking one ear piece out with one hand and with the other pushing some of my hair back from my ear and placing the earphone in it. I blushed ever so slightly as his hand brushed my cheek. I know! ME blushing! What a joke.
I didn't pay much attention to the first song. All I knew was that it was about something about someone. But the next song I recognized. It was a song my sister and I always listened to. It was…I couldn't remember the name. I just listened to the song looking out the window thinking of the time Sarah and I did karaoke to this song jumping on my bed. I missed hearing her laugh. I fought back the tears and focused on the song.
When it ended I turned to Richard who was now asleep.
"So much for asking him the title…" I mumbled setting the earpiece down beside him and walking back to my original seat. Karin was leaning on the window sleeping like most of the passengers. I brought my knees up to my head and clung to the towel wrapped around me thinking of Sarah while I drifted into a gentle slumber.
I blinked twice and opened my eyes to see Karin looking at me strangely.
"What?" I asked.
"You were talking in your sleep…" She explained.
'Oh shit! Please say I didn't say anything about being and angel!'
"And…"I spoke a little uneasy.
"You were saying 'Sarah' a lot."
"Oh, well that's weird. I don't even know anybody named Sarah." I lied. I didn't exactly feel like bringing up who Sarah was and my whole family history right that moment.
I looked around and noticed the bus was parked in the school parking lot and all of the students, except Karin and me, were off of it.
"Let's head off." I suggested. We exited the bus and started to walk towards the school.
I still head the towel wrapped around me when Richards snuck up on me and grabbed a piece of the towel and gently pulled causing me to spin around a couple of times, unraveling. I looked at him with annoyance.
"Cute, Grayson." I sneered.
"Hey its my towel!" He had that same cheesy grin plastered on his place.
I growled and turned around and headed into the school.
"You know his name?" Karin asked a little interested.
"Well, yeah. Richard Grayson." I said walking through the school halls.
We walked into our classroom and sat at an empty desk. A few minutes later the class was settled in and Mr. Michael was ready to start.
"Now, we are going to be assigned partners…" He picked up what looked to be a list. "Ok, so Nikki T. and Jenny H. will be partners."
"Oh please don't be someone dumb." I mumbled my plea to nobody in particular.
"Richard G. and…"
"Please not me…not me." I whispered to myself.
"…Ryan R." Mr. Michael finished.
I gave a slight grin at my luck. And looked over at him.
"Shelly H. and…"
I was still grinning when I heard it…
"…Rachelle R."
I immediately stopped grinning and turned to look at Shelly, my face had disgust written all over it. Shelly gagged and looked at her friend saying, "Eww, gross. Rachelle R. Is that that girl on the bus?" She asked with a horrified look on her face.
"Yeah, Rachelle." The girl replied.
I looked at Karin who was looking at me with a mix of pity and laughter. In other words, I could tell she felt sorry for and at the same time was going to burst out laughing at my misfortune.
"It's not funny!" I bellowed.
"I bet you wished you were partners with that Richard." She had obviously overheard my pleas.
I just looked at her. She seemed to get the point and looked the other way.
I just sat my chair with my head to my desk, semi-pouting. At least I was out of the lake and I got to go to work that day. Mr. Michael finished his list and dismissed us. I grabbed my backpack and waited for Karin at the door. We walked to work together. She seemed to have forgotten what happened at the lake so I didn't bring it up to remind her.
We entered the café and walked through the kitchen and into he back room to get aprons and change into my uniform, which was a black blouse with a black skirt and black fish net leggings.
"Here." Karin handed me my nametag.
It was black and had Rachelle Roth stenciled in white into the surface. I pinned it to my shirt.
"You can put your backpack in one of these cubbies." Karin said pointing to the cubbies. I stuffed my backpack in it. Then we left the back room and into the kitchen where Karin introduced me to other employees. Then we walked to the counter and she introduced me to the cashier and some of the servers. She taught me how to organize the bookshelves, and fix the microphone and lights. She also taught me how to use the cash register. After that I was pretty much ready to serve the customers and earn my money.
"Thanks Karin." I said.
Karin nodded with a smile in response. I was going to enjoy serving people and reading the books when there was slow business and listen to different people read their poetry.
"I can take over." I offered the cashier. He agreed and stepped aside. I waited for a customer to be ready. A girl stepped up to the cash register.
"What would you like?" I asked with my ridged voice.
"One black coffee and a croissant." She replied.
"That will be…" I rang it up. "…$5.50." I said.
The woman stepped aside. I gave the order of black coffee to the guy working the coffee machine and picked up the croissant with the tongs and placing it on a plate. I brought the plate with the crescent shaped pastry on it to the woman who ordered it.
"Your coffee will be ready soon." I informed her. I walked back behind the counter. As soon as the coffee was ready, I served it to her too. The business was going slower, so I sat in a chair in the corner and read a book from the bookshelf.
"You know, you can read poetry onstage." Karin said sitting next to me in a beanbag.
"I don't have any poetry." I explained not even bothering to look up.
"I saw you writing a poem in class this morning. At least that's what you said you were writing."
I thought back and remembered she was right.
"Why would I read my poetry out loud?" I asked.
"Because there's not that many people here, so its less embarrassing. This is when I usually read my poetry."
"You do poetry?" I asked surprised.
"Not much, and it's not that good…" Karin said laying back into the bag.
"Oh. Well I haven't ever read my poetry to anyone." 'Except Sarah…'
"Please! Just this once!" Karin had a pathetic impression of a puppy dog.
"Fine." I rolled my eyes at her puppy dogface and put the book away and heading to my backpack. I reached into my bag and pulled out my notebook that I had written the poem in. I walked back out and onto the stage. I sat in the stool and brought the microphone closer to me. Someone pointed the spotlight right on me. There were only about five to eight people in the audience plus the employees listening. I took a deep breath and thought of Sarah. I began…
I am a Dark Angel filled with dread
I am a Dark angel wishing I were dead
I am a White Angel filled with lost hope
I am a White Angel trying to cope
I am a Grey Angel, my wings tattered and torn
I am a Grey Angel, my soul weathered and worn
I looked up at the last word. The spotlight turned off and I let my eyes adjust has I stepped off the stage. I walked back to where Karin was still in the beanbag.
"Oh my god! That's what you where writing?" Karin asked with the biggest smile on her face.
"Yeah, poetry. Like I told you…" I answered sitting down.
"That was amazing!" She laughed.
Unexpectedly, Someone banged on the window beside us causing Karin and me to shriek. I looked at the culprit. It was none other than Grayson. Rachel gave the laughing Richard a dirty face and flipped him off.
"Asshole." Karin mumbled.
He came around to the door and walked through it still laughing. I got up and started walking to the kitchen. As I passed him he grabbed me arm.
"Com'n Roth. That was pretty damn funny!" He stifled another laugh.
"I'm not laughing. Am I, Grayson?" I had an mix of anger frustration and annoyance in my tone.
He was still holding my arm. I fixed my eyes on his and narrowed my eyes. Then I looked at his hand around my arm and back at him. He smirked this cocky smirk.
"You want me to stop? All you have to do is say so." He teased. "That means you have to open that mouth of yours and speak."
"Let go." I growled in a low voice staring daggers at Richard. He let go.
"So anyway, I saw you two sitting here bored, so I decided to liven up your day with a little scare." He explained following me around the room as I cleaned up people's dishes they had left. I ignored him. I carried the dirty dishes to the rack where we put them and from there someone at the end of the day cleans them. He was still following me.
"If you haven't noticed, I'm trying to avoid you. Leave me alone." I demanded.
"But you so fun to annoy!" Richard stuck his hands in his pocket.
I turned back to the bookshelves and started to reorganize it.
"And besides, your cute when your mad!" He kept pushing.
I slowly turned on my heel and looked at him with hate.
"I'm not cut when I'm mad." I bellowed through clenched teeth.
"See?" He laughed.
I shook my head and put the last book in its place and picked up the book was reading before and sat down in a chair. I picked up where I left off and began to read.
Richard sat down in the chair next to me and started at me. I knew he was trying to get to me, so I tried to ignore his glare. But I couldn't concentrate on the book with him staring at me. I slammed the book shut and looked up at Richard. He knew it'd get to me, and he was clearly he was happy with his success.
"What do you want, Grayson?" I asked trying to calm down.
"What do I want…let me think about it…" He pretended to ponder the thought.
"Good, while you think about it, go for a long walk off a short dock." I retorted.
"I already did that with you." He smiled at his wittiness.
I rolled my eyes lying down in the chair with my head over one armrest and my legs hanging off the other armrest. 'He'll go away, if you ignore him…' I tried to reassure myself. I had my eyes closed and breathing in and out slowly. I felt someone's breath on my face. I opened one eye to see Grayson's face over mine. He was staring at me with that goddamn smirk on his face.
I grunted and sat up turning to give him yet another glare.
"What do I have to do to get you out of my face?" I asked with a plea in my voice.
"Nothing. I won't get out of your face. It's to much fun."
