Chapter 1

Let's be Seventeen

The cafeteria was packed with students. Some were finishing assignments and others eating and hanging out. Talia found her friends sitting at a circular table. Adri moved her backpack from the empty seat. She was closest to her. Justin was to Adri's left and Sierra was on the other side of the table.

"Hey Talia." Adri waved.

"'Ey. What's up?" She sat down.

"Did you get your science homework done? I can't figure out number 4." Justin asked. He had blond hair and blue eyes.

"Nah, man. It was one of those nights. Gimme yours, I'll just copy from you." Talia took it out.

Justin gave his homework to her. She scribbled down the answers, correcting any mistakes. Adri and Sierra chatted a bit. She finished up quickly. Caity sat down with a tray of French toast sticks, apple slices and milk. Caity had ombre hair and hazel eyes.

"Morning, Tai. Doing homework?" Caity asked.

"Yeah, we got Mr. Xanatos' class today." Talia blanched.

"I don't why you hate him so much." Sierra said, brushing her shoulder length, chestnut brown hair.

"He's got it out for me." Talia told her.

"Tai, you goof off in his class regularly. Of course he doesn't like you." Adri said.

"We just take notes all the time. Anyway, I better go drop some shit off in my locker. I'll see you at lunch." She got up. Justin and Sierra followed.

Caity tossed her the bag of apple slices. Talia caught it. She ate the apples slices as they weaved through the crowds. Justin complained about all the homework he had. The buzz of talking and gossip filled the hall. Some couples held hands and leaned on each other. The school security guard, Roxanne, broke up the ones that were making out. They split off and went to their lockers. Talia got to hers and opened it. Dumping her later period textbooks in, she slammed it shut as the bell rang.

She met back up with her friends. They made their way to the gym and walked into Miss Fox's room. She was the gym/health teacher (and was also their homeroom teacher). She had read hair and an eye tattoo in the shape of a fox. No one knew how she got to work here with such a large tattoo. The walls were covered with informational posters and such. The desks were a single person seat with a table. Talia sat next to Sierra. Kids slowly trickled in.

Miss Fox did role call then everyone was allowed to work on whatever they wanted. Talia took out her English assignment and finished that up. Justin did his Social Studies project. Sierra talked to them as she worked. How she went to lake on the weekend and camped. Justin and Talia learned the hard way Miss Fox and Mr. Xanatos were dating when she ratted both of them out for copying homework.

Homeroom ended and Talia went to English class. Mr. Burnett was a serious man. His blond hair was cut short and neat. He wore a white button up and blue jacket. He waited 5 minutes before starting class. They all turned in assignments before beginning the new unit. Frankenstein. However they couldn't get the books yet because they were still out. Mr. Burnett lectured them instead. His voice was droned on, steady and low. Talia felt her head lull, eyes drooping.

"Miss Jones." His icy tone pierced through her sleepiness.

"I'm awake." Talia said loudly.

"I would hope so." He turned back to the board.

Her classmates snickered. Kimberly, one of her English buddies, slid her notebook toward her. Talia copied them. The rest of English went fine. Mr. Burnett's gaze seemed to linger on her. History with Mr. Macbeth was fairly boring. Talia joked and made quips. Mr. Macbeth sighed, but didn't call her out. Then it was lunch. Talia found Caity and Adri waiting at her locker.

"Hey, you wanna go get something from the food carts?" Caity asked.

"Sure." Talia nodded.

"You sure? You've already been tardy to Mr. Xanatos' class this week." Adri asked.

"It's fine. Let's go find Sierra and Justin." She put her morning textbooks away and grabbed the afternoon ones.

They found their two other friends and walked out the front door. Roxanne was in cafeteria. They walked to Alder Street. It was a cloudy day. The food carts lined the square. Many scents filled the air. Hamburgers, hot dogs, Mexican food. Adri had gotten two street tacos and shared with Talia. Caity got a cheeseburger. It came with fries. Justin got a plate of nachos. Sierra wanted a chili dog. They sat at the picnic table and talked about their day.

"Guys, we gotta go! Lunch ends in 10 minutes." Justin checked his watch. They all got up expect for Talia. "C'mon!"

"Damn it." Talia scarfed down her taco and the leftover fries.

"Tai, don't choke." Adri told her.

"Drag my corpse to Mr. Xanatos, see if he cares." Talia scoffed, picking up her backpack.

They hurried back to school and snuck back in through the track field. They saw Roxanne and Mr. Burnett making out off in the corner. They stared in awe. The bell rang. Justin and Talia booked it for the science wing. Mr. Xanatos had closed the door. They briefly looked at each other before Talia opened the door. Everyone looked at them, off to the sides of the classroom.

"Ah, nice of you to join us. Don't sit down, I'm rearranging the seating chart." Mr. Xanatos smiled. He was tan with brown hair and beard. He wore a black button up shirt.

Some of the girls snickered maliciously. Others were too infatuated with Mr. Xanatos to care. Talia didn't see the appeal. He checked his clipboard before pointing at the very first seat in the room, right next to his desk.

"Talia Jones." He looked at her.

"No thanks. I'm not blind." She shot back. The class laughed.

"This is not up for debate, Talia. Come to your seat." Mr. Xanatos frowned.

Talia looked around, hoping one of the other kids would demand that spot instead. No one did. She gave Justin a sad smile before trudging up to the front. The rest of names were called. She wasn't really friends with her neighbors, but they were nice enough. Her seatmate, Anna, wasn't really a lookout type. Justin was put right in the middle. They started class 10 minutes late.

Mr. Xanatos took their homework and said they were going to do a quiz. Talia sighed. She half heartedly filled it out before digging through her backpack. Taking out a battered copy of Pippi Longstocking, she began to read. It was a few minutes before a shadow fell on her desk.

"You'll get this back after school." Mr. Xanatos held his hand out.

"After school?" She frowned.

"Yes, Talia." He said impatiently. "Now since you're done, you can read the lab safety rules."

She gave him her book and her quiz. He put them on his desk and gave her the rules. People slowly finished the quiz. The bell rang and they all filed out. Talia made to her last class. Adri was in this one so it was the highlight of her day. The art room was large and slightly cluttered. Ms. Faun was wearing a brown shirt with gold decal, jeans and white shoes. She had brown hair, pulled into a ponytail, and eyes. They continued their animal project. Talia was doing a collage of forest and dogs. Adri was painting a horse. They worked for awhile until the last bell rang.

"Hey, Tai. My dad's taking me to the dentist. I don't think we can take you home." Adri said as they put away their projects.

"That's ok. Mr. Xanatos is making me go see him." She waved her hand dismissively.

"What happened?" Adri asked.

"He took my book hostage." Talia slung her backpack on her back.

"Well, good luck." Adri hugged her. Talia hugged back.

Talia went back to Mr. Xanatos' room. He was talking to some seniors. Talia didn't see her book on his desk. He must have put in one of the drawers. Ten minutes in, she debating leaving it behind, edging toward the door.

"Talia, I'll be another moment." He looked at her.

She huffed, sitting at a desk. It took another 5 minutes for them to finish up. They waved goodbye and left. Mr. Xanatos took out the book from a drawer and gave it to her. She stuck in her bag. He handed back her quiz and homework. She had gotten a low C on the quiz and a F on homework.

"Talia, is everything alright at home? Mr. Burnett said you were falling asleep in his class. I know you're a bright girl, why do you struggle so much?" He frowned.

"Everything's fine. I just forgot about it." She said.

"I'm not your enemy. I want to see you succeed. If you need help-" His tone grated on her nerves.

"I don't need to stay after school. Now, I have to walk home. Can I go?" She stood abruptly.

He pursed his lips. "Of course, Talia. Have a good evening."

Talia left. The hallways were empty expect for the kids would had clubs. Most of them were waiting for the buses. She got to her locker easily. She gathered all her books, shoving them in her bag. Then she walked toward the entrance. Roxanne casually walked up to her.

"I know you and your friends snuck out during lunch." She said.

"We saw you and Mr. Burnett." Talia said and pushed the door open. The sight of dark clouds raining heavily greeted her. Talia put her coat on. It was threadbare and ratty.

"Talia." Roxanne looked at her.

"Good night, Roxanne." She snipped shortly.

Talia walked home. Her eyes passed over the drab scenery. It seemed to stretch on in the cold rain. Cars sped by. The wind sliced right through her coat. Finally, her house came into view. She unlocked the front door and opened it roughly. She was soaked. Her father would be home around 5 and her mother normally came back around 7. Talia looked in the fridge. She got a glass of water. The light on the answering machine was blinking. Talia pressed it.

"Talia, it's me, your mother. I hope you're ok. My car stalled and the stick shift got stuck. Tell your father I won't be home until 9. I have to go now. I love you." Her mother hung up.

Talia changed out of her wet clothes, showered, then went to her room. She laid on her bed, still peeved and irate from being forced to come home late. Her homework could wait. She was hungry again. Her mom was supposed to go to the food bank today.

"Hey, Talia." Puck popped in.