History class was unlike any class I had ever been in or heard of. I thought History meant history of chemicals, or history of science or something. No. It meant history of the country and where the people came from, who the people were and what time was like back then. I was totally unprepared.

My notepad was exceedingly too small. My pencil lead had already broken twice. My notes were too scattered for even me to read. I could retain most of the information the teacher gave, but I would rather have had notes to look over later.

I was sitting next to Cassie's boyfriend, Jake. He didn't say anything as he sat down next to me, and he didn't say anything to me the whole time class was in session. I was thankful for this. He did look at me a few times, but I expected that. I think he knew I wanted to be left alone.

The teacher was talking and I was listening intensively. In science and math class, I was bored and ignored the teacher mostly, but now, if I missed something, I would be lost forever. "… but the rebels wouldn't give them much of a chance. They did some pretty serious damage to their lines."

From what I gathered, the rebels were the good guys and the Loyalists were the enemy. That was very confusing to me, because it's usually the other way around. I raised my hand, not for the first time in the class. Someone in the back shouted, "You already asked who George Washington was; what else could you possibly not know?"

"She a lot stupider in this class than she was in math."

"Or science."

I ignored them, as did the teacher. "What is it, Sarah?" He was, however, exasperated by my many questions about what should have been considered common knowledge.

"I was just wondering why they began this fight in the first place."

"Who?"

"The rebels. Why did the revolt against the Loyalists?"

"For their freedom."

"Freedom from what? All they had to do was accept the fact that they were British and their lives would have been perfect. Why did they revolt?"

"They wanted to be Americans, not Britains."

"It's a rather silly thing to start a war over: to be called one thing instead of the other."

"It's considerably more complicated than that, Sarah." I assumed that was the end of the discussion. The whole class had to take five minutes to calm down after laughing at me from that, among everything else I had asked, as well.

"Why are you so dumb?" Billy asked. He was in my History class as well as my science class.

The teacher tried to silence him, but I answered anyway. "My Guardian taught me the math and sciences. He always considered history and geography to be a waste of time."

"You're what?"

"Guardian. It means someone who takes care of you who isn't your family."

"I know what a Guardian is, stupid!"

"So you were home schooled?" Jake asked from beside me. It was the very first time he had spoken to me since I saw him in the hallway. I nodded. "Why aren't you anymore?"

"I don't live with my Guardian anymore."

"Did he ditch you?" Billy asked. I figured he was being rude, but when I confirmed it, he just laughed harder.

"That's enough!" the teacher roared. "We will continue with the lesson!" I made a mental note to study more of this history with my free time.

After class, Jake offered to walk me to the gym, where my next class was. I declined and he respectively went on his way. I wished Cassie would do that, as well, but no sooner had I left the class, she came up to me and said hello. "So were you good in this class, too?"

Her question was answered by Billy, who came up to me and called me a moron. "You're so stupid in history! I only wish I could have seen you in geography. I bet I'd have been smarter than you there, too!"

"Shut up, Billy," Cassie said.

"Oh, are you going to lecture me, little miss freak?"

"Don't call me that."

"Or what? What will you do if I call you a freak?" Cassie did nothing. "Freak! Freak! Freak!"

On pure instinct alone, possibly because Billy was being annoying, or maybe it was because I didn't like him calling Cassie a freak, but I drew back my fist and let it fly into his face.

CRACK!

I always underestimated my own strength. I thought I had just punched him, but I was wrong. I cracked his nose. I don't know if it was broken, but I definitely heard a crack. There was so much blood coming out of his nose that his own hands couldn't stop it. He ran away from us, and I do believe I heard him crying.

I just continued walking to class, as if I hadn't just punched a kid in the face. Cassie looked at me, afraid of me, or maybe afraid for me. I was unafraid. "Why did you do that?" she asked. The kids who had witnessed what I did were now backing away from me and running.

"He was being annoying."

"Oh. I thought you did it because he was calling me a freak."

"That was part of it." When she looked at me and smiled, I quickly added, "a small part."

We turned a corner and I almost bumped into a man who was almost as frightening as me. Kids were backing away from him much in the same way they did with me. This man was glowering at me almost exactly how I did with him. He was huffing and I half expected steam to come out of his nose. Billy was cowering behind him, holding paper towels to his bloody nose.

"My office. NOW!" he roared at me, pointing to the direction of his office. I said nothing, but followed him there. I saw some kids, some of the weaker looking kids, cheer me on silently. I only assumed they had bad experiences with Billy before.

When I stepped in the office, it looked dark and dismal. The man pointed to a chair across from his desk and I sat in it. It was a long time before he started speaking. He sat in his own chair before he opened his mouth. "I am Assistant Principal Chapman," he greeted. "I'm the person kids come to when they have problems, concerns, or when other kids physically attack them and cause them to bleed."

I think he was expecting me to fidget uncomfortably. But I didn't. I sat there as I always sit: unconcerned, uncaring and unafraid. He continued, "You do realize you almost broke his nose?"

"I guess I didn't punch hard enough then. Lucky Billy."

Chapman glared. "Why did you punch him at all?"

"Instinct. I attack people who annoy me too much. Plus he was being loud and he was calling the girl I was with a freak."

"So you were standing up for a friend?"

"She is not my friend! And Billy was annoying me. I don't care what happens to Cassie."

He sighed. "Look; I know growing up in The Hole isn't easy -"

"I never grew up there."

"- but that's no excuse to attack other students. I will have to call Madam Morgan and tell her this. And you will receive detention. Also, if you ever do this again, you'll be suspended or possibly expelled."

I blinked at him. "I almost broke a kid's nose and this is all the punishment you're giving me? Why are you being so lenient on me?"

Chapman leaned in, with his hands folded. "I believe in second chances. Your life must not have been easy, to have so much pent up rage and such an uncaring attitude. It looks like you need a friend. Or maybe just an escape every now and then."

"I need neither, thank you."

"You should join The Sharing. It's a sort of club where kids can go to unwind, have fun, make friends and just relax."

"I am not joining anything where cry-baby children go to whine about their lives to people who don't really care."

"It's not like that at all!"

"If that's all, sir, I would like to get back to class." I didn't move. I continued to sit. It wasn't until Chapman excused me that I got up to leave.

"Just think about it, okay? You can always come to me if there's something bothering you."

I nodded, as that was the polite thing to do, and I left. Cassie was waiting for me. "Don't you have a class now?" I asked when I had closed the door behind me.

"I thought I'd wait for you. Friends do that."

"You're not my friend."

"But you are mine, and I will treat you as such." We walked to the gym in silence for a while. "So Chapman asked you to join The Sharing?"

"Are you part of it?"

"No! And I'm actually surprised you didn't join, either."

"Why is that surprising?"

"Because most kids who don't have parents join The Sharing."

"News travels fast in this school, doesn't it?"

"Not really, but Jake told me."

"Oh, right. News travels fast between couples."

She blushed again. "We're just -"

"Whatever."

When we reached the gym, Cassie said goodbye and left. I walked in to an already in session class. I saw Cassie's blonde friend there, and she sneered at me. I think she still wanted to hurt me for the comment I made at her.

"Are you the new student?" asked the instructor.

"The new kid who broke Billy's nose!" piped one girl.

"Did you see all the blood?"

"Man, it was like a victory for all of us!"

"Stop talking about it," the blonde said. "Anyone could have done it."

"But she did it, that's the thing!"

"Alright, alright. Back to class." The instructor ticked something off on her clipboard and added, "We're doing karate, by the way." She looked at me and grinned a bit. "How about, for being late, you pair up with Rachel?"

Cassie's blonde friend grinned as well. "Yeah. Come on and see if you can hit me, too."

The instructor backed off, and all the girls scattered. They all went to the benches and sat down, eagerly awaiting the demonstration. I could hear some patched muttering among them that Rachel was the toughest girl in the school. Good. More fun for me.

"You can begin anytime," said the instructor. I crouched slightly and moved my hands in front of me. I spread my legs out a bit, to get better footing, and adopted the fiercest look I could muster. The spectators all commented on how dangerous I looked, but Rachel made no such comments. I didn't move my feet at all.

Rachel was circling around, glaring at me like a hawk. I think she was waiting for me to make the first move. I didn't. Finally, she charged me. Her movements were sloppy and predictable. I blocked her punch, dodged her kick and grabbed her arm when she made a second punch. I flipped her easily over my shoulder and on her back. I barely moved at all to do this.

The class cheered, but I couldn't hear it over Rachel's rage. She shot back up and without hesitation, she attacked again. I blocked, dodged and moved so easily away from her. When she made another punch at me, I moved behind her, tripped her and she fell on her stomach.

Again, she raged and shot up. She glared at me. "You're movements are too easy to read," I said. "I know exactly what your next move is going to be."

"Then guess this!" She moved to attack, but feigned to the left, charged my right and completely missed her next punch, as I tripped her yet again.

"This is far too easy," I muttered.

Rachel came back up again. "You're the white trash, you pathetic -"

"Rachel, that's enough!" said the instructor. She got up and moved between us. "That was a good demonstration. Now everyone do five laps! Hustle!"

Rachel and I glared at each other as we obeyed our orders. The instructor may have stopped our karate, but our competition was far from over. Even in our laps, Rachel tried to prove she was faster than me, but she failed. I easily took over in speed, as well as agility, because she kept trying to elbow me as I passed.

When I finished my laps, I wasn't out of breath. I barely even broke a sweat. And it was several minutes before even Rachel was finished. The instructor was impressed with me. I didn't care.

The class was mostly karate demonstrations and lectures about karate. The instructor was sure not to allow Rachel and me pair up anymore. I thought that was wise. If she had, either I would have broken Rachel's nose and got expelled, or Rachel would have attacked me and possibly injured me.

After class, and after showering, I headed to the classroom that was designated as the detention room. There were already a few people there. Cassie was there, as well, which both annoyed and confused me. Cassie waved me over to where she was sitting.

The detention Master told me not to talk. I was to just sit and be quiet. I liked that. Detention wasn't so bad after all. It was an hour long, but I just sat and did what I normally do: thought about the day.

It was a rather dull day. Most of it was stuff I already knew. And the big thing that I learned was that I'm better off not interacting with people at all.

Someone in the detention room made a noise, so he was told to come back the next day. Other than that, it all went by quickly and uneventfully. Cassie followed me out of the classroom and only then did she speak. "Wow, detention, huh? I bet you never thought I'd get that!" She waited for me to reply, and when I didn't, she offered the information. "I got detention for being late."

"That's your fault."

"I wasn't blaming anyone else." A silence. "Can I walk you home?"

"No." It was said rather rudely.

"Why not?"

"Do you know where I live?"

"No."

"The Hole."

I think she tried to stifle a snort or a laugh or something. "You live there? No, seriously, where do you live?" I said nothing. I gave her my answer. "It's just weird, is all! No one from The Hole goes to school."

"Obviously one does."

We left the school, to a bright, sunny outdoors. I silently cursed the sky. "Nice day, isn't it?" Cassie asked. I scoffed.

"Go home, Cassie. Don't follow me."

"I can walk part way with you. My bus is in this direction anyway."

I guessed she was lying. She wasn't very good at lying. Her eyes jerked ever so slightly when she lied. I didn't reply. Whatever. As long as she didn't speak to me-

"Jake told me you don't live with your Guardian anymore. Why not?"

"Because he kept asking stupid, annoying questions, and relaying the answers to his stupid little friends!"

"Oh." She finally stopped talking. Good. Now the silence was filled with the sounds of children playing, birds chirping and other sounds that most people would consider pleasant. Not me. I hated it. I think Cassie's talking was better.

"He murdered my parents," I said. It came out a lot more cardboard than I thought.

"What? Are you serious?" She wasn't faking her shock. I'm not sure that's the answer she expected.

"When I was two years old."

"But how could he have been your Guardian if he murdered your parents?"

"I didn't know he did that until I was ten."

"Did he murder them just to be your Guardian?"

"No. He did that because he's a murderer."

"Oh, my God." She was quiet. Too quiet, actually. Maybe she was massing her next question. "Didn't you have anyone else to go to?"

"Not until I was ten, when I was adopted."

"Well, why don't you live there now?"

"That is far too complicated." I hoped she got the hint that I didn't want to talk about it anymore. She was silent again.

"Oh, there's my bus." She waved goodbye and jogged to the waiting bus by the stop. Maybe she wasn't lying after all. I watched until she boarded and the bus left. Then I started walking home.

The stupid happy sounds of the day were getting louder. I almost wished Cassie had walked me home. Almost…