A/N: So Jani was just pretty much banned to see the Spirits, and there's something waiting for her at school . . . .

Forever Alone

Ugly grey clouds blanketed the sky as I walked into my school. My spirit was faded, my soul sucked dry. I was humiliated by Tigerstar, Mother Gana hated me, and now there might be evil spirits lurking on this very earth. Somehow though, I knew there was more sadness to come.

I was right.

The minute I stepped into my school I felt all eyes on me. People whispered to each other when they saw me. Some people were trying to stifle giggles, but others were just asses and let them out loud. With my head down, I headed to my locker. There was a huge knot forming in the pit of my stomach. Something has happened, something that involved me. And I wish I knew what.

I opened up my locker and looked for the books I would need before lunch. Before I could reach in and grab my English textbook, my locker door slammed shut.

Rachel stared at me with burning eyes of anger and hatred. Her face was as red as an apple, and she clutched her hands into a fist so tight her knuckles were turning white. She. Was. Pissed.

"How could you?" she wailed. It echoed through the semi-empty hallway. Everyone who was in the hall immediately stopped and looked at us. Once they noticed me, they didn't look away. They waited for the fireworks.

I raised a brow. "How could I what?"

"Betray me you bitch!"

I was taken back by Rachel's words. They stung like a whip. I shook my head. "Rachel, please, just tell me what's wrong." Tears gathered in my eyes. Please God, tell me I wasn't about to lose another person who mattered to me.

Rachel's nostrils flared. She took out her phone and furiously opened on to the Facebook app. Scrolling down the newsfeed, she stopped and tapped on the screen. Turning the phone to me, my jaw dropped when I saw the embarrassing picture Rachel had given me of her, Mary, and me with our mud masks and embarrassing outfits.

I felt sick to my stomach. How did the picture get out-

Ellen!

I remembered that day in locker room when I couldn't find the picture, and then I saw that look on Ellen's face. That bitch! She took the picture! She must've broken into my locker and stolen it before I got out of the shower.

Rachel jammed her phone into her pocket. "How could you? How could you give her that photo? That was really private stuff. Did you read the caption?"

I shook my head.

"'They say pigs like hanging in the mud. Apparently sluts do too.'" Rachel's chin began to quiver. She was fighting tears.

I reached out for her arm, but she whacked my hand away. "Rachel please," I begged. "You know I didn't do that!"

"Then how'd she get the picture?"

"She must've stolen it from my bag?"

"Why did you even bring it to school then? What? Were you planning on showing it to everyone else?"

I furrowed my brows in anger. "Of course not! Mary wanted to see the picture. Excuse me if I hadn't thought that some bitch would break into my locker, rummage through my bag, and steal the picture!"

"Why must you be so stupid sometimes Jani?"

Oh hell no! How dare she try to call me the stupid one! I wasn't about to stand here and take this.

"I'm the stupid one?" I spat. "Do you have memory failure or something or do you not remember all the crap you've pulled over the years? What? All those drugs and drinks clogged up your memory?"

Rachel furrowed her brows so tight it looked almost like a unibrow. Her face was redder than the red bra she was wearing underneath her white tank top.

Taking a step close to me, she looked deep into my amber eyes with her green eyes. "Fine." She gritted the word through her teeth. "You want to play dirty, that's alright with me. I'm sure Ellen will love to hear all the stories of you at those crazy parties."

I raised a brow. "Are you high right now? I've never done a thing at any parties."

Rachel smiled. "Well that's not what I'm gonna tell Ellen."

I gasped, covering my mouth. "Rachel you wouldn't!"

"Oh but I would," she nodded.

Tears began to re-gather in my docks. "But Rachel, I'm your best friend . . ."

"You were my best friend." She looked away from me now, as if it was too painful for her now. "Before you betrayed me . . ." I could detect the hurt in her voice, as if I actually handed that picture to Ellen. She turned and began to walk away. I grabbed her arm holding her back. She didn't resist.

"Rachel."

She didn't say anything. She simply looked at the floor.

A tear escaped and slipped down my cheek. "Please don't leave me. There's no way I can be alone right now."

Rachel wiped her eyes. If I asked her, she'd probably say they were itchy from allegories. But I knew she was also crying. "And there's no way I can trust a traitor." She pulled her arm away from me and walked down the hall, disappearing down the stairway.

I could feel everyone's eyes on me. I knew they were all there. Yet, the minute Rachel went down those stairs, I felt like I was the only person in the world.

Lunch was a complete and absolute nightmare. Rachel was getting her revenge on my "betrayal." She was telling rumors about me to Ellen, who then spread the rumors around like wildfire. So far, between the first bell and lunch, there's been three rumors that I'm pregnant, six rumors that I was already pregnant but got an abortion, ten rumors about me carrying an STD, and one rumor saying that worked at a brothel in India and came to here to live with I was thirteen.

The minute I stepped into the noisy cafeteria, all got quite, and everyone looked at me. The silence lasted a minute. It was unbearable.

"Whore!" someone from the back yelled.

The entire cafeteria burst into laughter. I felt my face so as hot as lava. Turning, I slammed right into someone, spilling all the continents of my lunch on my clothes. The laughter in the cafeteria became even louder.

"Sorry." I looked at the person I bumped into. It was Mark.

Mark was pursing his bottom lip, something he did when he was angry. "How could you do that to Rachel? How could you betray my cousin?"

I stared at him in shock. "Mark I didn't do anything!"

He snorted. "Yeah right! God Jani, you know I would expect something like this to be done by Ellen or one of her zombie followers." He shook his head. "But you? You were far from the list. And now you've shot yourself up to the top."

I was shaking my head. "Wait no, Mark please listen!"

He walked away from me. "No Jani forget it! I don't wanna hear your crap!" He scowled at me. "And to believe I once felt sorry for you." And he walked away.

This was all too much. Mark, Rachel, the laughter in the cafeteria, the rumors, Ellen, all of it! It was all making me sick. First I had lost Mother Gana, now I was losing my friends. What else do you wanna take from me next God?

I raced out of that cafeteria. I couldn't stay a minute longer, I was too ashamed and embarrassed. I've never cut school before, but today I just had too. There was no way I couldn't face them. I wish I could go to Mary, but she and her family went to go visit a sick relative two days ago. She was now the only true friend I had.

My house was empty as I got home. My parents worked until I got out of school so they wouldn't be home. And that's where I went wrong . . .

As I stepped into the dining room, I almost screamed as I saw my mama and papa sitting at the dining table. My blood froze, and I swear when they looked at me my heart stopped for a moment.

Papa's face was hard and furious looking. Mama looked like she was ready to rip someone's head off. That's when I noticed my laptop sitting on the table.

I had only three words to say for this moment. Fuck. My. Life.

"Jani!" My mom jumped up from the table. She raced her chubby body over to me and grabbed my wrist. Compared to the grip Mother Gana had, Mama was as weak as a sick child. But Mama's eyes were fiercer than Mother Gana and that's what scared me.

"What are you doing home!" she yelled.

I broke out crying. "I'm sorry Mama!"

She yanked me over to the table and sat me down next to her. She pointed a stern finger at me. "Jani Radha Patel! Tell me why you're home! Now!"

I looked down at my hands only for her to yank my head up and hold my chin tightly in her hands. I gulped. "I couldn't stay in school . . ."

"Could this be why?" My dad turned the laptop towards me. On the screen was my Facebook page. My eyes widened in horror.

"Jani!" My dad barked my name and it made me jump. "Is this true? All this, this . . . stuff?"

He looked ashamed to look at me. It looked like he was kind of forcing himself to see my face. I cried a little more. "Papa please don't hate me! It's all lies, I swear."

"Then why wouldn't you stop them if they weren't true?" Mama asked.

"Because," I spoke softly. "I . . . was afraid."

No one said anything. Mama and Papa looked at each other. Not one of them tried to comfort me. They just looked at each other.

Mama looked down to me. "Why were you afraid Jani?"

I shrugged. "I'm not sure."

Mama seemed to be fed up. She began to tremble in anger. "Jani enough with your nonsense! We're tired of you getting into all this trouble. Are you reading the things on here? They say you sleep with men for money! Have you not the least bit of shame? Do you know how this will shame both you and us?"

"Of course I do!" I exploded. "You don't think I'm suffering from this? My friends have ditched me, the school thinks I'm a slut, my social life has gone done the drain, and all you worry about is your shame? What about mine! I'm the one suffering, not you! I'm the one going to school and getting harassed while you sit here and worry about your pride. Oh please, don't let a silly little thing like me stop you. Just be lazy and ship me off to India to you can assure that I'll never bring shame to you again!"

There was a clap sound. A second later I felt my cheek throb. Mama had her hand raised. Another clap. Now my cheek actually began to hurt. I grabbed it.

The veins in Mama's neck were poking out, and her eyes looked like they were about to pop out of her head.

"Of all the children in heaven," she said. "Krishna gave me a child like you."

For some reason, her words didn't sting me. I was done with these two. Just done.

Mama sent me to my room and locked the door. Later I heard them talking. I pressed my ear against the door to listen better.

"Are you sure it's the right thing?" I heard my father say.

"Yes," Mama said. "I called my sister and she told me there are not that many boarding schools with cheap tuition, but we might be able to make a deal with an ashram."

"An ashram? But an ashram is a house of widows."

"Yes, but it contains the strict rules and guidance she needs. I'll call tomorrow morning to make the arrangements."

Papa sighed.

"I don't know what else to do with her," Mama said.

"Do you know some of the stuff they do at ashrams?" he asked. "To pay rent, they sometimes sell girls into prostitution."

"We'll be paying a small fee to help them get by. But say that isn't enough and Jani ends up like one of those girls . . . . then let that be her fate."

I heard Mama sniffle a bit. There was silence, until I heard pots and pans in the kitchen.

I jumped up from my spot. Like hell they were sending me to an ashram! I felt like they had ripped my soul into two when the accepted the fact that I might become a prostitute. Never in my life have I felt so unwanted. It was as if I was nothing more that property to them that if I wasn't good, they could just throw me aside.

I had to get out of here! But where would I go? Mother Gana? She'd blast me on the spot. Not to my ex-friends. They probably just kill me. And Mary was gone. My parents didn't want me. There was only one place I could think of. The Clans. They were probably the only living thing that wanted me with them, that didn't hate me or want me dead or something. They were all I had left.

As the sun began to set, I climbed out my window. Running down the street, I took one last look at the only home I had known since birth. It would probably never see it again. ThunderClan would be my home now, for the night at least.

For now, I was a runaway, an outcast, unwanted. I was just alone. Oh so terribly alone.

A/N: A little shorter than my other chapters, I know but I'm feeling under the weather lately and it's been affecting my writing and craziness. Thanks to all reviwers! You keep my spirits up. So notice how this chapter and the last have been kind of sad and depressing for Jani? You know what that means right? That's right! Something BIG is gonna happen soon. Only time and this cold medicine canetell you when and what it's gonna be ;)