Chapter 44

After sitting there for a few minutes, I got up and went in to my 3rd hour class. Once I opened the door and entered, there was no more by a whisper in the room; all eyes went to me as I took everything in. They kids, the classroom, and finally the teacher as he stood on the other side of the room by his desk. I could tell I just interrupted him from speaking.

Silence. Then: "Miss. Higgins," I heard the man say to me, his eyes in mine as he addressed me. "Welcome," he said, face blank. "Please, take a seat," was all he said, his eyes looking me over with no interest. From where I stood across the room, the students between us staring, I took him in. Mr. Harris looked to be in his 30s or so, his hair ginger as his skin was pale white. He was rather skinny as well but tall. His face was thin, eyes a light color I could see. I looked away to the other students after he said that, looking among them for a seat.

Taking a shaky breath, I walked towards the only open one. Looking at the kid I would be sitting next to, I saw his eyes already trained on me and observant. He had this snotty look, his posture different; he sat tall and oh so mighty. He didn't change his facial expression by the time the whispers started and I sat down.

When I sat down, I looked ahead and saw Mr. Harris still standing there. His eyes were on mine. "Tell us, my dear, why are you here Albany?" Mr. Harris said, eyes and voice loud directed at me so everyone could here this. My head started hurting again. I mean, was there one class that could go by without the impulsive need to hit someone run through me? I guess not because his hardened face softened and that was when I saw amusement.

The room was totally silent. Looking around before back to him, I was surprised I answered seriously and without sarcasm. "This was the only school that would accept me. However now that I am here, I see that is not the case."

He nodded but went on. "Okay well I meant overall, what is your goal here in school or in this class? You're life?"

"Is it any of your business?" I asked, pointing that out.

"I think it might help us understand you a bit better. Most here are having a hard time." He chuckled under his breath. Prick.

"Shocker," I murmured. "I'm here to amuse my fellow students. I'm doing a great job at it." I said with obvious sarcasm. I went on with sincerity though. "And with your class, you tell me what my goals are. What are you going to be drilling in my head, teacher?"

He didn't smile. He looked pissed off. Hell, I was pissed. He was trying to make a show out of me and it was working with a few snorts and sneers. If it was with what I said or at me, I don't know. He clearly wouldn't have been fine with harassment towards me.

He started to slowly walk around the class casually. His eyes never left mine though. "Depends on how much has already been drilled. According to your past, it should have been more often. I personally think you would be better off in a school especially for you're kind."

Translation: a mental hospital. Students seemed to get the joke as they laughed at his words. "Thanks, because I wanted your opinion," I snapped back, sitting up more and staring at him hard. He wants to fuck with me, fine. I'll be polite and return the favor. The students around me also showed what they thought from the gasps or embarrassed laughs. I smirked up at Mr. Harris.

His face blank, he told me in a flat voice, "May I see you in the hall for a moment?" It was more of a demand than a question.

Groaning, a scowl forming deep upon my stubborn lips, I stood up quickly and pushed my chair back, heading for the door in an instant. Swinging it open, I stepped out in the hall and a moment later, I heard him tell the class he would only be a moment and to start working on something. His eyes meeting mine as he stepped out, he shut the door and faced me in the empty hall.

His nostrils flared as he stared down at me, showing me his dipped eyebrows and true anger in his deep blue eyes. "Don't... you ever dare... try to turn the tables around on me. You are here to cooperate and that's a privilege for someone like you. I can snap you like a twig if that's the game you want to play. You are screwed up, my dear," he said saying a little lighter. Lips tightened. "I'm a strong believer in punishment when called for. As far as I'm concerned, with you, it has already been called for. You deserve nothing but pain. You terrorized, beat, violated people. You are mentally insane. I can't imagine what else you have done."

Mouth shut, mouth shut... I already bitched my last teacher out. I didn't need to do it to this one too and risk even more. Mouth shut, don't scream at him....

I could only imagine what Luke would think or do if he were here. I mean, before when he arrested Patrick, Luke lost it with just a few insults. He pulled over and started to beat him. Good thing he wasn't here because he would have gone beyond what was 'called for' in the bully's eyes.

"Do we understand each other?"

"Yes," I said tightly.

After a few more deathly glares, we went back into the room to continued what was to be another hour of nothing but fear for what would happen next.

***

When Mr. Harris escorted me to my next class, I felt my spirits lift somewhat. British Literature. Meaning: Mr. Rush. Thank god. Hopefully a little break.

However, when he saw me from behind his desk as I was one of the first of his students in his room, his eyebrows lifted and eyes grew slightly when he saw me. He rose, walking over to me. He didn't look happy at all. He pursed his lips when he got to me and quietly spoke with me.

"What happened to you? You look terrible," he said in worry, eyes looking me over.

I shrugged. "What I expected on a first day. At a new school. I'm fine."

"Luke's going to throw a fit when he sees you like this. Do you know who did it? Names or anything?" he asked, looking concerned. He clearly wanted to punish the ones that did this to me. Of course, it would have been an organized and ineffective punishment. They deserved an ass beating if you ask me.

I shook my head and noticed more of his students were coming in. I heard the gasps around us and knew people recognized they had a class with me. I internally sighed and saw Casey-- I mean Mr. Rush notice too. He didn't look too thrilled over it either.

"Do you want me to call up Luke?" he asked, concerned. His pretty brown eyes looked helpless.

"No," I shook my head. He was worried enough and didn't need me dragging him out of work over something I would have to deal with at some point anyway. Plus, he was going to feel terrible later on. He was convinced that this would be a better experience than my last school. Oh was he wrong.

"I don't suppose you would be okay with me addressing this next class on the issue."

I shook my head. "No. Really, I'm fine."

More people started to come in and it demanded some of our attention. Mr. Rush knew he had to start class soon. Sighing, he crossed his arms, thinking. "I don't understand how this happened. You were to be supervised at all times."

"And you don't think adults are cruel?"

His lips tightened and he understood what I meant. He wasn't happy about it either. I could tell he was going to have a talk with some of my teachers from earlier at some point today. He looked guilty for not doing anything then and there it seemed but what could he have done?

After everyone took their seats, Mr. Rush gave me a reassuring smile and told me to take a seat too. The bell rang and when it did, Mr. Rush walked towards his desk and grabbed a few papers behind it, coming around and standing before the class. I saw him look around at the students and was clearly upset - not at them in particular but rather what the students were doing to me in general. He couldn't do anything right now but I could tell he would later on.

Of course, everyone was being obnoxious and talking. Crazy chick in the room will do that to a group of rumor-spreading teens. When they all settled down, he jumped right into a basic introduction. He went on for a bit about the shit teachers are required to tell us. Apparently, over and over in the course of a day. Then had to go over classroom rules and all that junk. He finally got to the actual subject.

"British Literature. Be prepared for a lot of reading. We will be covering different works from writers during times of war and other major events of the Middle Ages and other eras. You can count on Shakespeare as well as multiple sonnets by others. Also, it is to be expected that you write a few papers of different styles throughout the course of the year. First though, we will cover the basics of the ways of persuasion and argumentative writing. Logos, pathos, ethos are things we will be working constantly with too." He paused after a moment, looking around to all his students with a straight face. Wow, he was really different it seemed when teaching. "Any questions? The English department is getting nailed this year with ways for you guys to do better. From your past work, in general, kids are failing more in English than in any other subject, which is why we will be constantly busy this year, often with multiple things at once."

All the while the dude was talking, a girl next to me leaned over towards me I noticed from the corner of my eye I internally sighed. Never a fucking break....

"Hey," she said, under her breath towards me. After I kept my head forward, she continued with the same word repeatedly before I was grinding my teeth, annoyed. I turned to her finally and raised an eyebrows, waiting for what ever it was she wanted.

She gave me a smile but it looked forced. She had straight brown hair with blue eyes that widened slightly as my eyes met hers. The girl also, I noticed, was rather skinny. Like really tooth-pick-model skinny. She wore tore up and faded blue jeans with a grey tight shirt. She had big boobs too I guess is worth noting. She also wore a lot of jewelry I noticed. Diamond studs on her ears, matching necklace, and a few beaded bracelets. Searching her face, I saw that she looked a little nervous but she appeared more superior than anything. I didn't like it. She gave off an air that said she was a snotty brat. But hey, I knew not to judge when everyone judged me and got the wrong idea.

"What?" I pushed, waiting for her insults.

"I just noticed you were having... a rough time today," she said, a little hesitant.

I scoffed. "Uh, yeah what gave it away?" I said, shaking my head and looking ahead again. She could try to be nice all she wanted. I'm not dumb enough to fall for dumb tricks on the first day of school. She was persistent though.

"Look," she said, leaning over towards me in a whisper as to not disrupt Mr. Rush. "I know that it's been hard for you. But... I wanted to invite you to sit with us today at lunch."

"And why is that?" I asked her, amused. Did she think I was stupid?

She scoffed. "Where else are you going to sit? Oh, and I'm Madison by the way."

That was true. To be honest, it was something I was dreading all day. I would be fine waiting in my next class while everyone ate. I didn't want to face people, even if I could have gotten food out of the deal. That was just because I was being a chicken. I mean, one day, I would have to face the dreaded walk to the lunch room. I don't think Luke thought about that. He seemed to find a way to keep me supervised the whole time by having my teachers walk with me to every class. But what about during lunch time? That would be a bitch.

"I also want to give you a chance," she said, sighing. "I don't know you but that shouldn't matter. I want to understand what all the fuss is about because you don't seem that crazy."

I smirked slightly. I liked what she said but I mean how could I not be suspicious? Thinking it over, I guess it wouldn't hurt. I mean, what's the worse that would happen? A few insults and other harassment's. I mean, I was scared to face so many people during that time but maybe sitting with them could be security. Even if they are a bunch of fake assholes.

Heavily sighing, I turned back to her. "Don't think that I'm trusting you," I said, trying to be polite but it wasn't going great. "But..." I groaned. "Fine. Where are we sitting?"

***

Though I didn't act that on edge, my body clearly was. My shoulders were tense and my fingers wouldn't uncurl from fists. I became really on edge when we walked in through the halls and into the cafeteria and nobody bothered me. That really freaked me out. Nobody went near me or said anything. Of course, I got the cold looks and the shocked stares, the whispers and gasps. But nobody directly came up to harass me. It was strange and therefore I was on edge even more.

I was walking with Madison and she noticed how tense I was. She gave a laugh that was incredibly annoying. All I got out of her was teenager to the extreme. "Oh don't worry. They wont bother you since you're with me," she said proudly.

Just for security, just for a little while, I will sit somewhere else tomorrow... because honestly guys, I wouldn't be able to put up with her preppy-ness much longer.

After we got out lunch, I followed her over to a table where a few others were sitting. Oh god. Once they saw that she brought me to sit with them, the would go bat-shit and try to fly away. Walking towards them, I noticed that we were going to be sitting with one other girl and two boys. Probably her best friend and both of their boyfriends. Ugh.

Once they saw me sit down with Madison, they could only stare. The girl was more just amused while seemed uneasy at the same time. She wasn't what held my attention though. One of the boys started to shake. I laughed because it was pathetic. I watched as the other boy sitting next to him rolled his eyes and glanced to him. He gave him a sympathetic smile and rubbed his arm up and down, trying to soothe him while shooting me daggers. That deserved a raised eyebrow. I also recognized him from a privious hour. He was the one that I was sitting next to in history and was really snotty about it to. And not snotty as in mean. Snotty as in girly-pathetic-snotty. Looking at him now as he tried soothing the boy next to him, it was clear they were both gay. Especially when the trembling boy rested his head against his shoulder and looked scared, wanting to be held. I can tell you right now that I can put up with a lot of shit; I wouldn't put up with this for too much longer. Only one word could describe this: pathetic. Not because they were gay or anything. Nope, I was fine with that. It was the overreacting that was overly gay and annoying because he was scared shit-less over nothing. I sat down across from him. Oh how very scary. Not to mention his partner was being a stuck up bitch. But it was the girl that was the first to speak.

"Albany," she said in a squeaky voice. "This is Beth." She pointed to the two boys on the other side of the table. First, to the one that seemed scared shit-less. "This is Nathan." Then to the little snot. "And this is Darren, his boyfriend."

When she was done, they all looked to me, still shocked it seemed that I was actually here and in sight. "Um, hi... I guess."

My eyes fell on the two boys because I could feel their stare the most. The boy, Nathan, looked up to his boyfriend Darren with worry. He didn't even take notice. Darren just stared at me with disgust when I met his gaze. He sat tall, like Madison was, tall and proud. He's a little bitch is what he is.

"I'm still trying to figure out why the school accepted you," he said, his lips screwing up tightly, his eyes refusing to look away from me. Nathan's eyes widened at his words to me and I saw him take his hand in fear, wishing for him to stop. He didn't though. Damn, this was a first. Have you ever heard of a gay guy that wasn't the nicest person you ever met? I know, this was a first. "The board is getting shit over this and for what? So some girl can graduate when it's already clear as day that she doesn't have a chance in hell in the real world?" He scoffed, shaking his head dramatically. "Talk about pathetic."

I nodded. "Talk about pathetic," I said looking straight at him.

Madison interrupted us and gave me a fake smile. I saw she was stiff still, not enjoying this at all with me. I didn't get why she invited me to sit with her then. "So... I heard that you were arrested when walking through town and that was how you were caught right? I never got that straight," she said.

She was trying to find excuses to keep me distracted or talking. I had no idea why but I wasn't stupid; I was ready for anything at that moment. My guard was up.

"Yep. Arrested and taken back to my chamber," I said, not wanting to bother with them and their strange looks between each other.

"Wow. That must have been... something else."

I took in a deep breath. Jesus. I was considering just getting up and walking away. I'd rather face the other hateful kids here than these three ass-wipes.

I nodded slowly and noticed for the first time that I didn't take a bite of my food. Hell, I didn't even know what I got for lunch until that moment when I looked down and away. You knew I was nervous and on edge when I wasn't hungry. In fact, I felt a little sick if anything.

"Hey, weren't you arrested for drug possession?" The girl, Beth, asked at the silent and tense table. They honestly sucked at making conversation.

"Yeah."

She nodded and glanced over at Madison in that moment, giving her a meaningful look. The others shared that look too and I started catching on. Nothing but leaches. Because this wasn't just making conversation like I assumed. This was heading towards a topic they wanted to talk about with me.

"Do you still have any?" Madison asked, drawing my eyes back to her. "Our dealer disappeared out of nowhere." Her eyes showed a spark of sneakiness, which I wanted to laugh at. So narrow-minded, so dumb, acting as if this was top secret information when I looked around the table. They all sat forward more and towards me as so nobody would here. All accept Darren; he just sat there and glared at me. He was obviously the one opposed to asking the crazy one for drugs.

I laughed under my breath. I didn't find this humorous. This was just another 'fuck you' today. I was laughing because I knew anybody going through this today would seriously quit school and life. Apparently, God still wanted a good laugh because the suffering never stopped.

Though I knew from the start they were trash, it made me mad to know they were trying to use me. I wasn't surprised. I just found it funny because I wouldn't handle it well if I took it to the gut. I hurt enough as it is.

"So you just want drugs out of me, right?" I asked, looking around to all of them. they started to look a little nervous. All except Darren, of course. He answered me immediately.

"What did you think we wanted from you? Friendship?" He smiled, amused. His eyes were cold through, dancing with ice in mine. "You should know by now that you have no meaning. You are here to be used because that's all that you can do."