I stared at my closet for a solid 10 minutes. I didn't know what to wear. I felt ugly with a big bruise on my face. I tried to cover it up with foundation but you could still see a bit of the bruising and my swollen eye. Nonetheless i wanted to look good today. I had to make a better impression on Ms. Lopez than i did this weekend.

I put on black skinny jeans, still contemplating what i was gonna wear with the jeans. My eyes fell upon a cute light grey top. I put it on to see how it would look. It showed quite a lot of cleavage, maybe a little too much for school.

I've always liked my boobs and i figured flaunting them wouldn't hurt. To make it a little better i put on a black blazer.

I did my hair and my make-up and took one final look in the mirror. I was impressed with myself. I looked good.

Sam was gonna come pick me up at 8 so we could ride together. I grabbed my jacket and walked outside. I still had exactly 5 minutes before Sam got here, so i had time to smoke a cigarette.

When we arrived at school i immediately felt the urge to turn around and walk out of the building. I already knew everyone's gonna ask questions and i sure as hell didn't feel like answering them.

I had to figure out what to tell people when they ask. I figured that getting hit in the face by a ball would be believable. I took a deep breath and followed Sam to the lockers.

Today luckily wasn't too long. I had english, math and i ended the day with Spanish. I had mixed feelings about my Spanish lesson. I was excited to see Ms. Lopez but i don't want her to bring up this weekend.

We met with David at the lockers and walked to english class together. The classroom was already filled with tired looking students. I could feel everyone stare at me, but i ignored it and walked to the back of the class to my seat.

Class went by slowly. I honestly had no clue what we were doing. I was busy doodling. Mr Jones had pulled me aside after class to ask if i was okay, clearly talking about my face. He seemed to believe my lie and let me get to my next class.

I lost David and Sam somewhere during lunch break, so i went to check if they were outside. I couldn't find them so i stayed with Jade, Riley and their friend Mark. They were all smoking pot.

"Do you want some Rach?" Riley asked me. "I have math in like 10, do you have a free period?" I asked. "Yea we do, come join us! You can miss one math class it's fine." I could get behind that. If anything i was really dreading math class. I sucked at it, and i hate doing things i suck at.

"Sounds good." I said and took the joint from Riley. I took a few drags and sat down next to Jade. She was a very pretty girl and if it wasn't for James i probably would've wanted to see if the thing we had going between us would've actually worked out.

It was a beautiful day outside. The sun was shining and the rays of sunshine hitting my face made me happy. Near the school was a park so we decided to go there.

We sat down on the grass and talked about random shit. They were actually really cool people to hang with, i just had never really realized.

I took a few more drags and laid down in the grass. I could feel myself get more high every second. Jade came to lay down next to me. She was laying on her side facing me. I could feel her staring at me, so i turned my face to the side.

"You're really pretty, do you know that?" Jade said while playing with a strand of my hair. I giggled. I took her in for a second. She was really beautiful. "Well you're gonna make me blush." I said. She smiled at my comments.

"Do you mind?" She said while pointing at my shoulder. I had no clue what she meant by that, but i shook my head. "I don't mind." She rested her head on my chest and we just laid there for a while, enjoying the weather.

About an hour later we all had to get back to school. We all had spanish, so we got up and walked back together. We were all still high and we couldn't stop laughing at stupid shit. I put my arm around Jade as we walked back, laughing at the way we were walking like pinguins.

I had such a good time with Riley, Jade and Mark that i totally forgot about Ms Lopez. We walked into the spanish classroom still laughing at eachother.

"Welcome Riley, Jade and Mark, you're late. Please quickly and quietly sit down." They were everything but quiet. I couldn't help but laugh.

"Rachel." Ms. Lopez said in a firm tone. I giggled and looked up at her. She looked me up and down and focused a little too long on my boobs. I was gonna tell her 'eyes up here' but i think she would kill me if i did.

She looked at me in a weird way. I couldn't figure out what it meant. Was she mad, worried, upset? I didn't know. I shrugged and walked to my seat. I let my head rest on the palm of my hand and stared outside.

When i'm high it's even easier for me to zone out, so when Ms. Lopez asked me why i was late i didn't hear it and just continued to stare outside.

She walked up to where i was seated and snapped her fingers right in front of my face. I jumped from the sudden sound and movement right in front of me. I slowly turned my face to Ms. Lopez. "I'm sorry what did you want to ask?" I asked. She didn't look amused. Her eyes were still focused on me. "You can stay after class." She just said and walked back to her desk to start her lesson.

Not even 5 minutes later the principal knocked on the door of the classroom. Ms. Lopez welcomed her in. I looked as she walked inside. She looked right back at me with her intense, cold eyes as if she could throw a knife at my face any moment.

"Miss Young, a word outside please." I sighed. Obviously my absence during math didn't go unnoticed. I followed her outside and closed the door behind me.

"It has come to my attention that you didn't show up for your previous class, why is that?" The principal asked in a firm tone. I giggled. I couldn't help it, she looked so funny when she's mad. "I forgot." I couldn't come up with a better excuse. She seemed pissed at my nonchalant attitude. She raised her voice at me. "Don't play funny now, miss Young. I don't tolerate your behavior. You can stay after school is over for detention." She turned around and walked away.

"Fuck you." I whispered as she disappeared around the corner.

I walked back in and stopped at Ms. Lopez her desk. At least now i didn't have to stay after class to talk to her. "Sorry can't stay after class, i've got detention." I said with a smile. "Lucky for you, it's my turn to supervise detention today. Guess your stuck with me even longer now." She replied. I could see the smirk on her face. I groaned. Of course she was.

Class went by quickly. I spend most time messing around with Jade. Sam had texted me that she had work at 5 so she couldn't bring me home since detention was until 5.

Everyone walked out of the classroom. Riley, Jade and Mark wished me luck and walked out too. Jade stopped to give me a kiss on my cheek. It was cute. I could see Ms. Lopez look at us.

Everyone had left and it was just me and Ms. Lopez now. She closed the door and walked up to me. "You're high." She said. She didn't look mad, but she wasn't happy either. I shrugged. "Oops."

She sighed. "Why do you do this Rachel? Getting yourself in trouble, what's the point?" I looked down at my table. Being alone with her suddenly felt too real and all i could think about was last weekend. I ignored her and continued to look down at my table.

Ms. Lopez softly placed her fingers under my chin, pushing my head up so i had no choice but to look at her.

"It's rude to ignore someone." She said. I felt my whole body heat up.

"God i'm sorry okay. Riley just asked if i wanted to smoke with them and i figured maybe weed would make it easier to be able to face you."

She let go of my chin and grabbed a chair. She took a seat right in front of me. She looked at me and i could tell she felt sorry for me. "Why wouldn't you be able to face me?" She genuinely asked me.

"Because of the way you're looking at me right now. I misbehaved this weekend and told you things i shouldn't have and now you look at me like i'm some broken puppy who can't walk on her own. I hate it. I'm not fragile, i'm not broken. If anything i'm stronger than most people for being able to endure the shit i've been through while still standing. So stop looking at me like that."

Ms. Lopez was taken back by what i had said. I myself didn't even know where this sudden outburst came from.

"Look Rachel, you're right. You're a big girl, you're incredibly strong and i'm proud of you. I don't look at you like you're a broken puppy. I know you're not, but i care for you and i'm gonna worry. There's a difference. And don't tell me i don't need to worry because we both know that's not true. Now just let me care for you, okay?"

I gulped. Now i was the one taken back by her reaction. She was right. I might have jumped to conclusions, but it was hard for me to believe that there's someone out there who genuinely cares for me. No one ever seemed to truly care.

"You're right, i'm sorry. Can we please talk about something else now?" I asked. "You still have detention, what makes you think this is a tea party?" She stood up and walked to her desk.

She pointed at the seat next to her, ordering me to sit down. I grabbed my stuff and walked up to her desk. "You look nice, i like your top." She said. I grinned. She was fully staring at my boobs.

I sat down next to her. "Do you like to read?" She asked. I wasn't sure where she was going with this. "I do." I replied quietly. She grabbed a book from the bag that was standing next to her.

I read the title. Fingersmith. "I was planning on starting this book. Do you want to read with me or do you want to do your homework?" She asked. That wasn't a hard question. "I'll read with you."

She opened the book on exactly the first chapter. I couldn't really read what it said so i moved my chair closer to hers.

Our heads were so close to each other i could hear her quietly breathe. Her perfume infiltrated my nose, It smelled like roses. Our arms slightly touched as we were both reading the first page. It felt comfortable and trusted. I rested my head against hers as we continued to read. Maybe detention wasn't so bad after all.