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"Bye!" Lia waved as I sat inside Carter's car after school. It had been a great week. There was no bullying.

You don't believe it right?! I couldn't too. I mean, nobody, not even a single person bullied me. That week of February, was something I could never forget! Ever! I opened my diary and scribbled down:

13th Feb - 18 Feb (2016):

-No bullying week.

"You seem happy! Is it because you are going to spend time with me?" Listening to Carter's words, I realised I was smiling.

"No!" I let out instantly.

"Then?" He looked at me raising an eyebrows at my diary making me close it.

"Nothing." I answered.

"Tell me Sparkle," Knowing him, he would have shouted if I hadn't answered him so I spoke, "I just remembered something."

He nodded and continued to drive. When we reached at his place his mother opened the door. "Hi Sophia! How are you?" She hugged me. Sometimes I was surprised with her welcoming nature. She didn't even know me but greeted me with such great affection that I felt like she's someone I've known for years.

"I'm good Mary. How are you?" I hugged back as I spoke.

"I'm good. You are here to tutor him? If I'm not wrong."

I nodded pushing my glasses up on my nose. She smiled and we went inside. Carter took me to his room and there we started to study the same topic from last time.

Did I tell you how much of an idiot he is?

No?

He is the most idiotic person on earth.

"But, why will we start the graph from its altitude? You told me it should be from the base line. Then why not this time?" Carter started his objection.

"Who told you this is a sine graph Carter?" I asked annoyed.

These questions are so freaking easy.

"You!" He replied.

"Hey?! When did I tell you that?" Now he was blaming it on me!

"Yesterday! You told me if-" he cut himself of as his eyes landed upon the question. It was clearly written that this was a cosine equation.

"Carter, it's not a sine equation. It's a cosine equation." I told him, crossing my arms over my chest. He stared at the question rubbing his neck with a pencil inside his mouth.

"Did we ever study this?"

"Yes Carter. And I did revise it yesterday with you."

"But it.... This question is wrong!" He closed his book as he spoke.

I shook my head at him. "No! This is an absolutely correct question! I've done it," He was being very annoying and It was getting difficult for me to control myself.

"No, I can't solve this. They should've told to solve it only. They shouldn't have asked to make such a complicated graph!" He crossed his arms as he argued. I groaned in response.

"Carter please? Just try to solve this...." I tried to explain him softly but my attempts did not have an affect on him and he kept sitting in front of me like an idol.

This was enough now!

After waiting a little just for him to start studying, I stood up and I walked towards the door as I spoke, "I'll come when you are ready to study. And remind me to call and ask the writer of this book about why he made such a question that everybody can solve but Carter can't. I'll tell him to create a book in which to add questions that Carter can solve. Fine?" I walked out of the door after closing it with force.

First, I was teaching him without anything in return and then too he was being a headache! Talking to him is like banging one's head onto the wall that doesn't break.

I saw Mary sitting in the living room, watching some cooking show on the tv on my way towards the main door.

I have to walk all the way to home because of that idiot.

Even the thought made my feet ache. I didn't either bring my phone today to call my driver so I didn't have any other way. It wasn't my habit to carry the phone everywhere.

"Sophia! You are going already?" I heard Mary say in her bubbly voice. Turning around slowly, I nodded. "Oh, I thought you'll be staying for long so you might be having dinner here. I cooked for you." She looked sad.

I feel bad. What should I do now? Tell her that Carter's being a pain?

No, no. He's her son. She will hate me for that.

"I will-" I continued but she stopped me.

"Well, we can eat it later. If you want to go, you must leave. I mean your parents would also be worried about you, wouldn't they?"

Yeah, right!

If only I could tell you how much worried they'll be.....

How can someone who haven't called their own daughter in three months be worried about her in anyway! And this isn't something I'm proud of. I'm ashamed of it. "Yeah. Very! I'll have dinner with you some other time if.... you d-don't mind?" I said, unsure if my words.

"Yeah, definitely, girl. Are you going alone? Where is Carter? Wait, I'll ask him to drop you home!" She decided as she walked towards Carter's room.

"Wait, Mary. Don't bother him. I'll be-" She paid a deaf ear to me and went to his room. "-fine myself." I sighed.

I stood there waiting for Carter to come and yell at me. He came instantly and announced, "Sophia, you can't go. I have many questions left. You'll have dinner here!" He walked towards me, the pencil still between his teeth.

"W-what? No I can't stay. Rebecca will-" he interrupted me.

"I informed her already." He said. I had my mouth wide opened. How can he be that demanding? Why is he so demanding at all?! I am not his puppy!

"Come on teacher, I have to do lots of questions and I need your help!" With that he dragged me with him and me being his puppy, I let him do that. All I thought was of how he was going to yell at me for doing a little anger show before I left, but I was surprised when I entered inside his room.

"Teacher, look I solved it!" He showed me his book. I had a look at his work and a smile made its way on my lips. Though the answer was wrong. It wasn't even close to the correct answer but the steps were absolutely correct. It wasn't because of him. It was because of my efforts.

Leave artist! I can be a teacher....

But I want to be an artist.

I can be both! Right?

Right!

"So? I think it's correct?" Carter was looking down at his answer when he asked.

"No, the answer is 3...." I told him, still smiling.

"Oh.... I knew it was 3. I was just... testing you?" He tried to smirk as he said but his sentence sounded more like a question. I was aware about his lie.

I smirked back, "Oh yeah?" I said.

"Oh yeah!"

"Did you get it by multiplying the angles?" I asked a false question. It's fun tricking people, no? Actually there were no angles at all.

"Umm.....y-yeah! Yeah, it was s-so easy!" I couldn't stop my laughter at that. I laughed like a maniac. I was still laughing when he poked me, "Teacher, I was wondering if water can help anger then what would be able to help madness."

I calmed down. "A correct answer... I guess?" I started to laugh again.

"Okay, then I need to find correct answers. I can't control all of this Sparky madness." I stopped laughing and smiled at what he said. I was happy, he was doing efforts. He was aware of me knowing that he didn't get three as an answer and so he didn't look up from his copy until he found the damn number.

We practiced many questions. Though it was annoying me as hell but I was able to help him. He did those questions which I marked him for practice while I completed my homework.

We went for the dinner when his mother called us. It was really surprising, how his parents were. I couldn't point out where he got his personality from. My only thoughts were, was it possible for him to belong to such nice people?

I helped his mom in the kitchen when we were finished. I wasn't able to erase the conversation I had with her.

"You know, it's the first time I've seen Carter so eager to study?" She told me.

I smiled, "I know. He loves basketball and he doesn't want to be deprived of playing in his last year when he also gets an opportunity to be a captain." I answered.

"Maybe it's because of the game or...." She stopped turning around to face me.

"Or?" I raised my eyebrows.

"Or maybe because of you..." she answered. I gulped as I stared at her, wide eyed.

What should I say?

What do you say in such kind of situations?

"Umm.... maybe. Guess I'm a good teacher. I think I can teach when I grow up because I don't think art is my field. I don't know though."

She chuckled, "Maybe because you are a fun teacher...."

As I was about to answer I heard Carter shout for me to come back home with him. Mary just shook her head and sighed, "that boy."

"Bye darling. Hope to see you soon." She hugged me.

"Bye Mary. I loved the food. It was great."

"It was great having such a sweet girl for the dinner. I know you'll be able to do what no body could do yet." I didn't really understand what she meant by the last sentence but then I settled with the thought that maybe she was talking about teaching Carter. Well what can I say? I'm a good teacher.

After the encounter with his mom, Carter dropped me home. He kept reminding me about Friday during the ride and I couldn't help but get worried about what he has planned.

******

"Lia, is it really looking fine. I think I look funny," I said as I examined myself the hundredth time In the mirror. She gave me a blue and white stripped sweater and black fitted pants along. She let my hair down and straightened them a little just so they looked natural. The front was done in a French braid that was neatly made.

I only allowed her to apply lipgloss and nothing else. I wasn't worried about my face or hair. It was the clothes that I thought weren't fine. I was still checking myself out in the mirror when Lia got herself ready. We waited for Carter to come pick us up from Lia's place.

Yeah, I told Rebecca I was going at Lia's house and together we'll go to a party. I didn't tell her about Carter. The shock on her face couldn't be explained in words because it was basically the first time I was going out of the house after seven at night.

"Oh god, Soph! You look perfect! If you ask me again, I'll make you a monster with all my makeup! Now stop trying to point out the wrongs. You look gorgeous-" the door bell rang cutting her in mid sentence.

"Look, Carter is here! Come on!" She wrapped a scarf around my neck and started to give a fresh touch to her makeup while I kept on my beige boots.

I walked down and sighed loudly as I came face to face with the door. Saying that I was freaking out was an understatement. It was the first time I was going to a party, not to mention with my bully. Not only this, but I was also worried about what I would look like to the people there. About how will they react when they see me. About the troubles, Carter and his friends can drag me inside, just to torture me.

I opened the door and found Carter standing, wearing a black jacket, his hands in his pockets. "Hi, Sparky boo." He said as he reached out and pulled my glasses of my face."Hey!" I cried.

"Perfect!" he said stressing on the letter 'r'.

"Carter, this is not funny! I can't see without them....." I told him as I tried to get them back.

"You aren't blind Sparky boo. And I'm with you aren't I? I can be your glasses!" He chuckled at the joke he made himself.

I rolled my eyes at him. Can he get any more decent?!

"Can you please not call me Sparky boo? I'm telling you I'll choose a very embarrassing name for you too and call you that in front of everyone. I-I I'll call you..... Farter!"

"What?" He coughed and his laughter died down. "No! This is so embarrassing! No, you can't call me that! Eww! Does my nick name for you includes fart in it? No, right?" He objected.

"It's your choice. Either stop calling me Sparky boo or face the embarrassment." I told him straight.

"You are so mean! Anyways, I'll still choose the first one. You know why? Because, you never talk to me in front of people so basically when you'll address me with this name we'll be alone and this wouldn't be embarrassing."

I sighed.

Nobody can win from Carter in arguments.

"Come on, Sparky boo. Your friend is here." He led me towards his car and Lia followed behind us. I wanted to sit on the back seat with Lia but Carter ruined it.

"Hello ladies? You think I'm your driver? Come at the front seat. Anyone of you. Quickly!" Carter stared at us.

I looked over at Lia, expectantly but she raised her eyebrows and spoke, "What? You were invited by him. You, go and sit with him."

And after all the arguing, at last I had to sit with trouble.

We went to the party and I was not having good feelings about it. It was as if something terrible was going to happen. And adding more information to the situation, I had no glasses.

Carter held my hand as he pulled me with him. Lia decided to wait outside for Isaac to arrive.

She was a really bad friend! I kept giving her pleading looks but she just refused to come along. She doesn't know the tortures these people can do to me.

As we entered inside I saw something I had never seen before. "I-I w-want to g-go home C-C-Carter! I can't be h-here. Please t-ake-" I pulled his sleeve as I spoke. Everybody was staring at me. Every single person had their eyes glued upon my body. Other guys who belonged to Carter's group were watching me with there monster-like eyes and all the situation screamed was, 'you are not welcomed!'

The smirk on the guy's faces made my suspicions even stronger. There definitely was something they had planned.

Carter held me hand tightly from the palm. "It's okay! You feel this way because it's your first high school party. Everything is fine. Look every body is busy in their own fun." He calmed me down as he pulled me towards his friends. I was out of breaths without even running. My heart beat was so fast I was afraid my heart would come out of my body.

Lub dub! Lub dub! Lub dub!

Okay, heart! Stop it now. "Carter seemed to notice my behaviour because he asked me to sit with his friend while he was gone to bring me some water.

I waited,

and waited,

and waited,

and waited.

Carted didn't return. His friends started to disappear slowly. There was no sign of Lia or Isaac anywhere either. There was a disgusting couple making out beside me wanting me to puke and a guy smoking on the other side who kept giving creepy glances to me. People around were staring at me as if I were a diamond on display. I kept shrinking and shrinking further into the sofa.

All I could do was wait. But after waiting for an hour I went to look for everyone. I entered the kitchen where I found people sharing drinks. I drank some of the coke. It was a coke only. I wasn't stupid enough to drink something spiked like all those stupid girls in books and movies who end up being raped. I checked hundred times before drinking.

When I couldn't find Lia and Isaac I planned to return home. This was expected from Carter and I wasn't shocked he left me there alone to rot maybe even get raped. Just as I was about to go home from the mess I was in, somebody tapped me from behind.

"Oh, you are Sophia from the senior year, right?"

I nodded. I had never seen this guy before. "Carter wants to meet you upstairs. He told me to call Sophia in the first room of first floor."

"Oh god, I've been searching for him all around and he was on the first floor?" I shook my head. The guy just stood there awkwardly. "Oh. Okay, thanks for telling me. I'll just answer him." I said smiling a little at him as I made my way towards the room.

When I reached there I wondered, why might he be calling me there?

I opened the door and that very moment I was greeted by a thick liquid, that fell onto my head. I looked around as I found people inside capturing this. My eyes instantly watered. If this wasn't worst, I felt something tickle me on the side of my neck. Slowly looking down, I found the worst creatures of the earth. Cockroaches. I shouted the most ear piercing shout I'd ever heard and started jumping. Quickly, I removed the cockroaches from my body, breathing hard.

I knew perfectly, whose idea this might be and to think Carter still had no respect for me just increased the pain. He wanted to make fun of me even after my efforts of teaching him.

As if I wasn't a topic to laugh at already?

I stood there shocked for minutes, hearing everyone laugh at the pathetic joke named Sophia before turning around to walk out and there he was, the great Carter Reece. "Good job snake." I spat at him as I ran out.

"Shit! Wait, Sparkle!"

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