Nikoloz Kvaratskhelia's Story

What is the key to popularity? Parker knew about this. She had been thinking about it for all her life and finally the opportunity had presented itself. And like any smart girl, she snatched the role of cheer captain and even got Niko as a boy friend which of course is a major plus. Rose was out of site and down the high school drain, as Parker had always imagined.

Like any other day Parker strut to her locker, passing people by, leaving a wonderful scent of cotton candy down the hall. Her white back pack clear of any scuffs swung over her shoulder. When she reached her locker Parker turned the dial quickly swinging it open to a pink and glittery party like scene. She stuffed her back pack into the locker with force and grabbed her hand bag and English books. Then before closing the locker she popped a piece of mint gum into her mouth and set of again down the hall way. It didn't even matter that she had walked a whole 100 yards by herself. Parker was quickly swarmed with friends and she turned the corner leading everyone where she wanted. "Has any one seen Niko?" She said tapping her polished nails on her hard cover book. She frowned slightly only getting a scattered response nos.

Ah, it was good to be home! The off-white, oppressive walls that seemed to close in on you wherever you walked, the hot rod red of the lockers which seemed to force you to rush, rush, rush to your next class, and the all-encompassing layer of infuriating teenage angst that seemed to wrap the whole package together. And yet, despite it all, here was this crazy kid, with nothing but a smile on his face and a ukulele in his hands, bopping his way down the hall, in the middle of the hustle and bustle, quite literally going against the crowd. He was simply elated at being back, getting to see all of his friends again. As he walked through the hallway on his way out to the tennis court, he couldn't help but start to play...

"She wears an orchid in her long, dark hair/Her little smile tells me she knows I care/I love to listen when she plays her song/And she can strum so sweetly all day long/Ukulele girl ooooh/You make me smile/Ukulele girl ooooh/You drive me wild/Ukulele girl ooooh/You rock m-"

"SHUT THE FUCK UP! YOU FUCKING FREAK!" Apparently the quarterback and his friends didn't appreciate his happy vibes... Ah no matter, and so he continued singing on his way.

"Love you too bro! Heh heh... Asshole... I saw her sitting on the beach alone/Playing songs about her island home/I moved closer so that I could hear/That ukulele ringing in my ear/Ukulele girl, you make me smile ooooh/Ukulele girl ooooh/You drive me wild/Ukulele girl ooooh/You rock my world/ I asked her if she'd play a song for me/I knew that song would set my spirit free/Could she be an ang-..." He stopped in his tracks upon seeing the most beautiful sight he'd seen in almost two weeks.

Rose Hathaway was standing at her locker, and for the first time that he'd ever seen, she was completely alone. He steeled himself, "Come on Max... You've got this shit... Initiating the conversation is half the battle..." He took a few calming breaths, and stepped forward with his ukulele.

"H-hey there Rose, I couldn't help but notice you standing here alone... Uhm... Eheh... H-how ya doin'?"

She didn't say anything though, she simply nodded, looked away sadly, and walked in the other direction...

"Shit... Smooth one Max... Tch... I guess I'd better go see what my sister's up to..." And with that he took his ukulele, and shuffled off in the direction of the tennis court.

He opened the door to the outside world and was immediately relieved to be free from the oppressiveness of that horrid building. However, he was immediately overcome with renewed stress when he saw Emma standing over his unconscious sister. As soon as he got over the initial shock he sprinted to her side, cradling her head.

"Mickey! Emma, What the fuck's going on here?! And where the fuck is Jack?!"

Rose looked into the mirror that morning in the group home and shook her red hair around her shoulders. Her eyes were droppy and vacant, and her skin was deathly pale. She looked like a ghost on fire. Slipping on her black converse and other grey and black clothing items, she hunched her shoulders and went down the stairs. The other girls had already finished the breakfast, and Rose's stomach had stopped grumbling a long time ago, fed up with the lack of food and deciding that it just wasn't going to complain anymore, since it was no use. Rose was always the odd one out nowadays, even with daily nutrients.

The walkt to school wasn't terrible, but Rose didn't even notice. The cherry trees that she used to love didn't even register in her mind anymore. She remembered swinging on the branches when she was little, and sitting under them for a picnic when she got older. Now, they were just old trees that held forgotten memories. That's how everything was these days, forgotten.

Getting to school, she walked past all of the friends groups that she used to be a part of. The cheerleaders were in their usual place, applying cosmetics and gossiping. They laughed when they saw who she was now, a small red headed freak dressed like death. Getting to her locker, she used every ounce of willpower to open the door and throw her books inside. All she wanted to do was curl up and die, just like her mother. Oh, mommy... She felt tears prick her eyes and she wiped them away hastily. Ever since her mother's death, things had just gone downhill. Niko abandoned her, Parker turned on her, everything crumbled to ruins.

It was then that Max approached her, and she averted her gaze. She didn't want to talk to anyone anymore. She was sick of their "I'm sorries" or their "What happened?" She was sick of everything. "H-hey there Rose, I couldn't help but notice you standing here alone... Uhm... Eheh... H-how ya doin'?" Rose shut her eyes tight to keep back the tears that threatened to flow, and she nodded slightly. She had never been friends with Max, or any of his crew. They had been the people she had laughed at. And now the people she had laughed with were laughing at her instead. If any of her old spark had still remained, she would have said, Karma's a bitch but now she just nodded and walked away, not caring if she didn't answer. She just didn't care anymore.

Quinn, a friend of Niko's who was as well on the football team strolled by yelling to some kid, Max who had just been released from jail. Niko told Quinn to let it go. The football team had a huge practice this evening and Quinn would obviously need to be there. But the jock was gone before more could be said and Niko turned back to Parker. "My will, wallet, and car are at your beck and call, m'lady." Niko was grinning to Parker. "Yay! It's a date!" Even though there was no set day or time Parker knew Niko would call her sometime this weekend and she would clear her schedule when he did.
The bell rang, a loud piercing noise, one of Parker's least favorite noises ever. "Look who's headed this way..." Parker smirked, she said it more to herself though, Niko probably didn't even hear. Rose, Parker's ex-bff was headed down the hall, passing the two. Parker saw Rose watching the two and just as a little reminder to Rose Niko was all Parkers, Parker held Niko's hand and kissed him. Well it must have slightly stunned the girl because Rose tripped right in front of them. Parker let out the slightness laugh watching her fall. Only a teeny tiny part of her actually missed the ex-popular. Rose had great nail polish colors... But the girl ran away embarrassed before Parker could say anything. Parker watched Niko making sure her kept his eyes to himself. She swung there hands back and forth. "So...anyways....I gotta go to detention, I'll text you once I get out, ugh she even took my phone." Parker gave one last mutter.

Emma found herself wondering the halls after the Michaline collapse episode. She would have followed everyone to the bathroom, but she really just couldn't deal with the drama she was sure would ensue shortly after. It wasn't that she didn't care, because she did, she absolutely did, she just thought certain things were better left alone. Part of her felt like a terrible friend for it, but she knew that Mickey had enough support in that bathroom. There was nothing Emma could say or do to make it better or worse, she would just be another body crowding the area.

It didn't help that she also had detention. It was unusual for Emma to be assigned to the scholastic version of prison. More often than not that's where she was. Teachers didn't like her because of her alternative appearance and the business she ran at school. Giving piercings to minors on a school campus wasn't exactly adhering to school code and Emma had been caught doing it way more than once, putting her in a position to have detention more often than she didn't. Nobody had the heart to expel or suspend her after everything she had been through. She was the girl with the crazy sister and dead family.

To get the the detention room, Emma always took the longest route possible. Being late to detention was better than never showing up. On her route she would pass the football field, usually right before they would begin practice, and she would avoid all the "jocks" that tended to give her and her friends a bunch of shit. Today, however, she ran face first with her tiny self into the massive Niko and nearly fell after losing balance in her sky high footwear. The boy was an entire foot taller than her and even in her heels she was still quite a bit shorter. "Shit. Sorry." She mumbled, not exactly pleased to be running into someone like him. Emma wasn't fond of people who put social status before being a good human being and Niko, it appeared, was one of those people. Dropping his girlfriend after she lost everything didn't exactly do him any favors, especially when he just snatched up Parker so shortly afterwards.

Speaking of Parker, she wondered where she was - seeing as she wasn't at Niko's side as per usual. Not that it mattered, it was just a curiosity. She considered the fact that maybe they had broken up, but knew that it was unlikely. Being at the top of the popular unpopular food chain was far too important to both of them.

Parker and Niko parted, on their ways to their own things, Niko going to football and Parker going to detention. Parker strut down the hallway towards the art room, that's where detention was being held.
On her way Miss Popular caught up with a few friends, explaining her tragedy. "But no one else you know has a detention?" Parker pouted. One of her friends, Madison walking by her side explained. "Mr. Nigel hasn't given any detentions in like, three months." Another girl cut in. "And Mrs. Bell didn't give any today, she was in a creepy good mood. It was creepy." The 3 girls had linked arms. One might think they where escorting Parker to the class room. As they reached the end of the hall Parker peered into the art room. "Park, you'd be lucky if even another person showed up..." Madison tossed her brown curls over her shoulder, they bobbed up and down as her hair settled. "Okay, we have got to go practice starts in 10." Madison pulled Parker's other friend with her down the hallway, leaving an upset popular alone outside the class room. With a tiny sniffle Parker entered the classroom.
"Parker! Welcome to detention! Today it is you me and...." Mr. Nigel shuffled around his papers, looking for the red detention slip. "Emma Laurence, yes." He left it at that. Parker dropped her pink back pack onto a desk in the front of the room. Then she sat down and with a sigh. "Ugh, bleh. What if she tries to pierce me, Mr. Nigel. She is a serious threat I don't feel comfortable being in the same room as her." She folded her arms and sat up in the chair. "Fine, Parker you can come sit up here, if it makes you feel better." Yes, Parker Fior had played the teacher's pet card. She wasn't normally a teacher's pet. Her grades where proof of that. But at least she got to sit in the office chair and she would most likely play with clay while the hour past. Parker could do what ever she wanted. That's what it's like to be popular.

"Wait." She looked at and took another deep, long, breath, before stepping forward. "I... I want to help. I want to make sure she... I want to make sure she doesn't turn out like... Like me."

Max looked at her. She really was incredibly beautiful, especially now, she was real right now, none of the facade that he had seen before. He wasn't sure exactly what had happened to her while she was gone, but he knew it must have been jarring to her to get her to revert back to her real self...

Max looked at her, "You say that like you're broken or something, believe me, you're fine just the way you are." Max took her hand, "Come on, Mickey probably headed home. If we hurry we can probably catch up, and I know a few shortcuts that she doesn't so... Let's go!" And so, with Rose in one hand, his ukulele in the other, and a smile on his face he took off in the direction of his shortcut. A shortcut that he immediately regretted taking because, as he had completely forgotten it went right by the football field, where the football team was practicing their freight train impersonations, and where the cheer squad was shaking it's collective ass. Much to the enjoyment of the football team. Rose's distress was not only visible, it was palpable, it saturated the air. He was worried she might freeze up if he didn't get the hell out of there. Oh, and not only that, but a few of the football players had broken off from the main group and were headed straight at him. He knew the quarterback wasn't in on it, these guys weren't bulky enough and the quarterback was talking to the coach, but they were big, they were angry, and he knew he had to think fast.

"Uh, hey Rose, what say we get the fuck outta here?"

"You say that like you're broken or something, believe me, you're fine just the way you are." Rose shook her head, knowing she was broken. She hadn't smiled in weeks, and she couldn't stop crying. This was the most she's talked since her mother died. Just then, Max grabbed her hand. Shocked, she didn't let go and simply stared wide-eyed at him. "Come on, Mickey probably headed home. If we hurry we can probably catch up, and I know a few shortcuts that she doesn't so... Let's go!" She nodded, not trusting herself to speak, and ran with him out of the bathroom.

Until she realized they had come to the football field.

She stopped, halting abruptly, but still not taking her hand out of Max's. At this point, he was the only thing she had to hold on to. She knew the boys that started towards them. They were Niko's right hand men, but Niko hadn't asked them to do this. No, they were doing this because they loved making issues for people, especially her now that they knew she was an easy target. She gulped, looking to Max fearfully and wishing she could just make herself disappear. "Uh, hey Rose, what say we get the fuck outta here?" She nodded, but she didn't know where to go. The football players were coming closer, and she could see the nasty smiles they had on their faces. "Hey, Rose! Got yourself a new boyfriend? Who would ever want you?" One of them shouted and she backed away, looking back and forth between Max and the players. It was obvious she was lost and on the verge of bolting, but she didn't want to after she had told Max she wanted to help Michaline.

"Hey, Rose! Got yourself a new boyfriend? Who would ever want you?" I would... Max turned to see four football players, all of whom were of obviously superior strength, and wasn't scared in the least. As a matter of fact, Max faced them, head on. He squeezed Rose's hand to reassure her that everything would be ok. He then shifted his grip on his ukulele, he had more of them at home. However, before he could knock any of them over the head, the stupid quarterback had to cut them off.

After a brief conversation, of which he heard nothing, they all turned tail and ran. Max, as soon as they were out of sight, relaxed his grip on Rose's hand and breathed a sigh of relief. He hadn't realized how anxious he'd been. He apologized to Rose about his crushing grip, then he tugged her arm, "Hey," he said, "Let's get the fuck outta here."

Two seconds later he was smiling again, looking at her, and then he was off again, in the direction of his home. The only warning that Rose got of his hasty advance was a loud uttering of, "Onward!", before he half dragged her along with him on the road home.

A little ways down the road he turned to her, "Hey, you ok? You kinda froze on me there..."

Rose breathed a sigh of relief as Niko came forward and sent his pack of wolves away. But as she looked at him, looking for any sign of the Niko she had once known, all she saw was a smug look mixed with the disgust she knew was from seeing her. Then he too ran off, and Rose came alive again to look at Max, who was holding his ukelele in a threatening manner. She almost smiled...almost. But then she thought of her mother, lying dead in her grave, and she knew she had no right to be happy when her mother was gone. So the almost smile was wiped from her face, and her eyes were perpetually prickling with tears again.

Suddenly, she was dragged along by Max and she jogged to be able to avoid tripping in the mud and making a bigger fool out of herself. When they had been running for awhile, they slowed and Max turned to her. "Hey, you ok? You kinda froze on me there..." She nodded, looking down. Taking a deep breath, she brought her voice out again. It seemed it was easiest to talk to Max for some reason. "Yeah...yeah, I'm fine. I guess it just...yeah. I'm fine." She nodded, not trusting herself to speak her feelings. Last time, her supposed friends had ditched her and now they laughed at her and tormented her. If people, especially Max, knew how sad she was all of the time, wouldn't he do the same thing?