California

Elizabeth Williams

“We realized that our fathers, brothers and uncles had been lying, and that no one was ever going to love us for our good grades."

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"It didn't matter in the end how old they had been, or that they were girls, but only that we had loved them, and that they hadn't heard us calling, still do not hear us, up here in the tree house with our thinning hair and soft bellies, calling them out of those rooms where they went to be alone for all time, alone in suicide, which is deeper than death, and where we will never find the pieces to put them back together." Putting aside the book that had been enchanting young Elizabeth for a good portion of the night and tracing well into the mere hours of the morning, the young girl finally found it in her to pry her eyes away to the time that illuminated her room from the red numbers that stated the time. It clearly showed a big 3 with two dots and two zeros. In two and a half hours the young girl was expected to wake to prep for class later in the morning. Mentally the girl scolded her self for letting yet another night of sleep slip from her bony fingers. Gingerly she reached her hand up to the cream colored lamp that perched itself on her night stand and flicked it off, her room immediately encasing itself in the darkness of night. Scooting down into her comforter that she wrapped herself in, Elizabeth squeezed her eyes shut and attempted to force sleep but her thoughts were to haunted by the book that she had just read. In the end it took her near and hour to finally loose herself to sleep.

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The soft sound of the classical music streaming from her alarm clock woke Elizabeth up in the early hour of five thirty. While her mind begged her to stay in bed her legs told her a differently shorty and untangled herself from the knot that had become of comforter and threw themselves over her bed ready to be walked on. Gradually the young girl yawned bring her hands up to ruffle her hair and and rub her eyes. Sleep deprived was evident on her face.

Just as the girl had stood up a women in a midi bodycon three quarter sleeved baby pink dress and a French twist in her sleeked hair barged into the girls room, a dress and shoe box in tow. "Oh dear look alive!" Stated the women whom was the young girls mother. "I meant to give this to you yesterday but time must have gotten away from me, either way I bought these for you yesterday dear," the women stated no emotion in her voice. Then she thrust the bags at her bony daughter who examined the contents carefully. In the box and bag was a dress and shoes. The dress was a midi pleated dress and the shoes were cream colored sandals. The outfit nearly made Elizabeth cringe in disgust but she held back shooting her mom a tight smile. Before a 'thank you' could slip her mouth the woman has preceded talking again, "You always wear those hideous tank tops and jeans," she took a moment to cringe in disgust clearly showing her disappointment before preceding, "So I bought you this as a refresher." The woman shot her daughter one of her famous dazzling smiles, only a meager 'thanks' could be heard from the daughter.

Once the young girls mother finally excused herself from the room the girl was left to shower in her personal bathroom attached to her bedroom. She blow dried her hair and rolled it up into a low twist on her head. Today along with every other day Elizabeth skipped on the makeup knowing it would be too much work. She also dressed herself in the dress and shoes her mother had picked out for her just to please her mother.

By the time the girl was done with getting ready it was only six fifteen meaning school was not going to start for another hour and forty five minutes. This gave Elizabeth the time to slip back into her cooling bed and engaged herself in reading 'Pride and Prejudice' for the seemingly thousandth time in her lifetime.

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Nearly an hour after being enchanted by the book that she had favored over the years, Elizabeth closed the book with the delicate pages and slipping into her large backpack and then she slipped the large backpack onto her back. Unfortunately the petite girl has yet to find a backup that wasn't nearly the size of her which frustrated her deeply.

Slowly she took her time on each step down the stairs until reaching the main floor of her gigantic house. There her mother was sitting in the sun room reading a magazine for the rich and classy. Padding across the floor the young girl made her way to her mother planting a kiss on her mothers ageless cheek and then stepping away and heading towards he front door. "Make some friends today!" Her mother called after her in a wailing voice. Elizabeth whom was out of view of her mother couldn't resist a slight roll of her eyes. Closing the door behind her as she left her mother.

In there large garage there were many cars one of which her mother had insisted on buying the young girl although she never uses it, preferring her vintage looking bicycle which she took to school today.

On the bike rode to the local high school there was a group of people around her age driving in a red Porsche with music blaring. Elizabeth noticed none of them even gave her a second look, hell none of them gave her a first look. Although she was used to being ignored by popular people, even though she had money she was antisocial and people tended to avoid her.

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The big double doors leading into the school were huge and hard to open for a small girl like Elizabeth and everyday she found herself in the struggle of trying to open the heavy doors. Today she had dug her feet into the ground and using all her might to push them open. That was until someone came behind her and pushed the door open. Without looking at them she mumbled a quick " Thank You," and scurried away to her locker.

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A/N if you want to be the person that held the door open for poor struggling Elizabeth go ahead :D she appreciates it. Also if you want to be in the Porsche that drove by her that is fine also. You can also ask her if you need tutoring, great way to develop character relationships. Also being that I am only 5' and barely 100 pounds I can relate to my dear character, the front doors at my school are difficult for me to open but thank goodness they are normally propped open, door opening is a struggle for tiny girls.

Maggie Bogaerde parked her black Maserati in a -surprisingly- empty parking space closer to the first building, which had a small sign over the massive double doors reading MAIN HALL. There were other cars parked around there that were moments later being overcrowded by other students who had barely arrived. Cars that were insanely flashy. It was a common thing to see a new Mercedes or BMW in the student lot because, well, this was California. Home of the riches, just like Maggie.

Minutes passed and Maggie sat in her car longer than she would have if she'd been sitting with a companion. She was just getting used to that smell of gasoline from cars with a fuel tank leakage, and the rotten stench of smoke coming from the Free Spirits. Days like this made Maggie just want to sit in her car, and stare at the all the fascination of school life.

She loved school. She loved the smell, the scenery, the students, EVERYTHING.

After taking one last deep breath, she grabbed her keys, her Micheal Kors floral print satchel, and stepped out from inside the toasty automobile. Almost instantly teens hanging around the parking lot recognized Maggie Bogaerde from a distance. She was statuesque. She had a beautiful thin figure, the kind you'd see on the cover of a Teen Vogue magazine, the kind that made every girl around her take a hit on her self-esteem just by being in the same room. Her hair was golden, gently waving to the middle of her back, and eyes the color of blue made people assume that they were gazing at the sea.

Maggie turned, her hair flipping over her shoulder in one motion, to take a look of all the gaping kids; she smiled, then waved. Don't let Maggie's perfection fool you of staring at a snobby little prick. She's really warmhearted and genuine if you got to know her.

The eyes from the students followed Maggie's movements as she walked down the parking lot with grace; her legs moving mechanically in her pair of black Mary Jane pumps. Maggie passed groups organized by popularity, and waved at the Hippies. The Preps took a look at Maggie, and began gossiping. One girl from the circle called her over, but Maggie refused. She was anxious not to be late for class on the first day of the week.

At the Main Hall, Maggie saw an extremely thin girl whose hair was the color of dirt she was trying to open one of the double doors, but it wouldn't budge. The girl struggled and struggled until Maggie stepped behind her and pushed it open effortlessly. Without looking up at Maggie, the girl had mumbled a quick, "Thank you," and scurried away through the crowded hall so fast that Maggie thought she had to bladder, or something. "I didn't even get a chance to introduce myself." Maggie thought to herself.

In the building were thousands of students huddling up in their usual groups, or just shoving their way through the building. Lockers, left and right, towered high up and were being slammed shut by their owners.

"This is the life."

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As of right now, Maggie is just standing in the halls looking around the hall. This might be a good chance to introduce yourselves. :)

The mansion was still cold. Not physically. The temperature was kept at a pleasant 72 degrees Fahrenheit, but it was cold all the same. The mansion had just been finished being built a few months ago. It was a symbol of wealth and influence, a house of someone who was self-conscious about his image and despite their wealth, was still seeking to prove himself better than the working class status which he had been born into by marrying a woman whose family was "old money" and still debated the merits of changing the family's surname to something less Irish.

That was Stephen's father. He was always striving for the money and status that he had sought since he was a young man, even as most people envied him for his wealth, success, and the fact that he married a pretty young heiress half his age. The house felt spiritually dead to Stephen, despite his mother's attempts at livening it up with the latest fads back in New York before deciding she'd much rather imitate the styles in California. His (adopted) brother was still in New York, being his dad's physical representative on Wall Street while his father ran things on the computer and tried to ingratiate himself with his mother's relatives.


At dawn, his alarm rang with the Adhan and he woke up before deciding between performing the salah or meditating this morning. After making a decision, he meditated on the different chakras coursing through his body and reminded himself how best to prevent them from being blocked before taking a shower and dressing. He chose one of his favorite outfits. It was sort of a dark version of a Buddhist robe with prayer beads around his neck and dark pants. Of course, he decided to wear a black T-shirt under it, ruining a little of the effect, but he wasn't sure how strict the school was with dress code and he decided it'd be best he didn't present his bare chest, Freedom of Religion/Expression or not.

Breakfast was a quiet affair. Don't get him wrong, his dad and his mom were there along with a few servants that he never grew used to, no matter the fact he grew up with them around. There was a lot of food, but he simply chose a bowl of rice and vegetables along with an orange and some tea. His father looked at him over his steak and eggs in disapproval, but he at least tried to give him a pleasant smile and make small talk this morning.

"This is one of the best high schools in the country and I hear it has a lot of your type. You'll fit in fine," he stated gruffly.

"Yeah, Dad. Thanks. I'm sure we moved here for a reason. I'm sorry for losing my temper earlier."

"It's fine. It's good you have a temper," his father grunted and that was that. It was the most civil conversation they had had in months, but their issues bubbled just beneath the surface. Stephen wanted to ask him how long he would try to be something that he should never try to be. He wanted to ask if he bought some new cocaine since Stephen threw away the last batch. Instead, he finished eating and got up and kissed his mom on the cheek. She looked up from her cellphone and smiled at him.

"Bye, honey. Have fun at school. You should take the chauffeur. There's nothing like showing up on your first day of school in a limo."

"Yeah... Sure, Mom. Tell Mrs. Hamilton I've kept her in my prayers and meditations. Have fun at the spa."

"Oh, she thinks your phase is just darling!"

Stephen smiled at her one last time and left. He had no intention of taking the limousine. Instead, he slipped the driver a 20 to say he did today and grabbed his lunch. He had to walk about a half mile before he found a bus stop and took one to school. It was about 7:30 when he arrived, drawing stares from many of the students. He mumbled a rosary on the bus ride here and it had raised his spirits. He drew a strange picture: dressed like a monk, an old backpack emblazoned with Our Lady of Guadalupe on the back his grandmother over his shoulder, his school books along with a copy of the Bhagavad Gita packed tightly within it. He ignored the stares as he walked entered the building serenely.

He looked around the hallway in interest. There was one blonde girl there. She was good-looking in the way that drops jaws in this culture and she wore expensive clothes. Unusually for girls in position, she looked content. He smiled slightly before looking around again. His eyes fell on another student wearing expensive clothes. Her hair was a little bit stringy and she let off a sort of defeated aura. He approached her.

"You are unhappy."

It was not accusatory or mocking. He sounded faintly concerned, as though she had tripped and he was offering to help her up.



Yet another day of either hell or opportunity in the public school system, Ian noted. His alarm was blaring with Japanese rock and after a moment of laying in bed, he turned it off. He hated the clique system and his only solace was that the government hadn't gotten involved in it yet to make it even worse. He ran into the shower and thought about the people at school with a sigh. There were good people. Nice people. Then there were idiots and bullies. He was officially at the bottom of the food chain at school. He had no real clique and few friends. He was withdrawn and didn't know how to reach out.

He finished showering and dressed himself neatly in a pair of jeans, shocks, and a t-shirt. He was going to go for a casual look today. He heard his mom shouting for him to come down for breakfast and he hurried down, telling himself over and over again that things would be great today. In anime, it was a nerd like him that was suddenly thrown into something exciting and life-changing, right? His mom had cooked pancakes, bacon, and eggs and he wolfed it down. It was a miracle his mom could cook like this and have time to work. Unlike most teenagers, he was closer to his parents. His dad didn't pressure him into being a doctor and he could tell his mom almost everything. When he was done, he hugged her.

"See ya, mom," he murmured.

"Have a good day, love. Call us if you're going to spend time with your friends today," she told him. He smiled slightly. His mom had more faith in his social skills than he did. He nodded and walked out the front door and slid into his car. It was an old Dodge model, but well-taken care of. He was there early and managed to get a good parking spot.

He walked into the main hall and headed for his locker. He couldn't help but notice Elizabeth. She was actually talking to someone. He smiled slightly. It was good for her to talk more. She was even shyer than he was. The guy looked like some type of monk and he instantly categorized him as a hippie or free spirit. He saw Maggie surveying the hall and he couldn't help but smile again. She never talked down to him even though she was at the top of the pyramid and he was near the bottom. He was grateful for that. He waved at her.

He was early so he took a moment to lean against his locker. He didn't feel like being too early for class.

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Mercy had already been awake for hours before her alarm clock started blasting Cassadee Poppe. She had heard her mother bustling around the kitchen just after 3a.m. and went downstairs to see what the problem was. Her room was right above the kitchen and living room, so it was easy for her to hear everything. Lorelai Reid chose the oddest hours to bake, and Tuesday night during the wee hours happened to be one of them. Mercy ascended the stairs that night just in time to see Lorelai slit her finger open trying to remove the lid from a top the Pillsbury crescent rolls. Lorelai had laughed about it so Mercy had laughed as well, but they both had quieted themselves quickly so as not to wake the man of the house, James Reid. James was a character, always grumbling about something or other, and especially negative whenever Mercy was around. The two women had been laughing quietly and eating the crescent dough when the alarm song started playing and Lorelai jumped out of her chair in fright. Mercy laughed and Lorelai swatted her with a dish rag before shooing Mercy up the stairs to go turn it off.

She walked in to her room just in time to see James throw the clock out of the window. Mercy pursed her lips and huddled against the wall, creating as much space in the door frame as she could. James looked at her fiercely, then his lips curled into a sardonic smile and he pointed out the window. "That was almost you," he said. She didn't respond and instead waited there while he pushed his way out of the room, ramming her shoulder in the process. She knew better than to say anything at this point. Taking a deep breath, she walked into her room and laid on her bed, looking up at the poster of Max Irons and blowing him a kiss. Sighing, she sat up and frowned at her closet. Is today Friday or Thursday...? Wait no, it's Wednesday duh because of the rolls... She thought of baking with her mother as last night even though in reality it was Wednesday morning instead of Tuesday night. Since it wasn't Friday, she was allowed to wear whatever she wanted to school. Her cronies--ahem, fellow cheerleaders--would no doubt be wearing tight little mini skirts and crop tops, taking advantage of the lax dress code. She looked towards her Boyfriend-cut sweatpants longingly, but instead decided on high-waisted grey jean shorts and a long sleeve red flannel crop that tied in the front. Brushing out her thin blonde hair, she fluffed it and let it rest in waves on her shoulders. She applied a few layers of mascara and a dash of clear lip gloss, not bothering with eye shadow. Pulling on a pair of brown greek sandals, she swung down the stairs and kissed her mom on the cheek.

"Bye bye," she said. She grabbed her bag with her favorite leather-bound specially ordered math textbook in it and keys before exiting the house and unlocking her bright red Jeep. She was lucky to live in California, because a car with no windows or ceiling wouldn't really fair well in the colder seasons that plagued the rest of the country. As she drove, she turned up her radio to country and waved at a group of preps and jocks driving in a Porsche. They waved back, shouting and wolf-whistling at her. Mercy was at the top of food chain at school, and they knew they had to play nice or face social plummeting. She particularly didn't care, it was her squad that would do the shoving and raging if someone messed with her. She cared for them personally, they cared for her socially. It was a good unspoken agreement.

Parking in the last open spot closest to the school gates, she walked inside and tried not to chuckle at the little girl who couldn't open the doors. While she looked no older than fourteen, Mercy recognized her as Elizabeth Williams. She knew Elizabeth came from money, but people who made nothing of their status were nothing of importance to her. She of course would be kind to Elizabeth if she approached, but Mercy had a feeling the girl was much to timid. Recognizing Maggie as she opened the doors for Elizabeth, she smiled in greeting. As Maggie stopped in the middle of the hall, Mercy swerved around her and almost crashed into a guy leaning against the lockers. Stumbling and putting her hand to her forehead in embarrassment, she shook her head at herself. "I'm...sorry. Completely my fault," she said. Looking up, she knew his face looked familiar and she internally scolded herself for not knowing his name. She made sure she always knew who people were, and it irked her to the extreme not knowing someone. "Do I know you--" she started to say but then her arm was jerked and she was pulled away back into the stream of students.

"Hey, girl. Saw you talking to that nerd and thought I'd save you," one of her cheerleaders, Beth-Anne, said with a laugh. Mercy smiled as if grateful but as Beth-Anne chattered she couldn't help but look back at the boy leaning against the lockers and mouth 'sorry again' to him. It just wasn't in her nature to leave a conversation without fully completing it, and even more to not know someone's name. She knew he looked familiar...

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Left that open for you, insane. Thought maybe he could be in her math class or any other class or something. Beth-Anne is NPC, I just created her because there aren't any other cheerleaders. Feel free to bitch about Mercy or talk about her some other way idk. There's usually rumors about cheerleaders so yeah. Anybody can interact with her.

(Cool, Sweetiebelle. I can see them being in the same math class. I took some liberties with Beth-Anne. I hope you're fine with that.)




It was getting late. Ian was about to head to class when someone almost bumped into him. He blinked when he recognized the person in front of him. She was Mercy Reid: rich, beautiful, confident, and near the top of the food chain as far as high school was concerned. Pretty much his exact opposite. If he recalled correctly, she was in a class or two with him the year before and she would probably be in at least one of his classes this year too.

"I'm...sorry. Completely my fault," she stated, looking at him oddly, as though she was pondering something, "Do I know you--"

He open his mouth to speak, but all too soon, she was jerked away by a different cheerleader Ian knew all too well. Beth-Anne was every negative cheerleader stereotype rolled into one: bossy, clingy, shallow, and meanspirited if not outright cruel. Ian remembered her from elementary school. She was a snooty princess then as well, but she was nothing more than a nuisance until the cliques started forming. For her part, Mercy mouthed a "sorry. That was something. Then the other cheerleader had to open her mouth.

"Hey, girl. Saw you talking to that nerd and thought I'd save you," Beth-Anne told Mercy, her voice loud enough for all the hallway to hear. Ian flushed in embarassment and scowled angrily at her. This wasn't how he wanted to start the school year. He wasn't going to let himself get pushed around.

"How are your boyfriends?" he asked sarcastically even as they walked away. As the words left his lips, he was greeted by another familiar face.

"Hey, Ian what's up? How was your summer vacation?" Jade Floyd greeted him with a wave. Ian flushed again at the sight of his friend. Jade Floyd was, well, cool. She was beautiful, smart, and pulled off the skater look like it was a part of her being. Not to mention she was smart and fun to hang out with. He was lucky that she considered him her friend. He waved back, trying to hide his embarrasment.

"Oh, it was fine. I tried not to shut myself in the house 24/7. I even managed to skateboard once without falling," he joked.

Last Night

"There is no way in hell anyone outside this house is seeing me in this!" Madison said as she looked at her reflection in the full length mirror that hung on the back of her bedroom door. Turning to look at her father and his fiancee she looked at them in disbelief. "Are you kidding me?! This better be a joke. I thought models were suppose to have a sense of style but obviously I wa-." Her father stood up speaking as he did cutting her off mid-sentence. "Mads don't be rude!" He spoke with his stern tone that told her not to push her luck so she didn't. "I thought you'd like it. All the other bridesmaids loved the dresses." Madison gave a sarcastic chuckle as she looked herself up and down. "Madison!" Her father shouted her name as he saw her about to same something that they both knew was going to be anything but appropriate. Throwing up her hands in defeat she said nothing as she walked over to her bed and sat down crossing one leg over the other as she took her iphone in hand. "Well had you not been acting like a brat and gone to the dress fitting like I asked you to .." Madison tuned out her father's voice as he went on. She wanted no part of this damn wedding and she was done talking about it. He could make her go if he wanted to but not even God himself could make her wear this monstrous of a bridesmaid dress in public. She had a reputation to up hold and she wanted risk that for their "big day".

Her father and Carla were now talking amongst each other as they were trying to figure out what their next move would be now that Madison had made it clear she wasn't wearing the dress Carla along with her family and friends had picked out. Madison wasn't paying either of them any attention as she was engulfed with her phone. She had been texting Malia and was instantly happy after reading the girl's reply. Just the thought of ice cream had her craving a pint of Breyers Cookies & Cream With Oreo Ice Cream. "This has been fun and all but I've got plans so can you guys leave." Madison said as pointed to the door. "It's a school night." Her father said stating the obvious. "Relax. Am only going to Malia's house." She didn't wait around to see or hear if her father had anything to say to that as she walked into her attached closet. Changing out of the bridesmaid dress she threw on her grey and black adidas sweatsuit and a pair of adidas sneakers.

Grabbing the dress she walked out of the room to find her dad and Carla still in her room. She tossed the bundled up dress to her father, "I'll text you when I get there." She heard her father saying something to her as she brushed pass him and Carla but she was so done with it all that she didn't stick around to find out what it was he was saying. Getting in her car she drove the fifteen minute drive to Family Dollar where she stocked up on pints of ice cream making sure to get her favorite along with Malia's and Austin's who on her drive to the store Malia texted her and told her was over.

When she got to Malia's house it was close to seven and after texting her father that she had made it she turned off her cell and hung out with her friends. They had lounged in the kitchen eating the cartons of ice cream she had brought over until they were all gone than had a fun night playing games on the wii in Malia's room. Sometime around three in the morning the trio had crashed. She and Austin hadn't even made it to their rooms; Austin sleeping on the floor and Madison sleeping in the bed with Malia.

Morning

Morning had come to soon. One minute she sound asleep and the next she was beginning assaulted by Malia and her damn pillow."Wake up. Wake up. Wake up. Wake Up!" She yelled until Madison finally sat up in the bed. Austin was already up and folding up his bedding as Madison yawned while attempting to rub the sleep from her eyes."Alright. Let's get these showers going because ya know my mom is not kidding when she says she'll be back her with ice water." Madison nodded tossing the comforter off her body as she stood up and stretched. The last thing she wanted was a ice bath and she knew Malia momma would gladly give anyone of the three teens one. Walking out of the room behind Austin she entered the room right across from Malila's.

Walking over to the dresser in the room she rummage through the different drawers until she found an outfit to wear. She loved the fact that she had not only her own room but her own wardrobe at Malila's and Austin place because she never had to pack anything and she went over to their places. She took out her Love Letter black perforated leather tank with the marijuana motif print and black crocodile embossed leather gym shorts to wear. Leaving her clothes on her bed for one of the servants to come by and take she went and got in the shower. When she got out she blow dried and straightened her hair and applied her makeup. Walking out of the bathroom she put on her clothes, sneakers and her snapback. She didn't care to go above and beyond with accessories today so she skipped it.

Walking down the stairs she headed to the kitchen where she found Austin sitting with the Malia's mother and brother already eating breakfast. The head cook Felicia handed her a plate of room as she entered the kitchen. Thanking her Madison said good morning to everyone as she sat down and joined them for breakfast. It wasn't long before Malia came downstairs and joined everyone else for breakfast. Madison didn't have a home cooked meals for breakfast often because avoid her dad and eating breakfast alone at an empty table wasn't appealing. So normally she got the little containers of fruit salad or some kind of fruit from the seven eleven by the school. Meals were finished one after another and after goodbyes were said Madison followed Malia out of the house. She grabbed her book bag out of the backseat of her car before climbing in the backseat of Malia's car. She was still tired so she let Austin ride shotgun as she used her bag as a pillow and caught some extra Zs in the back row of the car.

It wasn't long before she was being awoken again this time by Austin as they arrived at school. Sitting up the cheerleader yawned and once again wiped the sleep from her eyes as she got out of the car. "I hate school." She stated as she swung her bag strap over her head and let the bag fall at her side. Linking arms with Malia she laid her head on her shoulder as she pouted as she looked at Austin. "God I miss summer."

Jim watched as students slowly filed their ways into the school. He sat on a bench in the main lobby drawing in one of his sketch books. He had already been at the school for a couple of hours thanks to his relationships with the staff. They let him in early. He always found it to be more peaceful and serene when nobody else was around. He was drawing a cartoon rendition of their principal Mr. Waterbury. He was focusing on certain qualities to Mr. Waterbury's character. Huge ears, big eyes always sweaty. These were of course exaggerated but that was part of the fun.
Losing track of time Jim looked up to see Malia Chandler, Austin Mcbrown, and Madison Ryan. He watched as Austin left the group to go to class. He knew the three of them but he wasn't best friends with any of them. He had been to a couple of parties that they were at.
He had watched guys throw themselves and turn into complete jack asses just to get a little recognition from these popular kids. James shrugged it off and closed his sketch book. It was time to go to class and he was already late. He smiled to them an slung his bag onto his shoulders. He then followed them down the hall as his class was in the same direction they were going. As he walked down the hall he noticed some of the artwork from last year was still hung up. Most of the stuff was his and he took pride in it. "Got one more year too fill these hall with art again. " He muttered to himself as he made his way to class.

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Mercy sighed as she was dragged down the hallway by Beth-Anne. She knew her friend had projected herself so the entire hallway could hear and that it was her job as head cheerleader to straighten up and flip her hair, acting like she agreed completely with Beth-Anne's words. It wasn't that she didn't agree with her, it was just that she didn't care. Mercy had no need for cliques or cliches in the world, she thought they were unnecessary social stigmatisms that got in the way of everyday life. But, needless to say, she was a part of them. So, she took her elbow out of Beth-Anne's grasp, pulled down the neck of her crop top to an obscene level, and smiled like she was on top of the world.

"Ugh, great, calculus. I don't understand why we have to go through all of this stupid learning shit anyway. It's not like I'm going to use this in fashion major," Beth-Anne says, checking her perfect manicure with a bored eye as they stood outside the AP Calculus classroom. Mercy bit her lip, choosing to not say anything instead of how great she thought math was.

"So, are you excited for this afternoon's practice? I am! I worked on this great routine for everyone," Mercy said with a laugh. Beth-Anne smiled at her, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear and eyeing a jock like he was a slab of meat.

"There goes our captain again, getting these crazy ideas into her head. Remember last time you told me that?" Beth-Anne says and Mercy frowns.

"That wasn't my fault! It was that bratty girl Grace!" Last year, the last routine they ever did, Mercy choreographed it to a T. Perfectly rounded with just the right amount of flips and such, and it would have been great. Until a little freshman on JV decided it was her position to critique everything, and by the time she was done she had the rest of the squad believing her. Mercy, Beth-Anne, and the rest of her clique had watched in horror as they performed at the school assembly. Needless to say, it was a train wreck with many injuries. "And this one isn't for JV. It's for tryouts. There's nothing they can do to mess it up," Mercy says confidently. Beth-Anne smirks and cocks her head, looking at the posters all over the hallway that definitely screamed for attention with their bright, school-colored letters.



Mercy sighed, looking at the poster as well. "We should have gotten someone else to design them. It's way too loud." Beth-Anne laughs then frowns at the room number. Just as she's about to tell her something, the bell rings loud enough to saw everyone's ears off.

"Damn, I did not miss that," she cringes. "By the way, this isn't my room. Looks like you're the only one of us in AP, Merce." Beth-Anne blows her a kiss then walks like a model down the hallway. Mercy rolls her eyes, walking into the classroom and taking a seat in the front row. Pulling out her custom textbook, she brushes her hands over the cover fondly. Every time she got a new math class, she picked out her own cover for the book and made sure it was special each time. Looking up at the board, she waited eagerly for class to begin, not even paying attention to who walked in the door and who didn't.

Straight Shots, his fathers pool hall, had been strangely packed last night, mainly because it was in the middle of the week and things don't normally get busy till the weekend. Nonetheless it sure had Chris on his feet, not only did Chris have to make the food, luckily it was most chicken wings and pizza along with doing his regular job as a waiter, but Rudy, the bartender, couldn't make it to work because he had his in laws coming to visit and had to pick them up from the airport. His father, Mitchell, was helping the best he could by helping bar tend and clean tables but it still took a lot out of them.

By time they were closed and cleaned up it was already two in the morning. Mitch had told Chris to go to bed at closing time but he chose to stay and help out figuring it was better to just help out and get the night over with. However he did leave slightly before his father making his way behind the bar and out through the kitchen door. The door lead to a small dank alley with a flickering light “Need to fix that.” he mumbled unlocking the house door that was directly beside the kitchen’s. There was no way to mix the two up, the kitchen’s door was pure white with the STRAIGHT SHOTS in bold letters, underlined with a tilted pool cue that was cutting off the OTS in shots. The house door on the other hand was black with a thin rectangular window on the side.

Chris slid the key in, unlocking the door and pulled. Stepping inside you’re immediately greeted with a set of stairs. He let out a yawn as he climbed up the stairs, the door slammed shut giving him a slight jump.Turning down the hallway he made his way to his room, unclipping his name tag and throwing it on his dresser. With a stretch he looked at his clock 2:45 in blinking red letters lightly lit up the small room. He wanted to take a shower but pushed it aside, When I wake up. he thought to himself plopping on his bed.

〷〷〷〷

Chris woke up and rolled to his side rubbing one eye and looking at his clock with another 6:50. After a large stretch and a prolonged yawn he finally rolled off his bed, out of his room, and into the bathroom across the hall. Fifteen minutes is all it takes for him to have a shower and get dressed. He doesn't dress to impress so he picked up a pair of jeans from a bucket of clothes he kept in his room and a grey tank top and unbuttoned plain blue button down shirt and slipping on his favorite pair of worn out shoes.

On his way out he picked up his backpack, throwing in his house keys and name tag. Pocketing his phone and heading to the kitchen he made himself some toast and grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge. He could hear his father snoring from down the hall and best to simply stay quiet, it had been a late night and he had to be up by twelve to open the pool hall.

Making sure his camcorder was in his backpack he headed out. He hid his bike, an orange and black BMX bike, further down the alley locked to a piped and hidden with an old blanket. He wrapped the blanket around the pipe, unlocked the lock and headed to school. He had his license but with the traffic he never felt the need for a car. Besides he found it more fun to ride his bike, there were more routes to take and you didn't have to abide by traffic rules. Most of his ride consisted of back alleys and parking lots, an occasional stop at a Seven Eleven or Family Dollar to pick something up if he was hungry. This ride was uninterrupted though, he didn't feel like like stopping anywhere so he kept focus on heading to school.

〷〷〷〷

It was around 7:30 when he finally got to school, another great thing about riding a bike, you don’t have to worry about parking spots. Skidding to a halt he hopped off his bike and locked up his bike. Chris put a hand through his hair messing it up, still damp from the shower.

Once inside he took out his schedule realizing he hadn't even looked it over. He noticed a couple of people from past classes but didn't bother talking. Chris wasn't much of a morning person and noisy lobby was giving him a headache. History first period Great. he thought and made his way to class.

---

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She was in a rush. Dashing through hallways, rounding corners, and tramping up three flights of stairs. Mrs.Pryor, the honor orchestra director, made the whole class stay after until they were finished writing down the melodies for Beethoven's Violin Concerto in D major, a song Maggie has never heard of let alone had even played before. So, of course it took her longer to complete the stupid assignment and once she did there was only about a minute left until her next class; Junior and Senior AP Statistics. Grabbing her belongings and slipping off her Mary Janes, she took off running down the deserted halls. Her feet were alternately slapping against the linoleum tiled floors, her legs working smoothly moving her up the stairs. She did not stop to catch a breath, though she was starting to feel a bit light-headed and her feet were starting to feel as if she were stomping on rocks. She did not stop because she HAD to get to class, and being late was not what she had in mind.

❤❤❤❤

Once she was at the door, she took a deep breath before making a scene. She didn't even realize when she first walked in that class had already started. Well, there goes her perfect attendance record.

Thank you for joining us, Ms.Bogaerde.

Her Statistic teacher, Mr.Chapman, said in a disparaging tone.

I am truly sorry, Mr.Chapman. Mrs.P-

Maggie started to explain, but Mr.Chapman raised a hand, cutting her off.

I expect more from an honor student and future valedictorian, Ms.Bogaerde.

Maggie nodded,

Understood, Mr.Chapman.

Do you not flipping understand that it wasn't my fault? Geez.

Is what she really wanted to say, but decided against it.

Mr.Chapman studied her before shooing her off,

Take your seat.

As she walked down the aisle, eyes were scrutinizing her in amazement that the brightest girl in school turned out to be the lastest, in terms of her tardiness. Maggie bowed her head in shame and embarrassment, her blonde hair making a curtain to block out the student's attention. Her legs felt like jello as she moved down the aisle- the aisle that seemed endless to Maggie despite all the stares and muttering. She stumbled over a backpack in the walkway and had to catch herself on the edge of a desk. The girl sitting there was infact a jock, caught the clumsy act, and snickered with everyone else who had seen it.

Smooth, Maggie. Just smooth.

She didn't look up as she sat her satchel and violin case down beside the desk before taking her seat.

Alright, Alright. Everyone let's settle down now.

Mr.Chapman said over all the laughter. Maggie took out her polka dotted spiral bound notebook when her best friend, Vivian Taylor, pulled on her arm and leaned close.

Where were you?

she whispered close enough for only Maggie to hear.

Well, Mrs.Pryor thought it'd be best for the whole class to write the melody of a song we had no clue about.

She said taking out her pink reading glasses from her case and slipping them on which immediately made Maggie look even more attractive in a 'nerdy' type of way. Vivian raised an eyebrow,

Tough teacher?

Maggie sucked in a breath full of air, and held it.

You have no idea.

Hmm.

Vivian hummed.

Anyway, now that you're here I need to know what's your opinion on gossip?

Inevitable.

Maggie replied without looking up from her notes.

True,

Vivian admitted reluctantly.

Let's be reasonable now.

Maggie rolled her eyes.

Fine. They are...rude, but can be entertaining.

She struggled with the inexplicable understatement.

Yes!

Vivian agreed with a giggle.

That's what I'm going to do, my dear Mags, entertain you with some rude gossiping.

Oh, joy.

Maggie said; lacking enthusiasm in her tone. She hated gossip. Probably not hated, but despised would be a better word to describe her feelings toward it. Vivian, on the other hand, loved it. Which is the very little thing that got their friendship working ever since kindergarten except that they have this dynamic where Vivian was the gossip-monger whereas Maggie sat back waiting to hear about the humiliating deeds of others. It's always been like that. Things never changed because if it did, their friendship wouldn't work anymore. Especially because Vivian was a Prep, and Maggie was only a Prep thanks to her wealth. But if Maggie wasn't a Prep, would Vivian and Maggie even become best friends?

Oh, joy!

Vivian mimicked the Southern English accent from Maggie's voice.

Lighten up, Mags.

She then playfully ruffled Maggie's hair as Maggie stuck her tongue out teasingly.

Okay, there's this new kid his name's Stephen Caedon or something like that, but I heard he does this weird voodoo meditation stuff at home. His parents are supposedly Irish and has him wearing these bizarre looking Buddhist robes.

Maggie narrowed her brows, while pushing up her glasses,

And you know this how exactly?

Vivian crossed her arms and leaned back in her seat,

I know people who know people.

Maggie bit her lip to hide the smile on her face. Then glanced at Vivian again.

So not true.

Whatever, but never underestimate the Caedon's. By the way, are you starting to go with the Ian Butler look today?

She tapped a finger on the lens of Maggie's reading glasses before bursting out into laughter.

I am not! That's absurd.

To her embarrassment, her voice broke and she felt her cheeks growing hot.

We've practically known the guy for six years and why would I pick now to do such a thing?

Mr.Chapman began talking. She sighed.

Good point.

then she added,

Who would want to look like that freak anyway?

That made Maggie look at Vivian in a way she's never looked at her before. It was a look of disgust.Then, she looked two rows behind her where Ian sat.

Ms.Bogaerde?

the teacher called, seeking the answer to a question that Maggie obviously hadn't heard.

Find the probability. The problem of what is the probability that the male sample will have at most three more days of absences than the female sample, requires us to find the probability that the average number of absences in the boy sample minus the average number of absences in the girl sample is less than three. To find this probability, we enter the z-score which is negative one decimal point eight one eight into Stat Trek's Normal Distribution Calculator. We find that the probability of a z-score being negative one decimal point eight one eight or less is about zero decimal point zero three five.
Therefore, the probability that the difference between samples will be no more than three days is zero decimal point zero three five.

she answered, seeming reluctant as she turned to look at Mr.Chapman.

Everyone within a three seat radius turned to look at her. Even the teacher stared at Maggie as if she was an alien species invading Earth. Then his jaw locked, and he turned away to continue writing different formulas on the whiteboard.

Let's start paying more attention, class.

he said.

Afterwards, Maggie tried to pay attention to the teacher, but somehow couldn't stop herself from glimpsing occasionally at Ian.

Elizabeth Williams

“When we asked him to sum up his impression of the girls' emotional state at that point, he said, "Buffeted but not broken.”

---

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✝✝✝✝

Elizabeth caught a glimpse while walking away of the blond mop of hair and while standing at her locker weakly attempted to scout out the long strands. After some crowd scanning in her fairly large school, the girls landed on a beautiful girl with gold colored locks. While Elizabeth will never actually be certain who held the door open unless she asks, she choose to believe it was Maggie - the goddess looking figure in high school.

Not pondering on the mystery door opener - which the mystery part could easily have been avoided if the girl would have just looked up form her feet when the door was opened. Elizabeth looked inside her locker that was bland with only a rack and pencil holder for decorations. Although they are not considered 'decorations' by any standards.

Also in the locker was the girl's black leather back planner that could easily pass as a journal if it didn't have the engraved gold ink stating that it was a planner for 2013/2014. Inside the planner everything was written in the same silver ink, all the pages adorned with the same mono color. Swiftly she flipped to the current date that had her schedule pre-written in - not that she was busy. Clearly written was only a simple 'Chem Lab due' but that was already finished along ago by the achieving girl. Her tutoring schedule was died down since the beginning of the year when the football players actually tried to get good grades but soon it hit them like a rock in here face that they can just buy there own personal nerd. It was undeniable that there was a slightest bit if disappointment in Elizabeth, being that tutoring was the only was she became semi-social. Although her shell was preferable.

Sighing the young girl reached behind her, to her extravagantly huge bag to slip her planner in. Her surroundings now hitting her. More people has entered the school, of those a pretty blonde. Racking through her brain Elizabeth recalled her name being Mecy. The thought of the name mercy makes frown etches into her face. When she was younger the kids used to play a game called mercy, where the players interlock hands and bend the others hand back until the child yells "MERCY!" Of course back when this young girl was fearless she made the bold decision to try it. Elizabeth being a meager little girl was forced against a pudgy girl with ominous eyes and pleated hair. The big girl bent poor Elizabeth's hand back so for she was wailing and crying but the big girl wouldn't stop. That was until a little brown haired boy interjected. Not remembering who it was Elizabeth still frowned at the memory.

Blinking a few times the girl washed away the memory from her mind. Her eyes began people surfing, studying everyone. The way Mercy bumped into Ian and some preppy interjector pulled her away, remarking a comment about how he was a nerd. Again Elizabeth sighed, her eyes began to feel droopy. High school wore on you made you feel tired. Everyone constantly feeling the need to degrade other caused a dread in Elizabeth.



While drowning in her own pool of thoughts a boy with moppy blonde hair appeared in front of her. The clear statement slipped his mouth and Elizabeth could not help but let her eyebrows arise although her confidence was not high enough to respond wittily.

Fiddling with her fingers, picking away at the corners Elizabeth ceased to respond. Her nails were long and just the general white French tip that her mother makes her get done. Easily she picked off the white paint letting the conversation drown. Further more the silence seemed to drag on to Elizabeth making it feel more as hours than few over extended seconds.

Finally mustering up some courage at this strange new person that she had no clue the name of, she spoke, while it was just an "Excuse me?" The comment was not rude or one that would indicate her taken backness, it was more of curious question that slipped from her pink lips, her honey sweet voice falling out. Finding her voice slightly helped with the confidence predicament that the girl was currently having.

Now she looked up from her hands although she couldn't quite bring herself to look the boy in the eye instead adverted her attention behind him to the people that were now entering the building. The trio consisting of Malia, Madison, and Austin all piled in, they were the type of people that Elizabeth knew but they did not know Elizabeth. Also an abundance of curls, a girl with a skateboard and slurpe, and a boy that looked an awful lot like the slurpe girl all entered the building.

Now the girl focused her attention back on the boy. "You know what nothing is wrong or unright and my happiness is in check." She paused the confidence felt like it was filling Elizabeth in an odd way, but as soon as it was there it was gone. Slowly she sinked back into her body her shoulders sinking. "Uh-uh th-thank you for the concern" the girl flashed a smile that didn't make it to her eyes as she tried to mend what she believed was taken as rude by her sudden confidence outburst.

✝✝✝✝

---

---

The girl refused to look at him. No, Stephen thought, it seemed that she was unable to look at him. He watched her fiddle with her hands. Her fingernails were long and painted white. It was a French tip, he noted, recalling the number of times his mother got a new manicure. The girl paused for a few moments until, at last, her quiet voice broke the silence.

"Excuse me?" she asked. He smiled. Her voice grew stronger as she looked away from her fingernails and up at him. She didn't make eye contact with him, but she was gaining confidence even as she gazed at something behind him. Stephen suppressed the urge to follow her gaze. Instead, he attempted to catch her eyes with his own and gave her a reassuring smile.

"You know what nothing is wrong or unright and my happiness is in check." the girl spoke and Stephen laughed good-naturedly. She had a wit. He was about to respond when she suddenly deflated, "Uh-uh th-thank you for the concern."

"You're welcome! But happiness shouldn't be in check. It's time you learn do something for your own enjoyment," he told her before singing.

Hey dol! merry dol! ring a dong dillo!
Ring a dong! hop along! fal lal the willow!
Tom Bom, jolly Tom, Tom Bombadillo!

Hey! Come merry dol! derry dol! My darling!
Light goes the weather-wind and the feathered starling.
Dawn along under Hill, shining in the sunlight,
Waiting on the doorstep for the cold starlight,
There my pretty lady is, River-woman's daughter,
Slender as the willow-wand, clearer than the water.
Old Tom Bombadil water-lilies bringing
Comes hopping home again. Can you hear him singing?
Hey! Come merry dol! derry dol! and merry-o,
Goldberry, Goldberry, merry yellow berry-o!
Poor old Willow-man, you tuck your roots away!
Tom's in a hurry now. Evening will follow day.
Tom's going home again water-lilies bringing.
Hey! Come derry dol! Can you hear me singing?



Ian grined at his joke's success as he accepted a sip of Jade's slurpee with a quiet thanks. He laughed as Jade hit him over on the shoulder.

"Look at you Mr. Trying new things. Hey, I'm going down to the skatepark after school, wanna come? I think I'm gonna invite a couple more people but I wanna hang and see you skateboarding."

"Oh, you make me feel so special. I will be delighted to have you and a couple other people as an audience as I try not to wipe out," Ian told her with a laugh. Maybe he was wrong. Things were looking up today. Then they both heard the bell ring.

"Shit."

"Ian the bells about to ring, what class do you got?"

"I have math class right now. What about you?" he asked as he put in the combination to this locker, opened it up, and gathered up his math textbook and notebook in a hurry.

---

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Oops, sorry. Double post.

Elizabeth Williams

“You're a stone fox”

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✝✝✝✝

The boy, he was confident,unlike the young girl that sunk into her own body and quivered away. In a way the boy intimidated the girl made her feel like a smaller person, although most people had that effect on Elizabeth. That made her want to space away from the boy.

Elizabeth realized that they had about two feet between them and she felt the need to add more space. Slowly she backed up until her back bumped against the cool orange colored locker. Mentally the girl scolded herself. Her backing up could be take as rude, which her mother had taught her not even to apply rudeness. Her mother would be ashamed. In her mind Elizabeth continued to scold herself.

Again the boy spoke jumped the girl from her trance. He said something about happiness that Elizabeth disagreed on? Before the young girl even willed herself a chance to object the boy opened his mouth and began singing. The lyrics flowed from his mouth, the tune the girl unrecognized.

Immediately the girl was sucked in by the tune. Listening carefully to what he was saying, not caring of the children around her. Although soon she looked around at curious eyes. Immediately her bashful side kicked in. She sunk even further into her shell. Her fear of people laughing at her, judge her masking everything else.

Elizabeth could feel her body redden. Her face turning into a cherry her nose especially red. Her ear tips also eventually succumb to the redness that her face had already over took. Her body heat reached exponential highs and Elizabeth felt her hand to the cool metal of the locker to cool it.

Elizabeth begged with her eyes for the boy to stop as the people store. Her mouth barely released a "Please stop" midway through the song although it was probably unheard being that her small voice barely croaked it out.


The song rambled on and the young girl was forced to think of her mother and how disappointed she would be in Elizabeth for associating herself with this embarrassing moment.

Then all at once the song was over. The people moved on, focusing on the next big thing in the hall or heading to a class that Elizabeth knew she should already be at. But yet she stay still, thinking.

A part of her was furious at the boy's sudden out burst of song although another was interested in the boy with enough confidence to sing in the middle of the hallway. In the end only her embarrassment shown through taking up every crevice of her cherry face.

Even after the song had ended Elizabeth did all in her power not to study the boys face. Instead she store at her feet and fluffed around her itchy dress. Her embarrassment was still on the highest level. Years of hiding her self from others and then in one second they were staring at her. Again the anger reappeared.

Finally the girl willed herself to look him in his eyes and then her eyes trailed to his blonde hair and eventually down his body. He was adorned in a strange outfit and Elizabeth knew for certain that she had never seen him before.

As if stepping out of her trance the young girl snapped her eyes back to the boys face realizing she had been staring for a second to long at his outfit. Slowly her ears where again taking over by the heat, though her cheeks were not.

"Uh" was all the came out of the girls mouth, unsure of how to respond to the song outburst. She opened her mouth as if to say something but then closed it. She was genuinely stumped.

Then next thing that happened was the bells ringing from the speakers in the hall ways. It made the young girl jump slightly. Mentally Elizabeth notes that she need to succory off to Advanced French III but she still stood. Blinking a few times she finally spoke, "French"

Shyly she slowly pointed her thumb to the side of her to indicate what direction she was going to. Turning and her heels and slightly stumbling, Elizabeth make her way down the hall, whispering a quiet "Good-Bye" on her way out.

✝✝✝✝

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Rhapsody was sound asleep in her bedroom as her unwind playlist was playing Say Something by A Great Big World in the background. She could never sleep in a completely silent room, especially last night seeing that her whole family decided to go out to dinner and didn't come back until much later. Rhapsody would have went but, two things got in the way of that. One: She was on a new medicine that made her very drowsy and two: she was just too lazy to have to get out of her pajamas and get changed into actual clothes that were 'presentable' for the fancy restaurant they were going to. So, she just asked them to bring her something back so she could have some peace and quiet. Out of no where her alarm went off, waking her up instantly as the girl pushed on her arms to move from her back to her side so she could grab her phone from underneath her pillow. She turned off the alarm before sliding it on her nightstand and pulling towards her chair that was already open so she had no trouble getting ready for the morning. Looking at the time, she groaned. Five thirty, exactly the time she wanted to get up and get ready. She slid in her seat before rolling towards her closet. Looking through her small walk in closet, Rap grabbed out one of her many flowing tops and a pair of light wash jeans. She laid them on her lap as she backed up a bit to grab a pair of shoes from their places in the rack hanging on her door. Once heading out of the closet she grabbed her jacket that was hanging from the door of the closet. Looking around the mess that was her room, she sighed in defeat before looking towards her door. "Mom,"

"Yes?" She heard her mother shout from her room that was only down the hall from hers. "I kinda...need...help."

"Okay, honey. I'm coming." It didn't take long for her mother to come into her room with a worried expression. "What do you need help with, baby?" Rhapsody sighed and looked down before slowing saying, "My pants..." The older woman chuckled sightly before smiling and nodding. She held the girl up before sitting her up on her bed and grabbing her jeans. It took a couple of minutes to get them on but once they were on and she was back in her chair, she could do everything else herself. She slid her shirt on with her jacket. All while her mother watched from the door frame. "Do you need anything else?" Rhapsody shook her head before changing her mind. "Actually, yes. Can you grab my necklace from the floor next to my dresser and my bracelets right there... I can't really get to them."

"Maybe it you cleaned your room more than twice a year..." Her mother said with a smirk. "Maybe, if I was able to. I don't know hop to it, I would." Rhapsody was always one to take small jabs at herself, especially about her wheelchair. I mean, if she couldn't make fun at herself, who could? Her mother rolled her eyes with a small smile on her face. She shook her head before walking out of her daughter's room. "I'm going to get going, I need to drop off Alex and Graham at daycare. Bruno, Maggie, Alexia, and Jared have already left and wont be back for a week or so, and Amelia is home sick. So, you pretty much will have the house to yourself tonight." Rhapsody nodded towards her mom as she fixed her bracelets and hat before looking up at the short woman who was speaking from the family's laundry room."Yea, okay. I should probably get going before I'm too late." Her mother came back into her room as she started to adjust her earrings as she started nodding to her daughter. Rhapsody grabbed her bag from the corner of her bed and slung it on the side of her seat as she began to wheel towards the front door. Looking around she could hear Bohemian Rhapsody blasting from her father's art room. Meaning, he was going to be there for a while. He was in the 'zone' as he called it and no one had the guts to get in the way of that, except his fiance of course. Who had close to no fear, especially about Kai.

She shook her head with a small smirk on her face before going to the kitchen and to the counter to grab her travel coffee mug which was already filled since her mother hated her doing it herself. And no matter how many times she protest, her mother still did it for her. The small girl put the mug in the cup holder attracted to her chair before going up the small ramp that was located at the front door. "Bye mom!" She shouted as she headed out the door and towards her old Volkswagen van. It didn't take long for the small girl to get to her car compared to how long it took her to actually get in the large van.

She sighed as she opened the door and pulled herself from her chair to the driver's seat. After grabbing her bag from the side of the chair, Rhapsody pulled her chair up and folded it before sliding it into the passenger seat. Once buckling her seatbelt, she looked up and sighed. Looking at the hand controls that she had to have in her car, she rolled her eyes. She hated them sometimes. Seeing that every once and a while, Rap got the hand controls messed up. Mistaking the gas for the brake and vice versa. But, once she was in her car and had her music blasting. She smile as she started the car and began her drive to school. Which wasn't far whatsoever. As she drove she hummed along to the songs that played on the alternative indie station. She changed it and heard the song, The Worst playing. Sure, Rhapsody wasn't a fan of artists that most people knew and admired but, she did like the song shown by how she sung along to the PBR&B song as she pulled into the school's parking lot seeing that most students were either inside or running inside as she pulled into the handicap parking right next to the door. This was the one thing she loved about her seat. It always got her the best parking everywhere she went. Which was the only special treatment she actually allowed.

She grabbed her chair and pulled it over her and onto the ground, opening it after before sliding down from her car and into the seat. She was about to close the door before stopping and grabbing her bag and coffee. She slung her bag back in its regular spot along with her coffee as she hurried inside. As she hurried, she saw a women about to shut the door behind her. "Wait, wait, wait! Girl rolling." She shouted as she noticed it was her art teacher. "Cutting it a little close, aren't we Rap?" Rhapsody chuckled nervously as she wheeled inside with a shrug. "Possibly. I should get going, I still need to find my friends."

"Relax for a minute, I have a question for ya." The red headed woman said as she started walking alongside the girl before she stopped and looked up at the woman. "You're still in art, right?" Rhapsody looked at her a if she was crazy before slowing nodding. "Yea, of course. Why would you ask that? You know I love art--.."

"I know you do, Raps. Trust me. But, your mother called the principal and," At this point Rhapsody stopped listening. Her mother was always trying to make her think that sculpting and art was too hard for some 'like her'. She loved her mom, she did but, she hated how she tried to treat her like a baby. Hell, the only reason she was still in an actual school and had a car was because of her dad. "Of course she called. But, yes. I'm still in art now if you don't mind, I should be getting to class before the hoard of jocks down there make a human wall in front of my locker." The art teacher chuckled before nodding and walking the other way towards her room. Backing up a little in order to turn in the way of her classroom and locker. As she made her way to her locker, a few people called her by her nickname, 'Wheels' while others called her by her actual name. She smiled and waved towards them but, other than that none of them were her closest friends. Most of them were members of the basketball and/or track team, the teams she used to be a part of. They weren't best friends or anything now, but she was close to a few that didn't just drop her for becoming a 'hippie'.

Rhapsody bobbed and weaved her way through the crowd when she did she saw her friend, Jade talking to Ian. She wasn't going to interrupt them but, she did want to mess with the girl. So, with a smirk on her face, the free spirit softly pinched her friends leg. Only turning around for the girl to know who did it. Rhapsody turned back around and chuckled. Jade was one of her closest friend in their little 'group'. She made it to her locker which was located next to a group of jocks talking about what they did over the summer. She knew all of them and was cool with some of them, but they never really talked to each other in school unless they were in a class together or outside of school, mostly at a party or something.

When she opened her locker, she just grabbed out her History book (That she forgot to return at the end of her sophomore year) and slung it in her bag before shutting the door. "God, they're gonna kill me." She said under her breath before removing the hat on her head and scuffing up her hair a bit. She put the hat back on before heading to her history class and just laid the book on the teacher's desk since they weren't there to lecture her about it. She took a seat behind Jade's brother, Eren. She tapped his shoulder to get his attention with a smile on her face. "Hey Eren, how's this day treatin' you so far?"

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Her outfit | Her Volkswagen van | Her house | Her bedroom

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Stephen watched sadly as the girl left. With a start, he realized he never caught her name. He completely forgot to ask. He shook his head at his mistake as he headed for his own locker. He took his time to place his books, notebooks, and folders inside the locker before grabbing his math book, notebook, and folder.

"Math... My greatest enemy," he mused as he walked into the classroom. The teacher raised an eyebrow at him, but said nothing. Thank God this was the first day of the school year. He took a seat by a blonde haired girl and smiled in greeting before he placed his things on his desk.

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---

Jade smiled in resignation as she realized what class she had. She spoke, "Unfortunately I have math in the morning too, like really whose bright idea was it to give half awake children math in the- ow!"

She turned around angrily, but saw that it was Rhapsody and smiled. Ian couldn't help but laugh slightly. He wouldn't have the courage to pull such a stunt. Nonetheless, he spent a few minutes making faces at Jade as the teacher droned on. Eventually, Jade returned to her phone and Ian looked around. With a start, he realized he had taken a seat next to Mercy. He wasn't sure how to feel about that. They had never spoken much before, but she did seem to approve what her fellow cheerleader said about him.

"Hey," he greeted politely before opening up his notebook.

---

Mercy listened eagerly to the teacher, writing in her notebook almost every word he said. Pythagorean Theorums, Cosine, all of the juicy stuff that Mercy lived for. At the moment it was just a recap, so it was pretty much all of the stuff she'd been practicing over the summer, but it was still something. During a moment of Trig recap, she took a breath and doodled in her notebook. Just as she did, the person sitting next to her said hello, and she turned her head to her right only to catch her breath. Hallway guy...

"Hey," she whispers. They were in the front row, so it wouldn't be easy to get past the teacher, luckily he was notorious for only paying his students half a mind. "Sorry about earlier, Beth-Anne can be a little...harsh," she said. While it was a huge understatement, Beth-Anne was still her best friend, and she couldn't gossip about her without feeling terrible.

Cliques were bad at her school, also an understatement, and she was lucky that none of her fellow jocks or cheerleaders were in this class. If they saw the head of their squad fraternizing with the enemy [a.k.a. the "nerds"], they would have it out for her. While she didn't approve of the social divides, she loved cheer, and she wasn't willing to risk that.

"So, I do know you from somewhere...don't I?" She asked him, "or am I just being totally weird..."

Maggie was extremely early for class that she had nothing better to do than slump back in her seat, and stare as her classmates came filing in the classroom in groups-some were in pairs. She felt a bit dreary for those that came in groups. She wished she had friends like them rather than acquaintances, or her "best friend" Mindy two rows behind her. However, Maggie isn't all that great at meeting new people, sure she has the capability to do so, but she doesn't know what to do when it comes to making friends. Even when she was little it was difficult for her to develop friendships because not everyone is very fond of meeting a girl who was likely to be a prissy brat like one of the Preps. It didn't worry Maggie much because she was used to people thinking of her that way.

Class didn't start for a few minutes, and the room buzzed with conversation. Maggie kept her eyes away from the door now as she was doodling idly on the cover of her notebook. She heard very clearly when the desk next to her squeaked and the sound of school supplies were being slammed on the desk, but her eyes stayed carefully focused on the pattern she was drawing. When she finally looked up, she was stunned to have found some guy smiling at her. He was sitting as far away as the walkway between them allowed, but he was staring right at her with a slight smile on his face indicating a greeting. His hair was blonde and curly-disheveled even so. Maggie smiled back reluctantly; giving a short wave.

---

---

Stephen was glad to see that the girl next to him returned his greeting more readily than the previous girl. She seemed friendly, though a little uncertain. That was normal for people who met him for the first time. Stephen knew that he wasn't the most... conventional person out there. He was perfectly fine, with that, though. He was as God made him. Heedless of the teacher, he spoke.

"Hey. My name is Stephen Caedon. I hope you are having a blessed and enlightening day."

---

---

Surprisingly, the girl spoke. Ian wasn't expecting her to speak to him at all. They hardly spoke the whole time they had math classes together. He couldn't help but laugh slightly at her statement.

"Hey," she whispered, "Sorry about earlier, Beth-Anne can be a little...harsh," she told him.

"You don't say," Ian said dryly, remembering previous interactions with the girl he affectionately nicknamed "Harpy" in his mind. Still, it seemed Mercy didn't like what she said to him. That was a plus. He raised an eyebrow at her next words, however.

"So, I do know you from somewhere...don't I?" She asked him, "Or am I just being totally weird..."

"We've been in the same math classes since middle school, Mercy," he told her, "We just... Never hung out. I wouldn't know why."

He may have said the last part sarcastically. They both knew what the clique hierarchy was like. Officially, he was a Wallflower and some popular kids hung out with Wallflowers. Unofficially, however, he was a nerd and one of the few people at this school who did not come from a rich family. You didn't need to be a genius to know he was near the bottom as far as preps, jocks, and cheerleaders were concern.