Chapter 2

Three. Two. One

And it's time for lunch!!!! 

"And don't forget to complete the assignment" Mr McLain said.

This man sure deserved an award for making an hour look like a year.

I loved math, i always made As when it came to math but I had to admit, the class was boring and too long. Mr McLain was a great guy but how could a man be stuffed with boredom. I didn't mean to sound harsh but sometimes, you have to be honest.

I depended on the little reading I did myself and besides, I didn't mean to sound all egotistical but I was one smartass. All I needed was a copy of the note or a textbook from the library and boom, a big A waiting for me.

I heard some students sigh and some muttered 'thank God' or 'finally'. They all stood up and found their ways out of the class. It seemed like the atmosphere in the class alone was boredom for me.

Man, I hated school.

I could accept a boring teacher all day, I also could accept sitting in an extremely quiet class but there was no way I could accept the look Dylan gave me. He'd been starring at me since the class commenced. It made me feel like I was McLain himself.

I just hoped I wasn't going to be his next victim, like I call it. Dylan pranking me could be my worst nightmare if there was nothing like ghosts or demons.

I didn't want to be the school's trending topic. He had the power to make my life in Bluefalls a complete nightmare and all he had to do was to pull a dumb prank on me.

What was at with the kid and pranking anyway. Doesn't he get tired of it?

As much as I hated school, it was the only place I got to stay without being beaten or insulted and I didn't want that idiot to make him to make it a nightmare. If he tries to prank me, I promise he'll get it.

In case you don't know then I'm telling you now. I'm really good at pulling pranks. I might be a really gentle girl that does nothing but put my head behind books and get straight As but if he tries to make my life a nightmare then I'll make his hell. I pulled great pranks when I was still young. I once kept glue on the toilet and got a girl stuck for hours.

Pushing those thoughts behind me head, I packed my books on the table and

Ouch!

My thigh hit the edge of the desk. The pain from my thigh came again but this time it was even worse. It affected my whole leg, I felt handicapped for a moment.

What was it with me and clumsiness?

I felt all my books fall on the ground as I held unto the desk. I checked my lap and almost faint at it's condition. My thigh had blood on it and it was increasing as seconds passed. Though it wasn't that noticeable from afar but my leggings had blood on it.

I checked around to be sure no one saw me. Then it came to my notice. Dylan was watching my every move. He took slow steps forward and it was then I noticed I was already panicking. I'd rather have a teacher know that letting Dylan know I had a fork go through my thigh this morning. Believe me, the boy was the worst. Life suddenly smiled at me and an idea popped into my head.  I took off my sweater and tied it around my waist, making it look like an apron.

And the award for the smartest person alive goes to, Diana Kent!

I packed my books and stormed out. He stopped walking when he noticed I walking away. I guess the sweater really helped. I walked out of the class with my books. I guess wearing black leggings was the beat idea for a Monday. At least, it was far better than white.

I stopped at my locker and kept my books in it first. Then,  I took my black bag pack and went straight to the girls toilet. Luckily no one was there so I went into one and quickly pulled the leggings. The sight of the wound on my thigh made me feel even worse. I used to hate the sight of blood but my mom made me used to it since I saw it almost everyday.

I brought out the bandages in my bag. Stupid right? I know. As crazy as that sounds, if you were in my situation you'd have done the same or even worse.

A girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do.

I clean the wound, applied ointments and bandaged it up and then I noticed, I would pass as a doctor.

I rinsed the blood off my leggings and it rinsed off easily. I wore it back, totally ignoring the fact it was all wet. After all, it was just my left leg.  It covered the wound perfectly, showing no trace I had an injury there only that it's a bit swollen but not noticeable. I went out of the toilet to the cafeteria. Finally I could eat.

In peace, if I might add.

*~*~*~*~*~*~

I worked at Rochelles, a forty year old coffee shop. It was a bit far from school but wasn't something I couldn't solve with my sweet legs. I made my way out of the hell hole when I heard the last bell and started making my way to work.

The pain in my thigh had reduced after the incident in math class. I guessed the painkillers weren't useless.

I was relieved he didn't see anything. Just imagine how it would've turned out to be. He would use that as an instrument to humiliate me and hence, the imaginary social life I though I had would be over.

The streets we're quiet, only random strangers passed once in a while. It was a Monday so it was either because most people were busy with work or there was a ghost behind me.

It had to be former, there's no such thing as ghosts. Right? Right?!

Seeing the bright light of Rochelles reduced the anxiety. I made my way to the door and pushed it open to see Luke busy with wiping the counter.

Luke was my best friend. Even when he was a bit older than me, we still argued and played around like we were age mates. He knew almost everything about me so I was free around him. He lived with his girlfriend and their dog a street away. To put it all in three words, he was happy.

"Hey" He said, pulling me into one of his bear hugs. I would've loved it but I wasn't a fan of hugs and he knew that but he loved messing with me.

"How's Steph?" I asked, referring to his girlfriend.

"She's good"

"And?" I pressed on. Steph promised me her delicious apple pie. If there was one thing she was good at, it would be cooking. She had the heart for cooking and her pies we're the best. She visited Rochelles at times to bring lunch for Luke but I only saw her during the weekends.

"Yeah, that's all"

"What about the pie?!"

"Oh" He said in realization "It's probably the stuff in the white plastic bag?"

"How could you have forgotten? My life depends on that pie"

"Don't be dramatic, I'll eat it on your behalf"

"I hate you"

"And I love you too" He paused "As much as I would love to stand here and annoy you all day, I have to take Nick to the vet. He's been acting weird lately"

"Don't expect a goodbye hug"

"It's okay, I can always steal it" Before I knew what he meant, he wrapped his hand around my shoulder and squeezed me tight before laughing and running out.

What a chicken?

"Diana. I see you came right on time" Mrs Collins said behind me. Rochelle was passed on to her from her mother and she took care of it like it was her own child. She was in her late sixties already.

"Yes. Hope you slept well" I told her and she nodded in reply.

"I need to meet a friend in the next street. Do me a favor and run this place till I get back" she said.

"Take your time" I told her as she smiled and left. I was the only one in the shop.

I almost yelled in frustration when my first customer walked in. Life was so kind to let my first customer to be none other than Dylan. He scanned the place before sitting in front of me.

"What would you like?" I said but it came out more like a 'what do you want!'

"Not a really good way to talk to a customer" he said, plastering a sick smile on his face. How I wished I had the power to manipulate people, he would have his face in the toilet now.

"Fine. How would you like your coffee?" I asked.

"I want it with milk and a lot of sugar till it's as sweet as you are"

I muttered 'pervert' under my breath and went ahead to make him his coffee. I intentionally added more sugar than normal. After all, he said he wanted it to be as sweet as I am. There was nothing as sweet as I was so I tried to make him something close to it. I made sure there was so much sugar, it was thick.

You could literally see the sugar in it.

I placed it in front of him with a smile. He took a sip and spat it back out. I had to suppress my laughter but I failed. It came out like a chocking cow.

"Do you hate me this much?"

"You said something as sweet as me" I said in my defence. He dropped the money on the table and left with the same smile on his face.

After a lot of customers, I was done with work. I sighed and took off my apron, throwing it somewhere in the kitchen. The skies couldn't be any darker.  It was already late in the night. Luckily, the streetlights made me feel a bit safe. At least, I could see where I was going.

A black jeep slowed down in front of me. I took a glance at the driver and once again, Dylan Kings. I had a feeling he was gonna ask to drive me home but I was planning on saying no. My house is a complete mess and I didn't want anyone seeing that.

As if he read my mind, he zoomed off.

"What a gentleman?" I mumbled to myself, my voice heavy with sarcasm.