Chapter two

I concentrated harder and harder until I was cross-eyed, completely focusing on the math in my book. The bell rang, and the Math teacher left, feeling played and disappointed, but still, I couldn't take my eyes off the book, so heaven existed. It was real. Angels were out here watching me. 

I knew it. Some salvation. The...   

My internal monologue was interrupted when someone waved his hand several times in front of me. It was Paul looking at me awkwardly with narrowed slits. He pulled the book in front of me and took it away, returning mine.

I peered down at my book, at the unfinished sum, and closed my eyes, feeling weightless and meaningless. There were no miracles or angels, after all. 

Why did he do that? I scribbled the sum I had crammed from his work down and closed my book as a feeling of relief swept over my whole being. 

Once in my life, someone decided to help me. Somebody looked my way, even if it wasn't an angel. 

"I am just curious, how did that happen? Everyone knows you can't do even the simplest math on the planet? "Fred asked, annoyed with his nostrils flared. 

" If you are stupid, you have to know I'm not, "I replied, trying to make my comeback, attempting to place Vince's smirk on my face. 

Paul and Fiona had turned around, watching our desk. I looked at Paul with a bright face, debating the words to say, the best way to show him how grateful I was. 

The moment I opened my mouth to speak, they both burst into laughter, including Fred. He laughed hysterically, crossing his arms over his stomach in an attempt to catch his breath as his chest moved up and down. 

"I told you she was about to flash her pair of poisonous canines, "Paul exclaimed, referring to my extra front teeth. 

I ran my tongue behind my teeth to feel if they were sharp or had venom and wished I had some poison to bite them so they could all die. 

" Her face looks like a wet weekend, " Fiona added as they continued guffawing.

I looked down, sad, disappointed, hating myself more for looking like I did. 

"Thirty-four, Fatrez, what do you need all that for, " Fred shouted. 

With the mention of the number thirty-four, a name I was given for having two extra front teeth, I felt a wave of sadness wash over me as all the hope and self-esteem I had in me evaporated and disappeared. 

Slowly, my head made contact with my locker, and I closed my eyes, defeated, feeling down in the dumps. Someone pulled at my pigtails, but I stayed that way, focusing on the darkness I saw when I closed my eyes, letting it lead me. 

"Whooa, she is mad, you guys move out of the way. She is going to explode."

"One, two, three, " Fiona counted, waiting for me to explore, say something, and lift my head up. It was not fun when I was quiet and my face hidden. 

That was it for me, the counting. It was the furthest I could go on the edge of a cliff, I opened my locker in an abrupt fast movement, and it hit her head, just like I wanted. She was leaning dangerously close to my locker, and she deserved that. 

The whole class went quiet as she held her head, stifling cries of pain.

"Today is your last day in school and maybe on earth too. You've got to live it to the fullest. You can't go down without a fight, " my subconscious reminded me. 

The fact that they cared too much enough to go quiet meant that they cared about her, she was pretty, and all her crushes in class would come for me. I was so dead. 

I looked to find the science teacher standing in front of the class, reading some lists. 

When did he get in? 

We were paired up for our science experiments.

"Shaley Perez, Sasha Woods, " that was my partner. The brightest and most beautiful girl in class, also a royal pain in the ass.

Couldn't they just pair me with some average person who wanted to stop living like me? 

"Sir, can anyone change their partners if they are not comfortable?" Sasha asked.

" Who is your partner? What is the problem?"

"Free, ah no, Perez, " she corrected as the whole class giggled. "I don't think we can work together or form a pair. We are not compatible. I mean, I am not comfortable. "

"Anyone who wants to rotate their partner, "the teacher asked.

The whole class started murmuring. Nobody was ready. Fiona had untied her neat burn and left her hair down to cover her injury. She was looking straight ahead, not joining the murmurs. 

"Ryan, do you want to pair with Perez, "

"No! " the perfect replied. 

"Well, Miss Sasha, there is a reason I paired you this way for science. Unless you have a valid reason, you will have to work together. "

Sasha heaved and supported her head with her hands, showing how helpless and disappointed she was. 

A note was passed to my desk, and I read the contents before closing my eyes to hold the tears back. 

"You stick out like a fucking sore thumb, Sasha the queen, "

I didn't throw it away but folded it neatly and placed it in my locker as I tried to breathe out all the hate projected towards me. When a person is rotten inside, they can never attract love. 

At this point, I felt like some low life, not human, foul bacteria or damp Moss that didn't deserve to exist among people. 

It was clear. Nobody wanted me as a partner in science class, not that I blamed them. They had a right to choose what was best for them, and it was not me. 

God, how much I hated myself.