I swore my Mom had been talking from home. Until now, twenty minutes were counted but she still showed no sign of experiencing a pain in her mouth for moving and twisting her lips nonstop.

“What did I tell you before, Sam?” – She questioned me, taking her eyes off the road to catch a look at me.

I stayed unresponsive.

‘Sam, Are you listening to me?”

“Clearly. And all you are talking about is questioning me what you told me before for the thirteenth time’ – I rolled my eyes, keeping the gaze itched on the people in gym clothes walking their dogs on the sidewalks and desperately attempted to seek for a justification why life was so unfair, when some people had so much spare time that they didn’t know how to spend other than walking their pets in the smoldering sun while sipping coffee, when others had no free time at all, especially those juveniles, who seemed to be very occupied with some stupid detentions. Me included.

“You do not talk to me that way, young lady” – She turned her head to look at me, totally forgot she was in charge of driving this old Chevy, which could easily hit the curbside any minute if she didn’t pay enough attention.

“Okay, okay. Just focus on the road, could you? I don’t want to die young” – I threw my hands up to try to signal her the extemporaneously hazardous situation she just involved us in.

She seemed to channel the danger, so she glanced at the rearview mirrors, checking the cars behind us before wobbling from side to side to assure nothing dangerous might happen to our car. ‘Never exaggerate again, Sam’ – She hissed, undoubtedly irritated by my demeanor.

“I didn’t even exaggerate. I mean you can’t drive with your eyes on my face. You may bump into other cars at anytime.” – I protested. I really didn’t exaggerate. Maybe a little bit. But sometimes overstatement is a handy tool to attract a person’s attention, especially someone like my Mom, who always considered whatever her kids say was nonsense and pointless.

“Drop that point, please. Now listen clearly. I never want to see what happened the other day again. Learn from that mistake and make nice at school, okay? Be cordial with all your mates and they will treat you kindly.” – She briefly looked at me then turns her total concern towards the wheel and the road again.

“Your wish is my command, Ma’am’ – I responded playfully.

As I jumped out of the car and waved goodbye to my Mom, I heard some girl seeth. “Leave me alone”. She sure was trying to sound brave but I could still hear the mortifying tone in her voice.

“Oh, Ugly Beast. I would never” – That went with an overloud sound of mocking laughter. 

I peeked through the crowd encircling the poor girl and perceived Brittany standing amidst with her lanky arms crossing over her overly big chest.

“Let me tell you this, loser. Never ever try to irritate me by intentionally crashing into me, okay? Even though I am not that irascible, I could possibly get mad and that would not be any good for you and your health, okay?”

I was puzzled by the impenetrable part in her talking. I mean what does her bad temper have to do with someone’s health, in lieu of hers? If it may cause any heart attack, Brittany will be the one who suffers. But I didn’t let the confusion control me any more minutes. I pushed past the crowd and I was facing Brittany now.

“Bravo!” – I said scornfully. “Finally you learned a new word without misspelling it” – A sneer made its way to my lips.

“You are?” – She scrutinized me. “Oh, you are the one who messed up with me and my boyfriend in your very first day at the school. I thought you were expelled after what you’d done. At least they should have suspended you” – She fidgeted her curly blonde hair, not bothering to give me a second look.

“No, they should not. Think about it. How can they expel or suspend me before they take any action to rule out a hoochie like you, whose time in class directly translates into making out time?” – I titled my head lightly to the right and waited for her reaction. The crowd gasped as if I just did something taboo that may result to a sudden death.

“You better keep your mouth shut” – A scratching look with warning in silence came from her big mascara-overusing pair of eyes, which somehow looked disproportionate with her too thin face.

“No, you better keep that mouth of yours close. Seriously, were you born to torture people? Are you living just to make fun of others? Look in a fucking mirror. You are nowhere near the kind of person, who maybe accepted to treat people with contempt under some certain circumstances.” – I glared at her fiercely. I wouldn’t subside until she ridded of her pervert habit of disparaging others.

“Drop it. You are gonna get enough” – She shrugged and primed to move. The crowd separated when the Queen made her way through.

“Stupid little bitch” – I said aloud, intentionally for her to hear and turned to the victim of her bully. “You OK?” – I asked with a sincere concern. Instead of looking to me and answering my question, her eyes locked into another pair, firmly, as if they didn’t want to move.

I followed her gaze. A familiar pair of eyes smacked my own. It belonged to the despicable Jason Howard. He looked thoughtfully at her, trying to keep the eye contact. Something glittered in those emerald eyes. Not that I thought they were beautiful anyway.

She uncomfortably glanced back, no emotion shown. I turned to Jason, he kept looking in her eyes. Not the menacing and cold stare he spared me, but the warm, soft and concern-filled look. Suddenly I realized what was happening. Jason Howard liked this girl. Jason Howard liked the girl Brittany – The Bitch chose to pick on. This was going to be an interesting story to tell. Simultaneously, my brain functioned a daring but superb plan. I was going to befriend this girl and Jason would have to treat me nicely if ever he wanted to capture this girl’s heart. That was referred to the kind of ‘friend lobbying’ strategy guys always utilized when they wanted to get a girl. Oh my, what an excellently intelligent person I am!

Shortly after that thought occurred in my head, I turned to this girl, now seeming to drop Jason’s stare. She picked up her bag lying on the ground and was poised to leave. I instantly spoke up. “Hey, how are you doing? You OK?”

She seemed hesitant for a minute, maybe to redefine if I meant any harm then raised her voice, kindly responded. “I am fine. Thanks for asking”

“No problem. You know what, that Brittany – The Bitch is not a very kind person. But there's no need to be terrified of her. She’s nothing but a hallucinatory girl who thinks she rules the world. Trust me, she’s no queen” – I made a face and she laughed, surely showed her amusement.

“Thanks for reminding me. I’m Veronica, by the way” – She spoke softly and held out her hand.

”No worry" - I took her hand. "I was also a victim of hers. But guess what, I’m still alive, healthily. I’m Samantha. But don’t call me that. It sounds middle-aged. Call me Sam. Please” – I stressed on the last word as she broke out laughing.

“You are humorous. I’m glad I bumped into you or I’d stay friendless until I graduate.” – Her laugh dwindled into a grin.

“Trust me. We are the only cool people at this place. So you’re new here huh?”

I noticed something burnt at the back of my head. I turned around. Jason’s eyes fired up like two cannonballs. I smirked at him, satisfying with the thought of how he was feeling right now. He sure did recognize I was not that subpar like he assumed me of. This plan is undeniably getting better and better. Fantastic!

“Yeah. I’m new. This is my first day at school. And the start of it was calamitous.” – Veronica shook her head, manifestly demonstrating her hatred.

“What an indictment, huh?” – I glanced up at her. “Look, I gotta run or I’ll be late for class, which is absolutely no wise choice. I’ll catch up with you at lunch, kay?” – I held up my hand, signaling a good bye.

“Sure thing. See you at lunch” – She waved back.

Before I bounced, I took a look at Jason’s face. It was now replete with disgust. I didn’t think Jason was stupid enough to not realize my plan. But the thing was, even when he disliked what I planned to come to life, what could he do to stop it? Nothing, because girls get along with girls perfectly when boys need time to prove their true identity for a girl’s trust. See? Still, I was having the upper hand. 

A/N: I know I'd been hiding like an ex-convict, but at least, I made a return with a new chapter. Don't you think I deserve kudos? Anyone??? 

Btw, what do you think of the new cover? I designed it myself but since I'm no genius at photoshop, can I get away with a resonable excuse?

These are my last words: Read/Rate/Comment/Share/Subscribe. You're AWESOME!!! (: xo

Kaydence.