Up there is Eleanor and Elizabeth. :)

Dedicated to RaghaddMurad ! Thanks a lot for being really supportive and sweet, commenting, reading, and voting on Dare To Dream. =) ❤️

Again, thanks a lot to everyone who reads this story! It makes me delighted to see my reads go up everyday. I love you all! ❤️

Happy Reading! =)

~ HG xx

|Chapter 7|

It is Wednesday, the third day of school, and I am already counting down the days left for the Summer vacation. I know it is my senior year and I am supposed to make the most of it: like go to parties, have sleepovers, skip classes, and so on. But who am I kidding? How am I going to do anything fun this year and act rebellious whilst doing nothing but making my way towards Biology class and pushing away anyone who tries to start any sort of communication with me?

I entered Biology class with a blank look on my face and sat on the seat beside the window. Waiting for the bell that signals the start of class to ring, I looked outside and watched the birds make tiny hops on the green grass. As I waited, I was startled by the screech of the chair right beside me, and when I looked to my right, I was met by the face of the one and only Eleanor Edwards.

"Hey there, Miss I think I'm intimidating," she said, smirking my way. I glared at her, feeling annoyed by the name she called me for the second time.

"Stop calling me that, will you?" I said before facing the window.

"Why? I like it. Besides, it's true," she told me, chuckling at the end. I decided to ignore her. Barely a minute later, she nudged me. I rolled my eyes and ignored her once again.

What? I have got nothing else to do!

"So you're giving me the silent treatment?" I rolled my eyes at her and did not reply. "Come on, I'm not that bad."

"Stop being childish and shut up for a bit," I whisper/yelled at her.

"Says the person who I caught swinging with her little sister yesterday?" she said, yet again smirking at me. My eyes widened, but I masked my shock with my narrowed eyes. "See? Not so scary."

"Don't you ever mention this ever again, or you can consider your self dead," I spoke, gritting my teeth.

"Oh, I'm terrified," she stretched the word 'oh' for effect.

Which is not cool.

"Just shut up," I growled right as the bell rang.

Finally, I mused.

"Good morning," Mrs. Woods greeted, the rest of the class greeting back in tow.

"I have an announcement to make, today. You're going to be doing a project for the next month and a half," she began. I groaned quietly, receiving a raised eyebrow from sassy Eleanor. "Since the first chapters of our Biology text book this year discuss the anatomy of insects, you're going to be taking care of a bee. I'm not going to be answering any how questions, as it is your job to do the research. I don't care how you do it or what you feed it, however, you're going to have to return the bee, healthy and alive, in a month. Bees have a life expectancy of five to seven weeks maximum."

Why? Why a bee?

"I'm assigning every one of you a partner to take care of the bee with. And that partner is the person sitting right next to you," Mrs. Woods looked up from the Biology textbook and scanned the class, who's reaction was mixed. Some were happy, for they were sitting next to their friends while others groaned in agony.

   I, however, was shocked. My eyes were widened and my jaw was dropped. I looked scared. I was scared. But when Eleanor smiled my way, I quickly hid my shocked face and put up my icy facade once again. My eyes narrowed at her and hers were smiling at me.

Why is Eleanor, unlike all the other people, not threatened by me?

"I'm giving every pair a bee in a jar. It's your job to feed it somehow and if it ever flies away, you cannot replace it with another bee, for I will know. This project will teach every one of you how to be responsible, and of course, you'll learn how to search for information and take care of things yourself without any instructions given to you. It will also help give you visual information concerning the Arthropod group, Insecta. " She opened up a large wardrobe next to the whiteboard and inside were many jars that had bees inside. She picked up two jars at a time and gave each pair of students a jar. She arrived at our table and placed the jar in the middle. I stared at the flying yellow and black creature inside as it buzzed.

   My heart started beating as I realized the following. I am going to take care of a bee with a partner. I have a school project to pass with a person to help. There is going to be communication between us.

Communication.

   How am I going to do this? I cannot. I cannot talk again with any person, for it will be too risky. I cannot reveal who I truly am. I cannot let anyone in my life. I cannot get attached to anyone. I cannot let anyone realize that I am just a loser. I cannot get bullied again. I cannot make the same mistakes I had before.

I just cannot.

Ha! Like you have a choice, my conscience taunted.

  I am in my Senior year and I have to stay a straight A student. I cannot and I will not ruin my perfect report for a stupid Biology project. It is okay. I will just be researching with Eleanor and taking care of a bee, nothing more or less. No personal questions, no letting anyone into my personal life.

What could go wrong? 

Everything.

"Hello? Earth to Elizabeth." Eleanor waved her hands back and forth in front of my face, snapping me out of my trance.

"What?" I snapped at her. She rolled her eyes.

"So, your house, or mine?" She smirked my way.

What is up with her smirks?

"Yours!" I exclaimed quickly.

She can never, and I mean it by never, enter my house.

Eleanor furrowed her eyebrows in confusion before stretching out an "okay".

"There's a minute left for the bell to ring, so you can start packing up," Mrs. Woods announced.

"Tomorrow, after school," Eleanor told me, smiling. I nodded before packing away my pens and notebook and waiting for the bell to ring.

I took another glance at the bee in the jar, glaring at the not so innocent insect.

It is all your fault, bee.