"Can you get Luke to give me a ride after school today, Adriann?" Khloe begs.

    "What makes you think I can do that," I snort, annoyedly.

    "You've been spending almost all your time with him?" she tries, sounding more sarcastic than usual.

    "Not really," I tsk.

    "Um, you go home with him everyday, and roll up with him. It's like you're living with Luke," she gives the zipper on her backpack one safe tug.

    "Because I am," I stare blankly ahead. I wasn't planning on telling Khloe, because a lot of questions are going to come up. Ones I would undoubtedly prefer not to answer.

    "What?" she slowly twists around to face me.

    "I'm living with him," I repeat.

    "And his parents?" she digs.

    "He doesn't have parents," I shrug.

    "How are you living with him then?" she continues.

    "He's emancipated, and he inherited his parents stuff. Like their car, their money, their house, and---" I'm cut off.

    "Why are you living with Luke Solton?" she whisper-shouts. I turn around, not wanting to face her. There are some things that are better left unaddressed.

    "Because I can't live with Lana," I grit my teeth, as Khloe dives deeper and deeper into my puddle of secrets.

    "Why not?" she urges. I feel my face begin to bubble on the surface from the enormous waves of anger that are turning my cheeks to a beat red.

    "Because she hurts me!" I whip around, yelling.

    "What?" Khloe breathes, almost illegibly.

     "You heard what I said." I growl, throwing my backpack over my shoulder, and storming down the hall, thunder crackling every stomp I take.

    "Adriann, wait!" Khloe calls after me. I continue forwards, ignoring Khloe's cry. I don't think I can be around anyone right now. I can feel tears pushing to escape behind my eyelids.

Tears are like mastermind criminals, I try to keep them imprisoned, but they are too smart for me, and will almost always escape. I'm not a great guardian of their cages.

    Thud. Slowly, I lift my head, afraid of the tall body I just bumped into. "Watch where you're going, idiot!" Shaye pokes my gaping face.

    "S-sorry," I whimper.

    "Well, aren't you gonna move? I have places to be," she lectures. Something snaps awake in me, I believe my sarcasm has just been kickstarted.

    Forgetting all the emotions from a moment ago I return to the Adriann Rowe everyone knows, and usually hates, "Pft, that's an awful lot of work."

    "You're gonna need an awful lot of work done if you don't get out of my way," she snorts.

    "There's this thing, it's when you go around someone. You know, I don't take up the whole hallway," I chuckle. A crowd is beginning to form around the heating catfight. Did I just call it a catfight? I just love that term, it makes me laugh.

    "I would, but I don't wanna hurt your feelings by having to squeeze past your thunder thighs." she folds her arms.

    "Bitch, at least I have a thigh gap." I giggle.

    "You saying I don't?" she steps closer, towering over my short figure.

    "Why are thigh gaps such a big deal?" a boy in the audience whispers.

    "Please, another bag of potato chips and that small opening is gone." I gotta say, if I ever need cheering up, insulting Shaye Bassle really does the job fast.

    "God, you bitch!" That's when Shaye Bassle slapped me. Right across the face with her backhand. Adriann, don't fight back. Let her get in trouble. I resist the urge to slap her back, and touch a hand to my cheek.

    "You slap like a six year old," I respond, ignoring the painful burning sensation in my face.

    "Yeah? Bring it!" Shaye pushes.

    "Fine," I twist around, slapping her as hard as I can. God, I've been waiting to do that for a very long time.

"What is going on here?" Principal Ratface shoves his way between us.

    "Jacky, I was just minding my own business here when Shaye bitch-slapped me." I explain, calmly.

    "Both of you, in my office, right now!" he leads us through the sea of viewers, towards the glass doors to the admins office.

    "Thanks for tuning in," I whisper, shooting finger guns behind me.

-----------------------------

    "Ugh," Ratface begins, his head in his hands, resting on his desk. I breathe out silently, gripping the handles on my chair. "Adriann, just what are we going to do with you?"

    "Let me off the hook, perpetually?" I try, smiling uncomfortably.

    "Jesus," he pulls open a drawer in his desk, rummaging through file after file, until he pulls mine from the mess. "Let's see," he puts on his glasses, taking a deep breath. I admire how much thicker my file is than all the other ones.

"That looks promising," I remark.

"Oh my god," he mutters. "Alright," he begins. "First day of school," he moves to the front of the folder. "You destroyed the water fountain, while in use by Khloe Santagato."

"Because Karren Lenord had just used it, and she had mono. I saved Khloe," I defend. "Plus that's how we became best friends," I add.

    "Why did you even bring a hammer into the school that day?" he sighs.

    "It seems like these questions would have been more appropriate the day the events took place," I point out.

    "Not that it would have made a difference," he murmurs.

    "Moving on?" I ask, anxiously.

    "Second day of school," he shakes his head. "You painted my desk a delightful magenta,"

    "Ahh, I remember that." I smile at the memory.

    "As do I, everytime I close my eyes." he frowns. "And look at this, clear track record till, well, what do you know, the fifth day of school." I roll my eyes. "You broke into Joshua Depro's locker,"

    "That was so I could leave a note from Khloe saying she liked him," I explain.

    "It doesn't change that you used a crowbar on school property, and entered the building with what we consider a major weapon." he clarifies.

    "Well, did I kill anyone?" I sass.

    "What is it the kids say nowadays? That's right, SMH." he exclaims.

    "Snap my hands is relevant to this situation?" I try to trick Ratty.

    "That's what it means?" he is thrown off track.

    "Yeah..." I confirm fakely. He returns to my file.

    "Your record just continues like this. The bubble wrap incident, the fake Tinder account you made for me, the homework protest, ditching majority of math classes as an act of 'defiance' you called it..." I cut him off.

    "It is an act of defiance,"

    "The poisoning of cafeteria food," he continues.

    "Can we just clarify, I didn't poison anyone, I simply added a few rap droppings into the special sauce." I explain. "Which you should have looked further into, because I found those rap droppings in the stairwells of this school, that you run."

    "Adriann, your record has a mark of something extreme for almost every day of this school year. If you don't clean up your act, we'll have no choice but to expel you," suddenly it hits me. I've never thought about the consequences when I rebel. I could lose my place as a student. If I got a expelled Lana would for sure get me home with her.

    "Oh." I whisper.

    "Yeah," he raises his eyebrows, in an I told you so triumphant expression. "So in the meantime, you'll be cleaning the halls after hours for the rest of this week, and you will have one session with our school guidance counselor."

"Ugh," I reply.

"Adriann, this is quite minimal punishment for what just went down, I should suspend you." he begins.

"But I didn't even get a chance to explain myself," I protest.

"It won't make a difference, you slapped Shaye, you're getting minimal punishment so I suggest you accept it, because I could do much worse." I take a deep breath, controlling myself.

"What's going to happen to Shaye?" I inquire.

"She will be suspended from cheer for three weeks, and detention during lunch for one week." he responds. "We take violence very seriously here."

"Alright," I gulp, unsatisfied, but accepting.

"You are dismissed, Adriann. Stay out of trouble, for the love of God, please."

-----------------------------

"Hey, what happened today?" Ar asks me, as I exit the school down the concrete stairs.

    "Catfight," I stick out my tongue, sillily.

    "You know, traditionally in catfights, both people fight." he bluntly explains.

    "Shut up," I shove him. "I did hit her back,"

    "So what punishment did he deal?" Ar inquires, rising onto his tiptoes for a moment.

    "I get the amazing opportunity to mop the floors after school for a week, and a session with the school guidance counselor." I grin shinily.

    "That sounds exciting," he chuckles.

    "Starting tomorrow, a whole new world of fun." I raise my hand over my head, excitedly.

    "Aww, sorry." he apologizes.

    "Not your fault," I hop over a crack in the sidewalk, avoiding a possible broken back. I'm a little superstitious.

    "Still sorry," he presses.

    "Thanks I guess," I reply.

    "No problemo," he chuckles. I leap up onto the concrete ledge, fencing around the school's perimeter, holding both arms out for balance as I wobble my way across. "You're so weird," Ar laughs.

    "Sorry," I shrug, continuing my way down the ledge.

    "No, I love it." he giggles. He pauses, completely slowing to a halt, and takes a deep breath. I leap off the ledge to face him. "So, I know it's a school night," he begins, "But do you wanna go down to the drive in tonight?"

    "Sure," I respond, almost instantly after he inquires.

    "I just thought since almost everyone is going, and you're like my best friend and I don't have a date and I think Khloe and Ava are going together, and I just was thinking---" I cut him off.

    "Ar," slowly I approach him, and put my index finger to his lips, surprising myself. "I said yes," for a moment I stand there, inches away, feeling his breath become one with mine. He breathes a heavy minty aroma.

    His eyes scan over mine, back and forth, rapidly, searching for something. What am I doing? I look down at my feet, and pull away from him, my finger departing from his smooth and soft pout. "I'll see ya tonight," I wave over my shoulder, pivoting on my heel, and leaving towards the parking lot where somewhere Luke's car is waiting.

    "Bye!"