In all reality Ruth was not having a good day....

First off she was already late for school and to make matters worse she had missed the bus the only day it decided to rain.

" Emma and Carson are never going to let me live this down..." The teen grumbled as she grabbed a gray rain jacket. Shrugging her school backpack over her shoulder, the 17 year-old headed out the door.

Ruth seemed to always be on the negative side of luck. She was the shortest one in her family, although not the youngest, barely reaching 5'2. Out of a family of attractive blondes, she somehow managed the Burnett gene without the smarts, well at least she thought so, and out of a family of eight, and stood out like a sore thumb. Well that was her view on it anyways, but right now, she needed to get to class.

Dashing down the sidewalk through the pouring rain, Ruth headed for the small school house that was less then three miles away, a small bonus when you live in a small town with a population less then 400. Upon arriving, the teen peeled off her soaked jacket and laid it carefully in the corner, avoiding the pricing eyes of her fellow students.

" Ha! Look what the cat dragged in!!" A tall teen with spiked hair yelled from the back.

" Yeah." His brother added. " A wet cat!" Chuckling like a bunch of morons, the two high-fived.

" Ryan and Nathaniel Greene!!! " the teacher hissed. " Behave yourselves!"

Rolling their eyes, the two hushed, but stuck out their tongues when the elderly teacher turned around.

Mrs. Jean, the 12th grade teacher crossed her arms and looked down at the soaked teen, who was wrining out her long brown hair, and leaving a small puddle at her feet.

" So." Mrs. Jean sighed. " This is the third time this week.....care to explain?"

Ruth silently shook her head and looked down, feeling like a failure....again. Heading to her seat in the middle, Ruth rushed past the other teens, even more hurried when she past her crush Joshuah, who was lazily chatting with his girlfriend Kayla. Arriving next to her best friend Emma, she settled herself in her desk and began to furiously write down notes, all the while her blonde friend seemed to stare her blue eyes into Ruth's soul. Unable to avoid her deadly gaze her friend was giving her, she finally looked over her shoulder and huffed.

" What Emma?" She whispered sharply and annoyed.

The blonde tugged at her own short braid and smirked.

" What's up with you? You've been late everyday this week? I thought you were over Josh and Kayla dating?"

Ruth sent her a mild sneer.

" Its not about that!" She snapped. " I....I just can't sleep...I really can't explain it?"

" You can't or won't?" The blonde questioned.

" Not now!" The burnett said a little too loudly, unfortunately catching the teacher's attention. Mrs. Jean slowly walked to Ruth's desk and loudly slapped her ruler against the wooden top.

The small teen jumped and cautiously looked up at her teacher, who seemed to be glaring her into nothing.

" Care to share what more import then todays lesson?" She asked harshly. Once again, Ruth simply shook her head quietly ad looked down.

" Well then." Mrs. Jean announced. " Then you'll just have to pay the principle an over due visit."

Swallowing her rage, Ruth stood up and slowly left the room, ignoring the snickering of her classmates. As she made her way to the office, the large empty hallway seemed to engulf her small self, making the teen feel even smaller.

After half an hour, Principle Dan, Mrs. Jean husband, set her away to her next class with a head hung low.

Her older siblings had been the teachers favorite, and apparently she couldn't match them, making her feel like an...outcast.

" Maybe I am just a outcast..." she whispered to herself. " It would explain a lot...."

Returning to her classes, the remaining of the day was a blur. Not even her brother Carson could cheer her up at lunch, and Emma was starring to worry.

Leaning across the table in the food court, the blonde girl sighed. " Are you ok chick? I mean seriously? You've been moping around all day."

" I'm just stressed......" Ruth answered, poking at the glob of food that was ment to be lunch.

" Is it the family again?" Her friend continued as she lowered herself into the chair. The burnett nodded and huffed.

" Yeah, my sisters are really being.....well yeah...."

" Who does Shelly want to date now?" Emma questioned, now knowing the source of her friend's mood. The shorter girl's face darkened.

" That dumb 18 year-old in our class." She growled. " She's three years older then him! Plus he's behind a year in school." Ruth added.

" She dating Nate Greene? The punk kid in class?" Emma sputtered in disbelief. " First the 32 year-old creep now this? When will that girl learn?"

" Probably never." Ruth scoffed. " For someone who has a 4.0 in all her collage classes, she's not very bright sometimes."

" Shelly has you so stress that you can't sleep?"

" Nah, my other sister too. Tamar and her soon to be husband are really getting on my nerves."

" Ah....I see." The blonde whispered quickly. Ruth only shrugged and continued to pick at her food.

" Really, I don't think this day could get worse...." she muttered.

" Well-" Emma started, but was cut off by the speaker in the cafeteria.

" ATTENTION ALL STUDENTS!! DUE TO THE BAD WEATHER COMING, WE ARE CALLING OFF SCHOOL FOR THE REST OF THE DAY!! STAY SAFE, A HURRICANE IS COMING!"

Hearing that, most of the students shot from their seats and headed for the door, freedom was at their grasp!

Watching the others scramble out like a hoard of zombies, Ruth and Emma waited for everyone to exit before they left. When almost every student bad vanished, the two left their seats, grabbed their stuff and headed for the door.

As the two strolled the now vacant hallway, Ruth frowned when she noticed a certain tall, green eyed, brown haired jock flirting with a certain girl named Kayla. Grabbing Emma by the arm, Ruth raced out the building, slammed the door behind them, plunging her and her best friend into the drizzling rain.

" I can't believe he chose Kayla over you." Emma gagged. " It wad obvious you two liked each other at one point."

Growling, Ruth stormed down the road, wanting to avoid that topic. Realizing she wasn't helping the situation, Emma kept her mouth shut and quietly walked home with her short, but angry friend...