|THE 'STRAIGHT' LOGIC OF HATRED|

"You are what?"

Jace asked after some time, his face twisted in a pompous way. I blinked a few times, utterly confused as I took a step back from the conceited look Olivia was shooting at me. The students around me had their eyes wide open as some looked at me like I just said that I was an octopus with twenty-nine tentacles or something weirder than that.

My eyes scanned through the crowd for some sort of help. I suddenly felt like I was back in Bridgeton High momentarily, standing in front of my old locker as I gulped down my tears for I was ashamed of who I was.

My skin crawled from the stares of others. All they were doing was looking at me with so much spite, I felt I would get crushed under them with my thoughts overpowering until a Jand was gently placed on one of my shoulders.

I jumped as I felt my heartbeat escalating rapidly with that one contact. Two black eyes glared at something behind me. Rather, glaring at someone behind me. His black hair stood gelled to one of his sides, as he wore a grey checkered shirt with black pants and a black tie over it, his looks being modestly Asian.

"I have started wondering where exactly you guys were?" Jace gritted through his teeth, as Olivia looked at the guy with a glare full of hatred and disgust. A fresh round of murmur among the few students around started, pointing blatantly at the new boy and Jace.

"We are here, Mr Dickhead President. After all, we do need people like us to stop all of you to stop being harsh," He retorted, his eyes crinkling at the edges as he glared at both Jace and Olivia before smiling down at me. He was taller than my 5' 5" stature; he loomed over me before briskly knocking at the receptionist's desk.

Rebecca gave us a bored look as she continued chewing her pink bubblegum and passed another sheet towards me, looking utterly bored. However, before I could pick it up, the strange guy picked it up and read it briefly.

"I'll take it from here, Cartwright. You've already done a lot making an issue out of it. Like always," He said the last part pulling me by my elbow towards one of the corridors as the students shifted to the other side; almost as if they were repulsive to me.

Few lockers down, he stopped and turned back towards me. Upon closer look at his face, he looked oddly familiar with those k-dramas which Claire would watch over and over again obsessively.

"I'm sorry if I sounded rude back then," he sighed, holding the strap of his blue backpack rather aggressively. "I'm Felix Henry, Senior Year and you are─" he squinted his eyes as he read through the paper.

"Kirlia Hemmings. Senior Year."

It was then that I realized how weak my voice sounded from the experience I had a few moments ago. He nodded when his eyes widened a bit as he did a double-take at reading my details and I was not even surprised by it. After all, it was rather common for people to do so.

"Your parents are–"

"–gay? Yes, they very much are and I'm adopted if you are wondering how I came into this world," I replied, even before realizing that the person I was talking to would always be surrounded by gay people in this school, and it won't be as weird as it used to be earlier.  I mentally facepalmed, realizing how rude I could've sounded to him but he looked at me surprisingly.

"I guessed so, then. So, are you straight?" He queried, as he stood beside me and started waking and I walked next to him, trying to match his pace.

"I'm very much straight," I looked around as blue lockers glistened from the white lights above. Another couple like before stood there making out with each other furiously on their first day of the school year. I had never realized that there were so many homosexuals in the city and that mere fact was astonishing.

"Well, then I guess you know what you've signed up for." I looked up at him, confused as he looked straight before looking at my confused face.

"You're seriously the second straight student over here. The first student was bullied a lot for being a heterosexual." I stopped midway, my mind stuck on one word.

Bullied.

The whole reason for switching schools was to avoid bullying because this school would be filled with similar people my age. But the situation here was very different. Is there anyone on this whole planet where I could be accepted without being judged on who my parents are or who I'm?

"Relax though, believe me when I say that that won't happen to you at all," Felix started, beaming at me and squeezing my shoulder lightly, successfully pulling me out of my sudden daze. I tried to believe his words but it was hard after what I'd gone through earlier.

"Let me lead you to your locker, it's near mine," He sighed, his thin fingers passing fluently through his gelled hair as he again started walking, this time right beside me.

I took deep breaths to calm my racing heart, which was bound to mess up my blood pressure for sure. Students around us gossiped about Felix, meanwhile, whispering and pointing at him shamelessly and he barely even spared them a glance as we turned into another corridor. It was quieter than the other corridors with the least number of lockers, which I've seen that far.

The glass doors in front of us shimmered with the foliage around them, giving me the impression of a possible greenhouse somewhere around this place.

A girl of around my height or shorter stood there, looking into one of the lockers. She wore a jean jacket and faded jeans with weird assortments of beads attached to her heavily coiled hair which wasn't weird considering her Pikachu cap, which covered her forehead.

"Morning Zeta!"

Felix shouted as the girl looked up from the locker towards us, shaking her hand furiously, almost tumbling with her huge backpack. She came towards us, her hazel eyes scanning me from top to the bottom as she stood in front of me.

"Are you crazy?" She asked, her eyebrows raised as her hands rested on her hips.

"Excuse me?"

"Yes, talking to one of us means that either you have completely lost your mind or the fact that you are new," The girl said as a matter of fact, while Felix shook his head in disappointment, bored entirely of Zeta's behaviour.

"She's new and straight," Felix stated, turning towards the locker where Zeta stood earlier.

If it was even possible, her eyes widened even more as she again scanned me from my shoulder-length hair to my shoes. She stood there bewildered before Felix jerked her by her shoulders, breaking her out of her daze. He shook his head with mild embarrassment before he moved towards the opened locker and closed it, sighing slightly while rubbing his forehead.

"Where are the others, Zeta?" She shook her head like a lost pup, eyeing me carefully, as she shook her head furiously.

"Siri has gone to the janitor's locker to fetch a sponge while Addy hacked the school cameras -again- and Nick went with her to stop her from punching Thomas. And like usual, Luca's late," She said in a go, reluctant to ask me something which I could easily make out.

"I'm Kirlia Hemmings, senior year and it's nice to meet you," I said, extending my hand to shake and she clumsily does so, her hand comparably small from mine.

"Zeta Evergreen, same year and it's nice to meet you too. I'm gender fluid before you ask me," She said as she winked back at me.

She grinned at me while I tried to return her level of energy. But it was hard, considering the situation I was in minutes ago.

"You look tensed– did you meet Jace or Olivia? Trust me, it's better if you haven't because it would be better than–"

"I met both of them, didn't go well. Thanks to Felix though as he saved me from that." Felix nodded towards me while Zeta just patted my shoulder.

Felix tore papers from the locker before I could see what they were. He sighed, looking agitated.

"Zeta, I'll be here and help Siri, how about you take Kirlia on a tour?" He handed the paper that Rebecca handed him, which he had tucked into one of his pockets and passed it to Zeta.

"Is that fine by you?" He directed the question at me and I nodded. Zeta was pretty friendly and I couldn't sabotage that anyhow.

Not so soon.

"Of course then! Let's go!" She picked up her bag with such speed, which I didn't quite catch and she read through the paper.

"Ah, your locker's here too. Locker No. 205. Right between Lucas's and Addison's," She said, pointing at the locker next to the one which Felix was glaring at.

"Spray paint?" Zeta asked, a bit concerned.

"I've got them, chill. I'm hoping that Addy actually punches that douchebag," he loudly stated, deep in thought. I neared the locker and my eyes widened when I saw it.

It was painted with the rudest slurs I had come across.

Get gay already!

Dicks should excite you!

"That's Lucas's locker. The other straight guy. All of us wash away all of it before he comes so that he doesn't have to see it," Felix explained.

I realized how the people in front of me, and also others who are helping them, care about the straight guy. Maybe, I have got a bit of support over here. Hopefully.

"We should better get going, Kirlia if you don't have anything to keep in your locker. Felix would see everything here, won't you, Felix Felices?" Zeta smiled slyly at Felix, who groaned at the Harry Potter reference as I smiled slightly, trying to change the topic and it worked as Felix grimaced at the name, the tension in the atmosphere significantly breaking.

"I will. Now piss off and don't piss me off." Zeta scoffed, holding my wrist as she navigated me through the crowd, her eyes on the paper, which I presumed was my timetable.

"Before we even start this tour, let me get one thing clear," Zeta started as we left the corridor where Felix stood.

"This school is full of people who would try to pull you down. Remember, you are way above to be pulled down," she quietly whispered, eyeing a group of girls who walked past us.

"Why is that?"

"Because you are not what the school people thought you to be,"

"But I'm an Ally!"

"I'm ace and it has never mattered!" Zeta shot back with the same energy. My grip on my bag strap suddenly increased as silence filled the gap between us.

"Is that normal?" I asked, confused, shocked and amused by what Zeta had just uttered.

"This school is weird, honestly. But there are six of us, tagged as Scandalous, for we stir up trouble for others. Now, you are one of us too," Zeta explained like it completely made sense.

"But I didn't–"

"Being straight makes you offensively weird here. And as long as we are here, no one can get past us to harm you, okay?"

And I chose to believe her, completely unaware of what I was signing myself to.

Holy- I made it, can't believe it. *cries tears of joy*

A sweet shootout to the cover for this book, by Senorita_2006 and I can't explain the happy, mushy feeling this gives me, thanks a fudging ton Noorie!

Now for the main author's note:

Jace sucks. Period

Olivia sucks more. Period.

Zeta is my spirit animal. Period.

Lmao, what am I even-

Honestly, I'm not hating any of my characters, I just read the whole chapter in a way a reader would and how they would spite them, so yeah.

Idk but are the chapters too short or too long? I need an idea so that I could keep that in mind and make it longer or may be shorter.

The most important of all, the comment section. It's hilariously amazing and it keeps me going too.

Like, comment and share if ya like it!

Peace out,
Sasha.