|♡| ASHLYN'S P.O.V. |♡|
243Please respect copyright.PENANAHD3NmoXwRn
"Mom! Dad!" I scream at the top of my lungs as I see our car topple of the cliff.
243Please respect copyright.PENANAHd5aaubHes
I wake up with a start and by God's grace I'm still in the guest room of my aunt Katie's house.
243Please respect copyright.PENANACo1rWi9NK8
As to the question of why I'm living with my aunt, well, the answer is pretty much that I am an orphan now and my parents died because of a freak car accident in which they fell off a cliff to save me as a result of which I am still inhaling oxygen today.
243Please respect copyright.PENANABe57gzI4Xg
That's it?
243Please respect copyright.PENANA1ZAHLLxdky
Yeah, that's it.
243Please respect copyright.PENANA0DPUHFeq82
Tomorrow is my first day of school in Boston and I am seriously hyperventilating at that thought.
243Please respect copyright.PENANAQ1VYGOwg8r
I ask myself to calm down and I do. I pull my comforter up to my chin and force my eyes shut only to be woken up by a deafening sound. And only one thing in the whole world is capable if making that sound.
243Please respect copyright.PENANAuE2MHSjQpR
And that is my alarm.
243Please respect copyright.PENANA8jWLnhTe3c
CRAP!
CRAP!
CRAP!
243Please respect copyright.PENANAXVBQx47HFP
This is the day I was scared of. Not scared actually, more of that I wanted to avoid this day. Not avoid because of bullies and other things like that. I can handle them pretty well. It was more because of the presence of my cousin sister at school where she is going to leave no chances to make my life vulnerable.
243Please respect copyright.PENANAXxvdRqxPs1
I open my closet and lay down the outfit I chose for today- a pair of light-blue ripped jeans and a plain blue tank top paired with ankle length boots.
243Please respect copyright.PENANAByKRH1AVIa
If you expected me to be one of those dumb, girly girls wearing frilly knee-length dresses with floral patterns along with some wedges or stilletoes and pearl necklaces and hoop earings, well you caught the wrong person. If you like those kind of girls, you should probably go to my cousin.
243Please respect copyright.PENANAwCSXt1NPGl
When it comes to me, I am like the typical mixture of a tomboy and a normal seventeen year old. Yes, I did wear dresses, but that was very occasionally.
243Please respect copyright.PENANAyfRoYPHi1z
Wierd, huh? Yeah, I am very wierd (I prefer unique, though).
243Please respect copyright.PENANA17utIBcaom
As I make my way to the washroom for a shower, there is only one thought playing in my head.
243Please respect copyright.PENANA1UL4gvCVPd
What is going to happen today?
243Please respect copyright.PENANAhFzzpmWKCu
_____
243Please respect copyright.PENANAPVzwnVzYon
"Oh my God! Are you serious?" I squeal with joy on seeing the brand new, jet black Audi parked in front of me.
243Please respect copyright.PENANADItnjuQKQL
"Of course we are serious," says my uncle Steve, handing over the keys of that gorgeous Audi to me. "We thought Vanessa always couldn't drop you to school."
243Please respect copyright.PENANAskFMKuUMoI
Oh, BTW, Vanessa is my cousin sister who is also seventeenand just a month older to me. We hate each other (and when I say hate, I mean it).
We're literary ready to rip each other's heads off except for the fact that the consequences of this particular act would be harmful to both of us and we'd end up spending the rest of our lives in prison.
243Please respect copyright.PENANARouWHfk8nG
And that is not gonna happen.
243Please respect copyright.PENANAYlA27Ccz94
I shake my head and disperse my thoughts.
243Please respect copyright.PENANAO2anQP5pVX
"I love you so so so much, Steve and Katie," I say. "You both know that right?"
243Please respect copyright.PENANA9zVBarinXt
"We love you too, Ashlyn. We love you a lot," says Katie.
243Please respect copyright.PENANAWcAh4Zr6ov
"Anyway, we'll let you drive to school in peace and there is a map in the car so just in case you get lost, you can always find us. You are new here and Boston is a big city you know."
243Please respect copyright.PENANARBXmRVE5GM
I'm not new here, Steve. I have come here more than twenty times and I know a lot about Boston," I say.
243Please respect copyright.PENANAT3qDal6Wou
"But still," he argues.
243Please respect copyright.PENANAk6JprFDvXV
"I promise I'll take care. And thank you so much," I say, smiling.
243Please respect copyright.PENANAEzViyW4Vr8
"Yeah. We'll see you in the evening," says Katie.
243Please respect copyright.PENANAZMvhg1ElCC
"Yep. See ya," I call, getting into the car and putting my Ray Bans on.
243Please respect copyright.PENANAOvavAuKcZG
And then with one twist of my key, the engine roars to life. Without hesitating, I speed out of my aunt's (now my) house.
243Please respect copyright.PENANAu0PFEWKR03
A few minutes later, I pull into the student car parking of my new school.
243Please respect copyright.PENANApsTbuD8cqR
So this is South Boston High School.
243Please respect copyright.PENANA17Iu5PmZWE
I get in through the gates and find myself into one of the never-ending corridors. My new school books had already been shifted into my locker by Steve the day before. I put my hand into my jeans pocket and feel a paper in which the combination for my new locker is written. I don't have to visit the principle as Steve had already done that for me.
243Please respect copyright.PENANAToH06aKSqm
Asking directions from the other students, I reach the locker room after what seemed like decades.
243Please respect copyright.PENANAVpf8iPBSBL
Opening my locker, I see that all my books are stacked neatly inside. My new time-table is also stuck on the door of my locker. All thanks to Steve.
243Please respect copyright.PENANARMxSElsuUU
I quickly fish out some of my old pictures of my friends back in Seattle, my parents and other people and stick them on the inside of my locker along with a small mirror. I then check my time-table and see that my first period is calculus.
243Please respect copyright.PENANAVWpe7VJz64
Yeah, right. Early monday mornings and we begin the week with calculus and since math and I have some personal grudge against each other or something, I totally suck at it.
243Please respect copyright.PENANAVgVZSGxdZC
From the corner of my eye, I see a very pretty, blonde girl in jeans and a United Colours of Benetton top walking towards me. And then she suddenly stops dead in front of me and then turns towards the left, facing the locker right next to mine. She then unlocks her locker and starts messing with her possessions inside it.
243Please respect copyright.PENANAprvDMKNXPW
I turn my attention back to the time-table stuck on my locker and see what all classes I have for the rest of the day.
243Please respect copyright.PENANAdGXKv2u7kc
Calculus, Chemistry, English, History, Biology, Gym and Physics, with a lunch break after the fourth period.
243Please respect copyright.PENANAyAnl81Q5nC
Pretty bad, huh? Couldn't get worse.
243Please respect copyright.PENANABroP0CT8ph
As I'm about to set off to my calculus class, I realize that I don't know where it is.
243Please respect copyright.PENANAx0xbjuLsK9
Yeah, I really needed this.
243Please respect copyright.PENANAJ1u7iNpgpn
"Hey, can you just help me out by telling me where the calculus class is?" I ask the pretty girl to my left.
243Please respect copyright.PENANAwpNgneJJZE
"I take it you're new in here," she says in a sweet tone. Not what I expected to hear.
243Please respect copyright.PENANAYtBM8ZvPKj
"Yep," I reply, simply.
243Please respect copyright.PENANAJVnk3jOulp
"Well, that's alright and you're lucky cuz even I'm headed to calculus right now. I'm Laura, by the way," she says, extending her hand towards me.
243Please respect copyright.PENANAVJlaokwRBS
"I'm Ashlyn Wood. Nice to meet you," accepting her hand.
243Please respect copyright.PENANANEJRyOOk5R
Just then the bell rings, signalling the start of the first period.
243Please respect copyright.PENANALIpCQsFCYC
"We should really go now. I don't want Mr. Gates to be pissed off at us." says Laura. And so I zoomed to wherever the class was along with Laura.
243Please respect copyright.PENANArWwCkBYs00
Laura and I sit together at the back of the class. Earlier when we walked through the doors of the class, everyone's attention jerked towards us.
243Please respect copyright.PENANAZlvGgYRg5m
"Hey Laura, sup? Who's that girl with you?" says a guy with messy blonde hair and nerdy glasses.
243Please respect copyright.PENANACfbMpU5aIB
"Nothing much, Eric. She's a new girl in school and her name's Ashlyn." replies Laura. She seemed really popular here.
243Please respect copyright.PENANA35bRwlQKQb
"Sup Laura. Who's that pretty chica with you?"
243Please respect copyright.PENANA4DLduLSQid
"Dude I really like her hair."
243Please respect copyright.PENANAYvbdgun6tV
"But I like her eyes better."
243Please respect copyright.PENANAWlnnjjfmBg
"Yet it matches with mine and not yours."
243Please respect copyright.PENANAyWc6XcO2en
"Shut up, Zack." Laura replies, her voice dripping with annoyance.
243Please respect copyright.PENANArHyiUrrdju
"Mr. Gates is coming," calls a voice.
243Please respect copyright.PENANA4wapcwIN5a
Just then a tall looking man with rectangular glasses and a very point nose walks in. First impression of our new maths teacher - FUNNY. Then he silences the class and gets to work.
243Please respect copyright.PENANA52tYggi7b1
"Today, we will be learning about the Algebraic Formulae for the Determination of Cubes," he began and I was ready with my books and a pencil clutched in my hand.
243Please respect copyright.PENANAkdGKccOebo
My aim here was to concentrate in calculus for at least two weeks before I started zoning out to my extraordinary world of imagination. I just didn't want to get on this teacher's bad side in my early days and not draw too much attention from him.
243Please respect copyright.PENANANeAnrBrwZw
"We will be learning about four formulas today but will use only one to solve our sums. The four formulas are known as the formula of square, the commutative law, the distributive law and the law of simplification. The first three laws are the same except for some simple displacements or reductions. So everyone, copy down the first sum...."
243Please respect copyright.PENANAISphDIWvfs
When I scan the room, almost everybody is either dozing, scribbling in theis notebooks or yawning simultaneously.
243Please respect copyright.PENANAf5ibyTKIW8
No wonder.
243Please respect copyright.PENANAqS12A0WTsw
When I steal a quick glance at Laura, she messes with her phone for sometime and then starts drawing something on a big sheet of paper.
243Please respect copyright.PENANAlTjC6Z9I9I
Somehow, after what seems like ages, the bell buzzes outside the class.
243Please respect copyright.PENANAOxkQXEOD2s
Mr. Gates and all the first bench nerds look rather disappointed.
243Please respect copyright.PENANApXK0cvjupS
"Okay class, so I'll see you soon," he says and exits the class.
243Please respect copyright.PENANASs8wDYaqrA
"So Ashlyn, I'll see you in the lunch. Anyway, I made you a map so that you can easily find your way here," she says with a smile.
243Please respect copyright.PENANABMJuzlhTea
"Thank you so much. I really appreciate the help. I'll see you later," I reply and then walk to my next class using Laura's map.
243Please respect copyright.PENANAAZsDntO5JG
The other classes get over in a blur and it was time for lunch.
243Please respect copyright.PENANAT4DW5Wz5jQ
I first walk to my locker and shove all my books inside and then gather the books I need for the next three periods and stuff them inside my bag. I take a look at myself at the mirror and then comb back the stray strand of my hair with my fingers. I take out my phone from my jeans pocket and quickly touch the facebook app. I then check out the notifications only to see this-
243Please respect copyright.PENANAkZWLSUXEBg
You have recieved a friend request from Laura Austen.
243Please respect copyright.PENANAgv2nwMg8o3
A smile creeps to my mouth.
243Please respect copyright.PENANAMsVAQTnH5G
So this is what she was doing during her classes.
243Please respect copyright.PENANA3PLFWhA43z
I quickly accept it and keep the phone back into my pocket. I walk into the cafetaria and see the person I least wanted to see.
243Please respect copyright.PENANAGJnejxzB2y
Vanessa Jacobs.
243Please respect copyright.PENANAqD1wiftlg9
My cousin. My enemy.
243Please respect copyright.PENANAfUwqFFf1iL
And as I can see, the queenbee of this school bullying another girl with brown hair and green eyes. As I walk near them, this is what I hear-
243Please respect copyright.PENANAFXDXWToRKK
"You're dress looks even more disgusting then you, you know that right? And when I say as disgusting as you, then its really disgusting. Like come on, even my servant doesn't own things that disgusting," she says, dramatically.
243Please respect copyright.PENANAsdVkPTpv7v
"Seriously, you don't have any other better job then bully a fellow student for the sake of looking like a queen? Thats just ridiculous," I say, coming to the defence of the other girl.
243Please respect copyright.PENANApAJINdSKNd
"Look who's here. Now tell me one thing Ashlyn, why would I ever care about your opinions?" she sneers.
243Please respect copyright.PENANALcfAMMmlb0
"Actually you would if I just dial Katie's number," I reply in a mocking tone.
243Please respect copyright.PENANAkkw9XJxMiY
"Now, now. You wouldn't do that, would you?"
243Please respect copyright.PENANAFvVmD8mIW0
"I would absolutely love to."
243Please respect copyright.PENANAAsGu5fXmrb
"Well, Zara, I think we should leave these two whores together," she says to the brunette next to her with big (and when I say big, I mean huge) grayish eyes. She looked really pretty though.
243Please respect copyright.PENANAadkFOIhetJ
And with that, she turned and sashayed away, her blonde hair swishing behind her.
243Please respect copyright.PENANARZzaG4arYo
"Look who's talking," I call behind her.
243Please respect copyright.PENANADzdk33B58a
She turns, shoots me a dirty glare and then walks over to a table situated in the middle of the cafetaria.
243Please respect copyright.PENANAyP3Fe1Ytxy
"Thank you," says the girl I just rescued.
243Please respect copyright.PENANAo1BLXdWKT1
"Not a problem," I reply. "I'm Ashlyn, BTW."
243Please respect copyright.PENANA4x0AuYj2v9
"Melody," she replies.
243Please respect copyright.PENANAucUOyyuAZp
"Melody... Nice name."
243Please respect copyright.PENANApbkPlmVynz
"Thanks. I'm the local RJ here," she says, grinning.
243Please respect copyright.PENANAR7ozNirIGZ
"Staying true to your name, huh?" I ask, smiling.
243Please respect copyright.PENANAZwwsHvIvmt
"Yeah, pretty much. Thanks again," she says, before she walks over to the counter, pays for her lunch, takes a tray and sits at ab empty table in the corner.
243Please respect copyright.PENANAblcp8AjyPD
I turn around to get my own tray and that's when I realize that I have nobody to sit with.
243Please respect copyright.PENANAG8GSlcBfnl
And neither does Melody.
243Please respect copyright.PENANAvQ5ZF5C3za
As I'm walking towards Melody's table, I hear a gasp and then a shout from the other side of the cafetaria.
243Please respect copyright.PENANA0PKsBnnsfE
"Ashlyn, is that you?"
○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○