main door. If I focused on my dread though, my day would be jinxed by that negativity. I had to think about something which gave me peace.
“So you’re alive!” Francis said with a smile as he stopped next to my locker. It was like my panic over being trapped inside had summoned him to me, my angel of cheerfulness.
“And kicking,” I said and tapped my foot against his shin.
He cowered like I had hurt him horribly, then came back with the world’s biggest smile. “So how’d the driving lesson go?” he asked, his cheerful face all I needed.
I grinned at him, entirely happy and at peace since my friend was there with me. I would be fine. I was not a prisoner. I was free. “I’m amazing. Duh,” I said and kicked him yet again.
“Hey now, abusing your friends is not something that will—” he began, but broke off. His mouth opened in shock as he looked at something behind me.
An unnatural hush fell over the hallway full of people. They were all frozen, like a bunch of statues, their eyes fixed on something which was still behind me. I turned to see what it was, unsure what to make of the entire situation.
A woman walked down the hallway, a staggeringly beautiful woman, ethereal to be honest. She was tall and slim, with a perfect face and the kind of body most girls would kill for. Every guy in the hall gaped, their mouths open as the blonde goddess walked past.
Francis looked like he held his breath. His eyes were bright as he leaned forward like he planned to throw himself at the gorgeous woman’s feet.
Contempt passed through me, not for the woman, but for the pathetic males. Why were they so easily bewitched? They would all do anything she said, it was written clearly on their enraptured faces.
It was strange as that woman’s eyes met mine. It felt like we knew each other, like she was someone I had known well at some point in my life. I couldn’t remember when that would have been, but that was nothing unusual for me.
When she passed, an audible sigh escaped every male, like she had released them from some kind of death grip. I wasn’t sure if it would be more appropriate to laugh or smack them upside the head. Maybe both would work best.
“How’s it going?” Ben asked as he stepped up on my other side, his dark eyes very direct, but he was the only guy in the whole hallway who didn’t stare at the blonde.
I closed my locker with a snick. If only I could disappear into thin air to avoid him. “What? Did I smile too wide? Should I ditch school to get myself a black vail so everybody can see how I feel?” I asked, my annoyance with him coming to life yet again.
“Nah, just get a frown face tattooed on your forehead,” he said with a smirk at me like I hadn’t just snarked him out.
I grinned. “Why a frown face? Why not a skull and crossbones?” It felt good to make a joke, but it did nothing to ease my irritation with him.
“Great idea,” he said, his eyes still fixed on me.
I tipped my head back and let out an exasperated sigh. “Look, Ben. This mask of mine you don’t like, it’s all I’ve got. I may internalize my feelings about everything that’s happened to me, but that’s my business, not yours.” But my irritation with London and Paul began to bubble out, despite how unfair it was to direct it all at Ben. “I get it. I do. London is as obvious as a goddess of bounty during a famine, but I have two settings, happy and pissy. You want to see pissy all the time, I can give you that pretty easily.”
“I’ve seen more than two settings from you, Shayla. All I was saying is that the more you push it down, the harder it’ll be to handle it.”
“What do you know about it?” I snapped, unsure what had made me so mad, until London started sashaying her way toward us. “You know what, Ben, I don’t care. Your girlfriend is coming. Why don’t you try telling her how she’s supposed to react to things rather than me.”
“She’s not my girlfriend,” he said
“So you’re alive!” Francis said with a smile as he stopped next to my locker. It was like my panic over being trapped inside had summoned him to me, my angel of cheerfulness.
“And kicking,” I said and tapped my foot against his shin.
He cowered like I had hurt him horribly, then came back with the world’s biggest smile. “So how’d the driving lesson go?” he asked, his cheerful face all I needed.
I grinned at him, entirely happy and at peace since my friend was there with me. I would be fine. I was not a prisoner. I was free. “I’m amazing. Duh,” I said and kicked him yet again.
“Hey now, abusing your friends is not something that will—” he began, but broke off. His mouth opened in shock as he looked at something behind me.
An unnatural hush fell over the hallway full of people. They were all frozen, like a bunch of statues, their eyes fixed on something which was still behind me. I turned to see what it was, unsure what to make of the entire situation.
A woman walked down the hallway, a staggeringly beautiful woman, ethereal to be honest. She was tall and slim, with a perfect face and the kind of body most girls would kill for. Every guy in the hall gaped, their mouths open as the blonde goddess walked past.
Francis looked like he held his breath. His eyes were bright as he leaned forward like he planned to throw himself at the gorgeous woman’s feet.
Contempt passed through me, not for the woman, but for the pathetic males. Why were they so easily bewitched? They would all do anything she said, it was written clearly on their enraptured faces.
It was strange as that woman’s eyes met mine. It felt like we knew each other, like she was someone I had known well at some point in my life. I couldn’t remember when that would have been, but that was nothing unusual for me.
When she passed, an audible sigh escaped every male, like she had released them from some kind of death grip. I wasn’t sure if it would be more appropriate to laugh or smack them upside the head. Maybe both would work best.
“How’s it going?” Ben asked as he stepped up on my other side, his dark eyes very direct, but he was the only guy in the whole hallway who didn’t stare at the blonde.
I closed my locker with a snick. If only I could disappear into thin air to avoid him. “What? Did I smile too wide? Should I ditch school to get myself a black vail so everybody can see how I feel?” I asked, my annoyance with him coming to life yet again.
“Nah, just get a frown face tattooed on your forehead,” he said with a smirk at me like I hadn’t just snarked him out.
I grinned. “Why a frown face? Why not a skull and crossbones?” It felt good to make a joke, but it did nothing to ease my irritation with him.
“Great idea,” he said, his eyes still fixed on me.
I tipped my head back and let out an exasperated sigh. “Look, Ben. This mask of mine you don’t like, it’s all I’ve got. I may internalize my feelings about everything that’s happened to me, but that’s my business, not yours.” But my irritation with London and Paul began to bubble out, despite how unfair it was to direct it all at Ben. “I get it. I do. London is as obvious as a goddess of bounty during a famine, but I have two settings, happy and pissy. You want to see pissy all the time, I can give you that pretty easily.”
“I’ve seen more than two settings from you, Shayla. All I was saying is that the more you push it down, the harder it’ll be to handle it.”
“What do you know about it?” I snapped, unsure what had made me so mad, until London started sashaying her way toward us. “You know what, Ben, I don’t care. Your girlfriend is coming. Why don’t you try telling her how she’s supposed to react to things rather than me.”
“She’s not my girlfriend,” he said
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