Comfortable Liar

Nervous; easily agitated or distressed; high-strung or jumpy

“Aiden, I can’t do this,” I said and looked away from the car window.

“I love you, Rik, I really do, but you need to get your ass out of the car. Now,” Aiden said, staring at me unique blue eyes. The purple and golden spots were really noticeable this morning.

“I’m telling Alex that you were mean to me!” I said and crossed my arms over my chest. It had been two months since I had met my brother, and now it felt like I had known him my entire life. I felt the same way about Aiden. But, summer is now over and it’s time to go back to school.

“I’ll tell Alex that you were afraid to go to school!” Aiden countered.

“Afraid? Me? Ha!”

“Prove it!”

“I will!” I said and threw open Aiden’s passenger side car door. I grabbed my bag on the way out, and then I stood up proudly in the school parking lot. I turned around and smiled down at Aiden.

“See? I’m out of the car,” I said.

“Good, because if I don’t leave now, I’ll be late for school,” Aiden said and reached over to close the door. I watched her car disappear through the school gates, and that’s when it hit me. It was time for me to go back to school, for my senior year. Aiden went to a different school, so I was all alone. Oh joy!

I walked past all the unfamiliar people with my head held high. I was nervous, worried, and a little scared, but I wasn’t going to let it show. Erika Mason was no chicken. She could handle everything with ease. The people of Huntington High weren’t going to know what hit them.

“Can I help you?” I looked down at the middle aged woman and forced a smile.

“Yes. My name’s Erika Mason, I’m new. I was told to come here,” I said.

“Erika Mason…Erika Mason…Eri—Here you go,” she said and handed me a few sheets of paper.

“Thanks,” I mumbled on my way out. She could have at least given me some kind of direction, instead of just handing me my stuff. It’s okay though, because I can do this. I quickly found my locker and had it open in seconds. It was small, but big enough for all my books. I put all my notebooks inside, minus one, and then I stuffed my bag into it as well.

“Hey, you’re not Leslie!” My locker door slammed and I turned to see who was talking to me.

“No, I’m not,” I said and smiled at the girl. She looked okay. We were about the same height, 5’5”, so I didn’t have to look up at her like I did Aiden. Her hair was blond with black underneath, and her blue eyes looked…hyper, for some reason.

“Who are you?” she asked. Her pierced lips, she had snakebites, tipped down as she tried to figure it out.

“My name’s Erika. I’m new this year,” I said.

“Oh…are you a senior?” she asked.

“Yeah,” I said. My nerves were trying to get the better of me. I was trying to fight them off, but the more I fought, the more nervous I became.

“We have the same home room! This way!” the girl said and grabbed my wrist. I noticed she had my schedule in her free hand as she drug me down the hall, which was now filled with people. The girl, whose name was still unknown to me, turned into a classroom and started pulling me past the line of desks.

“Mrs. Williams! New student! Erika something! I got it covered!” she yelled over her shoulder. I heard the teacher mumble something, and then the girl basically fell into a desk. I sat in the desk in front of her and waited for someone to speak.

“Did I ever tell you my name?” the girl asked suddenly. Her eyes still held that wild look, like she had sugar for breakfast.

“No, I don’t think so,” I said.

“I’m Raynee Valerio. That’s R-A-Y-N-E-E, and V-A-L-E-R-I-O. Spell it and say it right, and I’m always open to nicknames, unless they’re stupid. Do you have any nicknames?” the girl, Raynee, was talking fast.

“My friend Aiden calls me Rik, but that’s about it,” I said.

“Aiden? Does she go here?” Raynee asked.

“No, she goes to school across town.”

“Did you go there?”

“No, I moved here at the beginning of summer.” Raynee crinkled her nose and looked me over again.

“You have an accent,” she said. It didn’t sound like an insult, so I didn’t take it offensively.

“I’m from Alabama,” I said.

“Oh, so that explains it. Why’d you move here?”

“Personal reasons.”

“Oh…okay. Do you like it so far?”

“It’s okay. I’ve got a job at an ice cream shop,” I said and smiled. I liked my job, and I did like living in California. It wasn’t home, but it could be.

“Good morning, V,” some guy said as he placed his hands on Raynee’s shoulders. Raynee quickly pushed his hands away and twisted in her chair.

“How many times do I have to tell you not to put your fucking hands on me? Are you really that fucking stupid?” Raynee asked. I looked up at the guy she was talking to, and a pair of bright green eyes met my own.

“Oh…I see you have a new friend. Wanna introduce me?” he asked.

“She doesn’t need to meet assholes like you,” Raynee said and gave him a small push.

“I love it when you play hard to get,” the guy said and started to walk off.

“Jackass,” Raynee muttered under her breath, but I still heard her.

“Ex lover or something?” I asked as she turned back to me.

“He wishes. No, him and his friends are just a group of assholes. It wasn’t so hard putting up with him last year, but all of my friends graduated,” Raynee said.

“Well, that sucks,” I mumbled and looked down. My first instinct was to say that I was her friend now, but that probably would have made things a little awkward, since I had just met her a few minutes earlier.

“Hey, at least you’re here, right?” I looked up at her and felt a smile tug at my lips.

“Right.”

~~~ | ~~~ | ~~~

The day had passed surprisingly fast, and before I knew what was happening, I was in my last class of the day. Raynee and I had all of our other classes together, but this was the only class we didn’t have. It was Math, and the teacher’s name was Ms. Kellan.

“Ms. Mason, right?” she asked me, after the room had somewhat quieted.

“Yes, ma’am,” I said.

“Moved from?”

“Alabama.” I thought I heard someone say something behind me, but I ignored it.

“That’s a big move.”

“Yep.”

“Are you good in Math?” Ms. Kellan asked. The truth was that I had always been excellent in all my subjects. I sometimes lacked in the common sense department, but I could handle schoolwork.

“I’m okay,” I said with a small shrug.

“Good enough,” she said and started talking to the entire class.

I listened as she droned on about class rules, and how everyone should bring their books every day. She seemed to be talking to a particular group of people, but I didn’t care enough to lift my head from the desk. After she stopped talking, she gave the class permission to talk quietly among themselves.

I listened to the quiet hum around me, and I felt myself getting lost in the conversations going on around me. They almost mirrored the mindless chatter from home. On my left, all I could hear was talk about boys, clothes, and someone named Caleb’s party this upcoming weekend. To my right, I heard talk about football, girls, and the same party. It was like some things never changed.

“Psst…Firecracker,” someone whispered. I didn’t know anyone in this class, so I completely ignored it.

“Firecracker,” the person whispered, louder this time. I felt a finger jab into my ribs, and I lazily lifted my head. Blue eyes met mine, and my body instantly tensed.

“Can I help you?” I asked.

“Zacky said you were Raynee’s new friend,” the guy said. Zacky? He must have been the guy from earlier, the one who was messing with Raynee.

“Yeah. So?” I asked.

“You’re from the south, right?” the guy asked.

“She said she was from Alabama. Get a map,” another guy said. I looked over, still feeling too lazy to completely raise my head, and was met with a pair of brown eyes. I groaned slightly, and then I let my head fall back onto my arms, hoping that the two strangers would let me sleep in peace.

“Firecracker!” the blue eyed guy said before jabbing me in the ribs again.

“Sweet Jesus, would you keep your hands to yourself?!” I asked semi-quietly as I finally lifted my head. I could feel my hair moving around me, and I tucked a piece behind my ears.

“I think Firecracker suits her,” the brown-eyed guy said.

“And I think Asshole suits you,” I said.

“Oh! What about me?!” the blue-eyed guy asked, completely ignoring his friend’s pissed off look.

“Dumbass.”

“Well, that was mean. I could have called you something mean,” he said. I didn’t like these guys. These two, and the one from earlier, all gave off a bad vibe. They just screamed “I’ll hurt you!”, and I was amazed at the intense dislike I had for them.

“Can I tell you a secret?” I whispered and leaned closer to him.

“Yeah,” he said and leaned closer to me.

“I don’t really give a fuck about what you call me, because you’re just a little insignificant person who isn’t worth the dirt on my shoes. Got it?” I asked. Both guys looked at each other, and then they turned back and looked at me with identical smirks.

“We got it,” the brown-eyed one said. I watched as they walked away, and then I laid my head back onto my desk. I could almost feel eyes on my back, and I beat back the nervous feeling in my stomach. Everything was going to be fine.

I listened to the bell ring, and I was the first one out of the classroom. I parted ways with Raynee at our lockers, and then I hurried to get to the parking lot, where Aiden was already waiting.