Devil In Me

Mallory stared at the two piles of text books sitting before her, looking from one to the other as she tried to remember which one was which. Spotting her calculus book, she realized the right pile was what she had already done, the left consisting of homework yet to be done. She grabbed the latter, stuffing it into her bag as she prepared to leave for the Emshousen residence.

The bag wasn't as heavy as it was earlier, but still not very light. She sighed as she grabbed her house keys and cell phone, stuffing them both into her pocket, not in the mood to carry her purse with her. It was just extra weight not needed.

Checking her reflection before she left, she wiped a smudge of eyeliner from beneath her eye before huffing at her bangs, falling a bit too far in her face. After reminding herself she was only babysitting a six and ten year old, she bounded down the stairs, locking the door behind her.

The street lights were of a yellow tint. Mallory ignored the shivers sent down her spine from being in the darkness of the cold evening. It always felt like a scene from a horror movie when she walked down her street at night. She kept a steady pace, however, and found herself missing her hoodie. Why had she left it at home, again? Sure, the house was just a block away, but the wind was harsh, whippping her long blond hair in her face.

She passed a few houses before light caught her eye to her left. She looked up to see a window with a lamp beside it, probably resting on a table top. She paused, a mop of curly hair catching her eye just a bit beyond the light. Mallory stood on her tip toes, trying to get a better look. His head was tilted downward and upon further inspection, she realized he had a guitar resting across his lap.

He strummed slowly, fidgeting a bit when he didn't find the right note. Mallory realized he was writing his own music. The boy turned then, pick held between his teeth as he picked up a pen and scribbled something down on a notebook she couldn't see but she was sure was there. He looked up at that moment, his eyes meeting hers.

Mallory immediately looked away, blushing. What had gotten into her anyway? Curiousity had to be it. She had seen his brothers and she was curious as to the missing boy. That was all. She started walking swiftly away, ignoring the feeling if his eyes on her back as she did so. It would be a long night of trying not to think about her embarrassing moment, that was sure.

[&hardtoget]

Abbie and Shawn had already fallen asleep by the time Mallory got to actually doing her homework. She was mid-geography by the time their parents arrived home. Recieving her pay, she was ready to get out of there as soon as possible. Within a matter of only ten minutes, she was gone, back on the road. It had cooled off remarkably from the time she had been outside last. The breeze sent shivers down her spine, resulting in goosebumps on her legs.

Though her embarrassing encounter earlier should have warned her not to, she couldn't help but glance up at the room where the boy had been sitting. The light was out now and Mallory expected nothing less. It was 10:30 by this time, most kids would already be in bed for school the next day. Would he be going to her school, she allowed herself to wonder. It was probably a good conclusion, he did live just down the street and looked about her age.

Finally, she reached her door. Tiredly, she pulled out her house key, slipping it in the designated place on the door knob, she turned it before pushing it open. She glanced to her left. Sure enough, her mom's car was in the driveway.

The house was dark, Mallory noticed, as she softly closed the door behind her. Her mother was undoubtedly already asleep. Pulling off her shoes, she held them in her hands as she tip-toed through the quiet house. She first went to the kitchen, grabbing a bottle of water from the refrigerator before turning and pulling out a Poptart from the pantry. She then began her way up the carpeted stairs to her bedroom. Mallory closed the door before turning on the light.

Setting her water and Poptarts aside, she pulled out the homework she had finished before she left and re-united it with the homework she had finished at the Emshousens's, leaving her geography aside to finish.

The window had been left open from the earlier day's nice weather. It was now blowing the white curtains in a gust of cold wind. Mallory grabbed the bag of Poptarts, placing the bag between her teeth as she pulled the window closed, pulling the curtains together after that. Tugging off her hoodie, she finally settled, opening her geography book.

[&hardtoget]

Mallory awoke face down in her geography book. She inhaled quickly through her nose as she pushed herself up. Running a hand through her hair, she groaned. Undoubtedly a mess. At least she had finished the homework before crashing. Closing the book and stuffing it in her bookbag, she walked over to her vanity. The mirror confirmed her earlier fears. Her hair was indeed a wild mess of tangles. She sighed as she grabbed the brush. She'd handle her hair before worrying about what she'd wear.

As her straightener heated, she realized it would be much easier to simply scrunch her hair rather than try to do anything with it. After glancing at her alarm clock, she knew she was right. She was about ten minutes behind anyway.

She finally finished with her hair, picking out a simple white layered tee shirt to match a navy blue and white striped pair of shorts and white flip flops. Grabbing her bookbag, she bounded down the stairs, making a short stop in the kitchen long enough to grab an apple to eat on her commute.

The weather was warm again, the sun violently beating on her back as she walked. The heat seemed to radiate from the concrete below her as she walked, but she pushed on. It was only a few blocks to the school anyway.

Mallory was panting by the time she finally made it to the school parking lot where she caught sight of Emma. Checking her watch, she was pleased. She had made up time. Emma pushed herself off of the front steps of the school building after catching sight of her. The wind caught her hair and she groaned loudly as she did her best to fix it. Mallory smiled. Emma gave up, meeting Mallory half-way.

"Goodmorning, sunshine," Mallory greeted, dropping her books on the concrete steps. Emma grumbled a reply she couldn't understand, but didn't push it further.

"Sleep well?" she asked. Emma sent her a dirty look and Mallory laughed aloud before taking a bite of her apple. "If it helps, I fell asleep face down in my geography book," she offered. Emma tilted her head to the side and squinted into the sun before looking back at her.

"Yeah, I guess that does make me feel a bit better," she laughed. Mallory smiled, taking a seat beside her best friend on the concrete steps leading to the school.

A tree was planted just so that it provided shade as to where they were sitting. Occasionally, a breeze would blow through, sending the leaves into an organized frenzy and releasing bits of sunlight to hit her face, but she didn't mind. It was just a simple reminder that school may have started up again, but summer was still in the air. Vaguely, yes, but still present.

Abruptly, Mallory felt Emma's hand grab her arm. Startled, she turned her head just in time to see the curly-haired boy from the night before walking toward the building. His head was down, his eyes squinting at a small square of paper before him which was undoubtedly a class schedule.

Mallory opened her mouth to warn him there were stairs just ahead, but it was too late. He had tripped already and the schedule flew out of his hands. The wind took hold and blew it toward Mallory. She grabbed it just in time to save it.

Luckily, the boy had thrown his hands out in front of him and had managed to avoid a total face plant. That didn't stop some of the skater boys who had been chatting beneath the shade of the tree from laughing.

Emma, however, ran to his aid (after fixing her hair of course), and asked with a concerned voice, "Are you okay?"

The boy stood up and began brushing off his jeans before looking up at her. A slight blush was apparent on his cheeks. "Yeah, I'm fine," he replied, raising a hand to rub the back of his neck.

Mallory apprehensively made her way to her best friend. On one hand, she did have his schedule. On the other, she was afraid he would recognize her from their earlier encounter, the last one embarrassing on her part. She joined them just in time to hear Emma explain, "Don't worry about them, they're probably stoned anyway," while gesturing to the skater boys who were still chuckling amungst themselves.

"I'm Emma, by the way," she smiled sweetly, outstretching her hand. It was a smile that had broken so many hearts before, but Nick seemed unfazed in taking her hand and shaking it.

"Nick," he replied before looking over to Mallory, who did her best not to blush when she saw recognition creep into his brown eyes. Silently, she held his schedule out to him, which he accepted without taking his eyes off of her. Her attempt at not blushing wasn't working out so great and she was positive her cheeks were scarlet.

"This is my best friend, Mallory," Emma introduced without noticing the silent interaction between the two. Mallory quickly looked away, embarrassed for the second time by this boy.

"Yeah, you live down the street, right?" he asked. Mallory took a deep breath before looking back at him. "Yeah," she affirmed. He half-smiled before returning his eyes to Emma.

"I should probably get going. I have to meet a counselor or something," Nick excused himself. Emma nodded her head. "We'll see you later, then."

As Nick walked away, Mallory noticed he threw her one last glance over his shoulder. Apparently, Emma took notice to this as well, and the moment he was out of earshot, she started grilling her.

"How does he know you?" she questioned immediately. Mallory tucked a strand of hair behind her ear sheepishly. "He doesn't," she muttered in reply. Emma shot her a look.

"He knew you lived down the street," she pointed out.

Mallory sighed, finding no way to avoid it. "I saw him on my way to the Emshousen's last night. He was writing music or something and he noticed me walking by. That's all."

Emma narrowed her eyes. "That's all?" she asked. Mallory nodded. "I solemnly swear."

Suddenly, one of the forementioned skater boys zoomed by, preparing for a trick, but finding himself flying through the air instead when his board got caught on a stick that had fallen from the tree. Emma made a point of laughing especially loud and Mallory simply shook her head as she grabbed her books. She stood straight again just in time to watch as Emma yelled, "Karma sucks, doesn't it?" at the top of her lungs.

Mallory could only laugh and grab her best friend by the arm, dragging her to first hour.