The Rules of Life

My day only went downhill from there. Not that I should have expected any better. It is me we’re talking about, after all. Since Travis had already cornered me and used blackmail to get me to do what he wanted, I didn’t even bother stopping by my locker to pretend to use it. I went straight to homeroom and since it was so early, I was the first person there. Not even Mr. H was in the room, though I knew he’d already been through here. The light was on and his jacket was placed neatly over the back of the chair. Plus the date had been changed. Poor guy was so anal about that.

I’d planned on using my jacket to hide me throughout the day. After being suspended, I needed to fly under the radar for a few days. With my hood safely over my blonde hair, now securely tied into a ponytail, and my headphones placed snug in my ears, I was pretty much checked out of the world. I didn’t even notice when a shadow descended on my desk or even when a butt that looked too good in pants took a seat there. I was oblivious to everyone until a face loomed in front of mine.

“Ah!” I cried. I yanked my earbuds from my ears and shot Mr. Hardacker a glare. He grinned at me.

“Glad to see you back in school,” he said. I made a bunch of grumbling noises. I wasn’t really in the mood of witty banter with my math teacher and after the scare I’d gotten, I was in an even worse mood. Seriously, the next person to push my buttons was going to get a lashing like no one’s ever seen before. “You know you missed the math test, right? You’ll have to stay after school.”

I groaned. “Please, just give me the A for it. You know that’s what I’m going to get anyway.” Mr. H rolled his eyes and went back up to his desk. Obviously this wasn’t up for negotiation.

Part of me thought that I should be using this time to do the homework my dad had picked up for me so I wouldn’t get behind. But this part of me was weak and helpless and the bigger part of me squashed it like a bug. I put my headphones back in and listened to the music until class started and I got another visitor. Like I’d said before, I wasn’t in a people mood at all. Mr. H was an exception since he’d helped me out and I couldn’t exactly go ape shit on his ass. But this girl, oh this girl was just asking for it.

April Tanner was Principle Tanner’s daughter and Travis Elton’s biggest fan. With brown hair that had had too many fake highlights and a spray tan that looked like she’d took a swim in orange juice, she was probably the next biggest bitch I was. Even Sophia wouldn’t touch her. But she had big tits and a tiny waist and was easy as far as girls went. She glared daggers at me and even I was impressed with the look of hatred. Of course, mine was better. Nice try, though.

Instead of glaring back like I so wanted to do, I forced a smile on my face. I knew what she was here for. School had only just started but I could imagine that my so-called “date” with Travis Elton had already circulated several times. No doubt he wanted to boast about his upcoming conquest. The sleaze. Still, it was pretty amusing that April Tanner was going to try to intimidate me into backing off. Maybe I’d play it up a little, making her think that I actually liked Travis. I was the only girl he’d ever come back to.

April and Travis had a fling. It lasted a week but I swear, she’d already been planning out their kids’ weddings. The girl was psycho. Travis had only wanted her for sex which he’d easily gotten. After that, he’d slept with a few other girls. He tried to keep it from April but his attempts were weak and he didn’t really care anyway. The news got around and she’d freaked out on the girls and broken up with Travis. Again, not that he cared. But me? We’d already slept together and even after all the shit I gave him, the poor boy still had a thing for me. He handled it terribly. But I suppose in April’s twisted mind, this was all romantic and blah blah blah.

“Wipe that smug smile off your face, you homewrecking bitch,” April hissed. I’d subtly tugged my headphones out so I could hear her lame attempt at trying to scare me. I held in my laughter and tried to rid myself of the smile that was pulling up the corners of my mouth. But I didn’t feel like trying too hard and a few peels of laugher slipped out, which only infuriated her more. “I’m serious. If you go out with Travis, I will ruin you. You’ll wish you’d never been born.”

I stopped smiling. “I think you’d better back off now,” I warned her. But now it was her turn to smirk. She’d though she’d won. Oh, how wrong she was.

“Or what? You’re not going to do anything to me,” she said. I was out of my chair so fast that she didn’t even see it coming. I yanked her out her seat by the front of her shirt. The whole room had gone silent so when the fabric ripped, it was like a scream. In the back of my mind, it registered that someone was trying to get to me but the only thing on my mind was April.

“Don’t you ever threaten me,” I hissed. “Do you understand me?” April stayed quiet. “Do you?!”

“McKinley, let go, now!” Mr. Hardacker. His hand came down over my arm and he pulled me away. I wasn’t going to let April go through and she got pulled with me. She squeaked in surprise and stumbled after us. “Let her go.” My eyes were glued to April, who had gone white beneath her spray tan. “Now!” I let her go. April stared at me like I’d grown three heads. Mr. H led me from the room, yelling at them to stay in their seats and be quiet. The halls were empty and when he slammed the door, it echoed against the lockers. This was the second time I’d been pulled from a fight from Mr. Hardacker. Briefly, I wondered if this would end in suspension, too. Or maybe expulsion. At least if that happened, I wouldn’t have to go on a date with Travis. Oh, what a thought.

Mr. H ran his fingers through his hair. “Do you even think before you act?” he asked me.

I scoffed. “Of course I do,” I replied. “I think about how funny the looks on peoples’ faces are.” This was not the right answer. Mr. H stared at me. For a moment, I didn’t know what he was going to do.

“For someone so smart,” he said, “you certainly act stupid.” I didn’t say anything. “If she goes to Tanner, you could be suspended again. Or probably expelled, actually. Is that what you want?” I shook my head. “Is it?!” He sounded like me a few minutes ago, when I’d been trying to shake the answer from April. I looked him in the eye and said evenly, “No.”

“Good. I’m going to talk to April and ask her not to report you.” He walked back into class but left me outside. God. I royally screwed up. And as if Fate couldn’t have enough laughs at my expense, Dash Sheppard appeared at the end of the hallway. He stopped a few feet away from me and I looked up at him with a glare, hoping he’d take the hint and beat it. But he, too, had heard the news I was Travis’s date and wanted to hear the story.

“What finally convinced you?” he asked.

“Excuse me?” Playing dumb was so much easier than answering questions you didn’t want to. Without a doubt, I knew that Dash knew about the drugs. He probably wanted to make sure I wasn’t going to rat his friend out.

“To go out with Travis. I think most people here thought you were a lesbian.”

“I wish I was.”

Dash laughed. “Well, if you spread that around after your date, maybe he’ll stop getting laid so much.” He frowned. “Make sure he wears protection. You don’t want to know where he’s been, believe me.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.” Dash really was cute. With blonde hair and a letterman jacket, he was tall and muscled to perfection. He looked all-American, the way high school kings should. I wasn’t sure how solid his relationship with Sophia was but from all the high-pitched helium conversations she had in homeroom, she thought they’d be together forever.

“What are you doing out here anyway?” he asked.

I shrugged. “Wreaking havoc is apparently frowned upon in this establishment. Who knew, huh?” I joked. I didn’t like any of the populars and Dash certainly wasn’t going to be winning any humanitarian of the year awards but he was better than the others, if only by a smidge. “I got physical with April Tanner.” I realized then how easy it would be for her to report me. She could probably have me expelled, too. As the principle’s daughter, she was in a position of influence. This could be a dinner topic.

“Hmm, maybe you are a lesbian,” he said, giving me a grin. His teeth were white and straight, orthodontist money well spent. He sobered up though. “I’ll talk to her, if you want. Or, even better, get Travis to talk to her. Even after punching him, the kid’s still gone on you. He won’t let April doing anything stupid.” He glanced at his watch. “Well, better run. Donovan gets pissy when I’m gone too long. Thinks I’m knocking up the prom queen.” He winked. “Catch ya later, Miller.”

Maybe, just maybe, Dash wasn’t so bad. But if Travis got me out of trouble, well, then the verdict would have to be the same on him, too. I wasn’t quite ready to admit that Travis Elton was actually human.

The door opened and Mr. H motioned for me to come in. I did so, ignoring the stares everyone gave me. April didn’t look at me at all, instead she chose to look at her desk and study the fabulous quality of such a desk. And all those bad words scratched into the surface? Art that needed the full attention of someone who was qualified, like April.

Oh yes, it was going to be a great day.