Know Your Enemy

That was the best Little Miss Cheerleader had? Whore? That was an old one. The urge to slap that girl never ends. Maybe all those high ponytails were cutting off circulation to her brain. We’ll never know.

I shook my head with a scoff before deciding I’d stop by the bathroom to kill some time before my next class. The bell hadn’t rung yet, so that meant I wasn’t going anywhere. There was no way I’d ever be caught dead showing up to class on time.

Jackson High’s finest parted like the Red Sea for me. The stares were amusing to me; I didn’t mind one bit. Some cheerleaders gave me the side eye of disapproval and fear. That was my favorite part of any school day. They tried to stand their ground like they were so tuff, but if we made eye contact for even a second, their eyes shot to the floor, and they hurried past me like I’d pull a blade on them. I mean, shit, I had some class. The rich boys were the brain-dead morons that were only getting into college with mommy and daddy’s wallet or on a football scholarship. Just then, they looked at me like I was a piece of trash the janitor forgot to pick up, but what was really rich is the fact that sometimes, when they’re wasted at the drive-in, they’ll try and coax me into the backseat of their souped-up Mustangs. Those are the times I wouldn’t mind pulling a blade out.

I swung open the bathroom door and grabbed a tube of lipstick from my bag. I swiped on a fresh layer of cherry red lipstick to match my hair. The winged liner I had done in a rush that morning was holding up pretty well around my topaz-brown eyes. I pulled the elastic out of my hair and shook it out a bit so it hit just below my chest.

Slowly turning to my right, I noticed a few freshmen staring at me. Giving them a smirk, I pulled a pack out of my back pocket and held it out to them. “Cancer stick?”

“No!” they squeaked before bee-lining it out the door.

A few seconds later, the bell rang over the laugh I had let out. Just another day in Hell. I stepped back out into the hallway and saw that my Physics teacher had noticed me. I turned on my heel and decided to take the long way to class.

“Miss Hayes, get to class!” my teacher echoed down the hall.

It took everything I had not to flip him off. I did the day before, and it landed me in detention. If it was any other teacher, I wouldn’t give a shit, but I’d rather not have to listen to him lecture me for an hour after school. So, I held myself back and just cussed him out under my breath.

I was five minutes late for class by the time I could see the door to my English class. Then, I heard someone whistle from down the hall. I glanced in the direction where it came from and I saw my friend Zayn catching up to me. He slyly grinned and messed around with his dark brown hair. Leaning against the closest locker, I waited for him.

“Hey,” he breathed.

“Hey, where were you?”

“Could ask you the same thing.” From the mischievous look in his eyes, I guessed what he'd been doing wasn't anything legal.

“After you, Lana.”

“Oh, what a gentleman,” I joked. He smirked before I turned the handle on the door and braced for the commentary that would come along.

“Look who’s decided to grace us with their presence,” my teacher chimed in. The girls in the front row eyed us skeptically. Along with a good part of the school, they thought Zayn and I were hooking up. We weren’t. Strictly friends.

We found seats by some friends in the back and sat down. I found myself eavesdropping on some people going on about a new girl in town. Rich kids lived for news like that. They would have her hooked in no time. Good luck to her. She better get on a side, and fast.

After an agonizing 53 minutes, the bell rang. “So, call it a day?” Zayn proposed. “Three classes is enough for today.”

I let out a sigh of relief and grinned. “I hoped you were gonna say that.”