Miss Mayhem

"Hey, Charlotte."

I let out a childish groan of agitation. "Five more minutes, Molly Marie."

"Yeah," I could hear the sarcasm painted lightly in her voice. "Five minutes, and you'll be late."

Muttering complaints, I sit up, wrapping the quilt around my shoulders. I opened my eyes, rubbing them tiredly as a yawn escaped my lips. "Do I have to go?"

Molly Marie rolled her pretty gray eyes, flipping her thick chestnut locks over her shoulder, blowing stray pieces of blonde-streaked hair out of her eyes. "You don't wanna get kicked out of school on your first day, do you?" Before I could respond with something that would be something relatively rude, she held up an index finger, shaking her head. "Don't answer that."

I finally pull myself out of my bed, jumping when the door was slung open. My current guardian stood there, a hint of surprise on her mother-like features. "Oh, you're up? Did you actually set your alarm this time?"

I know she's only trying to make a joke, but I can hear Molly Marie sigh behind me, and am glad that I'm not the only one that thinks the attempts are futile. My guardian couldn't see Molly Marie, of course, but that's not anything new. Only I could see my 'monsters.' I stopped calling them friends a long time ago... the doctors made sure of that.

That didn't mean I was going to pretend that they weren't real. Even though they all disappeared for a long time, they're back again, though I couldn't tell you why, or how.

"Molly Marie woke me up," I replied matter-of-factly, raising my chin with a sort of pride that wasn't there.

"Uh-huh." Lauren bit her lip, glancing over her shoulder as if her husband would magically appear to support her. She finally looked back to me. "And... which one is this?"

"She," I said slowly, "is my friend. She's a fallen angel." I was sickly pleased by her pale expression. Some people are blind, but the just don't want to admit it. So, they blame it on the 'mentally ill,' and write themselves off as normal. That's what I think, anyway. There's no way Nathan could have been a figment of my imagination, or Molly Marie, for that matter.

"Right." Lauren decided not to argue this time, knowing it was a battle she would not win, and shut the door behind her.

Molly Marie was grinning. "You okay?"

I flashed her a smile that was a little brighter than usual. "I'm great."

She hesitated, but I balled up my blue and purple quilt, tossing it at her. She scrambled to catch it, giving a breathless smile in return.

"Are you sure I can't skip today? It's only the first day. All they'll be doing is --"

"Get dressed, Charlotte."

"Aw, I can't break dress code and go in shorts and a tank top?" Of course, I was only joking, but it was fun to get under Molly Marie's skin, especially when she knew I was doing it.

She threw the blanket, and since I wasn't quick enough, it hit me in the face, falling to the floor a moment later.

"Gosh," I muttered, gathering a pair of clean jeans and a red tee shirt. I brushed through my hair and tossed it into a bun, not caring to bother with the makeup that I rarely ever wore. After pulling on a pair of black, plain flats, I scooped up my backpack and headed downstairs.

Lauren and Seth (her husband) sat together at the kitchen table quietly. I knew the conversation was about me, and when I cleared my throat to announce my presence, they cut it short, feigning smiles. It wouldn't be long, I decided, until they'd send me elsewhere, claiming that they weren't fit to watch over me. That was clear as soon as I stepped into the house two days ago.

"Good morning, Charlotte," Samuel greeted, but I said nothing, grabbing the last poptart and a soda out of the fridge, heading out the door wordlessly. I didn't want anyone trying to be my family. I didn't need that.

"You could at least have said goodbye," Molly Marie said quietly.

I shook my head. "I don't owe them anything."

I slung my backpack over my shoulder, carrying on an easy conversation with my best friend until we reached the high school. This was my third school just this year, and I wasn't expecting it to be any different from the last ones.