Bloomless Flower

'I got a bad reputation and I don't know why. I brush my hair, brush my teeth, and I'm a really nice guy. I used to be such a sweet sweet thing til they got a hold of me.' Alice Cooper's 'No More Mr. Nice Guy' blared in Corsica's ears on her walk to school.

She always made sure to leave the house before her parents were up. It was kind of a way to avoid interaction with her father. He'd always compare her to other students. It was always, 'why can't you be like Georgia?'. Little did he know that Georgia wasn't the innocent sweetheart everyone thought she was. Corsica found Georgia smoking pot under the bleachers after school one day. One day turned into a whole month. No one knew as well as Corsica, what really went on in the school. Things aren't always as they seem. And like things, people weren't always what they seemed.

High school lived up to it's stereotypical theory of having school dramas, bad blood, nasty rumours, and none other than 'the status quo'. She was good at avoiding all those factors. Her circle of friends was kept at a minimum of three people, she never had boyfriends, never went out to parties but she was a night owl. Corsica liked to walk around at night. She got an adrenaline rush from feeling the cold air against her pale skin and witnessing the beautiful sound of silence.

Nobody understood her. She was a puzzle. It seemed that no matter how close you were with her, you'd never ever be able to put the pieces together. Her mother worried about her. Corsica had always been this way. No amount of therapy could fix her. Briseis had finally realised it because her daughter wasn't broken. She never was, she was just special. She would watch her daughter wander down their quiet and dark street. She had been watching her for quite some time. She wondered what thoughts ran through that sweet little head. What worries, dreams, hopes, and aspirations she had. She would only be able to get little from Corsica. But when she did speak, she could shake your bones. Her words always made sense. It was just her personality that didn't.

'Corsica.' Corsica looked up meeting face to face with her friend, Daniel. Daniel used to be a skinny kid with wiry hair, a pizza face, and big googly glasses. They met at Elementary school. He had changed a lot over the years. Months of working out and using proactiv was showing. Many girls at their school were beginning to draw their attention his way.

'That's my name.' She picked up her pen and lightly tugged on it with her teeth. Daniel drew in a sharp breath but Corsica hadn't realised. He gave her a lope sided smirk and slid into the free seat next to hers.

Daniel had always admired her sarcasm and her bad-ass attitude. It wasn't until they started high school that he realised he had a big crush on her. She was beautiful. She wasn't like the other girls who found different ways to mask their real face with products from Revlon, Mac, and every other make up industry that existed. She embraced her natural beauty. She had been blessed. God had taken extra time on Corsica. She had quite a booty body, he meant. Her latino side had been good to her. She had big light brown eyes, full lips that she would lick and bite out of habit, and long chestnut hair like her mother's. Like every other day, she let it loose. It looked effortless in it's mesmorising waves.

Every guy in school had attempted to bed her but it was a difficult task. She never went out. Ever. She never paid interest to football games, school clubs, or parties. She did have a reputation of being a bad ass. Her school records showed that she had been suspended from school more than ten times. That's how he and Corsica became friends. She saved his ass when he was about to be beaten in an alleyway by the school bullies. Ever since then, he followed her like a sheep. As long as he stayed with her, no one messed with him.

Daniel never knew how rich her family was until her parents showed up that day to pick her up. Her father looked so young and her mother was eye candy. As soon as they showed up, the principal brown nosed them. After all, they would've always given very generous donations to the school. Corsica was never expelled. Her parents always came to the rescue.

'I tried calling you last night, you didn't pick up.' She shifted in her seat. She always kept Daniel and their other friends at arms length. She was always reserved. She didn't look at him. She chose to focus on the rip in her jeans. One of her many famous outfits. A rock band t-shirt paired with ripped jeans and either boots or converse chuck taylors. Today's rock band shirt was KISS.

She looked up at him. He was already staring at her, patiently awaiting her reply. She wondered how they were still friends. After all the excuses she came up with to avoid his calls and his invitations to study with him. She observed his face. His acne scars had disappeared and he opted for contacts instead of his thick glasses. He even changed his hairstyle. It was side swept, As he spoke to her, shifting his head slightly, the light seeped down his hair, barely settling on each strand.

'Sorry, I must've been asleep.' She wet her bottom lip and bit it. Daniel looked away. He had finally learned how to resist his 'urges' when she did that and he wasn't going to let it get to him now. He turned to reach for his homework in his bag to give himself some time to calm down. When he turned, she had returned to doing her homework. She always did the homework that was assigned on the day. She always did it with ease too. It took her ten minutes to complete complex equations that took an average of an hour to complete.

'Listen, I wanted to ask if you wanted to come with me to a party on Friday night. It's our last year, we don't have finals until two weeks, and I think we deserve some fun, right?' He was nervous to hear her response. He already knew the answer. It was always the same. But he had hope that she would agree. He stared at her, watching her. She didn't show much emotion.

Corsica thought about it. She did owe him that much. Especially when he put up with her for so many years. One party. Hah! Yeah like that would ever happen. She couldn't go to a party. It wasn't her. Besides no one liked her anyway. Even she knew herself that she was hard to get along with.

'No.' His face dropped. But he quickly recovered with a forced smile. She eyed him. His reaction made her want to laugh a little. 'Finals is in three weeks. I'll come to that party though.' His face lit up and he reached in to hug her but stopped himself. He knew better than anyone else that she didn't like being touched. Instead, he leapt up and gave her a wide smile.

'I'll pick you up at nine?' She gave him a nod. She couldn't help but give a small smile at how excited he was. She almost felt good about herself. Almost. Her lips returned to it's straight, tight lipped expression and she waved him goodbye.

Maybe she was having an epiphany.... Of course, that was a joke. Nothing could change a cynic like Corsica. Not even an invitation to a party.