Cynical.
Scream
"Alana, wake up honey. Time to get ready. Your father already left for the hospital. I have to go soon." My mom was shaking my shoulder, but I was already awake. I'd barely gotten any sleep. I was trying to get in a small amount of sleep before I had to go to the torture chamber that was Beacon Hills High School.
"I'm up," I muttered, pushing myself out of my bed. I beelined for the bathroom to brush my teeth. Morning breath was gross in my opinion. I always brushed my teeth first thing the morning. I turned on the shower and threw my hair into a bun before stripping down and stepping under the water. I made my shower quick, giving myself the maximum amount of time to at least try to look presentable. I shut the water off and wrapped myself in a towel, walking to my closet. I pulled out a pair of jeans and a sleeveless sheer shirt. I let my hair down after getting dressed and slid my feet into my black booties, grabbing my bag before I walked downstairs. We'd yet to actually go grocery shopping, but there were a few granola bars from the trip over. I grabbed one and opened it, taking a seat at the breakfast bar.
"Okay, I left money for pizza. I'm working 12 hours. Your father is working a double. I should be home about 8:30. I'll see you later honey." She kissed my head and ran out the door. I sighed, slightly disappointed. Their schedules weren't out of the ordinary, but it still sucked not having my parents around all the time. I was finishing my granola bar when I realized I had no idea what time the school bus left. I cursed and power walked toward the door, swinging it open.
"I was just about to knock. The bus is gonna be here soon." I nearly ran into Liam, and I was thankful that he actually showed up and didn't abandon me.
"Thanks. You can just show me where it is and what time it comes. You won't have to deal with me after that." I closed the door behind me and locked it, stepping down onto the sidewalk.
"It's not that I don't want to help." He shoved his hands in his pockets, walking a little faster than my legs allowed.
"You didn't seem too thrilled last night," I said, trying to catch up to him.
"That's because I don't want to be here. I liked my old school."
"Well why aren't you there?" I asked out of pure curiosity. I should have known it wasn't a good idea.
"That's none of your business." His tone was hostile, and I stopped walking all together.
"Sorry I asked," I mumbled, trudging behind him. When we got to the corner, he stopped walking, and I assumed this was where we were supposed to wait for the school bus. I glanced up at the cross streets so I didn't forget and then proceeded to twiddle my thumbs. The wait was awkward, and I willed the time to go faster so I could get on the bus and just go to school.
"I'm sorry I snapped at you." It was a lame attempt at an apology, and I wasn't going to accept it.
"Sure." The bus finally showed up, and I got on immediately, walking to an empty seat in the back. I pulled my phone out of my bag, plugging my headphones into them before picking a song. The ride to school was short, thankfully, and I pushed my way through the kids to get off staring up at my new hell hole. I stowed my headphones and pulled out the schedule my mom left for me. I had no idea where any of the rooms were, and I regretted not coming with them the last time they came to Beacon Hills. I'd opted for staying home because I was recovering from a cold, and I still had a lot of packing to do.
"Well what are we supposed to do about him? We can't just leave him in your house forever." There were two boys a few feet away from me that were whispering profusely at each other. They were about the same height, though one looked like he spent a bit of time in the sun while the other was oddly pale and lanky.
"Can we help you with something?" The lanky one looked at me like I was stupid, and I rolled my eyes. Why was everyone so rude here? I could have sworn my mom told me the people here were going to be nice.
"Sorry. Don't pay attention to him. I'm Scott. Do you need help?" He asked, taking a few steps toward me. His eyes were brown, but I saw a quick flash of red and gasped. I tucked some hair behind my ear and gnawed on my bottom lip. The last time I saw red eyes, someone ended up dead two days later.
"I uh....could you just show me where Coach Finstock's classroom is, please?" My voice squeaked. I tugged nervously at one my curls.
"Yeah. It's down the hall. You never told me your name." He said as he fell into step next to me.
"Alana." His friend was behind us, eyeballing me weirdly as we walked. He was making me uncomfortable, and I pushed my legs to move a little bit faster.
"Here we are." The door was already open, but there was barely anyone inside.
"Thank you."
"It's no problem. If you need anything else and you see me, don't be afraid to ask." I nodded once, but I probably wouldn't ask him for anything else. I stepped into the room and made my way to the back, taking a seat in the corner. Half of me wanted to tell my parents what I saw, but we'd end up moving again, and we'd just gotten here. Unless something horrible happened, I was going to keep what I saw to myself.
"Hey. You got off the bus so fast I didn't have a chance to catch up to you." Liam slid into the desk next to me, another boy sitting down in front of him.
"Kinda figured you didn't really want me around," I said, raising my eyebrows at him.
"No. It wasn't that. Look, I'm sorry for the way that I acted. This is my best friend, Mason. Mason, this is Alana. She just moved in next door to me." He seemed to be in a bit of a better mood than he was when I first saw him this morning, but it didn't change the fact that I really didn't have a desire to talk to him anymore. First impressions really are everything, and he made a bad one in my opinion.
"Nice to meet you." I shook Mason's hand, looking toward the front of the room as the rest of the class filed in followed by who I assumed was Coach Finstock.
"Listen up because I'm only going to say this once. No talking when I'm talking. Matter of fact, no talking at all. If I tell you to-" I tuned him out and flipped open my notebook to an empty page. I was just lucky that I heard him call my name when he was taking attendance, "Stand up and introduce yourself." I was curious to know why he seemed so angry, but no one looked surprised so it must have been normal. I cleared my throat and stood up, smoothing out my shirt.
"Uhm, I'm Alana. I just moved here from Sacramento." I sat down immediately after I finished my sentence, not wanting to draw too much attention to myself.
"Wonderful." I tuned him out again, drawing in the margins of my empty notebook.
"Those are pretty good." I jumped at the sound of Liam's voice, slapping my hand over my paper. The rest of the class was filing out, and I assumed that I hadn't heard the bell ring. I shut my notebook and slid it into my bag, taking a picture of the homework assignment written on the board with my phone. I still needed to find my locker at some point, and I felt as though going to the office now would be as good a time as any. The only problem was that I had no idea where the office was. I'd walked down four different hallways before I actually found it. I was ridiculously late to second period, and I hoped that my teacher would let it slide because I was new.
"Hi sweetie. You look a little lost. Can I help you?" There was a slightly overweight woman in a fire engine red sweater sitting behind the desk. She smiled, showing me the lipstick on her teeth.
"Uhm, yeah. I'm Alana Regan. I'm new here, and I needed my locker assignment." She shuffled through a few papers in her file cabinet before pulling out a small, white square.
"There you go. If you have any other questions, don't be afraid to come back. Let me write you a late pass so you don't get in trouble with your teacher." I let out a small sigh of relief as she scribbled my name and something else onto a pink slip and handed it to me.
"Thank you." I let the door fall shut behind me as I stepped back into the hallway. It was dead for the most part, though there were a few stragglers at their lockers. I glanced down at the white paper and then at the rows of lockers that surrounded me, trying to find locker 285. When I did finally find it, Scott's friend was standing next to it, whispering to a red headed girl. I stopped in my tracks, not wanting to interrupt them, but I really needed to get to class. I walked over hesitantly, trying not to listen to their conversation. I quickly entered my combination and pulled the door open. Of course my parents would already have my textbooks in there but forget to give me the information. I pulled out my Trigonometry book as well as a binder and shut the metal door.
"How could you possibly be in Trig? You look like you're 12." Mr. Lanky was staring at me again, and I almost punched him.
"Look, I don't know what your deal is, but I've done absolutely nothing to you. Yes, I'm 15, and yes, I'm in Trigonometry. Just because you don't know shit from Shinola doesn't mean the rest of us are stupid. Get a life." I turned on my heel and stalked down the hall, having absolutely no idea where I was going. I turned a corner, leaning against the lockers while I pulled out my schedule. Thankfully, I wasn't far, and I immediately handed the teacher my pink slip, sliding into the only open desk in the front of the room.
"Don't make this a habit, Miss Regan." I nodded at her, glancing over at the person next to me to see what page we were on. I flipped my book open and pulled out a clean sheet of paper, preparing myself to take notes. Then it started. Silence took over the room. I looked around, but no one else seemed to notice. I looked at the teacher, and her mouth was still moving, but I couldn't hear anything. And then the screaming started.
"I'm up," I muttered, pushing myself out of my bed. I beelined for the bathroom to brush my teeth. Morning breath was gross in my opinion. I always brushed my teeth first thing the morning. I turned on the shower and threw my hair into a bun before stripping down and stepping under the water. I made my shower quick, giving myself the maximum amount of time to at least try to look presentable. I shut the water off and wrapped myself in a towel, walking to my closet. I pulled out a pair of jeans and a sleeveless sheer shirt. I let my hair down after getting dressed and slid my feet into my black booties, grabbing my bag before I walked downstairs. We'd yet to actually go grocery shopping, but there were a few granola bars from the trip over. I grabbed one and opened it, taking a seat at the breakfast bar.
"Okay, I left money for pizza. I'm working 12 hours. Your father is working a double. I should be home about 8:30. I'll see you later honey." She kissed my head and ran out the door. I sighed, slightly disappointed. Their schedules weren't out of the ordinary, but it still sucked not having my parents around all the time. I was finishing my granola bar when I realized I had no idea what time the school bus left. I cursed and power walked toward the door, swinging it open.
"I was just about to knock. The bus is gonna be here soon." I nearly ran into Liam, and I was thankful that he actually showed up and didn't abandon me.
"Thanks. You can just show me where it is and what time it comes. You won't have to deal with me after that." I closed the door behind me and locked it, stepping down onto the sidewalk.
"It's not that I don't want to help." He shoved his hands in his pockets, walking a little faster than my legs allowed.
"You didn't seem too thrilled last night," I said, trying to catch up to him.
"That's because I don't want to be here. I liked my old school."
"Well why aren't you there?" I asked out of pure curiosity. I should have known it wasn't a good idea.
"That's none of your business." His tone was hostile, and I stopped walking all together.
"Sorry I asked," I mumbled, trudging behind him. When we got to the corner, he stopped walking, and I assumed this was where we were supposed to wait for the school bus. I glanced up at the cross streets so I didn't forget and then proceeded to twiddle my thumbs. The wait was awkward, and I willed the time to go faster so I could get on the bus and just go to school.
"I'm sorry I snapped at you." It was a lame attempt at an apology, and I wasn't going to accept it.
"Sure." The bus finally showed up, and I got on immediately, walking to an empty seat in the back. I pulled my phone out of my bag, plugging my headphones into them before picking a song. The ride to school was short, thankfully, and I pushed my way through the kids to get off staring up at my new hell hole. I stowed my headphones and pulled out the schedule my mom left for me. I had no idea where any of the rooms were, and I regretted not coming with them the last time they came to Beacon Hills. I'd opted for staying home because I was recovering from a cold, and I still had a lot of packing to do.
"Well what are we supposed to do about him? We can't just leave him in your house forever." There were two boys a few feet away from me that were whispering profusely at each other. They were about the same height, though one looked like he spent a bit of time in the sun while the other was oddly pale and lanky.
"Can we help you with something?" The lanky one looked at me like I was stupid, and I rolled my eyes. Why was everyone so rude here? I could have sworn my mom told me the people here were going to be nice.
"Sorry. Don't pay attention to him. I'm Scott. Do you need help?" He asked, taking a few steps toward me. His eyes were brown, but I saw a quick flash of red and gasped. I tucked some hair behind my ear and gnawed on my bottom lip. The last time I saw red eyes, someone ended up dead two days later.
"I uh....could you just show me where Coach Finstock's classroom is, please?" My voice squeaked. I tugged nervously at one my curls.
"Yeah. It's down the hall. You never told me your name." He said as he fell into step next to me.
"Alana." His friend was behind us, eyeballing me weirdly as we walked. He was making me uncomfortable, and I pushed my legs to move a little bit faster.
"Here we are." The door was already open, but there was barely anyone inside.
"Thank you."
"It's no problem. If you need anything else and you see me, don't be afraid to ask." I nodded once, but I probably wouldn't ask him for anything else. I stepped into the room and made my way to the back, taking a seat in the corner. Half of me wanted to tell my parents what I saw, but we'd end up moving again, and we'd just gotten here. Unless something horrible happened, I was going to keep what I saw to myself.
"Hey. You got off the bus so fast I didn't have a chance to catch up to you." Liam slid into the desk next to me, another boy sitting down in front of him.
"Kinda figured you didn't really want me around," I said, raising my eyebrows at him.
"No. It wasn't that. Look, I'm sorry for the way that I acted. This is my best friend, Mason. Mason, this is Alana. She just moved in next door to me." He seemed to be in a bit of a better mood than he was when I first saw him this morning, but it didn't change the fact that I really didn't have a desire to talk to him anymore. First impressions really are everything, and he made a bad one in my opinion.
"Nice to meet you." I shook Mason's hand, looking toward the front of the room as the rest of the class filed in followed by who I assumed was Coach Finstock.
"Listen up because I'm only going to say this once. No talking when I'm talking. Matter of fact, no talking at all. If I tell you to-" I tuned him out and flipped open my notebook to an empty page. I was just lucky that I heard him call my name when he was taking attendance, "Stand up and introduce yourself." I was curious to know why he seemed so angry, but no one looked surprised so it must have been normal. I cleared my throat and stood up, smoothing out my shirt.
"Uhm, I'm Alana. I just moved here from Sacramento." I sat down immediately after I finished my sentence, not wanting to draw too much attention to myself.
"Wonderful." I tuned him out again, drawing in the margins of my empty notebook.
"Those are pretty good." I jumped at the sound of Liam's voice, slapping my hand over my paper. The rest of the class was filing out, and I assumed that I hadn't heard the bell ring. I shut my notebook and slid it into my bag, taking a picture of the homework assignment written on the board with my phone. I still needed to find my locker at some point, and I felt as though going to the office now would be as good a time as any. The only problem was that I had no idea where the office was. I'd walked down four different hallways before I actually found it. I was ridiculously late to second period, and I hoped that my teacher would let it slide because I was new.
"Hi sweetie. You look a little lost. Can I help you?" There was a slightly overweight woman in a fire engine red sweater sitting behind the desk. She smiled, showing me the lipstick on her teeth.
"Uhm, yeah. I'm Alana Regan. I'm new here, and I needed my locker assignment." She shuffled through a few papers in her file cabinet before pulling out a small, white square.
"There you go. If you have any other questions, don't be afraid to come back. Let me write you a late pass so you don't get in trouble with your teacher." I let out a small sigh of relief as she scribbled my name and something else onto a pink slip and handed it to me.
"Thank you." I let the door fall shut behind me as I stepped back into the hallway. It was dead for the most part, though there were a few stragglers at their lockers. I glanced down at the white paper and then at the rows of lockers that surrounded me, trying to find locker 285. When I did finally find it, Scott's friend was standing next to it, whispering to a red headed girl. I stopped in my tracks, not wanting to interrupt them, but I really needed to get to class. I walked over hesitantly, trying not to listen to their conversation. I quickly entered my combination and pulled the door open. Of course my parents would already have my textbooks in there but forget to give me the information. I pulled out my Trigonometry book as well as a binder and shut the metal door.
"How could you possibly be in Trig? You look like you're 12." Mr. Lanky was staring at me again, and I almost punched him.
"Look, I don't know what your deal is, but I've done absolutely nothing to you. Yes, I'm 15, and yes, I'm in Trigonometry. Just because you don't know shit from Shinola doesn't mean the rest of us are stupid. Get a life." I turned on my heel and stalked down the hall, having absolutely no idea where I was going. I turned a corner, leaning against the lockers while I pulled out my schedule. Thankfully, I wasn't far, and I immediately handed the teacher my pink slip, sliding into the only open desk in the front of the room.
"Don't make this a habit, Miss Regan." I nodded at her, glancing over at the person next to me to see what page we were on. I flipped my book open and pulled out a clean sheet of paper, preparing myself to take notes. Then it started. Silence took over the room. I looked around, but no one else seemed to notice. I looked at the teacher, and her mouth was still moving, but I couldn't hear anything. And then the screaming started.