1. meet the player
“Im pretty sure it’s normal,” scoffed Carly to her best friend, Sarah.
Sarah, being the happy-go-lucky rich girl, had the world in her hands, so math was hardly an issue.
instead she was thinking over her more than hot boyfriend, Michael who were a couple of seats over playing notes with his buddies Randy, and Jake, probably breaking down, zapping, and in otherwards “burning” Daniels, the quiet kid in the back of the class, as well as me, Jason, Matt, Evan, and Kayla, the kids that “don’t fit in, not that I cared thugs like that never grow up.
The room smelled like chalk, perfume, and cologne, which caused a lot of kids to gag, that is except the ones wearing them, being Caryn, and Jason. The whiff of chalk, musk, and flowers seemed to gather and tear on the kid’s endurance.
The teacher was zonked out while tests were passed out, as if that mattered much; almost everyone was using ’em for notes, art, poetry, or just paper planes.
So, might as well say a little bit about who I am while I’m waiting for class to end. I’m Kali, Kaliya Amber. I’m a high schooler, and I’m 15. I live in a care home in Florence, italy the same city that Sarah and I and my family were brought into. So, as I’m playing some basic tunes on my harmonica, and admiring the drama, picking up I
Finally, see Kayla make the gagging sound, and fanned near her face, causing her long black hair to move.
“Someone puh-lease open the damn window, IM dying here.” She gagged again and hit her head on her desk. Someone is asking for attention.
Jason, obviously seeing an easy target, smirked and threw a ball of paper in her direction, just in time for her to turn into it.
There were a couple of snickers, but obviously it was a stale joke.
Kayla, dazed, walked over to the window, which she happened to be closest to, and in a couple of milliseconds, opened the window, sucking out MOST of the gas and most of the residue of the classroom.
Looking out of the glass, she saw the Horizon High School courtyard, the tennis courts, volleyball nets, swimming pool, and most of all the play structure, which was pretty much an obstacle course with how big it was compared to a kiddie playground.
“But he talks to more people than I do; how do I know who he’s talking to?” Sarah complained, her long, straight blonde hair blowing with the sudden wind from the outside.
Carly shrugged and sat back in her chair, rocking it back and forth, her long, dark brown hair swishing.
“jeez you worry too much, Sarah. Try to actually talk to him about who he talks to, and chances are he’ll tell you his buds, he seems to have almost a bromance with them, oh what if he was secretly GAY?? eep!!” She yelled out, as her chair took a dive and she fell backwards, her feet stuck up in the air as her chair went from teetering, almost an one-legged balancing act, to a full-blown backwards drop.
Sarah looked back and winced as her friend fell backwards and crashed to the floor, narrowly dodging Daniels’s desk while he was writing on the back of the test.
Daniels, Jason, Randal, and I glanced over with a weird look as if secretly thinking, ‘what a spazz!!!’.
Sarah looked over at her friend, now a little dazed, but still putting her note over on Daniel’s desk. She picked her friend off the floor and rolled her eyes.
“Well, that’s pretty much what you get for thinking weird thoughts about MY boyfriend, you nut,” she said as the bell rang for lunch.
This, of course, woke up the teacher, and he found that none of the students had remained around their seats except Daniels, who was packing up his books in his dark blue backpack that had designs of rock band symbols on it. Not want to alert his presence to the big bullies Randy, Michael, or Jake, who were, as usual, talking to Sarah, Matt, and Jason. He was chilling out beside his desk, waiting for the rampaging riot to go through, same as I.
Sighing He picked himself up, but noticed something on the side of his desk, it was the test that had Sarah’s name on the front, and on the back was the words “Ill be in the lunchroom, find me, lets talk” This of course Daniels left on his desk while he took his home, which happened to be a picture of an
illuminating doorway, which turned out to be a shattered mirror.
AS he started to leave, his one earphone in, the teacher stopped him with a single word: His name. Daniels turned around to face the teacher, who was sleepily wiping his eyes, holding the note.
Daniels sighed, causing his lean, yet slender build to grow then fall back with a breath. “Don’t bother, I have no need to keep that,” He said, his highly unique deep purple eyes looking over his raven black hair.
The teacher tsked, and waved his finger at Daniels, which he hated because whenever that finger was up, trouble was going to go down.
“Daniels, you’re so timid. Why not try something new for once? like say dating? your only sixteen once,” He said, repeating that word as if it meant something. Even with my hearing, I could hear the stress in Daniel’s silence
Daniels huffed, blew his black hair to the side, and narrowed his eyes at it. He needed a haircut.
“We’ll see,” He said, grabbing the paper out of the teacher’s hand, and walking away with it “but I have no problem saying this: no promises.” He turned and walked out of the classroom without another word, his vans squeaking.
I was walking in silence in the mix of Sarah, Carly, Randy, and Kayla. I could hear all that was passed over;
“You suck, leaving me with those emo kids, where’d you go?” Carly pouted at Sarah, her long brunette hair flowing with every pass she walked. She was wearing a light green miniskirt, and blue blouse, along with high heels obviously wanting to show herself off, while Sarah was a bit more conservative wearing a pair of cut off shorts, and a ‘bite me’ t-shirt that flowed just above her navel, and a black belt that tied it all in with the word “Roxy” glistening with blue hearts around it.
“Lunch, you dork, I was waiting for you, but you were in a deep conversation with Kayla about shoes or something, so I left.” I knew Sarah well; she and I used to be close, but when our brothers and sisters...passed on, we lost touch. I still check on her from time to time.
She walked down the long hall to the left, then right, her cellphone in hand, texting away to everyone, and anyone she could.
Coming up behind them, and quite loudly, and from the very back were the boys, Randy and Michael.
A mix of jabbing, and smacking Sarah’s backside caused her to jump, and turn right into Michael as she wavered right into him
“what’s for lunch, babe?” he asked her as he wrapped his arm around the two girls while Randal tickled Carly’s bare sides where her blouse did not protect. “hehehey” she
giggled turning and punching him in the arm, “you know I hate it when you do that Randy”
“sorry girl, I had to punish you for causing a ruckus and almost plowing into Dancing Danny Dreamer,” He said in his weird voice that made Daniels seem like such a loser. I felt sorry for Daniels. I didn’t know him personally, but anyone getting made fun of bothered me.
Sarah looked over at them, biting off Daniel’s, and it was kind of upsetting. He wasn’t the most standout, but did that really give them a reason to bust his chops every chance they got? She doubted it.
“Hey, lay off, will ya? He didn’t do anything, you’re the spazz that fell over,” Sarah said sharply at Carly
“Ow, Sarah, I’m hurt its not my fault. I’m ditzy, as if I said anything, blame our two bodyguards,s” She said, pouting and giving her puppy dog eyes, while Sarah rolled hers and popped a piece of gum in her mouth, and threw one to her, which she caught easily. I keep forgetting this in the modern world, that kids who were supposed to be normal acted like they never dealt with issues like family disappearing, warlocks at their doorsteps, vampires coming home, fires taking your family... It’s like it’s black and white. I lived in a different world.
As we were about to enter the lunchroom, Sarah felt both Randal and Michael flinch,
looking up. She saw Daniels walking around the corner to the lunchroom, his deep purple hawk eyes looking dreamily as he wasn’t even inhabiting his body, his right hand gripping his bag’s strap, and his other hand holding a paper, a Note.
“Hey, check it out, it’s Dancer, but what’s he holding?” Randy asked everyone, smirking and slinking away from Carly. Sarah had gotten the chills when she looked up at the time: It was lunchtime, but not what she was thinking about. It was always at this time that Randy and Michael jumped someone; it was in their routine, and Sarah hated it. It was by this time that I could read this group of wolves like a book, but I knew there was nothing I could do, even if I did step up to Michael and his goons, what was it going to change? The best I could do would be to check on Daniels later if Sarah didn’t pick up the pieces already.
Meanwhile, Carly had seen Matt, Evan, and Kayla and was slinking away with them. Carly was ditzy, but she had friends pretty much everywhere.
Daniels walked around the corner, his skullbud in one ear playing many of the songs on his iPod; this one was “Hero” by Super Chick. Stuck in his thoughts, he didn’t see Randy spear him backwards using many football tactics as blind spots. Daniels was struck squarely in the chest and stomach and was launched backwards
right into the lockers, his backpack forgotten, and spilled all over next to him. As he crashed into the lockers, the moment of impact echoed down the halls.
A crowd started to gather around the three “fighters,” even though most people could see this was a mugging, less like a fight. Coughing and gasping, Daniels groaned. Randy
picked up the note from the ground and read it, and leered down at Daniel, and turned over to Michael.
“Player, you better check this,” He said, keeping Daniels in check, who had gotten back up from the ground, his hair matted with sweat from taking the full strike of the speeding ram
. “What is it?” Michael asked, taking the piece of paper and reading it. Scanning it, he shrugged and looked up. “So this guy is crushing, what do I care?”
“Look whose paper it is,” He said, pointing. It was then that he found that it was Sarah’s paper. Sighing, he turned over to Sarah. “Sarah, this is your paper. What’s going on? Are you crushing?” He asked. Daniel gasped and cracked himself back in place. “I-I found ugh my desk,” he said out loud.
Randy growled and backhanded him, causing him to fall back against the wall, barely suspended on his feet.
