Chapter 1
My hair flew out behind my head. The wind made me feel free...or at least as free as I could ever feel. I let my eyes close as I savoured the moment. It felt like flying. It felt like I could do anything that I wanted to.
“Sarah!” a voice called out to me.
My eyes immediately opened and I brought my head out of the propped-open window.
“Coming, Mother!” I yelled.
Even though we had our problems, I couldn’t help but still love my mother. After all, we were family.
I descended the stairs slowly, the sound of my feet hitting the steps echoing through the house. I could never pity myself. For there were always those going through far worse time than me. All I had to deal with were some money problems. Nevertheless, I wouldn’t call my life the easiest, I just knew how to deal with it.
My mother’s face held pain...and worry. It did almost every morning this happened. If I said I didn’t know why then I’d be lying. “What is it this time?”
“They are going to take away the car,” I felt a ‘but’ coming on, “unless we pay them seven hundred dollars by the end of the month.”
Of course, how could I not have seen this coming? I should have seen this coming.
“How much do you need this time?” my voice was dry and emotionless, as I stared at my mother.
A whisper came out of her mouth, barely audible. “I’m sorry, I didn’t hear you.”
“All of it,” she finally said. My breath got caught in my throat.
My voice was hoarse, yet still void of emotion. “I’ll do my best.”
My mother always had a problem saying ‘thank you’ or acknowledging when others helped her.
“I have to go to, Mother. I need to catch the bus.” Before I even heard my mother reply, I was out the door.
Sounds always calmed my mind. However, even now - with my feet hitting the sidewalk rhythmically - my mind never ceased to race.
How was I going to make seven hundred dollars by the end of the month? I already had to pay for groceries, our phones, and heat. There’s no way that I could get enough extra hours at work to make up the difference.
The bus driver opened the door for me, giving me a smile.
“Goodmorning, Sir.” I tapped my Presto card on the machine and made my way to the back of the bus. As I sat down in the inner seat, I rested my head against the window.
My eyes fluttered to closed for a moment and I tried to sleep a little before school started. The soft hum of motion around me almost lulled me to sleep, until I heard a familiar voice. The voice was talking in a hushed tone, saying something about a fight.
I let my curiosity take the best of me and I turned my head towards the sound. Just as quickly as I turned my head, I turned it back. There, sitting at the back of the bus was Steven Coleman. The most popular guy in my school...and not to mention, a badass.
Why, of all people, was he on the bus? His family was rich enough. He had his own damn motorcycle...so why was he on the bus?
Could my day get any worse? Groaning, I realized it was only 8:00 AM and the day had barely started. In an attempt to cover my face, I pulled the hood of my sweater over my head. I hoped that he didn’t see me come on the bus.
Soon, another guy got on the bus. His eyes scanned the seats and stopped when they landed on at the back of the bus. He sat down, presumably next to Steven.
They both started talking, and then there was silence. I felt some sit down next to me.
“How much did you hear, Nerd?”
“I-I didn’t hear anything.” I heard everything.
He ripped my hood off, forcing me to look at him. “How. Much. Did. You. Hear.”
“Nothing, I swear.” Even though I was acting like I was scared, I could care less. I had worse things to worry about. Worse than the schools populars hating me.
“Don’t let me hear anything about this then. If I do...I’ll know exactly who to blame.”
He reached across his body with his arms and I recoiled, but instead of him hitting me, he pulled the cord indicating to the driver to stop. His face contorted as if something was perplexing him. Whatever flicker of emotion I saw was gone within a moment and then he too was gone.
I was stunned, to say the least. Everyone always knew he was a bad boy, but, no one ever realized how bad it was. My eyes darted out the window and I see him walking in the direction of our school. He got off a stop before I usually do. This was going to be an interesting day...that’s for sure
