Chapter 8

Bad Things Always Come In Pairs

Samina and I were in math class again. Mrs. Price was making us work on our own, but that didn't mean anything. Everyone was talking and sharing answers.

"Isabelle, what's the answer for #19?" Samina asked.

"56.9 degrees. How do you do #24?"

"I'm not there yet."

Mrs. Price came over to our table with a stern expression on her face. We quickly glanced at each other, knowing we were in trouble.

"Isabelle and Samina, you were being VERY disruptive to the class. Samina, please move to the front table. Isabelle, there's an empty seat next to Candace."

"I told you she was the Dark Overlord Price," Samina whispered as she sat down at a table full of boys.

I sat down at Candace and Mia's table. Mia was a small, skinny girl. She looked more like a sixth grader than a freshman, but that didn't fool anyone. Mia was known for her brains, the way she manipulated people like chess pieces. She would tell you a lie so often you started to believe it or spread a nasty rumor, all for her own selfish causes.

Candace was quite the opposite. Candace was tall and muscular and played all kinds of sports. She wasn't the brightest and it was a miracle she was in Mia's class, especially since the teachers all knew Mia and Candace were quite talkative. Even though Candace wasn't as manipulative as Mia, she was annoying in her own way. She was selfish, rude, and never bothered to care about anyone but Mia and herself. Neither Mia nor Candace was the sort of girl you wanted to mess with, and I was right between both of them. "Should I talk to Mia and Candace?"

Most likely.

"Hey Mia," I said quietly.

"Oh, it's you. Isabelle," Mia said in her stuck-up tone of voice.

"Why's she here?" Candace asked Mia.

"Mrs. Price made this freak move here, stupid."

Candace nodded. "Should I speak up?" I asked the Magic 8 Ball.

Concentrate and ask again.

"The freak's talking to herself, Candace," Mia said. Mia and Candace laughed.

"I'm not a freak, Mia," I said.

"Really? Then what are you?"

"A friendless loser, maybe?" Candace suggested.

Before I had a chance to respond, we had to go to our next class. The world hated me. First it was Mom and her accusations and then it was Mia and Candace tossing their insults at me like rotten tomatoes. They were two different situations with two different weapons, but they had the same goal. Nobody wanted Samina and I to be friends.