cover on right by @miorac

        I sat at the back of the calculus classroom. I had come into school just in time to get to my favorite class. Unfortunately, today was a test day. I had finished my test within ten minutes and for the past half hour, the only thing I had to do was stare at the back of people's heads. I could probably tell you what hair color sat where by now; every test day was like this. What was so damn hard about solving an equation?

        Only four people had finished the test by the time the bell rang. I slithered out of the drab classroom quickly, hoping to get ahead of the crowd of people in the halls. I was never that lucky; I had to push through the throng of teenagers hopping around like the Nesquik rabbit on steroids. It wasn't even Friday. Every other teenager was like... a foreign subspecies of human.

        I stared at a group of boys leapfrogging their way down the hallway. I scowled at them. Just. Why?

        I opened my small locker, placing my puke-colored calculus book back into its depths. I grabbed my purse from beside the book. My hand was on the door of my locker to shut it when I heard Diva.

        "Hey Dakota," she said behind me. I let my hand drop from the locker's chrome latch and turned to face the small pack of fashionistas that I called my friends. Bloody Mary and Jasmyn flanked the dark-skinned black-haired girl in the middle. Diva was fabulous as usual with her high-riding denim skirt and white long-sleeved shirt. It was too hot for "modern style". Ripped up shorts and shirts were all I ever wore. They were comfortable and that was what mattered.

        "Hey guys!" I smiled at them and shut the locker behind me with my shoulder. "What's happenin'? Sorry for not bein' here, I've had a helluva day."

        "Oh, Girl, we just thought you was'a hittin' up that pipe of yours and was smart enough to not drive." Diva said sarcastically with a smile. She blew a kiss my way and motioned with her hand to walk and talk. The hallway was mostly empty by this point. The orange walls of Chaparral High seemed dead without hundreds of people running around.

        "Yeah, ya know I ain't that intelligent," I said with a chuckle. My friends giggled along with me.

        "Well, I heard you fucked Jared Harmington this weekend," Mary spoke up, turning her doll face toward me. She was covered in freckles from her ginger heritage; it's where she got the "bloody" in Bloody Mary.

        "Jared?" I looked at her in confusion, attempting to remember what happened over the weekend before Asshole. "I don't remember, Mary. Jasmyn over there dared me to drink a fifth of vodka --" I glared at the back of the blonde's head "-- and you know I can't hold my liquor. I am never drinking again. I drove the wrong way down our street and like. It was, like, grody to the max."

        "Yeah, well you tapped the hottest piece of ass in the school!" Mary said angrily, putting her tiny hands on her hips and turning to walk backwards so she could face me. "His girlfriend must not be pleasing him. That Sharina bitch, ooh!" She let out an angry groan. Mary tripped backward over her heels and crashed into the wall next to the door. I couldn't help but laugh. The little porcelain doll had tripped over her own shoes. Jasmyn and Diva laughed next to me, but we all offered a helping hand to Mary.

        "What're you girls laughing at?" I nearly dropped Mary when I heard the voice behind me. I pulled my friend to her feet and made sure she wasn't going to fall back over before turning toward my boyfriend. Derik smiled and hugged me briefly. I turned to face the girls, fighting the urge to swat Derik's hand off of my shoulder.

        "Oh, of course you get the new guy!"

        "Fucking seriously, Dakota?"

        "Wow, no fake?"

        I grinned at my friends and placed a peck on Derik's cheek. He was a handsome square, always wearing half of a suit at all times. Derik only came up to my shoulder, though, so I always had a good look at his long, blacky curly hair, but not really at his face. It was a drag to be taller than everyone, especially boys.

        "Yeah, Derik's my boy," I ruffled his hair and he swatted me away playfully. "Derik, meet Diva, Bloody Mary and Jasmyn. They're the fashion po-leece!" Well that was a shit joke. The girls just stared at me and Derik attempted to laugh. Poor Derik.

        "Hey, I got a new car," I said, completely changing topics. Diva was just about to say something, but I held up a finger. "Walk 'n talk, girls!"

        I led the posse out of the school and out to my new Camaro, who I had decided to name Canary. The story of my mom getting beaten to near-death by the client and my adventure earlier was relayed completely on the walk to the glistening golden car. The sun was out in full by now. The heat coming off of the parking lot's asphalt was visible, making Canary ripple in my vision. We reached the car and I sat my ass down on the hood and stared at my friends. They stared back, mortified.

        "Shit."

        "Wow."

        "That's mental to the max. Shit, Girl."

        I reached into my purse and grabbed a cigarette. I lit it up and took a drag, allowing a moment for everything to settle into my friends' brains. They sounded completely confused. Derik rubbed my back.

        "Let's bounce," I said, sliding off of Canary's hood. I was starting to get restless. I needed to do another line and get the fuck outta here. I didn't wanna think about the weekend. I opened Canary's door and looked to see if one of my friends would need to use my side to get into the back seat.

        The girls were crawling into the back seat from the passenger side. Good. I wouldn't have to move my seat.

        I threw my half-smoked cigarette to the ground. I sat down and shut the door, starting up Canary before glancing back at the girls. Jasmyn was sitting in the center, not even bothering to keep herself modest. I could see her pink thong up her zebra-striped skirt. Anyone who looked into the car could have probably seen it; she was sitting in the middle of the backseat.

        "You guys wanna party tonight?"

        The girls yelled a collective yes. Derik was finally able to sit down as Mary adjusted herself in the seat behind his.

        "Ooh, let's hit The Haze!" Diva said excitedly. The other girls nodded their approval. I nodded too. The Haze was a pretty happenin' place, perfect for partying and business. So long as Jasmyn didn't have acid or vitamin x up her sleeve, I could make a pretty penny from The Haze.

        "Ee, yes! It's gonna be so rad!"

        I turned away from them and put Canary into gear. I drove the girls home everyday; it was easier and more tolerable than riding the buses.

        "Oh my God, Dakota, your car has an air conditioner!" Mary squealed happily, evidently noticing the knobs at the center of the car. A moment later, cold air finally came rushing through the vents. Thank God. I was dying from the heat.

        "So, for tonight," Diva began, adjusting herself so her knee was poking through my seat. Bitch. "Anyone wanna go dancin' with Brownstone before we hit up the club?"

        "Diva, I don't want no tracks on my arms, Girl!" That was Mary.

        "I have a better idea," Jasmyn chimed in, rummaging through her purse. "Blotters. Let's seriously get fucked up, Girlies! This is Dakota's last year 'n school, so we hafta give her a goodbye gift!" The girls in the back screeched happily.

        I would never experience "graduation" like a high school senior. I had been held back three years and was stuck as a freshman; I was going to drop out this year since I would be turning eightteen.

        "Acid? I've never tripped before," I said, ashamed. "I've always wanted to, though. Jasmyn, oh man, you guys are just the best!" I cut off some truck as I merged into the left lane to get onto the street to Diva's house.

        "Hey, Derik," I said, the girls behind me carrying on their own conversation. My gorgeous boyfriend looked at me and nodded. I loved his eyes. Those lovely, brown eyes... Our gaze broke. I slammed on the brakes, nearly rear-ending the asshole in front of me.

        "Motherfucker!" I screamed, hoping he would hear me. Derik laid a hand on my shoulder. The girls whispered excitedly behind me. Please. I was a whore, I wasn't going to actually stay with anyone. They should have known that.

        "Derik, you can drive a stick, right?"

        "Yeah, Love." Already calling me "Love"? My friends sounded like they were going to explode from some kind of romance bug.

        "Can you drive me home tonight? I don't even think I'll be able to find Canary on acid."

        Derik laughed. He seemed a little off when he did, like he was worried or something. The black-haired beauty agreed anyway. We were soon the only ones left in the car. Diva and Mary lived in the same building and Jasmyn lived just a block ahead of them. Naturally, she was too lazy to walk, so I had to go out of my way everyday to drop the bitch off. If she didn't deal me crack, I wouldn't deal with her.

        I turned on the radio once Jasmyn crawled out. Derik didn't seem like quite the conversational type. I don't even know how I met up with him, I just know he was evidently my boyfriend. He had called me up earlier today before I had to get Mike and reminded me of that. I must have been drunk.

        I glanced over at him.

        I had good judgement when I was drunk.

        A Whitesnake song faded off of the radio as we pulled into my apartment complex. I had no idea where Derik lived, but I had no plans for taking him home quite yet. I killed Canary and turned to look at him. He was gazing off into the distance and kinda tensed up. What was up with him?

        "Derik?"

        He shook himself out of his daze and turned to look at me. He grabbed my hand gently, "Yes, Darling?"

        "You seem like something's bugging you," I said, edging closer to the center of the car. Canary began to roll forward. Shit. I pulled my hand from his grasp and pulled the parking brake. We jolted forward a few inches. I readjusted myself in the seat and grabbed his hand again.

        "Uh, it's nothing," he said awkwardly, avoiding my gaze. Whatever. He was here to have sex with me where he pleased me and to give me discounted crack. I didn't really have to care about him. I still didn't like seeing people upset, though.

        I crawled over the console and into his lap. I had to sit sideways, my legs draped over the console and arms around his neck. I stared at his eyes again and smiled. He was so pretty. He leaned in and kissed me.

        My God. It wasn't like he was trying to rape me. It was gentle. And nice. The way a kiss was supposed to be. I ran my fingers through his hair. It was so soft and nice. Derik was just. Perfect. I broke away. He seemed somewhat disappointed. Probably because he had a boner.

        "Hey, let me show you my house. I don't wanna get cum all over Canary's seats." I smiled at him and gave him a peck on the lips before awkwardly pulling myself back into the driver's seat. Derik adjusted his pants and I grabbed the crack pipe out of my purse. It had a little bit in it from yesterday. Just enough for a hit. I lit up. The first hit was pure euphoria. I had almost forgotten how good it was to hit a pipe.

        The sensation was gone almost as immediately as I exhaled. I took another hit and held my breath to try to keep the good feelings in. I put my hand over the bowl to snuff out the smoke and stuffed the pipe back into my purse. I exhaled and came down instantly. Shit.

        Derik was already waiting outside the car. I grabbed my purse and struggled out of Canary. Penny had been somewhat higher off the ground, but. Damn. Sportscars were not for high heels. Derik walked over and helped me steady myself. I bumped the door shut with my hip and grabbed Derik's hand. I drug him across the parking lot of questionably-grody cars and up to apartment 206.

        I sat my purse on the counter and pulled my cheetah heels off, setting them in the corner next to our cat's litter box. Cuddles, our black cat, sat in the center of the red couch in the living room. He was staring at the tube in the center of the room, no doubt enjoying the static dancing across the screen.

        "Wow, I like the painting above your couch," Derik said, pointing to the framed picture that stuck out from the boring wood paneling of our apartment. The painting was mostly black and had triangles of every kind of color splayed out across it.

        "Yeah, it's pretty rad," I said, squeezing his hand so he could follow me to my room. First, Derik kicked off his dress shoes, then followed me through our gross, yellow kitchen and through the door next to the fridge. I clicked on the lights and shut the door behind us before bellyflopping into the zebra sheets of my bed. Derik came and sat next to me.

        "What's that a collection of?" Derik asked, pointing toward a small case sitting on my dresser. I stood up and carefully grabbed the case, bringing it over to Derik. He looked through the plastic top at the dozen little buildings inside, his eyes growing wide. He was about to try to open it before I took it away and placed it back on my dresser.

        "Y'know, if I wasn't a whore, I'd love to be an architect," I said, sitting down in Derik's lap and putting my arms around his neck. "So I have a collection of buildings. An Eiffel Tower, a pyramid, the Saint Louis Arch, cool stuff like that."

        "Then why are you a whore?" Derik asked carefully, placing his hands on the small of my back. I wriggled a little bit at the contact.

        "Because I want to be," I said with a smile, rubbing my nose against Derik's. "I like to party, Honey. I probably have twenty STDs and a chronic cocaine addiction, but... it's the life for me." I started to lean in for a kiss, then stopped. I pushed Derik onto his back and looked into his beautiful eyes.

        "But, Derik, the worst part of being a whore is that no one really cares about you." Tears stung at my eyes and I rolled over on my back next to him. "It's just. Sex. And it always makes you hurt. I just want to be cared for, for once." I couldn't help it. I started to cry. I held my hands up to my face, trying to block Derik's view. I didn't want to have him see me like this.

        "Dakota," Derik said, obviously pained. He pulled himself up so he was on top of me and gently pulled my arms away from my face. "Dakota, you're beautiful and you deserve to be loved. And I'll love you until you let go of me."

        I didn't believe him. I had literally only met him yesterday and he was all googly-eyed in love with me. Men. A nasty bunch of liars and cheaters, always out to break your hear-- Derik leaned in and kissed me, stifling my sobs and forcing me to breathe through my nose. I almost immediately began to calm down. His lips left mine and he pulled himself off of me and knelt in front of the bed. He started to pull off my shorts but I stopped him.

        "Let's turn off the lights. Vaginas are ugly."

        We both laughed. I probably sounded like some kind of animal being strangled when I laughed since I was still sniffling from crying.

        I rolled off of my bed and killed the lights.