To nobody's surprise, I was woken up from my drowsy state by the shrill blaring of my alarm clock. Eyes still closed, I blindly tried to shut that thing off. I would've too, had I found its button. When I couldn't, I rather deliberately let it fall and crash on the floor much to the relief of my bleeding eardrums.

That would be my second one this month. 

Something tells me there won't be a third.

This is why I don't set 'wake-up' alarms on my phone.

Minutes later, my bedroom door opened.

"Izzy," Jacob shook me gently. "Wake up."

"No," I groaned stubbornly, although I was fairly awake. He sighed. I heard his retreating footsteps and smiled to myself, hugging my pillow closer.

"Last chance, Iz."

Oh goody, he's back.

I ignored him.

"You asked for it." 

What-

I jerked up in my bed, gasping like a fish as a chilling cold evaded my senses, overpowering everything else. My tank top stuck to me and my bangs clung to my forehead for dear life.

"What the actual fuck, Jacob?!" I screamed, throwing back the wet quilts, pushing the hair out of my eyes.

"You are running late!" He defended.

"So?" I screeched. He covered his ears dramatically. There was no way he was justifying waking me up by literally semi-drowning me in ice-cold water!

"Jeez, woman, chill," he advised.

Okay, he was.

"Chill? Chill? Chill, you say," I got up, absolutely livid. He backed away from me. 

Smart move.

"Now, now, Izzy," he tried to placate me. "Let's talk this out like civilized-"

"Civilized?" I let out a hysterical laugh, advancing on him. "Jacob, honey, we crossed civilized an ice-cold water bucket ago." 

"I'm sorry?" He offered me a weak smile.

"Me too," I ground out.

"For what?"

"Oh, trust me, you'll know," I laughed humorlessly. He smiled lopsidedly, used to my outbursts - too used for my liking. Anyone else would be covering, not giving me a fucking smile that screamed fucking amusement!

"Iz-"

"Get out!" I pushed him out and slammed my door shut, locking it for good measure. There was a momentary silence, then his footsteps sounded walking away, fading gradually down the hall. I sighed in frustration, running a hand through my hair. Not that it actually helped, considering how short they were then. I could only imagine how boys manage. No wonder they have anger issues. I would too if my hair were that short. Urgh. I picked up the broken alarm clock resignedly and tossed it in the trash.

I stepped into the closet and grabbed the set of clothes I had laid out the night before. I sneaked a glance at myself and felt appalled. I looked very pale, drained of color everywhere except for my cheekbones and nose which were a cherry red. I groaned.

I had washed my hair yesterday but apparently, I would have to spend extra time to get them to look presentable nonetheless.

Thank you, Jacob!  

I hurried to my room with my clothes, pulling the curtains shut close, and looked at the time. 

7:38 am.

Fuck. School started at 8:30 am.

I was so screwed.

I sneezed. Great, so now there was an actual possibility that I might catch a cold.

Hallelujah!

I shed off my wet clothes and wrapped myself in a bathrobe. I quickly towel dried my short hair, throwing on a pair of jeans and an oversized hoodie. I combed my hair, applying some strawberry lip gloss. I laced up my black converse and then I grabbed my nerdy glasses that I had no actual need for. I could see perfectly well without them. 

"Isabelle!" Jacob called.

"I'm coming!" I snapped back. Just because he gave me twenty minutes to freshen up didn't mean I had calmed down. Nor did it mean that he was off the hook.

I gave myself a once over in the mirror at my vanity.

Dorky.

Exactly what I was aiming for.

To complete the look, I grabbed a bigger than usual shoulder bag and held my folder close to my chest, in my hands. Lastly, I slipped my phone into my pocket.

Satisfied, I skipped down the stairs, or rather dashed, and grabbed an apple from the fruit basket on the kitchen island. I ignored the crazily good aroma of waffles tantalizing my nose. I couldn't give in. I was ignoring him.

"Here you go, sunshine," he slid a plate with waffles drowning in chocolate syrup. It took all my willpower to turn away. I bit down on the apple -which by the way was suddenly tasting somewhat like bile- and sat down on one bar stool, dropping my almost empty bag on the one beside me.

He let out a laugh.

"Oh come on," he chided, grinning still. "You're only hurting yourself this way."

I continued to ignore him, chewing my apple rapidly. Out of the corner of my eyes, I could see him shaking his head. He took away my plate and started feeding off it himself.

The nerve. 

I huffed and without saying goodbye, I gathered my stuff, grabbed the keys to my black Maserati convertible - my delayed sixteenth birthday present and an early seventeenth birthday one - and a spare key before stomping out to the garage. Much like a three-year-old denied candy, I would admit. But it felt good and that was all that mattered.

I drove to school sort of in a rush. I parked in an almost full parking lot receiving a lot of stares. Abandoning my swag for a while, I curbed my excitement and stepped out of the beast rather quietly. Far from my usual confidant way. It was almost a struggle to not stare down everyone. People were making it harder. They were curious. A new girl who clearly gives off dork vibes came to school in a convertible Maserati. 

My, my. The gossip.

Exactly my intentions. Something about stirring up any sort of trouble is so blissfully satisfying, don't ya think? I did. Obviously.

Haha. 

I know. Evil, right? Well, not exactly . . . not yet anyway. Evil would be next week when I would show up to school next Monday in heels and a dress. Then the week after, in a leather jacket and boots, borrowing Jake's bike. He owned a BMW S1000RR which was apparently a big deal. I didn't know. All I knew was that I was going to borrow his bike to make people around me go insane. My mood changed considerably. I just hoped the devilish smirk wasn't too obvious.

Damn, that was so fun.

New school . . . Ah! Let the fun begin!

*************

Stares.

I could feel them. Intense looks were thrown my way, eyes possibly full of curiosity. A normal person would feel uncomfortable and eerie under that scrutiny.

But then again, I never claimed to be normal, now did I?

My wicked brain was soaking up all the attention like a fucking sponge. I'd be lying if I said that I was on the verge of tears. On the contrary, I had to hold back heavy laughter. I knew for a fact that people pay attention to new kids. But that level of curiosity was just hilarious. I tightened my hold on the folder in my hand in an attempt to calm my devil down.

Now now, I really needed to find that effing office. I looked around, trying to find someone who might be willing enough to help . . . or one that looked pleasant enough to approach.

My search was cut short when my eyes landed on a tall slender girl rocking curly brown hair with blonde tips. Her face held delicacy and fierceness in equal proportions and her tan skin made her stand out from most. She seemed to be a loner.

I made my way over to her.

"Hey," I greeted with a smile. She smiled back confidently.

"Hi," she replied.

"I'm Isabelle. And I'm new here," I introduced, holding my hand out.

"I'm Freya Millers," she shook my hand. "I'm assuming you need help with navigation?"

I grinned at her.

"Aye aye, Captain!" We chuckled in unison.

"Can you please show me to the reception or office or whatever? I need to collect my schedule," I asked.

"Sure, just a sec," she grabbed a few books she needed for her first period and shut her locker.

"Let's go."

It wasn't a long way and we had a pleasant conversation flowing about getting to know each other. Turned out, she was a Junior like me too, and like me most of her classes were AP as well. She told me to watch out for the school bullies and advised me to avoid cafeteria food. I laughed at that. It couldn't be that bad. The look on her face told me what I needed to know. It could. 

Yay.

"There ya go," she stopped near the office door, gesturing me to go ahead.

"Thanks a lot," I smiled. "See you around?"

She nodded, "See you around," and walked away to AP Biology just in time for the first-period bell to ring.

I stepped into the office, painted a light orange with wooden furniture. I made my way over to a petite-looking woman with glasses and introduced myself quickly. She printed my schedule and handed it over to me along with a map of the school and my locker combination.

Locker number 347. Hun. I would have to remember that.

Deciding that since I was already late seeing the hallways were empty, I tried finding my locker first. When I did, I dumped my bag in it and changed the combination to something personal. The schedule said that I had just missed my Algebra class. The class was more than halfway through already. Apparently, the old lady at the desk took more time than I guessed. Then, of course, my locker hunting. So I decided to skip. I could walk straight to second period: AP Literature.

I checked my map and tried to locate myself and my next class. It wasn't too far away.

Plugging in my headphones, I blasted a new playlist on Spotify and sat down against my locker, closing my eyes and relaxing. I was fiddling with my rings when the cursed bell finally rang and pierced through my music, bringing me back to the land of the living. 

I got up lazily, watching as students poured out of the classrooms and into the hallways. Without bothering to remove my headsets, I grabbed a few pencils and pens from my locker and headed to class down the hallway. I went in shortly before the warning bell to get my books and avoid being introduced to the wretched class.

Yeah, in case you couldn't tell, my half an hour of peace toned my mood down back from borderline lunacy to sensibility.

I didn't know how I really feel about that change, but I think we all know that high schools are experts in having that effect on most of us.

The teacher went by the salutation of Mr. McQueen. He seemed good enough and didn't call me out on my blatant use of electronics in class. Whether it was a first-day thing or he was just that way, I could only guess. He wordlessly handed me my course books and waved me off.

My goofy mood was gone and although I was sort of comfortable in my clothes, I wished I had worn something sensible like a pair of jeans and a crop top because as the day was progressing, it was getting hotter and more humid. 

I got rid of my glasses and carefully pocketed them in my jeans. I dumped my books on the table in the last row, near the door. I would've preferred the one next to the window but it was occupied.

Add that to the list of 'Things that didn't go Izzy's way today'.

Soon enough the class was full and I was almost asleep on my desk. I didn't get up as he started droning about Figures of Speech. I was well versed with them - thank you, homeschooling!

It wasn't deep sleep so I didn't exactly jump awake at the bell. Since he was still babbling, I kept my head down, scrolling through my Instagram feed. The person beside me was incessantly tapping their feet on the ground rather annoyingly and I bit back an insult.

When the students were finally allowed to get out, I lifted my head to a titter. And more titters. Goddammit. Hormonal teenagers. 

I lifted my head to take in this: the boy beside me, a blonde blue-eyed handsome boy at that, was surrounded by a group of girls. How fast were they?! Didn't Mr. McQueen just release us? Didn't they have classes to get to?

My spoiled mood was beginning to get the worst of me. Annoyance flared through me when one of their butts almost got shoved in my face. It was a close call and I had my reflexes to thank for the save.

I got up rather roughly,  pushing the tush in question away, and walked out. 

Judging by the surprised screeches, a whelp, and the grunt that followed, I guessed she fell face-first into his lap. I held back a snort.

Finally, she got what she wanted. I smirked at the added embarrassment that I so generously served along with her heart's desire. 

Girls finally streamed out of the class followed by the blonde-haired Adonis when I opened my locker.  Our eyes met. He smirked and I rolled my eyes. He started walking towards me and my gaze lost the little humor it had, replaced with hostility.

What? He may have been hot but I almost had to eat a butt not five minutes ago because of it! That nullified the effects of his appearance in my book.

I swear if he-

The warning bell rung.

Good Riddance.

With a final glare which only seemed to amuse him more, I strut off to my next class.

************************

A/N

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