The next morning, Tuesday. I got dressed and headed downstairs to the kitchen.

I met mummy Joana in a wobbly singlet and shorts frying eggs. When I saw the dreary look on her, the eye bags, I immediately assumed she hadn't slept at all last night because of that man. Altercations with Fred get to her so much. But today is a new day, no need to sulk over the past.

"Morning mum, you didn't catch sleep," She turns and gives me a weak reassuring smile that melts my heart, I walk over to her side and engulf her in a hug, inhaling her fresh orchid-perfumed body.

"I tried my best dear, and you?... I hope yesterday's event didn't keep you up on a school night?"

I shake my head indicating I slept fine. Music helped me sleep, I had a playlist filled with my favorite artists both foreign and home, and played them according to my mood.

This morning I woke up with Beyonce's 'Flawless' playing in my head so I tuned into it till I got set for school.

Taking a seat across from Mummy Joana, I notice a purple scar on her left arm.

"Did Fred do this to you?!" I bark without knowing I did but the look on her face said it all.

"Emma, he's your father for heaven's sake. Were we ever on first-name terms with him?" I sighed stubbornly, was it what mattered to her at this point? that I call him Fred instead of Dad.

"It was an accident, you know? I lost balance while chasing after him, he didn't mean to push me, dear. Now eat your food and leave for school. It's your first day" she gestured to the breakfast in front of me.
"Remember what the principal said. We don't want to get into her bad books, she did us a tremendous amount of favor, so don't be late!" She instructs trying to brush off the topic.

I realize that the wailing noise I heard during the fight yesterday was her tripping over.

I lose my appetite at the realization... I just need to leave home, might as well breathe a different air on my way to school, I would mind my business and think less of my distorted family.

That was my naive thought as I walked through the school hallway, everyone busy in their world.

Girls dressed to kill her. Students stride in pairs, the ones who didn't, have bland expressions on their faces making them unapproachable. I need directions to my class.

While I feed my eyes with the foreign beauties around me, I hit someone, or rather someone jammed their bloody self into me, dropping my books and accessories.
The clumsy act alone tips off my ever-simmering irritation.

"Are you blind?!!" I whisper-yelled in frustration as I saw my lucky ballpoint pen shattered on the floor.

I pick it up but it looks irreparable and my irritation intensifies.

"You've cracked my pen! didn't you notice someone before you or what?!"

"I'm sorry for your biro but you should've also looked properly, you ran into me not the other way round," he affirmed.

I looked up for the first time to see whom I collided with and his looks were innocent... And pretty.
Uh, it's weird concluding that a guy is pretty but he looks very fascinating in his varsity red striped jacket and black jeans.

His looks are awesome. I gawk at him in appreciation, noting how his hair is stylishly gelled and shimmery.

He notices me staring and gives a crooked smile, I instantly disguise my embarrassment with a frown recalling my present situation.

"Are you okay? I didn't run into you, you did. This is very important to me even if you get this exact type online you still cannot turn it into a lucky pen!!!" I explain eagerly, extending the pieces before him.

He looks stunned, he brushes his pockets for something and I wonder what it is he's searching for.

The school bell rings indicating the start of a new period.

The pretty boy apologizes over and over again and without waiting for my reply he scurries off amidst the crowd and disappears.

I'm perplexed, my books and broken pen in my hands with no knowledge of where my class is.

Although I loved moving into a new neighborhood, I hated moving into a new school. The feeling of loneliness and awkwardness it came with was awful.

After a tedious gathering at the gymnasium where the older lady stood on the podium and recited her songs of praise to the crowd, it was like everyone knew her words by heart except me.

When I finally locate my class, everyone is busy with their friends and books to notice the new girl in class and I don't know which chair was not occupied lest I take the seat meant for the class bully and attract unwanted attention.

My Eagle-like eyes travel around the pupils and arrive on a red-striped varsity jacket and my heart leaps in ethereal joy because he's so going to pay me back for breaking my pen and running off like the thief he is.

I clutch my bag on my shoulder like a warrior and without thinking, marched down to the back row where the dumbhead is with his head on the desk, sleeping or rather scrolling through his smartphone, I noticed as I drew closer.

I know with the way he tilts and punches on his phone that it's real contraband in May blossom high to carry phones in class. He wasn't just rude but rebellious as well.

I smile to myself as I wait for the anger in me to improve. I despise it when people ride over me with effrontery, I jab him on the collar.

"Hey!! you think you've escaped me hah?!" I offer a wicked smile, a smile of victory and shame on him but the look on his face sends chills down my spine.

Sincerely, he looks exactly like the guy I ran into in the hallway minutes ago with the same dress, but his countenance says otherwise. His looks are murderous, it feels like I have pulled a lion's tail as he raises his face to meet mine.

He has a more chiseled face with dark eyes, he isn't as pretty as I had thought back then, these eyes were different and soul-gripping. I almost began to regret my actions, words stuck in my tongue as I contemplated what next.

Decidedly throwing my fears in the gutter because he wasn't the first guy that ever had me tongue-tied on the first meeting, I lashed out at him courageously.

"You ran away while I was still talking about my pen and where it can be found. I don't want your money, just my pen!" I show him the broken pieces, shaking my right foot for emphasis.

Still, he scrutinizes me ruthlessly without saying a word, then I smack the broken pen on his desk in haste surprising him. He doesn't stay surprised for long because he quickly brushes it off his table to return to his phone.

"Einstein! Did you attend the party Friday night?" A skinny-looking boy interrupts our drama like I was invincible.

"Yeah, I did," Einstein replies. The skinny guy finally takes notice of me but with a sore look that I care less about.

"So you talk eh?! I thought you were deaf," I continue to rile him up. What was a challenge without making your opponent boil?

"Hey, I'm not interested in your style of approach, it's old school, I know. I get that every time so just move along." he says in a hushed tone, like he's trying to soothe me yet get rid of me.

In my mind, I'm trying to guess what exactly he's blabbing.

"What?!!" I yell drawing the attention of the class, people turn towards us, and murmuring increases.

A boy from the front row hollers
"Chic came with a unique style!!!"

Everyone laughs like what he just said makes sense.

Einstein stands from his chair instantly staring down at me.
"Look, you're not my type okay? this style you tryna pull I know it all!" he throws his hands up in frustration like I started this shit.

"I haven't been in school for up to a week and you girls won't let me rest." he lowers himself to my level probably to intimidate me or something but I stand strong with my piercing gaze.

"Get out of my face before I explode on you now!! it won't be funny," he says harshly.

With the anger sizzling in me, I don't mind getting into a fight on my first day at school but the Maths teacher walks in and sends everyone to their seat. This was a very bad way to start a new school for me, I didn't grab any teaching all through the day, I just wanted to confront the fool after classes were done.

I swear to finish what I started, he's a bully and I dislike bullies. I don't care if mummy Joana will loathe me for this or will force me back to therapy after this fight. I just want to put the idiot in his place anyhow.

I'm fidgeting, my palms sweaty as I wait for the boring classes to go by quickly.

"You know he's not worth your peace of mind," some nerdy-looking girl sitting by my left says adjusting her wavy hair at milliseconds. It looks weird, such an act.

I look her up, weighing if she's worth having a conversation about my newly acquired enemy or not.
Well, she seems nice and non-threatening.

"He's always a douchebag, everyone knows and avoids him too. Even friends,'' she chips in.

"I know," I quickly add, not wanting anyone to deter me from my plan.

"It's just... You've been unsettled because of him and that won't get you anywhere. He's like a worse version of Hulk," she smiles thinking that the comparison she just gave was funny.

"Right, and thanks for the heads up..."

"Cheryl," she offers.

I know she wants to be friends, but after leaving my previous school I decided against making friends because we end up as strangers when our different personalities interfere. It's a bitter experience that I hoped not to relieve. And I'm certainly not one to befriend dorks in my previous school, Cheryl looks like one so I had to give off the I'm not interested vibe.

Well, I guess she isn't gonna take no for an answer.

"Hey, I saw you get on the school bus at Welling Stop. You live around there right?" she asks with delight and for a second I just don't want to be a bitch to her.

"Yeah, I do. You stay around there too?'' She didn't waste time indicating she lives around the area.
Damn wanna be girls, I sigh.

"Ms. Emma Eric and Cheryl Adams, would you two mind helping us solve the question on the board?" The math teacher caught us by surprise. Damn mathematics!!

I get up in confidence and walk over to the whiteboard. That's when I realized it's not something I'm familiar with.

Everything is gibberish to me. This is coming as a surprise to me because I love mathematics, and I'm not stuck up without brains. I was always at the top of my class back home, but now because of a certain someone. I wasn't paying attention as the class was going on.
And thanks to Cheryl we ended up in detention for the rest of the period. Stupid nerd without brains.

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