I exited room 582 and hurried to the meeting place me and Nate had set up.

I tried to get the girl out of my mind but for some reason she stayed there, refusing to budge.

"Luke~" a girly and high pitched voice called out to me. I winced.

Just from the voice, I could tell who it was.

I turned and was face to face with Darla, or, as better known around the school, the white girl.

"Hi Darla." I said, forcing a smile onto my face.

I have to be nice. I have to be nice. I have to be nice. I repeated in my mind.

"Whatcha doing here, Luke? Don't you hang out near the P. E. field during lunch?" She asked me, batting her fake eyelashes.

Be nice. Be nice. Be nice.

"Oh, I just had to deliver some supplies to a teacher." I answered.

"Oh," she said, frowning a bit. Then, a quirky smile reached her make up lined face. "Since you're here, why don't you hang out with me during lunch?"

Nice... Nice... Nice... Nice...

"Sorry, Darla, I promised Nate that I would hang out with him. He's going to help me with math." I said, using the truth to discourage her.

She whined like a little girl who didn't get her barbie doll for her birthday. "But, I can teach you math, too! You always hang out with Nate, why can't you hang out with me for once?"

Then she smirked. "We can have some fun~" she spoke, wiggling her eyebrows and giving me a strange look.

I was at my limit.

I was about to snap out on her but someone pulled me out. With just their voice.

"Still here, Lucas Bradley? Shouldn't you be with your friends?" Ellery came into view, walking towards me and Darla.

Darla looked behind to find the origin of the voice and smirked like an evil queen when she saw the hooded girl.

"What's this?" she said in a playful but serious tone, "is the freak trying to be friends with Lucas?"

Again with the "freak." Why was she such a "freak?"

"Oh, what's this?" Ellery started to counter, confidence building up in her voice. "is the slut trying to be a bitch?"

Darla scowled and opened her mouth to speak but Ellery wasn't done.

"Oh wait, she's already is one. Sorry, for my mistake," she said with fake concern.

She started to walk away, obviously not putting any interest in Darla or me.

"You little bitch! How dare you?!" Darla screamed at Ellery who didn't seem to be fazed by the insult. She just kept walking.

"Hey! I'm talking to you, freak! " she yelled and Ellery stopped walking.

Darla smirked. "Hmpth. You angry, you little freak? You should be. You-"

She was interrupted by the sound of Ellery's loud laughter.

She hugged her stomach and supported her back on the nearby wall. "Oh..my...god..." she said between giggles.

Darla looked confused and to be frank, so was I. Why did she burst into a laughing fit.

But there was something else. The laugh sounded so genuine and kind. Though it was kind of funny too. At one point, it sounded like a cat and snake were having a fight in a blender. Like, how was that even possible?

Ellery had caught the attention of lots of people who were passing by but most just started walking faster to get away.

Darla stood there and I could tell she was getting even more pissed off. Shoot. This was not going to be good.

Darla opened her mouth to speak once again when Ellery took out a phone from her sweater pocket. She turned it on and started texting.

Well, that makes sense. She must of received a funny text which made her start laughing. She didn't just start laughing out of nowhere like a crazy person.

"Oh, god. That was great." She murmured loud enough for me to hear. Her fingers flew across the screen as she typed whatever it was that she was typing.

She chuckled and started walking out of the high school again.

I just stood there. Speechless.

She just stood up to Darla and then completely ignored her as she insulted her and then she burst out of laughter.

She was so unpredictable. And weird.

She was different.

Something I never experienced before.

"Hey, Luke! Do you know that freak?" Darla exclaimed suddenly, pulling the sleeve of my jacket.

"Freak?" I said, confused.

"Yeah, that girl with the ugly hoodie." She answered.

"You mean Ellery?" I asked.

"You know her name?!" Darla yelled, pulling my sleeve down in anger.

I almost tripped because of that.

"Why do you know that freak's name?!" She cried, obviously very angry about it for some reason.

I don't know why but Darla saying that Ellery was a freak got me pissed off.

"Why are you calling her a freak?" I snapped. "What did she ever do to you?!"

Why I am being so protective of her? I don't even know her that much. I only know her name. I didn't even know that she was in my classes.

"Why do you care so much, Lucas!? Huh? Since when care about others? You never cared about me! Why do you care about that goddamn freak?!" Darla raged, closing her eyes and clenching her fists.

I was shocked. I couldn't even find the words to say. Is she right? Do I not look like I care? Am I a bad person?

Tears started to stream down Darla's face and I felt bad. Maybe, it was possible, that I never considered her feelings at all.

"I'm sorry, Darla." I said, I didn't know what else to say.

She looked up at me, her mascara was smeared and her make up was breaking apart.

I felt horrible. I never knew that I had such a big influence on her. I never knew that me trying to ignore her because she was annoying would effect her this much.

Then, the bell rang. The bell rang, signaling that our thirty minute lunch was over. Over? Already? No way. It couldn't have possibly been thirty minutes already.

Darla was already walking off, wandering to her next class. She was wiping her eyes and make up off as she walked and it may have been my imagination but did I see a smile on her face?

I shook it off and began to walk towards my next class. I turned around the corner and all of a sudden, a figure popped into my line of vision and my line of path.

"Ahh!" I shouted, tripping back but catching myself before falling down to the ground and breaking my head open.

"What the hell?! What was that fo-"

I was interrupted by a loud laugh that stopped me in my tracks.

I glanced up and saw Ellery standing there, laughing so much that her hair was flying in directions that defied the laws of gravity.

"Um..." I didn't really know what to do or say. I mean, like, what would you do if this crazy girl just came out of nowhere?

She raised up her phone, which told me she wanted to show me whatever it was that was on the screen.

I looked at it and what was revealed could totally ruin my reputation as the "badboy."

Somehow, someway, this girl managed to take a picture of me while my mouth was open, my arms were flailing, and my eyes looked like they would bulge out of my freaking head.

My face turned red with embarrassment. So this is what she was laughing about?

"Don't worry, dude, you look fabulous." she reassured me but it wasn't that reassuring with her hand over her mouth to stop her from laughing.

And "dude?" We just met and she's already calling me "dude?"

God, this girl is so confusing.

"Ah," she took a deep breath and turned, "now lets go to class now, Lucas Bradley." she instructed me with a smile plastered on her face.

"Um..are you going to delete that picture?" I asked, jogging a bit to catch up with her.

"Hmm..." she thought, putting her index finger under her chin.

"Nahh." she responded and I seriously felt like grabbing that phone of hers to delete the picture.

What if she shows people it? My reputation would totally be ruined! Because of one girl who scared me and took a picture of it. Wow, that's embarrassing to think about.

She turned to me, barely moving her head to do so. "Don't worry, I won't show anyone." she said.

We got another freaking mind reader here. How far have they spread their population?

She glanced at the watch around her wrist. Seriously? Who wears watches anymore?

"Oh shoot! The bell's going to ring in a minute!" she yelled and started running.

"C'mon!" she gestured at me before running off at full speed to our next class, history.

I watched her run to the classroom and almost literally jump into the room.

I mean, I would run but its history. I don't like history class. Sure, learning about the past of America was important but was it so hard to make it a little fun? Like, what's the harm in that?

Then, the bell rang and I was officially late for class.