(Peyton POV)

As soon as the bus dropped us off at school, I scurried to my first period, which was AP English Literature. English Literature was my only AP class, as despite the stereotypes of people with glasses, I actually am not that smart. I'm about average intelligence, with a 108 IQ. I was, however, very hardworking, which is what had gotten me through high school. That, and avoiding whatever drama I could. I never went to parties, never dated after Parker, and never went over to anybody's house, especially a boy's house. Luckily, the one good thing about the rumor Parker spread about me is that the majority of the boys at my school left me alone. Probably afraid I'd break their hearts like I supposedly did to Parker.
Soon, my AP English Literature teacher, Mrs. Ashraf, walked in. She was a polite but strict woman who could strike fear into anyone's hearts with a single glare. Many loved her and feared her at the same time, and I admired her.
"Alright class, we are going to prepare for our argumentative essay today. Get out a sheet of paper for planning."
The whole class groaned. Even I groaned a little. Who in their right mind would give an essay at 7:30 in the morning? Mrs. Ashraf would, of course. Nevertheless, we all got out a sheet of paper. All of us except one person, that is. The notorious rulebreaker, Edward Gaines, who sat in the third row. No one really liked him, but no one ever said anything to him. He was a bully to pretty much anyone who dare cross him, except Parker, Michelle, and Michelle's two lapdogs who followed her around everywhere. Although, he did tease Tanya Case quite a bit, which I enjoyed.
"Mr. Gaines, take out a sheet of paper." Mrs. Ashraf stated, looking straight at Edward. Edward stared right into Mrs. Ashraf's eyes.
"Make me." He replied. The entire class went silent, anticipating what might happen next. Mrs. Ashraf approached Edward's desk with a deadly silence following her. She made eye contact with him, and her eyes were like ice.
"Take. Out. A sheet. Of. Paper." Mrs. Ashraf spoke with poison in her voice, emphasizing every word that came out of her mouth. Edward stared right back at her, though there was a slight bit of fear in his eyes.
As the class and I watched, Mrs. Ashraf walked to the phone on her wall and dialed the principal's office. "I have a student who refuses to cooperate with me. Edward Gaines. Please send someone down to retrieve him."
As she hung up the phone, she walked back to Edward's desk and grabbed his arm. "You will stand by the door right now or the next person I will call will be your mother." She told him with a deadly tone. Edward glared at her, but nevertheless walked to the door.
After Edward left, the class went smoothly. The bell rang and the entire class scrambled out of their seats, except for me. I calmly packed my school bag, then walked out of the door and took my preferred shortcut to second period.
Second period came and went, then third, then fourth and fifth. My sixth period was Math, with Mrs. Lieke. Out of the 7 teachers I had, only one was male. I sat in the back corner, far away from Michelle. Once I sat down, however, I noticed a small note hidden underneath the chair, stowed out of view. I stashed the note in my binder, and vowed to open it at home.
Math class ended, and I went on to Honors Mythology. After Honors Mythology was Honors Economics, my last class of the day. As soon as the bell rang to signal the end of 8th period, I ran to my bus.
I sat in my usual seat, which was the very back seat on the bus. I pulled out a book and buried my face in it, avoiding the gaze of all those who got on the bus. The bus went from stop to stop, eventually reaching my stop. (The second to last stop, by the way)
No cars sat outside my house, which meant both my parents were at work and Paige was at daycare. It was fun having a little sister who was 14 years younger, but it was also annoying. My mom struggled with fertility problems, which was why it took her so long to conceive again after she had me. Of course, Paige's 3rd birthday was coming up, which I was excited for. My 18th birthday would be in April, which I was looking forward to. Turning 18 meant I would be an adult, able to doing my own things and make my own decisions. Plus, my mom couldn't control me anymore.
I walked inside, locked the door behind me and sat my bag down. I quickly started on my homework, which was two pages of Math, 3 pages of Science, essay outline for English, and a paper for Mythology.
I was done within two hours, so I rewarded myself with a movie. I was in the middle of said movie when my mom came home, Paige in tow.
"Peyton!" Paige cried, bursting into a sprint towards me.
"Paige!" I replied, holding my arms out for my baby sister, who ran into my arms. I held Paige in my arms and lifted her into the air. Paige giggled profusely, tapping my cheeks with her chubby fingers. "How was your day little sis?"
"It was good! Claire tried to take my crayon." Paige replied, and I groaned.
"Not Claire! Why'd she try to take your crayon?" I cried dramatically, and Paige laughed.
"How was your day, Peyton?" My mom asked, setting her bag down.
"My day was decent. So, about usual, but not as bad." I replied, and my mom smiled.
"Well that's good. I'm making lasagna tonight."
"Bleh!" Paige replied, sticking her tongue out. I laughed, and mom smirked slightly.
"You will eat my lasagna Paigey." My mom spoke, and Paige frowned.
"I don't want it." Paige replied, wrapping her arms around me.
"Well I'm not letting you go to bed hungry." My mom replied simply, and Paige groaned loudly.
I then set Paige down and ran upstairs to my room. Paige surprisingly did not follow me, which I was grateful for.
I ended up checking my phone and the only two social medias I had: Twitter and Facebook. I had only one follower on Twitter, that being my mom, and a couple dozen on Facebook, that being my immediate family. My mom had come from a family of ten and my father from a family of 6, so I had multiple aunts, uncles and cousins. I also had 26 cousins, 8 on my dad's side and 18 on my mom's side. I had a rather large immediate family, and an even larger extended family.
My dad came home an hour after my mom, and we ate 30 minutes after he came home. Paige waved her arms and protested the entire dinner, but eventually ate 10 bites before she refused to open her mouth any more.
My mom put Paige to bed at 9, but as I was 17, I was allowed to stay up later than 9. I just stayed up watching a few episodes of this random cartoon I had found whilst channel surfing. At 10, I eventually retired to my room, where I laid down in my full sized bed. I had three black pillows and a dark gray blanket, that I pulled over me as I turned onto my side. I eventually fell asleep within 20 minutes, humming lullabies to calm me down.

Hope you can forgive the year and a half wait from Chapter 2 to Chapter 3. I'm now focused on writing this story, and my writing skills have improved dramatically too. Anyways, enjoy this chapter