How to Live ◦ ON HOLD

02.

CHAPTER 2 || How To Have A Cliche Morning

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After watching her aunt drive off, Tessa turned to face the school and realized it had stopped raining. There was a wet banner on the front of the building that had "Welcome Back Riverside High Students!" Written on it. She took a deep breath and started to make her way through the hordes of teenagers that had begun to gather at the front of the school.

Just as Tessa was nearing the entrance, she was suddenly shoved sideways. She lost balance and was expecting to hit solid ground, but ended up colliding with a random stranger. The person grabbed her arm and stopped the both of them from plummeting down to the concrete beneath them.

Once she composed herself, Tessa instantly bent down and started picking up her fallen items, preparing to run from the scene if needed. The guy she was shoved into started yelling at her, "Watch where your going, los-" The stranger abruptly stopped his sentence once he noticed the person who bumped into him was a girl, a pretty one at that.

He bent down and started to help her pick up her stuff. Tessa looked up at the boy, he had dark brown hair, brown eyes and honestly, dressed and looked like a stereotypical popular if you asked her. He had opened his mouth to ask if she was okay when a hysterical girl started shoving her way through the crowd. "What the hell?" The blonde girl shouted with a look of confusion and jealousy on her face.

Tessa internally sighed when she saw the girl. Ugh, not another one. Not thinking the moment could get any more cliché. The girl had on a blue and white floral print dress, blue pumps and a big silver heart locket with diamonds on it. Well, at least this one doesn't cake makeup on her face. Tessa thought.

"Aaron! Who's this tramp?" She shrieked. A couple of people around them started to get quiet. Tessa stopped picking up her stuff and looked up at the girl.

Aaron stopped helping Tessa and stood up. "Relax Aubrey, it's just some girl who threw herself at m-"

"Excuse me?" Tessa interrupted and stood up, as well. "One. I'm not some tramp," she informed Aubrey sending a scowl in her direction. "And two, I didn't throw myself at you," She said indicating to Aaron with a disgusted look on her face. Tessa couldn't imagine liking someone that had any similarities to Aaron ever again, she'd dealt with his type before.

"Excuse me, who the hell do you think you are!" Aubrey got into a rather uncomfortably close proximity to Tessa. "One, my boyfriend is not a liar," She mocked Tessa. "And two, I don't like when freaks come into my school then, talk to me like they have the same social status as me."

Social status? What the hell, like anyone actually cares about that stuff? Tessa was at a loss for words. She had planned to stay quiet and sit in the back of class for the rest of the semester- with no drama and her not uttering a word. But instead, on her first day she already has some crazy bitch, who probably though she was better than everybody else, already yelling at her.

Tessa started to respond when one of the girls from the small crowd jumped in and saved her ass, "She's new Aubrey, she is probably lost and doesn't know what she's doing. Besides, it was an accident, not a big deal."

Aubrey turned to the girl, obviously irritated, "Who said you could talk to me?" After Aubrey said that, she and the girl started bickering.

Meanwhile, Aaron was awkwardly standing to the side, looking uncomfortable and felt a bit guilty for lying so, decided to speak up. "Come on, babe. These losers aren't worth it," He said to Aubrey, trying to divert her attention.

Aubrey was still angry and not even close to finished but, decided to let it go for the moment. "Fine, whatever," she retorted. "But you better stay away from my boyfriend, I'll be watching you," She scowled at Tessa and turned. "Come on, Aaron."

The crowd parted for Aubrey, and Aaron watched as his girlfriend walked away. He turned to give Tessa one of her fallen books, only to see that she had disappeared.