Three more hours.
That's what I tell myself as I stare tiredly down at the glass bowl of salad sitting in front of me on the dirty, germ-ridden cafeteria table. Three more hours in the Earthly embodiment of Hell called high school where adolescent clones go through the same brainwashing ritual day after day, worshiping the people who hit their high point during puberty. The loud buzz of pointless teenage conversations reaches my lecture-worn ears as I stab repeatedly at a greasy green leaf with my plastic fork, wishing with every bone in my body that I was at home. At the table a few feet away from the empty one I have taken residence at every day at lunch time, a gaggle of freshman annoyingly chirp about senior boys who will probably never even notice what color their hair is. I sigh, snapping the plastic lid back onto the bowl and stuffing it in my lunch bag before slipping the straps of my backpack over my shoulders. No one notices as I shuffle quickly thought the rusty double doors out into the empty hallways of the second floor.
No one ever notices me.
It's almost unnerving how quiet it is,only the occasional bout of laughter spilling from the cracks beneath the doors as I walk away from the congregation of teenagers sharing a carbohydrate loaded meal. The ripped sole of my left shoe smacks rhythmically against the linoleum and I start to sing quietly todrown it out, my voice bouncing off the lockers on either side of me.Unbeknownst to me, I somehow end up in the art room. I've never been there before. Dragging a stick of graphite and wood across paper wasn't something I ever felt the need to attempt past third grade.
I let my bag fall to the floor as Isat down in one of the blue plastic chairs spread haphazardly acrossthe room, pulling my phone out of my pocket and frowning as the screen lit up. There were still thirty minutes until the next period. My phone slipped from my grasp as I heard the door creak open slowly, the screen shattering as it hit the floor.
"Hello, angel."
I didn't have to lift my head to knowwho it was.
I closed my eyes, clamping my hands over my ears and pulling my knees up to my chest, my heart beat increasing rapidly.
"No, no, no, not now. Not today."
I let out a small yelp as a hand grabbed my hair, jerking my head backwards so far my neck was stretched to an almost painful extent. Instinctively, I yanked myself away from him, wincing as I felt strands of hair being violently ripped from my scalp. My legs moved of their own accord as I scrambled to the other side of the room. Breathing in shallow pants, I grabbed a jar of blue paint that had been left open on the ledge of an empty easel and whipped it at him, watching as it flew over his left shoulder and smashed against the door, sapphire droplets dripping slowly down the worn wood.
"Leave me alone!" I cried, hastily grabbing anything within reach and flinging it at him. Paintbrushes, canvases, lumps of clay, everything went flying at him, missing by a fraction of a centimeter just like the paint. He was only a few feet in front of me by the time I realized I couldn't do anything to stop him. I gave in to the feeling of defeat as I crumpled to the floor, waiting for the terrible things that would inevitably follow my surrender.
"Miss Parker, what on earth are you doing?!"
I looked up, startled by the appearance of the principle and what seemed like the entire student body standing in the doorway to the art room. I sniffed, looking around for him, but the room was empty. The principle, a short, square-faced man with graying hair and small, beady eyes, marched over to me, bunching the fabric of my shirt in his grubby fists and roughly pulling me to my feet. I let out a choked whimper as I was led from the room, stumbling through the group of whispering students. Turning to look behind me, I saw him straddling a chair, legs thrown out to the side as he rested his hands on the back, chuckling darkly as he watched me being dragged away.
A.N: Hey, there! So, this is my very first 5 Seconds of Summer Fanfiction, so if it's terrible, please bear with me. It does get better/longer in the chapters to come. Updates are on Monday. Thanks for reading!
