ivy; s.m.

e l e v e n

I didn't even want to think about finals, but they were being forced on me all the same.

I groaned and rolled out of bed, slipping on a big, grey sweatshirt and pulling on some black leggings. I brushed my hair and put it in a ponytail, then went downstairs for breakfast.

Cara was making pancakes, burnt ones, but at least she was trying. I sat down and put my head in my hands.

"What's up, buttercup?" Cara asked, handing me a plate with two burnt and oddly shaped pancakes.

I dowsed them in syrup and took a bite. I had to chew a crazy lot before it was swallowable.

"I hate school," I grumbled, thinking about Sierra and Justice.

"Why? School's great," Cara chirped.

"Says the girl who dropped out," I said, regretting the words as soon as they left my mouth.

Cara tensed up and dropped her head so that her hair fell around her eyes in a curtain. She turned off the stove and walked upstairs. I sighed, wanting to cry. I couldn't do anything right.

-

At school I avoided literally everyone. I snuck a granola bar into the library and read while I ate it. Every class I focused hard, and made the most precise notes I could. By the end of the day, I felt like crap, but I got the work done.

The final bell rang and I gathered up all my stuff. I was putting my pencils and such in my pencil case when Shawn walked up to me. I kept my head down.

"Hey," he said.

I stood up, pressing my binder to my chest.

"Wait," he called. I didn't.

I sort of hoped it would be like the fanfictions, where he grabbed my hand and apologized, but he didn't.

-

I stared out the window of the school bus, my bag on my lap. I was plugged in to my music and stuck in my own head. Suddenly, he came up and sat beside me. I was so surprised I didn't know how to react.

"What are you doing?" I questioned, pulling out and earbud.

Shawn took a deep breath. "Listen, I need a tutor, and no one else wants to tutor me because I'm a jerk, okay?"

I was shocked. I paused the song and took out the other earbud.

"The reason the teacher asked you to tutor me is because everyone else said no. Please, you're my only hope."

I blinked back at him, and his pretty face. The answer was on the tip of my tongue. A simple no.

"Yes. Okay, um, Tuesday?" I blurted. My mind was screaming no at me, put I didn't listen.

And because of the way his face lit up, I was almost glad I had said yes.

Almost.

aaarrghhh this suuuccckksss