Crossing Worlds

Chapter 2

The quiet morning had disappeared long ago and gradually grew to become an active neighborhood with people driving to work, driving to school, or just getting up late on that special day off.

     My brothers walked along side me as we passed the bus stop and walked down the side walk past rows of houses. Where the pretty little houses ended, the canal that wove through the town began. The flowing water looked murky as ever, especially with all of the trash dumped into it by random people. We crossed over the bridge with cars passing by, and followed other students to the school grounds. We crossed a crosswalk and waved goodbye to Cooper as he went to elementary school's main entrance left around the corner and we continued walking a few more minutes to the West Horizon High that only Darian and I attended.

     It was a public high school in our town that most of the neighbors our age went to. It was currently seeing an influx of students through its front gate as we mixed our way into the small crowd. The groups around us were all tired and yawning, looking like they'd wanted to be anywhere but here as per usual.

     As we crossed the lawn and entered the first building, Darian and I split up to go meet up with other people. He didn't get very far when his stalkers noticed him.

     Ah, I thought, it's the crazy one.

     A group of girls nearby ran up to him the moment we separated, but he ignored them seeing who they were. Seniors just like him, somehow at least, Miranda Crody and Followers were infatuated with my older brother to the extent that we wanted to get a restraining order. I've seen her outside my house more than once. She was one of the few that didn't try to get friendly with me first and instead was a blatant horrible person every time we came into contact. It was more often than it should be, sadly, with how hard I tried to avoid her and she came looking for me.

     It was hard enough for seniors and freshmen to meet purposefully, but it seemed like fate just wasn't on my side as I saw her ugly face almost everyday. Or, she was meeting me daily on purpose, which I have no idea why she'd want to do that. It burned my eyes every time I saw her artificial silver blond hair, blue and purple eye shadows that made me think she was blind, and the bright, scant clothing that only a hippy would accept. I'm sure some peacock would take her down the aisle one day.

     Somehow it became a trend and someone thought it was pretty, because she was fairly popular. She was especially in with the times to the point where it wouldn't shock me if she did drugs or something and used the excessive makeup to cover it up. Smoke filled the bathroom every time she left it, so cigarettes for sure. She abused her "power," of course, and tried to make life hard for me to keep me away from my own brother for some reason I didn't understand.

     Somehow, it became cool within her connections of the seniors to bully me, but after I ignored it for a week, they got all butt-hurt and left me alone. I was way more mature than them, so it wasn't hard.

     I wouldn't even get started on her Followers, definitely with a capital F, that tried to copy her.

     It didn't really affect me much besides giving me a headache and making me have to watch my back a little more than I already did on an hourly basis.

     The moment my brother saw her and her friends approaching, his expressionless face twitched and he broke into a full out sprint for the other side of campus where his classroom was. It was a miracle to him that they weren't in the same classes anywhere so she couldn't stick close to him as much she wanted to. He kept his grades in the top tiers just to stay away. It was basically daily life for us to avoid her and go about school normally.

     I see her in the hall: turn around and use the next hall over.

     I see her in the bathroom: leave so she doesn't notice me and wait till next period's break.