Whispers In The Dark

Victoria

Victoria

"Please," I pleaded. "Just push me down the stairs."

Reximus rolled his eyes. "You're ridiculous."

I stepped onto the final landing and stared at the last staircase leading downstairs with hope. "Please, no one will have to know. It can look just like an accident. No one gets hurt."

"Yeah, except for you and your broken neck," he scoffed. "It's not that bad. The year will be over before you know it."

"No," I groaned. "I hate school."

Reximus didn't say anything. I had found him that morning, being cornered by Abby. I was not happy.

She spent first period in the nurse's office with an ice pack to her face.

I spent first period in the principal's office with a detention slip for that Friday.

I had been let off easy on the account of the fact that Abby had been threatening Reximus and I was merely defending him, but I still got a lecture and a detention. She had detention, too, but on Thursday. Ha.

"Ugh," I complained. "Why couldn't school start on a Friday or something?"

"Because they want us to suffer through the week," Reximus explained, hugging his Algebra two book closer to his chest. "At least we got Monday off."

"It's only Wednesday!" I stomped my feet as I walked, frustrated. I had spent my summer doing practically nothing, but I was missing doing nothing already.

"Shoot me, Rex!" I grumbled as I entered my Italian classroom and he entered his Spanish classroom.

"Sorry, Victoria." Then he was gone, and I was being pulled into the terrifying world of foreign language.

I pouted my entire way through Italian, not wanting to answer any questions or repeat whatever gibberish that the teacher was saying. The only time that something other than my own thoughts caught my attention was when the teacher took attendance, and even then it wasn't because of my own name being called.

"Riley Evans?" the teacher called.

It was just another name, and I almost went back to my thoughts, but then I saw a hand raise two seats in front of me.

"Here," she said lazily. Her brown hair was in a loose bun and she was wearing a black tank top and skinny jeans, along with a familiar pair of low-cut black and white Chuck Taylors.

My breath caught in my throat. Of course. What kind of year would it be if I wasn't in at least one class with the girl who I shared a mutual hate with, after only one day?

My pout deepened throughout the rest of the class, but by then it was more of a grimace.

Unfortunately, Reximus and I didn't have any other classes near each other until the end of the day, when we both had Child Development, of all classes.

Really, it wasn't our fault. We'd both had an empty period that we apparently had to fill, and it was either Child Development or Gym. We both went with Child Development.

"Are we gonna get to take home those fake baby things?" Reximus asked me over his shoulder.

I shrugged. "Maybe." The teacher was talking about how we would be learning about the stages of pregnancy and babies and whatever else. I honestly stopped listening. "I hope not."

"Me, too." He shuddered. "My dad would throw a total bitch fit."

I earned a few odd looks, and a firm "Victoria" from the teacher, but I lost it right there, and let loose a round of crying laughter.

Reximus's face was red, and I could tell that he was embarrassed to have so many eyes looking our way, but he smiled as well.

Eh, I thought, it doesn't really matter that I share a class with her. It seemed like it would be a pretty good year, after all.