Twisted Smiles

II

"Camila?"

I looked up and searched the room looking for the most spoiled person in this school. When I found her, she was sitting cross-legged, popping a bubble gum in her mouth and twirling a lock of blonde hair between her fingers. Layla and Sophia flanked her, looking as oblivious as ever. When she caught me looking, she rolled her eyes at me. Typical.

"Carter?"

My eyes found him quickly. He was sitting at his usual place at the back of the classroom, doodling on his notebook. His brother Michael sat next to him with his arms crossed across his chest and his gaze on me.

They're both very handsome; lean, tall, blonde, and identical twins. They get good grades in almost every subject (except mine) and are members of the basketball team. Could've been very popular with their classmates and especially the girls. If only they weren't so arrogant.

"Evelyn?"

"Yeah?"

She was sitting at the other side of the classroom with a book the size of a bible in her hands. She's the type of girl who could be liked by anyone, with her pretty brown curls and green eyes under the framed glasses that actually fits her well. Too bad she doesn't allow anyone getting too close to her, physically nor mentally.

"Gabriel?"

He was at his desk in the middle of the class, lying back on his chair. His blue eyes sparkled with excitement once he looked up at me. He changed his position into a sitting one and put his fists on his chin to be able to look me straight in the eyes.

God, what a distraction that boy is.

From the corner of my eyes I could see Layla fuming with a frown on her face staring right at me.

Ignoring both of them, I continued my list.

"Mason?"

I half-smiled when I looked up at his genuine face. He was the sweetest person in this class.

"Nathaniel?"

My breath caught and my heart skipped a beat when the answer came in a hushed whisper to my left ear and warmth spread across my back.

"How many times do I have to ask you to call me Nathan?" he breathed.

I had been too distracted and hadn't noticed that at some point he came behind me, probably the time after he missed the trash can with a paper ball. Now his lips were pressed against my ear and goose bumps spread down my neck with the chill from his voice.

He stepped away from me, walked around the table, never taking his eyes from mine. "Next time, I won't be asking," he threatened.

Air filled my lungs again after he sat down at the back.

The chair next to him, the one his best friend Dylan sits, was vacant. I wondered what could've made him absent today. He has never missed a class with me yet. On the other hand, Nathan's the one who's always skipping school. It was weird having it the other way around. Dylan is the nice one, always cooperating; even when he's clueless on what's going on he still tries. Nathaniel never gives a damn about anything but himself.

I looked around the room skeptically to see if anyone noticed. Gladly, they were all entertained with whatever they were doing.

"Okay class, today we are going to practice past perfect!"

Every single person in the class groaned.

"Nathan, had you finished all your homework before you came to class?"

He flicked his middle finger at me.

Chuckling, I turned to the board and explained the continents of that sentence and other examples.

When the bell rang all of the students grabbed their materials and ran out of the room.

I slowly put my things together, threw them in my bag and hung it over my shoulder. Once I turned to leave, I was surprised to see Nathan was still sitting at his desk.

He got up and strode over to me.

"I know what you're doing."

"And what exactly is that?"

His face was inches away from mine. "You're trying to change me. Mold me into a better student. All of you have tried, you know. But you won't get better results than the others. So don't waste your time trying. You don't know a thing about me, what I've been through, what I'm still going through. Do us both a favor and leave me alone!" And with that he stormed out of the room.

I stood there a few minutes with my eyebrows lifted imagining him looking the world through my eyes. I wondered if daddy's boy could handle half the things I've been through.

Sighing, I walked off to my car and drove myself home.

Due to the heavy snowfall, I arrived home three hours later.

I walked from the driveway to the front door as slowly as I could, trying my best not to slip on the ice. When I reached the front door, my foot lost its balance and I fell face down on the pavement. So much for being careful. I reached for the door knob, pulled myself up and didn't let go of it until I got the door opened. The wood was stiff from the cold and complained loudly as I forced it open. I cringed at the squeaky sound.

"Kenzie, sweetie?" My dad croaked from the living room. "Are you home?"

I waited until I was near enough to speak. "Who else could it be, old man?"

He smiled his crooked smile as I walked around the couch to hug him.

"Why did you get home so late?"

"Oh, you should see the weather out there; it's miserable. Where's Osana?"

"She left to get some groceries. Could be back any minute now."

"How long has she been gone?"

"Not long. A few hours. I'm fine, though."

I stood up in outrage. "Dad, you cannot be left home by yourself! What if something happens? What if you have to go to the bathroom? This will not be acceptable!"

As soon as the words left my mouth, the door squealed and Osana walked in, her arms filled with paper bags. I released a breath of relief.

"See? Everything's going to be okay, honey."

"Sure it is," I muttered.

I walked to my room, stripped myself from all the heavy clothing and stepped into a hot shower. I drained myself in the blissfulness. It was all I needed at this moment.

After several minutes, too soon for my liking, I stepped out, dried my body and my hair and slipped into a tight red dress. Underneath the dress I wore black pantyhose to help with the cold. I blow dried my hair, put dark eyeliner on and red lipstick.

On my way out I slipped into black heeled boots, an overall coat, grabbed my purse, waved to Osana and pecked my dad on the cheek.

"Be careful, darling," he told me.

"I will."

I always am.

I walked out the door into the freezing evening air. All I wanted was to turn back around and craw under the warm covers of my bed and pretend everything was okay. That my life was perfect and I didn't have to worry about what we'd be eating on the weekend. Pretend, for an instant, that I was a normal teenage girl.

Nonetheless, I had business to do.