The Poetry Journal

Chapter 2

Westville High School was pretty average in everything but students. I've watched countless movies about high school hierarchy drama and the outsider girl falling for the bad boy and convincing him to change his ways for her, but that was nothing like my school. Sure, there was some resemblance to a pecking order with the "popular kids" on top, but no girls truly threw themselves at the popular boys, more like admired the, from afar and had secret shrines to them in their closets.

I swear I'm not speaking from experience.

The kids here had different ways of doing things. Sure they fought and Carter and Renee drama was a weekly event, but there wasn't any basic high school cliches.

The bell rang, pulling me from my thoughts. I was already in my first class, Math. Yeah, whose the genius who put the most number-stupid night owl girl in the morning math class? A complete idiot that's who.

I tried to focus on the droning voice of the teacher, but my eyes would not stop drooping shut. I gave up trying to pay attention and instead turned to writing down a poem on the table.

Roses are Red

Violets are blue

Do you hate math?

I know I do.

-A Bored Math Student

I had scribbled a few more poems on the tables surface before the bell rang and I packed up what little materials I had on my desk and fought my way through the stagnant crowds that littered the halls.

I had nearly reached my locker when a boy trips in front of me.

"Careful. You might break something." I joke as he stands up, adjusting his glasses.

"Yeah. I try not to." He chuckles a bit at his own joke and stumbles off, effectively disappearing in the heard of students.

I shake my head at his cute clumsiness and twist in the combination. I grab my books for my next class and nearly have a heart attack when I close my locker and met with Carter Olsen leaning on the row of blue metal lockers. I suppress the urge to jump from the shock.

"It's Anne right? Anne Marshal?" He asks, standing upright. I nod and go to move past him, but he catches my arm, pulling me back.

"What do you want Carter?" He grins.

"You know my name." It wasn't a question, it was a fact.

"Yup." I said, popping the 'p'. "You're the closest thing Westville High has to a resident cool kid. Plus Westville only has a population of around a thousand so it's pretty unlikely that I don't know your name especially because we've been in the same school since kindergarten." He didn't say anything. I don't think there was anything that could be said after that. I nod my head.

"Good talk." I turn around and come face to face with Renee. She's what I guess I would describe as an 'Alpha Queen Bitch' but she's really only borderline bitchy at most, and the only reason she's popular is because one of her moms worked for NASA as an astronaut.

She rolled the stick of a shiny lollipop in between her fingers. It was candy apple red and matched her lipstick almost perfectly. Unfortunately, it looked beautiful, complimenting her caramel skin tone fabulously,

"Hey Anne!" Her voice was unbearably sweet and unnatural. I could practically see the venom dripping from her pearly white teeth.

"Renee. What do I owe the pleasure?" She grinned even wider.

"Well, my dear friend Amy needs help at her mother's cafe and I said I'd do it but Carter and I have a date and I can't miss it! So I poked around the schools database, I-I mean, I had a friend look around and you were the best candidate!"  I narrowed my eyes, but she ignored me and continued to talk. "Elizabeth's cafe, 4:30 tonight! Have fun!" She popped the candy in her mouth and strutted passed me, her clunky heels echoing loudly over the noise in the hall.