Trouble

Chapter 2

As Reece walked to her first period, she tried to shrug off her irritation towards the new kid. She didn't regret what she had said, he was a simpleton that had needed to be put straight. That was the way the world worked, the meanest survived. Life had taught her that first hand.

As her classroom came into sight, Miguel jogged up to her. He was the only person in the school Reece could stand to be around. He had warm brown skin, black hair pulled back and keen black eyes set in an attractive face. There was something in his expression that looked almost hopeful, a thing Reece hadn't been in a while.

"Hey," he said, stopping before her. "What are you doing during lunch?"

"Murdering puppies."

Reece's face never changed from its typical hard look.

"Cute," Miguel smirked. "Look, I think I found something that might be the lead we're searching for."

That got Reece's attention.

"What is it?" she asked.

"It will have to wait, I have to get to class. I'll see you at lunch."

Before Reece could force Miguel to tell her, he was gone. Annoyed at being left in the dark, she walked into her classroom as the bell rang. There were two open spots at the front, but she ignored them. Maybe a year ago she would have been happy to take a seat so close to the teacher, but those days were long gone, just as who she used to be was. She walked down the alley, disregarding the attention she attracted. At the back, Reece stopped at the desk of a lanky classic looking guy.

"Out," she snarled.

Without question, the guy quickly gathered up his stuff and opted for one of the front seats. Like everyone else, he knew better than to try to fight her. Reece sank into the seat and draped one leg over the edge of the desk, her black booted foot swinging slightly. The girl next to her wrinkled her perfect nose and flick a strand of blonde hair over her shoulder. She had a pretty face with stunning green eyes.

"Why don't you do all of us a favor," she whispered, "and get arrested already?"

Narrowing her eyes, Reece glared back at Lexi.

"Why don't you do the world a favor and put a bullet in your head."

Unlike Lexi, Reece made no attempt to hide the volume of her voice. Heads swiveled around as Lexi gasped.

"Ms. Martinez!" Mr. Donald said, "Principal's office, now!"

Lexi smirked with satisfaction. As Reece stood, she leaned down.

"You made a mistake," she whispered. "I remember where you live. Bestie."

The reminder of their childhood friendship was a slap to the face. Added with the threat, Lexi was left speechless. As Reece passed the teacher, he offered her a sad shake of his head. Disappointed again. Reece wished they would stop expecting her to be different. She was different, didn't they understand that.

"I will inform Margery you're on your way, so don't try to skip as you have before."

"Whatever," Reece said, rolling her eyes.

The noise in the classroom picked up as she left. She was just turning the corner, headed for the office when she ran into what felt like a brick wall. Stumbling back, she cursed under her breath. When she looked up what she found was the idiot who had taken her parking spot.

"When will you get it through your head!" she said. "Don't mess with me."

He gave her a wide-eyed look, the expression similar to a startled puppy.

"You ran into me," he said

Reece merely gave him her most withering glare and shoved past him. Despite his build, he flinched away as if she really were strong enough to knock him over. Without glancing back, she made her way to the principal's office. The bespectacled secretary looked up as she entered. Reece wasn't positive, but she was sure the old woman sighed.

"She's free," the woman said. "You can go in."

Reece gave a mocking salute and opened the principal's door. On the other side was a typical office: filing cabinets, a desk covered with papers, chairs and motivational photos on the wall. The woman behind the desk had graying brown hair pulled back into a tight bun. Her face was serious and her gray eyes held a no nonsense look. Those shrewd eyes followed Reece as she dropped into a seat before the desk. Still staring at her, as if she could correct everything wrong with her in that look, Principal Swanson laced her fingers together and placed them on her desk.

"Why are you here today, Reece?" she asked. Her voice wasn't stern but it left no room for lies.

"I insulted someone," Reece said, with a shrug.

"Reece, this is the fourth time you've been in here in the past two weeks." Reece blinked once, her face unchanging. "I know that this past year has been hard for you and-"

"No you don't," Reece cut her off, her voice sharp. "Hard doesn't begin to describe it, so don't pretend that you understand."

Swanson let out a breath, her face softening. Reece hated her. Hated the sympathy that she was showing. She didn't need sympathy, she needed revenge. That was something the woman before her couldn't help her with and wouldn't ever understand.

"You're right," she breathed out. "I don't understand. I can't imagine the pain you went through seeing your parents die."

"They didn't just die," Reece snapped. "They were murdered and the guy who did it is still out there. My parents don't have justice and no one in this city is willing to do anything about it."
"That's not true, I know that the police are still looking and-"

"They why haven't they found him? He's one biker thug with a brain the sign of a pea it shouldn't be that hard!"

To her credit, Swanson didn't answer. There was no answer for a girl who was hurting as Reece was. After a tense moment, Swanson spoke.

"I've already set up an appointment with Dr. Stevens. I want you to go talk to him. He might not be able to solve this case, but he can help you come to terms. He's waiting for you."

Standing, Reece shook her head in exasperation. These people would never get it. She didn't need to talk, she needed to find her parents killer and no one was going to stop her.

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Hi!

I would be self deprecating here but I think the work speaks for itself.

Also I'm a huge fan of Miguel already. Who's with me?