Run Away Teen

Chapter Sixteen: School...What Else Is There To Say?

I walk into school the next day and feel very aware of the eyes on me, and the whispers that surround me like flies in summer. Prima, as a hairdresser in training, tidied up my split ends last night, made my hair even, and it's now in a plain ponytail. I rush to my class to avoid anymore unneeded attention, and sit down in my usual desk, head bowed.

"Hi, Ever! Nice to see you back," Tilly Stream smiles at me as she passes my desk on the way to her own.

I blink. Okay, that was weird. I haven't talked to Tilly Stream since year one. I divert my eyes back to the book that I just opened on my desk. Before the bell rings for admin, I have recieved several more "hi! Welcome back!"s, and two "I loved your blog!"s.

"Morning class! And a very special welcome back to Ever!" our teacher announces, as she strides into the class.

Everyone swivels around in their seats, either to look at me, or to chat to a friend...while looking at me. I duck behind my hair, and eventually all eyes are on the whiteboard. I get a few stares every now and again, but everyone ignores me more or less until lunchtime, when everyone sprints out of the class faster than they'd run out of it if our principal announced that she was going to stand in the middle of the field and do handsprings across it!

I pack my books into my bag, and head out to the caf. The halls are eerily quiet, and I get that curdling feeling of doubt in the pit of my stomach. I push open the caf doors, and nearly scream. Instead, as the alternative, my eyes widen to the size of dinner plates, and my jaw drops so low it's an inch from the ground. I walk in, and everyone is clapping, everyone huddled under the enormous banner that reads "#RATs4Ever." Well, everyone but a small group huddled in the corner, snacking on salad and carrot sticks. The clap dims, and I find myself unable to move.

I grab a small plate of meatballs from the caf lady, who smiles warmly at me, and go sit down at an empty table. I play around with my food, and the familiar cafeteria chatter runs like a stream through the room; smooth, natural.

"Hey," someone mumbles, pulling a chair out next to me.

For a second, my heart leaps in excitement, thinking it's Alise, come back to apologise and say she's missed me. But then I turn around, and instead of dark hair, I see red.

"Hi, Kassie. Is Alise coming?" I say, trailing off at the end of the last sentence.

Kassie snorts.

"As if! Alise and Chelsea are planning their next shopping trip that I'm either left out of, or forced to trail round with them as a third wheel," she says in such a lighthearted tone that, if I didn't see the tears in her green eyes, I'd have thought that she was completely fine that her best friend replaced her with Alise.

"Well, we can both be rejects, then," I joke, though I'm speaking in such a serious voice that I myself don't know if I'm joking, or just merely saying something.

"You're hardly a reject!" Kassie snorts again, "you could go sit at anyone's table, and they'd welcome you gladly, thanks to your blog!"

I think about this for a minute.

"Maybe," I eventually admit, "but I don't want to. Most people at our school aren't exactly the brightest bulbs in the light shop!"

Kassie laughs.

"True. So what did you actually do, at your stay at Sea Witch?" she asks.

"Mostly just what I put on my blog. The first few days, I cleaned. Sea Witch was a complete wreck. I also cut my hair. Which you can probably see," I say, crossing my eyes and sticking my tongue out.

"Where actually was Sea Witch?" Kassie asks, and I can tell that she's been pondering upon this for a while, dying to find out.

"I actually don't know! It's on a beach somewhere," I admit.

"Do you miss it?" she asks.

"Yes," I say, without even a second of hesitation, "yes, I do. Most miserably."

Kassie and I talk for the rest of lunch period, finding out heaps about each other, protecting each other from Alise's and Chelsea's poker hot glares. The bell rings, and we both roll our eyes.

"Do you walk home? We could walk together?" she suggests, and I nod.

"Yeah. I have no other way to get home. My sister models every school afternoon, my brother's at rugby, mum's at gymnastics with my step sister, and I hate my stepdad. I hate my mum, too, but she's related to me. So I'm not supposed to say that. Yeah, I can walk with you!" I tell, breathing out at the end of the long sentence.

"Wow, big family! Lucky thing, I only have my younger brother, who's an utter pain!" she says.

"I used to have a twin as well, but unfortunately, I ended up being the healthy one. Before she died with her weak lungs, she was deaf," I tell her bravely, trying not to cry.

Kassie's eyes open. As do my own; even Alise doesn't know about Aspyn, because Aspyn went to a special school for deaf people.

"Wow... I assume you don't want me to say that I'm sorry?" she asks, and I grin thankfully.

"No way!" I laugh, and we stand up, and walk to class.

"What was her name?" Kassie asks, a question no one else has never asked when I tell them about my sister.

"Aspyn," I tell her,

"That's really pretty," Kassie says.

I realise now, that Alise was never a real friend. She's found a new friend? So what? I have as well.