because we would all be going off to start our own lives, or maybe because I have a tendency to move around a lot, or maybe I was still learning to cope with the death of my parents. The reason did not matter. I preferred to be by myself. I would probably stay at home locked in my house like a dungeon if it were not for school. Technically, I could drop out at any time, but I only had a few more months left and I knew I would regret not getting my diploma.
The lunch bell rang jarring me from my thoughts. It was time for Mr. Honor’s class and I considered ditching. I was sure he had seen me gawking through the window on his classroom door and I did not want him looking at me as if I was a weirdo. I remembered his threat about being late and reluctantly I headed to class. I slipped in while other students were milling around. He never took notice to my presence and I was grateful. The girls fawned over him as if he was a rock star. He looked embarrassed but something in his expression made me think he enjoyed the attention.
“Take your seats. It’s time for a pop quiz.” He announced and the room collectively groaned. I was excited not to have to talk to anyone, so the quiz was a welcome distraction. Halfway through the period I struggled to come up with answers for half the questions on the quiz. This was unlike me, being that I had already read through most of the book in my spare time. I bit my lip and tucked my hair behind my ear. Someone dropped a textbook near the front of the class with a heavy thud. I jumped in my seat and looked up nervously. My eyes caught Mr. Honor’s as he stared back at me. My heart leaped into my throat and I bit down harder on my bottom lip. He licked his lips in that incredibly sexy way he does before breaking eye contact with me and shuffling through papers on his desk. I looked back down at my paper, but it may have well been in Greek. I wrote down some half assed answers and walked to the front of the class to turn it in just as the bell rang. I sat my paper on his desk and left the room as quickly as possible.
My heart was going a mile a minute so I ducked into the restroom and splashed cold water on my face. I heard a group of girls open the door so I slipped inside a stall to be alone until I could calm myself down. The second bell buzzed and everyone was supposed to be in his or her next class but the group of girls still lingered. I reluctantly opened the door so I could leave.
“Hey! You’re that smart girl in Mr. Nevins class aren’t you?” A girl with long curly blonde hair asked.
“I suppose that’s me.” I answered shyly. “My name is Emma.”
“I’m Claire, and this is Becka.” She replied motioning to the girl with short unnaturally red hair beside her. I smiled and nodded not knowing what to say next, so I turned for the door. “Want to get high?” Claire called after me and I stopped for a moment not sure how to answer.
“Sure.” I replied. I was already late for the next class and coming in halfway through would be worse than not showing up at all. A smile beamed across Claire’s face and she pulled a small mint tin from her bag. She opened it up and pulled out a joint. I had gotten high once before so I knew what to expect. Claire lit the joint and passed it to Becka just as she coughed and sputtered. “You okay?” I asked as her face turned beat red. She nodded and Becka shoved the joint in my face. I took a small hit and struggled to hold it in. My lungs burned from the harsh intrusion and I began to hack and cough worse than Claire had. “Here.” I said holding it out for Claire to take again. She spontaneously broke into a giggle fit. I don’t know what was so funny but her laughter was contagious and soon we were all gasping for air and laughing louder and louder as we passed the joint a few more times.
“Girls” I loud booming voice called