The Raven Four Books 1-3 - Jessica Sorensen Page 0,5

used to hurt. Now, it just pisses me off and makes me want to annoy her.

“Yeah, well, it’s better than looking like a skank,” I tell her.

Her eyes widen in horror. “My daughter does not look like a skank. How dare you say so?”

I raise a brow at her. “Who said I was talking about your daughter?”

She shakes her head furiously. “You know what? It’s time for you to get out of this car. I’m sick of looking at you.”

I’m more than ready to get out, but as I peer outside at the school, a drop of anxiety rises inside me.

Dixie May was right. It's a really small school. Way smaller than the one we used to go to. I don't know whether to be nervous about that or not. On the one hand, it means fewer people will mock me. But it also means people will be nosier.

“Get out!” Aunt Beth snaps. “And I’m not giving you any lunch money. You’ll have to use your own.”

“I’m not stupid enough to believe otherwise.” I reach for the door handle.

Her lips curl into a sneer. “That’s very debatable.”

I push open the door. “So is Dixie May’s IQ.”

“Dixie May isn’t stupid.” She rotates around in the seat to glare at me. “She just prefers fashion and guys over schoolwork. That’s not that uncommon for a teenage girl. You’re the anomaly, Raven.”

I give a shrug. “I wasn’t trying to argue that I wasn’t an anomaly. I was merely pointing out that, if you think I’m unintelligent, then you must think your daughter is an idiot.”

“Dixie May isn’t an idiot,” she scoffs. “She just gets distracted because she has a life.” She flashes me a smirk. “Unlike you.”

“I may be a social outcast, but at least I’m not an idiot. And when this last year of hell is all over and I graduate, I’m going to take my good grades, go off to college, and make something of myself, while Dixie May probably ends up having a shotgun wedding because she can’t keep her legs closed.”

Her nostrils flare. “You little shit—”

I hop out of the car and slam the door shut.

She starts to roll the window down as I hurry toward the sidewalk that leads to the front doors, knowing she won’t make a scene. It’s not her style. No, her style is to tell my uncle, who’s going to either be annoyed with her that she’s being a tattletale or pissed off at me, depending on his mood. Either way, there’s going to be shouting in the house when my uncle Don gets home tonight.

“You can get your own ass home, Ravenlee Wilowwynter!” she shouts from the car. “I won’t be picking you up!”

I cringe as the handful of students walking around glance in my direction.

Awesome. What a great way to start my first day at a new school. Then again, if Dixie May has her way, it’ll be a shitty day for me anyway. And now I have the walk home to look forward to. It’s my own damn fault for riling my aunt up. I just get so sick of her shit sometimes.

Letting out a slow exhale, I continue toward the school with people eyeballing me, eyeballing my outfit, eyeballing my crazy hair. Then the whispering begins. Finally, I can’t take it anymore, so I stick my hand into my pocket and dig out my phone. Then I grab my earbuds, pop them in, and crank up some classic rock, the same music my dad used to listen to.

I’ve been entering school this way for as long as I can remember. Music helps block out everything, including my own annoying thoughts. Though I made a promise to myself not to do that today, to try a fresh start, I guess old habits die hard.

I don’t want to listen to the whispering. Don’t want to listen to the name calling. Don’t want to listen to everyone talk about all the made-up stories Dixie May has spread about me.

“She’s a slut.”

“She’s a satanic freak.”

“I once saw her kill a puppy just for fun.”

“She slept with a teacher.”

“Slut.”

“Freak.”

“Murderer.”

I yank myself away from the memories, telling myself that I don’t need to rehash the lies she told about me.

Well, almost all of them were lies.

One carries some truth to it.

Murderer.

Three

Raven

I decide to take a little detour before I enter the school and sneak out by the dumpsters to take a few hits. It’s a risky move, for sure, since I’m not familiar with how this