all I am, and that this first semester goes a whole lot smoother than I'm imagining. Otherwise my whole life might just go up in smoke.
CHAPTER ONE: Sweet Sixteen
"Alice! You're going to be late for school!"
I turned over to hug one of my multiple pillows that crowded around the head of my bed. Even with two fans on and my window half open, I was still far too hot.
It simply wasn't bothering me because I was half asleep, but I was glad I only wore underwear to sleep because clothes were a no-no in this weather.
It was September, and I was baffled that it was still so hot. I always ran a little warm, even in the most chill days in winter, but it always left me wishing my grandparents would invest in an air conditioner.
Yes, our old, "haunted" building of a house needed a few renovations, but we were living in the time and age where we could afford a portable AC.
My grandma always gave the excuse that my room was in the attic and the hose connector to release the air pressure and water or whatever wouldn't reach the ground. It was all excuses to me.
Fans did barely anything up here. It did a bloody good job circulating the hot air, but to actually cool me off? I might as well eat ice cream every hour of the day.
Today was the third day of me going to another school that was forced to accept me. I always got a few brow raises when I'd acknowledge that I'd transferred from school twenty-something. I'd lost count, but from what I remembered, I was at school twenty-five before I made my lab vial combust.
Seriously, it was an accident.
People thought I was a witch. Or a red-haired, possessed female who looked like she was a part of a cult instead of a student trying to get her high school diploma.
My name was Alice Blaze, and I had a running streak of getting kicked out of every school I'd been allowed entry in.
It started in daycare and lead to grade school, and now, high school. It wasn't my fault, or at least, that's what I was told to say each time I "fucked up." See, there was something about the element of fire that hated me.
It had to be a past life vendetta or curse I had to my name because when fire was involved, I was signing off another transfer form and moving to the next school a few days later.
Lighters, fireplaces, even plain olden day matches. The spark of a flame matched with how I was currently feeling that day and either ended up with something burning to crisp or catching on fire and summoning the entire fire department to our school grounds.
Sometimes, I could be in the happiest mood, and the flames will be all playful and try and burn the classroom down for fun.
Due to constant fire mishaps, whenever I enrolled in a new school, the fire department was on speed dial. That was one fact that the students always found out about before the common 'Blazing Alice' nickname came to be.
How I wished to just be homeschooled. At least no one would have to deal with the fire mishaps I apparently created or stalk me all the way home to see the tall castle on the top of the hill.
Our house was literally the only one on the hill, and it gave you haunted house vibes. Totally spooky, painted in all black, and our garden and front lot were covered in thick trees and a few vines.
I wished they were nice and tall, the perfect wall of nature to shield us from the city’s ridicule. The school that was thirty minutes from my house by bike was the only one that was willing to accept and tolerate all the trouble I caused.
The principal was best friends with my grandparents and was doing us this favor. It was nice of her, but I wasn't interested in the pity acceptance.
If I could be homeschooled, life would have been far easier. No more problems, no students bothering me, and it would be easier to study because no one would interrupt me.
The one problem with all of my schools was that I was an easy target to pick on. I was the tallest out of the females, standing at 5'9". I loved wearing heels or anything to bring me up to 6'0", but that merely got more attention.