CHAPTER ONE (1)
1479 Words
CHAPTER 1: Cassie's POV
I woke up feeling an intense pain in my head. "God," my head hurts like I held my head in my palms.
"Cassie, it’s time to go to school!" Mom knocked on the door.
"30 minutes!" I said from the room. "Okay, hurry."
I didn't really want to go to school. I can't face Natalie. We just separated; I know Nat would never say that. I saw the hesitation and pain in her chocolate brown eyes.
Although her family is rich, she is not the arrogant type. She's friendly, beautiful, and she is a kind person. Well, she's also timid. Micah was saying insults to me; I didn't want to do anything, I just kept quiet and aimed at her calmly. Then all of a sudden, I heard someone standing up for me.
"Hey, why the f*** are you talking to her like that?" she was glaring at Micah.
"But—but—she's just a nobody," she stammered, pointing her index finger at me.
"Oh, just f*** off!" The girls ran away pouting. That's how we became friends.
I stood up to go and take a shower. Well, I forced myself to sleep, truth be told. I am the opposite of Natalie Stone. I don't know how to make friends, I'm not rich, and I'm not beautiful.
After the shower, I went back to the room to get dressed. As usual, all my clothes were black: my skinny jeans, the t-shirt, the sweater, and even the leather jacket. I wore black so much. I just tied my hair in a ponytail, no makeup. I took my backpack and went downstairs. I entered and joined my family. I sat beside Kelvin, my younger brother. I served myself and started eating.
"Why are your eyes so puffy?" Mom asked, I paused midway putting the food in my mouth.
"I didn't sleep last night because I was reading some books," I lied to my mom.
"Oh, okay," she nodded, not believing what I said but choosing to let it go. I didn't even finish eating, I took my backpack, got out of the house, and took a cab to school.
The car dropped me off at my school's entrance. I stood there for a while. "Hmm," I sighed before entering the school. As I was walking down the hallway, I saw Nat. She saw me as well; we halfway stared at each other for a second. She looked down and walked past me.
I stood there staring into an empty space. I was brought back to my senses when the bell rang. I continued to walk, and when I reached the front of my class, I stood there for a while before entering. I went to sit at my usual seat, the back seat at the far corner near the window facing outside.
Our math teacher entered the class right after I sat down. I was just looking out the window; I didn't hear a thing from the teacher.
"Ms. Atkins!" he yelled, which brought me back to my senses. I stared at the teacher blankly. "What did I just say?" he asked, giving me a sharp glare. Mr. Connor is a strict teacher. A lot of the students are afraid of him, but I'm not. I still respect him.
"I—I... am—um... s-s-sorry," I stuttered.
"Enough, Ms. Atkins. You are not like this in my class. Meet me after the class is over," he looked a bit frustrated.
"Yes, sir," I replied with a low voice.
"You can sit," I sat back down trying to concentrate, but I couldn't. Mr. Connor still glanced at me once in a while. Two periods passed before it was break time. I walked down the hall, turned left, and walked a little before reaching Mr. Connor's office. I knocked on the wooden door.
"Come in," his deep voice came through. I opened the door slowly. I stood there and stared at the floor for a whole minute. Mr. Connor was behind his oak table looking through some files. He raised his head and looked at me.
"Have a seat," he beckoned me with his head. I sat opposite him. He stared at me with his sharp eyes for a few seconds before asking, "What's wrong with you, Cassie?"
He only calls me Cassie when we are alone. He's my father's friend, so he is like a second father to me, and I call him Uncle when we are alone.
"Nothing, Uncle Connor." I looked down at my fidgeting fingers.
"Don't lie to me. I know you more than you do," he said, and it was true.
"But—okay. I-I will tell you everything. It's about Natalie, she was my best friend," I said, my emotions already rippling up, remembering what happened between us just yesterday.
"Hmm, okay. Go on," he was leaning back in his chair. I started narrating everything to him.
When it was break time, Nat and I went to the cafeteria to buy our food. We sat at our usual spot, we finished early and went to the library. We chose a book to read. In the middle of the reading, Nat's phone vibrated. She looked at the caller ID; she looked back at me with a frown and whispered, "It's Fred," one of her brothers. She went to answer the call.
Nat came back; she was—not herself.
"Hey, what's wrong?" I asked worriedly.
"Nothing!" she shouted her head and started packing her things.
"Uh, why are you packing? We are not even done yet, and after all, it's not break over." I was a little confused as to why she was acting strange all of a sudden. She didn't even answer my question. She took her bag and turned around to leave. I immediately stood up and followed her. I held her wrist to stop her.
"Don't you dare touch me, you filthy little b***h!" she said angrily, gritting her teeth.
"Wait, what?" I was shocked. "Well, we aren't friends anymore. You know why? Because you are way out of my league. You are a poor, little, wretched b***h," she pointed her long, shiny nails at my nose.
"Hey, why are you saying all this to me?" She rolled her eyes at me.
"You know you are my only friend, right?" I asked, my voice shaky.
"Oh please, Cassandra, don't play the victim," she said. I stood there in total shock.
"Anyways, I don't have to explain myself and ever talk to a poor girl like you. Excuse me." She turned and stepped her blonde hair in my face. I was really hurt because she is the only friend that I have. I was dumbstruck at her actions.
"That really got you, didn't it?" he asked.
"Yeah," I whispered. "But I know she wouldn't do something like that."
"If you know that, don't think about it and hurt yourself," he said, his voice soft and low but firm.
"I know, but it still hurts," I said, pain lingering in my voice.
"It's okay. People we know change to people we don't," he said, patting my hands.
The bell rang for the next period to start. "Well, I think you should go to class for now." I stood up and thanked him. I went out to my class. All the periods didn't go the way they used to; I couldn't concentrate one bit.
Finally, the day was over. I packed my books in my backpack and went out of the class. I met Nat in most of my classes today. Our schedules are almost the same, so we meet a lot almost every day, but now I don't think we can even sit close to each other again.
I decided to visit the park to get some fresh air. I sat on one of the benches under a tree. Nat would have been with me by now, talking and laughing. She was the only friend that I had, and now she is my ex-best friend.
It was getting late already; I need to head home. I decided to walk. There were bushes on each side of the road. After crossing the bush-sided road, you take a left turn, count four houses before getting to my house. That was how far my house was from the park. When I was about to cross the bush-sided road, I saw a wounded man lying beside the road. I could see that he was still breathing, but it was faint. I had the urge to help him.
- Writer
