• Chapter 1

    BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! SLAM! BEEP! SLAM! BEEP! SLAM! SLAM! SLAM! …BEEP! Naturally, I beat the faults of my mother out of my poor defenseless alarm clock. Of course my snooze button couldn’t be broken, really. My mom took it off so I wouldn’t try to sleep in. She also put some kind of lock on the “on” button somehow. My clock read 6:00 a.m. in big red numbers. That’s what I got for having possibly the only mom who insists that hiking 3 miles to school instead of taking the bus is “good exercise for your changing body.”
    I threw on my new Aéropostale shirt. I wasn’t sure why, but more girls at school looked at me when I wore brand-name clothes.
    I almost took my time brushing my teeth. I don’t know why, I don’t smile that much anyway. Not even in pictures. My mom is constantly on my back about it.
    Now my clock read 6:45. Yes, it took me forty-five minutes to put on a shirt and brush my teeth. How the heck does that happen? I talk to myself in moments of stress. I read somewhere that that was a sign of intelligence. I’m pretty sure it just means I’m crazy. I ran downstairs, slapped on my pre-packed (thank god) backpack, and grabbed a Rice Krispy treat from the pantry. I opened the Rice Krispy treat and took a bite be fore I bolted out the door. Then my mom woke up.

    I’m pretty sure my mom had tracking devices embedded somewhere in my skin, because she always seems to know where I am. My cell phone started vibrating. I didn’t bother checking the caller ID.
    “Alex?”
    “Yeah Mom”
    “You better hurry up or you’ll be late for school.” Well, no duh. I hung up.
    There was 2 miles left until I got to school. I checked my watch. 7:30. Why is it always me? I had 25 minutes until roll call. I don’t know about anybody else, but I can not run two miles nonstop. But I can run one.
    I was speeding down Chestnut Avenue when something caught my leg. I fell hard and took a face full of unforgiving gravel. Blood oozed slightly from a now-reopened cut on my cheek. I licked it off. I know, I know, but seriously, you have to actually taste blood for you to realize it’s not that bad. I got up and plugged in my iPod.
    I continued down the too-long street to school. I turned my iPod up to drown out the students talking behind me. Don’t ask me why, but homework isn’t something I like hearing about, especially when I didn’t do it. It’s not like I don’t know how to do the work, that part’s easy, what really gets me is that there’s no point to it. With my test grades, homework is like overtime. You get nothing out of it and nobody appreciates it.
    Really, don’t get me wrong, I’m no Einstein. Schoolwork is just too easy. I ran another block and turned the corner to school.
    “Hey Alex!” a voice called.
    “Hiya, Syd,” I replied.
    Syd is my best friend in the entire universe (and possibly in other universes). She is a tomboy and everything about her shows it, except her long scarlet hair. She hasn’t touched makeup in her life, rides a skateboard to school occasionally, and has amazing balance. Not to mention she’s incredibly tall – five seven.
    “Been drinking blood again, vampire?” She asked teasingly, eyeing the cut on my cheek
    “Yep, and don’t forget your next on my list,” I retorted.
    “Oh please, I could rip your fangs out and you’d cry like a baby.”
    “Vampires can’t cry.” Yes, this is normal conversation for us. “Oh great, Syd, you’ve made us late for Cartenger. Again. You do realize that if I get detention again, I’m going to get suspended?
    “So am I, Short-Stack. Won’t it be fun?” she mocked.
    “Exhilarating.”
    “Now Alex, what did we say about using words with more than four syllables?”
    “It’ll blow Doug’s brains out?” I guessed.
    “Probably.” We then proceeded to burst into laughter.
    “Um Syd, shouldn’t we be running to class now?”
    “Oh yeah…” She said between giggles. “Race you!” She ran full speed towards Lexton Area Middle School. I rolled my eyes and took off.
    It was no contest really. Let’s just say that Syd’s long legs give her an advantage. Unlike a lot of boys in my grade, though, I don’t care that a girl can beat me in almost anything. I sped through the double doors and stopped dead.
    “Is this yours, per chance?” The evil Francine Cartenger held with
    an impossible grip on Syd’s wrist.
    “Yes, ma’am.”
    “Flattery will get you nowhere, Mr. Walker. Detention," she said in a voice like the grave. Of course. I glared at Syd.
    Sorry, her eyes seemed to say.

    “Class, would you care to explain to me why rules exist in the world?” Doug Simmons raised his hand in the air.
    “'Cause if there isn’t rules we can skip out on school?”
    “No! That’s the most ridiculous answer I have heard! Katherine?”
    “Because without rules we would not have a civilized society, and we could skip out on school.”
    “Amazing Katherine, everything about that answer was perfect.” Ms. Cartenger said, eyeing Doug sinisterly. Doug muttered words that I shall not repeat. “DETENTION, Mr. Simmons! That’ll teach you to be so rude to me in front of my own class!” Doug glared.
    “Now,” the evil Ms. Cartenger continued, “how would the world be if we had no punishments for breaking the rules? If there was no prison, tons of criminals would be prowling the streets unafraid of persecution. And what if the criminals did not learn this at a young age? They would be even worse! And so, Mr. Walker, Mr. Simmons, and Miss Fries will spend the next 5 days in suspension, with me.” The class gave a collective “Oooo.”
    “What are you guys, 4?” Syd shouted.
    “Syd, shut up!” I whispered.
    “Six Days, Mr. Walker, Miss Fries.”
    Syd just keeps getting me in more trouble. But I was soon to be in much more trouble than Syd could ever cause.




    Thats it for now. If you guys give me enough feedback, I will post more, comprende?