A Special Kind of Perfect

CHAPTER 1

CHAPTER 1

Peyton got into the school bus, discreetly waving at their parents, who stood at the bus stop, wide smiles on their faces. Sighing inwardly, the teen tried to get to the farthest row of seats without being noticed, but judging by the murmur of voices that started as soon as they sat down, they failed miserably.

Another day in the fascinating life of Peyton Hunter, they thought, lowering their gaze and staring at the bus's floor. The ironic looks in the other kids' eyes, the contempt, the threats hissed between clenched teeth, the teachers' indifference, and all the other things they didn't want to tell their parents about were the price they had to pay for being different.

Lost in thought, Peyton didn't notice when the bus stopped and the kids started to get down, heading to school. A gentle touch on their shoulder made them flinch and raise their head, ready to meet the evil look in their tormentor's eyes. To their great surprise, a kid they'd never seen before, with emerald-green eyes and fiery red hair, stared at them, slightly confused.

"Hey, buddy. What are you waiting for? Get your tiny ass down. The classes will start in like...fifteen minutes? I don't want to be late on my very first day. The teachers may get the wrong impression of me, and I can't afford to..."

"Then go ahead! Who's stopping you? And anyway, you shouldn't worry about the teachers, it's the kids' opinions that really matter here. They are the ones you have to impress." Peyton cut the other kid short, leaving the seat and heading to the bus's door. "Sorry, I don't mean to offend you." They lowered their head, speaking in a quiet voice as they got down from the bus.

The redhead waved dismissivelly. "You didn't. I don't give a damn about this bunch of idiotic, spoiled brats, who think they are better than anyone else just because their families have lots and lots of money. I saw enough of them back in Seattle. They don't intimidate me."

"It's not about the money—my parents have a very solid financial situation. It's about...forget it, you wouldn't understand, anyway. We just met. I shouldn't..." Peyton's voice died down as they and the red-haired boy stepped into the school's main lobby. "The principal's office is that way." They pointed to a door, averting their gaze. "Nice to meet you, take care. I hope to see you around."

"Hey, I forgot to tell you my name, it's Alasdair Flemming. I would like to know yours, if that's alright." The redhead tentatively smiled, his voice lighthearted.

"Peyton Hunter." They hesitantly took the boy's hand, shaking it. "Now you really have to go if you still want to create a good impression."

The red-haired kid flashed the cutest grin ever, knocking on the principal's office's door, waving before stepping inside. As they trudged to the Biology lab, Peyton couldn't stop to think about that boy, about how natural and cool he acted around them. Letting out a long, heavy sigh, they hoped his kindness wouldn't make Alasdair land in trouble.

As they listened to Mister Peterson's explanation on human cellular division, Peyton reflected to their situation. They loved school, studying, doing homework and spending long hours in the Biology and Chemistry labs but dreaded team projects because no one wanted to be teamed up with them.

Even if they found understanding from most of the teachers, some of them were as narrow-minded as the students and deemed Peyton as socially unadaptable and inclined to create tension inside the community. As if the label of freak wasn't enough, those teachers' attitude isolated the fifteen-year-old from the rest of the students even more.

Some of them, like Paul Anderson and his gang of bullies, took advantage of the teachers' indifference and picked on Peyton, pushing them into the lockers, tearing up their textbooks and pulling evil pranks on them almost on a daily basis. Somehow, the teen managed to push everything to the back of their mind, but they didn't know for how long would they be able to do so.