THE GAME

I

       She wore her head warmers and gently settled her headphone to her head. Adjusting her jacket, she couldn't take her eyes off the mirror.
This was her. Sasha. The only child of her father. She never knew her mother. But she was sure that where ever the woman maybe, she'd be disappointed a what her daughter had become.
Sasha's shoulders fell slightly, still studying her self.
Long curly black hair, slender body, her lips slightly parted and her eyes huge and wide.
"The role of a rich kid would definitely fit you." She told her reflection and smiled softly.
Her blue eyes glistened a little with unshed tears.
She placed a hand on her waist and rose a hand up.
"I want a new phone, the screen of the last one had a crack." She acted and bursted into laughter. She could even feel like they were two in the room.
"This is you, baby." She told herself again knowing that no matter how much she wished to be rich, the probability of it happening was very little.

The loud and soft bark of her dog came from behind her. She turned towards the dog as he leaped on her and began to lick her face.
She giggled.
"You're awake, Roger. I was thinking you won't meet me when you wake up."
Roger barked in reply.
"Well, good thing you did." Sasha said picking up her bag. "I have stuff I need you to do for me."
Roger sat obediently, ready to listen.
Sasha hung her bag on her shoulder and brought her headphone down to her neck.
"Ok, Roger. There are some clothes in my room I need them washed before I get back from school. The kitchen is in a mess, I still can't figure out what you did there during the night..."
Roger lowered his head In guilt.
"Clean it up! Do the dishes too. Aaaaaand...." Sasha pointed towards the kitchen.
"There's the leftovers from the pizza we had last night. You can have them for breakfast, I'll get what to eat on my way."
Roger stood wagging his tail in excitement of the food.
Sasha rolled her eyes. She was certain that he wasn't going to do anything she said but eat. Maybe because he couldn't, maybe because he didn't want to.
She walked towards the door.
"If you do what I asked you to, I'll get some more pizza after school." She announced bribingly.
Roger whimpered giving her doggy eyes.
She rolled her eyes.
"Fine! Forget the laundry and the dishes! Just keep this place in order." She said.
Roger barked in happy response.
"Bye, Roger. Be a good boy." She said leaving the house.

She half ran down the street towards the market.
Men! She was already late! She didn't have breakfast and she couldn't go to school on foot because time was against her.
She shrugged inwardly. She had a strategy for situations like that.
She was already at the market when she hung her bag in front of her before dashing into the crowd.
It was crowded for such an early morning but Sasha was happy with it anyway.
She walked casually through the crowd, her eyes searching quickly for what she could get.
"Thank you, ma'am." She heard a man say to a lady in a stalk and she turned to the direction, just in time to see him slipping some cash into the side pocket of his coat.
She grinned and made her way towards him
"Tell your son that he could come visit anytime." The man told the woman before leaving the stall.
Sasha walked towards him and him towards her. He was humming a tune Sasha declared was stupid.
They walked past each other.
No rufflings or sounds.
The man didn't look back, neither did Sasha. They both went their separate ways with a smile on their faces.
The man's smile because he was happy with his life.
Sasha's smile because, there in her hands was 20 dollars.
She spread the money through her fingers conciously and chuckled proudly.
"That'll do." She said to herself and stuffed the money into her jacket.

               
                          **********

"Sasha! You're just in time!" Rexy announced as Sasha walked toward her holding a pack of chips, stuffing some in her mouth and chewing proudly.
"Hmm... Just in time for what?" Sasha asked unconcerned as she leaned on Rexy's locker.
Rexy put her hand into the packet in Sasha's hand and it emerged with some chips.
"Its Heather! Wayne Heather!... Will is threatening to fight him because of... You know, girls!" Rexy said excitedly, tiptoeing to see above the crowd..
Sasha rolled her eyes.
"Wow, great news..." She said sarcastically. "Isn't Will a brave little fly that wants to die before his time?" She added with a mouthful of chips.
Rexy dropped flat on her feet, shooting Sasha an unbelievable glance.
"Seriously, Sasha?" She said raising a brow.
"What? I come to school this morning and Hill's Den greets me with this!" She said gesturing at the crowd in front of them. "What I'm I supposed to do dance around like you?" She said throwing her hands up in the air.
Rexy rolled her eyes.
"I've always known you're crazy my dear Sasha." She said placing a joking arm on Sasha's shoulder.
They laughed
Fight. Fight. Fight.
They looked towards the crowd as the chants began.
"Wow... Things just got interesting!" Sasha confessed with a grin.
"Let's go get a better view." Rexy told her leading the way and squeezing her way into the crowd.
Sasha followed her.
"Excuse me... Coming through!" Rexy sang with her tiny voice.
"Get outta my way! Move your ass outta here!" Sasha said authoritatively, making their way through the crowd.
They found themselves in front.
Will was standing there, ranting and complaining about how Wayne was making his girlfriend hate him and stuff.
Wayne was at his locker, he had a spray in his hand and he was designing his locker. Sasha had to slant her head slightly to see that he designed a gamepad on his locker and wrote Sun Drill.
What ever. He seemed to not even notice that someone was challenging him behind him.
Sasha was getting bored. This was not going anywhere... She was sure Wayne was not ready to be suspended because last time he fought with a kid, he was suspended for a week and the kid spent that same week in the hospital.
Will just had to be a freak. Sasha rolled her eyes.
The crowd got more excited when Wayne put the spray into his locker and clamped it shut.
They thought he was going to fight but he simply hung his bag on his shoulder and left the crowd.

Wayne was certain that his head was literally on fire as he walked out on a fight and Will didn't stop shouting 'coward' at him. He'd give anything to punch the teeth out of that kid. But he just wanted to be cool.
He pulled his hoodie further over his face as he walked to the first class.
Urgh! How he hated being early in school. But would his mum listen to that? No! She wanted him to be a good boy which they both knew he wasn't.
He got into the literature class and almost groaned in disgust. Starting the day with a damn boring subject.
He found his way to the back seat not bothering to throw a greeting at Mrs Campbell as he past her.
Mrs Campbell humphed loud enough so he could hear.
"Good morning, Mt Heather." She said
He muttered something even himself could not understand to her in response.
"Since you're here earlier than the rest of them, would you mind reading the Othello's..."
"No!" He declined immediately. "I will not!" He added.
Him. Standing in front of the class, reading Othello's part while demonstrating and adding emotions. He scoffed.
When he watched others do it, it was stupid! Really stupid! Othello was stupid! So was literature!! So was Hill's Den High!! So was school as a whole!!!
He relaxed more into his seat, glaring at Mrs Campbell's shoe, that was completely innocent of anything that got on his nerve that morning but he couldn't glare at Mrs Campbell. He wasn't ready to visit the principal's office that day.
Mrs Campbell stared at him for a while.
"Very well, Mt Heather. I'm sure your mum would looove such news." She said adjusting the glasses on her nose.
Wayne's nose breathed out smoke, not literally tho. He then got the guts to glare at her directly.
"Tell her for all I care!" He roared. "And be ready to tell her that I did this too!"
He grabbed the stupid literature textbook on his table and threw it at Mrs Campbell.
The book hit her squarely on the forehead and she fell backward with a grunt.

"Detention!!" Principal Rutherford declared hitting her table.
Wayne groaned.
"I already said I'm sorry." Wayne said grumpily.
"You said so yesterday, Mr Heather!" She said angrily.
"Aren't you tired of putting me in detention every two days?!" Wayne said in frustration!
"Aren't you tired of serving detention every two day? Learn to behave! You're a kid not an animal!"
"I CAN behave!" Wayne shouted stressing the 'can'. "I just stopped myself from killing that fucking fool named Will, down in the hallway and you say I can't behave." He was almost yelling at her in annoyance. He regretted not beating the shit out of Will's head since after his cool he was still going to serve detention because of the old hag!
"Language, Mt Heather! Language!" Mrs Rutherford scolded.
"Get out! See you tomorrow 15 minutes before your classes for your detention." She said in conclusion.
Wayne stood abruptly and stormed out of the office, making sure to slam the door shut so hard.