I Can't See The Sky...

12. Late to the Barbecue.

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(Kylie's POV)

The next day, I woke up with a slight headache, which made me groan.

Immediately, my door burst open, and my mum rushed in.

"Oh my god, Kylie! Next time just take your own damn waterbottle!"

What the hell?

"I-" I stopped myself.

Memories of yesterday came crashing back into my head, intensifying my headache.

I had gotten drunk yesterday, and Daisy had brought me home. Which means that the waterbottle gimmick was the excuse that Daisy had sold to save my butt.

I clutched at my head.

"What's the time?" I asked my mum.

"7:30."

"What?!"

I jumped out of bed and rushed around the room, chucking books in my bag, and gathering my stuff.

"I'm late!"

"No, you're not. I want you to take the day off."

I spun around to face my mum.

"No can do. I have a huge test to attend to today. Plus, I'm fine, mum. I'll survive. Just a slight headache, can I get a tablet for that?"

My mum looked hesitant, but at the same time she seemed happy that I wasn't skipping my test.

"Fine, but take it easy at school. And no going to the gym today."

"What? Why?"

"Because you came home draped over your trainers arm, knocked out cold, with stitches on your face after drinking cleaning fluid!" Mum was panting slightly once she finished the sentence.

"Oh."

"Well, yeah, 'Oh' why couldn't you just take your own bottle? And why would you drink from a random bottle just lying around?!"

"Sorry, I was in a rush. And it wasn't a random bottle! I'd picked it off the shelf. I thought it was just a labelless bottle!"

"Daisy said there was a giant sign that said the 'Labelless bottle isn't drinkable!"

"Well, I must have missed the sign!"

"Well, clearly!"

"I'm sorry, mum."

Mum sighed before wrapping me in a hug.

"That's okay. Just be a little careful next time, okay? I mean what if the bottle contained was rat poison or something? What if I'd lost you?"

My mum pulled back, and her eyes showed months of guilt and pain and worry.

And for a second, I felt bad, before it was whisked away by the storm raging inside me.

"I know, I'm sorry."

"Like I said, that's okay. But be more careful next time, Kylie."

I nodded as mum kissed my cheek.

"Good, now go. You're late for school."

"What? Oh shit, yeah!"

"Language, Kylie!" Mum called from my doorway, as she closed it behind her so I could change.

"Yeah, sorry mom!" I called back distractedly while I did my best to get dressed.

~~~~~~

The amount of eyes that stared at me as I burst through the classroom door were nearly enough to make my scream at them to look somewhere else.

"Kylie, are you trying to start a late record?" One of the students from the front row asked.

"No, I was trying to avoid seeing your face in the morning orientation." I snapped.

"My face is the only pretty thing you see in your day."

"Yeah, I agree. It's pretty enough to crack a mirror."

The girl gasped loudly like I'd just stabbed her or something, well my remark probably did, because she whipped around and whispered something to the guy behind her, while pointing at me.

The guy looked up boredly, before waving at me and offering me a thumbs-up.

I waved back, and offered him a smile which he returned.

"Ahem."

I turned to face the substitue teacher, barely swallowing a snort.

"Did you just say 'ahem'?"

The teacher hid an embarrassed blush, or rather failed to hide one.

"You're late, and you're not seated. And you're choosing to engage in a very unladylike conversation with my niece, so I think I'm allowed to say whatever I want."

"Unladylike? She's your niece?" I gestured carelessly at the nosy twat in the front row.

"Some respect, please!"

"For who? You or her? I only have this much to spare." I held up my index and thumb in a pinch.

The teacher looked cornered for a second before she stood up to face me.

"Don't get over-smart, girly."

"I'm over-smart? Not the whiny creature in the first row? I mean who even gave her the permission to interfere with me?"

"That's enough! How dare you? Honestly, who do you think you are? You show up late, dressed like a pariah, all in devil colours, with earphones hanging from your t-shirt, no doubt playing inappropriate music, and you speak to me like this? Keep your mouth shut, next time!"

The tension had begun to rise in class, and no doubt, cameras were on, and videos were being recorded.

"Speak to you? Lady, nobody even involved you! I was honestly going to walk down the row and take my seat before you decided to stick a Pinocchio's nose into my business! So, if anyone needs to 'keep their mouth shut,'" I put it in air quotes even though it wasn't exactly what she'd said. "It's you and your little b**** for a niece!"

A loud gasp, and a sharp intake of breath sounded around the classroom.

"You have a lot of nerve girl, really. You're devil-spawn, you know that?! Your parents are cursed by your presence! You shouldn't exist! You're a mistake! Devil-spawn I tell you, devil-spawn!"

I smirked.

"Don't talk about the devil and spawn and all that. It's unladylike."

Applause and laughter burst out around the class, and my smirk turned victorious. Clearly, the peer support I received was the last straw for her, because her face turned red and she stormed out of the class, no doubt so she could call the principal on me.

I dug deep, deep inside me, but oh-so-surprisingly, I couldn't find it in myself to care.

The most the principal could do was get me suspended for a day, for talking back to a teacher. But if I reported the entire offense to the principal, which sure I'm lots of people had recorded, the sub would get in to a lot, lot more trouble.

Which lady-unladylike seemed to have realised, because a minute later she was back in class, looking like she was going to burst out crying.

Luckily, I didn't have to bear with her for much longer, because the bell rang, and I was the first out the door. Winking at her, and thanking her for the lecture.