I sat at one of the grimy red tables in Lincoln High School's cafeteria waiting for the rest of my team to show up. It's seven o'clock in the morning on a Saturday. Most kids have other things to be doing right now but I was here at a debate tournament. I decided to quit debate at the beginning of my junior year but its now late September andwould look terrible if i just left.
So now you must be wondering what kind of girl is on the debate team and spends her Saturday morning in school. Well that's just me. Misty Rodriguez, sixteen years old, dark brown hair, almost black eyes, five feet tall, and a classified nerd I suppose. I sometimes do fun things like hangout with my friends and go to kickbacks but other than that I'm holed up in my room being a waste of space because I don't exactly do much with my life. I saw some of my friends approaching so I left my miserable thoughts and turned to talk to them.
"This is all your fault," I grumbled at Kayla as she took a seat beside me at the rectangular lunch table.
"Oh come on Misty, you know I would do the same for you!" she exclaimed reaching out to me for a hug. I wouldnt have done this tournament if it wasnt for Kayla, one of my best friends. She didnt have a partner so she asked me last minute and I couldnt be rude and say no of course.
"Whatever," I said as I playfully pushed her off. "You owe me. Again."
"Hey guys," I heard a deep voice from above me. Standing over us at maybe six feet four inches was Eric Gallaway. He was a junior like us and had scruffy light brown hair and hazel eyes. He wore his usual black suit with a light grey tie, and black dress shoes.
"Eric," I stated towards him whilst craning my head to look at him.
"Aw, are you still mad at me from last night?" He was most likely refering to the fact that I was pissed off at him since he called me an oompa lumpa. Definitely hitting a nerve.
"I am currently not speaking to the likes of you, so please refrain from any form of contact, you egotistical bastard," I spoke abruptly and swiftly. Then I grabbed my bag and walked out the cafeteria, brushing past a guy accidently but not looking back since I wanted to make a dramatic exit.
Why so dramatic? Well I'll tell you why. Last night I was at Kayla's house and so were a few others, including Eric. He was certainly high and acting like a real asshole as he usualy did when he was baked. People usually get along with me or simply ignore me and I liked it that way. But NO! Eric had to bring up all the faults I had to everyone's attention so they started laughing. And trust me it wasnt just my height. He brought up how I was never having any fun, how I didnt date a lot of guys, how I was always alone if it wasnt for my two best friends Kayla and Stephanie, and he even said I was probably a virgin. People just kept asking questions and making snide remarks to the point where I just left. That is why I was mad. I could care less if it was just him messing around by calling me short or something.
I walked out into the warm morning air. Stockton was a crap town but at least it had good weather. I went to the bathroom and looked at myself in the mirror. My black pencil skirt was a little below mid thigh, my lavender top was showing a bit cleavage, and my hair was pin straight since I straightened it. I pulled my skirt down a bit and pulled my shirt up from the front. I took a peek at my makeup, glad that the browns I used for eyeshadow was subtle but visible and that my mascara didnt clump like usual. I looked somewhat pretty, but I knew by the end of the day that my feet would be killing me due to the black five inch pumps I wore. Taking one last look in the mirror I wondered how the others saw me. Did I look pretty on the outside or was it just me imagining it?
I strode on back to the cafeteria seeing that a few other people had arrived. I noticed a boy in a black leather jacket with gray pants and black dress shoes sitting next to Eric and Lisa on the other side of him talking nonstop. Once I took my seat across from them I sat quitely staring at my phone and pretending to be busy. Of course no one actually would have text me or anything. The majority of the people I knew were with me.
"Brock! Why are you even here if you're not gonna talk to me! I'm your partner," Lisa whined and tugged on guy's arm. He looked clearly annoyed by her actions. Lisa was nice and all but she was a bit of an eccentric one could say.
So that's who he is. The boy in the leather jacket was Brock Michaels and I had no idea why he was here. He never go himself involved in school activites, let alone speech and debate. He was always with his small little crew consisting of himself, Dylan Kent, Luke Matthews, Wyatt Banks, and I think sometimes Eric. They were the boys you just didnt approach. I dont want to say bad boys because they werent like the typical hot jerk off ones. They actually gave off a scary vibe that was like dont fuck with me or else. Eric was the only odd one out though he hanged out with several people at school.
"I needed the extra credit for english but I wouldnt even be your fucking partner if Mrs. Turner didnt force me to," he said nonchalantly as though his words wouldnt hurt her. Everyone was quiet now waiting for Lisa to respond. She looked surprised and kept silent not knowing what to say.
"Shut up man before you say something stupid," but it was Eric who spoke up instead.
Brock sat there looking annoyed and said something under his breath which I couldnt make out. I never really took notice to him before this, but I had heard the rumors. I dont think there was anyone who didnt know who he was or at least of him. He must of noticed me staring at him since he looked up directly at me.
I looked down not wanting to make eye contact any more. I started feeling something strange inside. It was uncomfortable as if I had a bad feeling in the pit of my stomach. Was it because of Brock? Nah, it was probably because I ate something bad yesterday I tried to tell myself.
I glanced up and let go of my drifting thoughts that were starting to make me feel crazy.
