Contrast (Being Rewritten)

Chapter 3

Carmen

I impatiently drum my fingers on my thigh as I stare out the window of the bus. I have been sitting down to long, the energy builds. We still have another five minute drive though to get to town. Even longer to reach the school. It's too much time. I need to move. I shift in my seat, trying to get comfortable.

The dam that I have built is nearly overflowing, unused energy threatening to spill over the edge. My leg starts to jiggle. I have got to move. I try to pass the time reading, but it is only a small distraction. I can still hear the irritating thrumming against my temples. My ears start to ring and I know that I have to do something. Immediatly.

Reaching for my book bag under the seat I grab my phone and headphones and blare the music. Loud. The energy subsides no longer needed immediate release. I relax against the back of the seat. I'm safe. There's no need to worry.

Reaching for my book again, I dive nose deep into the poetry. It fills my head. The words moves like music. It's so beautiful. Suddenly, I can feel my hand start to shake. I have got to move like right now. I look at where we are at. Town. And town equals school. School equals mental exhaustion. Mental exhaustion equals no energy. A sweet, sweet escape.

I step into the line and slowly file off the bus. I murmur a small goodbye to the bus driver and walk in long strides to the building. I still have one of my headphones in, Icon for Hire blaring for those who are passing by to hear. While I make way down to the locker room, I keep my eyes down. No need to make eye contact with somebody I don't really care about. Nah, they'll just give me a headache.

I'm no longer shaking. I feel normal. Or at least as normal as Carmen Fiona Devon is getting. But who defines normal? If you ask me nobody is normal. Everybody has their own dark secret, something they keep hidden just beneath the surface. Something that everybody else is better off not knowing.

Hey, even I have my own secrets. Things I never tell anybody. Don't trust anybody enough too. I don't have any friends that would consider me their bestie. I'm lucky if I have somebody to sit next to at lunch. Fifty percent of the time I'm not.

I push the locker door open to find two high school girls in their in a deep conversation. They see me and glare. I bite down hard on my lip to keep from smiling. I dump my gym bag in the first available spot I see, then quickly walk out of the locker room. Walk just as fast up the stairs, taking two at a time, to my locker.

Just as I reach the last flight I see the brainiac of the class, Willow, walk by. She walks with her head high, her mind somewhere else. Her icy blue eyes meet mine and I smile at her. Her eyes go wide and worry fills there blue depths. She hurries past down the stairs. I watch her feet scurry down the rest of the flight, and she mumbles something with every step.

"Mornin' to you to darlin'." I mumble under my breath. Talk about being in a school full of crazies.