I'm Not A Pick Me, the novel

Chapter #1 : A new beginning

I woke up as the chill breeze of the morning washed over my face. As I got out of bed I noticed that my phone was dead from playing fight song on repeat all night. I was disappointed, my phone was dead and I found gum in my hair! Without listening to my music, I decided to hum a song to myself. "This is my fight song, take back my life song, prove I'm alright song!". I sang lightly as I went to the washroom to brush my teeth and hair. I threw on a yellow hoodie and black yoga pants. Continuing with my daily routine, I dallied down the stairs. I sang along as I brushed my wavy brown hair. I continued singing as I put my glasses on over my bright blue eyes and brushed my sparkling teeth. I rushed over to the kitchen, smelling my favourite breakfast; chocolate chip waffles! I sat on a seat and began munching on the waffles. "Not even a good morning for me?" my mother, Kelly, asked. "Haha... Sorry mom! Your cooking is really good so-" I replied. "I'm glad you enjoy my cooking, but please at least, say a hi to me." my mother interrupted. "Of course, of course, I'll do that next time!" I said as I glanced over to the clock. It was already 8 o'clock. Shoot! I thought to myself, I'm going to be late for the city bus. I ran over and started packing my things as fast as I could. Then I sprinted to the bus stop.

As I ran onto the bus I stammered an apology to the bus driver "s-sorry" I said. He looked at me through his beautiful hazel eyes. "Sit down," he said, in a deep, commanding voice. I shook it off and tried to find a seat. I walked down the aisle of the bus slowly as everyone stared at me. The more the people stared at me, the more shaky I get. I try my best to find a seat but there are no seats in sight. I calm myself down by doing the breathing technique my mother had taught me. Soon enough, I was fine and I could find a seat. I quickly sat down in the only empty seat.

At the next stop a girl with black hair and purple highlights got on the bus. She seemed to be my age! I was so happy for another girl my age on a city bus! Maybe she even goes to my school, I thought in a hopeful manner. She headed to the direction where I was sitting. She sat down at the other side of the row. "Hey! I'm Stella." the girl introduced. "H-huh? Oh, um, hey." I was caught off guard. "Sorry, did I scare you?" she asked. "No, no. N-not at all!" I lied. I was clearly taken back by the openness and extrovertism of this girl since I don't really talk to anyone.

"H-hi," I stammered. "My name is Ashley. Y-you can call me Ash f-f-f-f-f-f-f-f-f-f-f-f-f-f-for s-s-s-s-s-s-s-s-s-short!" I tried to speak in an energetic manner. "Oh that's a cool name!", she said. Stella seemed to be very talkative. "If you d-don't mind me asking, what s-school do you go to?" I managed to speak up. Of course, Stella wouldn't be friends with me, right? I was expelled from my last school because I was standing on the lunch table of the popular girls and giving them a once in a lifetime speech about hope! The popular kids had beaten me up after school, and I had complained to the principal, but instead of dealing with the bullies, Mr Trunchbull had forced me and the bullies to have a heart to heart conversation. "I go to Junior high," Stella said, ruining my train of thought. "Me too," I replied in a dreamy voice. I had almost forgotten that Stella was there! I was too busy reminiscing about my old school. But just maybe, this school could be a new beginning. "C'mon! It's our stop!", I heard Stella say distantly. I snapped out of my daze and saw our school out the window. As we walked off the bus, the bus driver whispered to me "wait". I hesitated, staring into his bright hazel orbs. The light hit them so perfectly I could just stare into them for hours. "You dropped this on your way onto the bus". He said in a husky voice. Oh! It was my notebook! T-thanks, I manage to stammer as he hands me my notebook. His voice had caught me off guard As he gives it to me, our hands brushed against each other. His hands are rugged, maybe he works somewhere dangerous. I snatched my notebook and scampered off, my face turning red. As I walked towards Junior HIgh with Stella, I thought about the strange bus driver. Something about him made my stomach squirm, like butterflies dancing. Maybe it was the way his orbs shone in the sunlight, or his soft silky hair, but I couldn't get my mind off of him. Everything around me reminded me of his beautiful orbs. The dirt on the ground, the bark on the trees, even my messy bun flopping in the wind. Everything reminded me of him. As I walked, head bowed from the wind, I walked straight into someone. "S-sorry." I stammered, as I bent down to pick up my books. As I looked up, I found I was looking at a handsome man, with beautifull blonde hair that curled perfectly, he was tall,maybe 6ft. But the most beautiful thing about him was his eyes. I found that I was staring into a pair of deep blue eyes. Those were eyes I could get lost in for hours. "Sorry" he said, snapping me back to reality. I-its alright, I uttered. He leant down to help me pick up my books. I blushed as his hands brushed against mine. "What's your name?" he said. I blushed profusely. M-m-my names a-Ashley, Ash for sh-short. Our eyes met. "My name's Chad", he said. Oh! I said with an unusual amount of energy. Nice meeting you Chad" As he walked away, I couldn't help thinking, maybe, we could be friends. Or more than that?

As I sat down in my first class of the day, maths, I noticed that a small piece of paper fell out of my bag. It was a phone number! The note read 'call me -Chad'. My heart fluttered as I put the note safely into my backpack.

About 10 minutes into class, there was a sharp knock on the door. My teacher, Mr J, walked over to the door and slowly opened it. The principal, Miss Kershins, was standing in the door frame holding the bus driver's arm! What is he doing here, I thought to myself. "I found one of your students wandering around", Miss Kershins announced to the teacher. "Thank you", Mr J said. "Joshua, you know you were just on time right? A few more minutes and you've been late". What? I thought to myself. Class had already been in session for 10 minutes! As if someone had been reading my mind, I heard a shout from the back of the class. "Mr J, Joshua is late. You should give him detention". It was a girl's voice. She sounded rich, if that makes sense. I turned around to see her. She had black hair. It was ugly. Mine was better. She had no volume, it was all sheen! She was wearing a chocolate brown crop top, with long, flared sleeves and a halter neckline. She was also wearing a slightly lighter shade of chocolate brown lululemon leggings, with a flared bottom on them. "Vanessa, it's not your job to give out detention", Mr J. said. Another voice spoke up. "It's not fair. Why does he get to be late and not us!" This time, I knew who it was that was speaking. It was Chad, from earlier! My heart fluttered at the sound of his voice. "I call for revolution!" Chad yelled. "End this unfair treatment of common students!". "Detention! Detention! Detention!" The class started chanting, led by Vanessa and Chad. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Joshua start walking toward Vanessa. He looked angry. No one seemed to notice him as he marched up to Vanessa, who was still chanting. Only when Joshua was a few steps away from Vanessa did she stop chanting. She stared at him. "What", she asked. Chad started walking toward Joshua. "You got something wrong with my girlfriend? Because if you do, then we're gonna have a problem." Oh, I thought. He has a girlfriend. I looked back over to the teacher. He had stepped outside to talk to the principal at such an inconvenient time! Just as I looked back at Joshua and Chad, I saw Joshua punch Chad! Chad stumbled, but did not fall. Wow, he was strong. Chad stood back up and looked at Joshua. "So this is how you wanna do things, hm?" I had to do something! Fighting was wrong. I had to stop this. Chad raised his hand to hit Joshua, but before he could, I ran between them. "Stop!" I shouted. You shouldn't fight over a girl, especially if she's not worth it. "You're right", Chad said. And just like that, Chad started walking out of the class. On his way to the door, he winked at me. "I'm having a party this Saturday night. You're my personal guest. See ya there". I was shocked. A guy like him wanted a girl like me to go with him to his party! But, didn't he have a girlfriend? Oh well, I can see why he chose me over her. As Chad reached the door of the classroom to leave, Mr. J walked back inside. "Class! Everyone back in your seats!". During all of class all I could think about was Chad inviting me to his party. But, there was something in the back of my mind. Chad seemed like a bit of a bully, but for some reason, just the thought of his gave me butterflies.