She's a Freak

Chelsea, Adam and Coffee

Carleigh's POV:
       
   BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BE- I slammed my hand on the snooze button on my alarm clock, silencing the obnoxious beeping. Ugh, its Monday. Time for another glorious day at school. I kicked of my covers and rolled out of bed. I brushed through my messy hair and made my way to the bathroom and hopped in the shower. I dried my hair and trudged downstairs. Jonah was already in the kitchen eating a bowl of Fruit Loops. I made myself a bowl of Apple Jacks and added some milk. I sat down next to Jonah and slowly ate my breakfast. "Are you ready for school?" he asked sarcastically happy. I sent him a look the said, "What do you think, idiot?" and he chuckled. He knew I hated school. I finished my cereal and went back to my room and began to get ready. I brushed my teeth, applied a small amount of makeup and got dressed. I threw my hair in to a messy braid and grabbed my back pack and Penny Board. As I made my way down the steps, I heard Allison speaking to someone on the phone. She was using a hushed voice. I heard my name and began to listen, but she saw me and quickly ended the conversation and hung up. "Morning, honey. Ready to go?" she asked plainly. I nodded and gave her a quick hug. "Bye, Mom." Jonah said kissing her on the cheek. He grabbed his skateboard and wheeled down the street. I jumped on my board and followed him. About a block away, I passed a strangely familiar black van. I noticed a man sitting in the drivers seat. I felt like I knew him from somewhere. Like I'd seen him a few years ago. "Whatever." I thought as I rolled down the road to the school.

        Harbor High School was only about a 7 minute ride from my house. As I rolled on to campus, I stopped pushing myself and just slowed naturally. I was about to jump off when some jerk stuck their foot out and kicked one of the wheels, sending me flying off the end and on to the pavement. There was a harsh sting in my left elbow and my right palm. I heard laughter behind me and turned to glare it whoever it was. Adam Matthews and his friends from the football team stood against the school laughing their heads off. "Hey Carleigh! Are you sure you know how to ride that thing? You look like you could use some lessons!" He shouted at me. I turned my back to him and shoved my board into my backpack. I picked myself up and walked away, examining my injuries. My elbow and my hand were completely scrapped up and bleeding. Perfect! 

        I put my headphones in and started looking for Nat. I found him outside the library. Unfortunately, he wasn't alone. Two cheerleaders were standing around him and giggling. I began to turn around. "Don't turn around! Just walk up to him. Don't let them scare you, Carleigh." I told myself. I took a deep breath and began walking towards Nat. "Hey Carls!" Nat said waving me over to him. The cheerleaders turned around and frowned. One of them was Chelsea Evans, the cheer captain. "What are you doing here, loser? No one wants you here." She fired. I winced and began to walk away. "Hey! I want her here. If you don't like her then you can leave." Nat said, stepping around her and standing in front of me. I hid behind him and looked down at my shoes. "Why would you want to hang out with a freak like her?" "Why would anyone want to hang out with a bitch like you?" Nat replied, causing Chelsea's jaw to drop. "You're a loser just like her." She scoffed and turned on her heel, walking a way with her friend, shaking her hips waaaay too much. Nat turned to face me and smiled cheekily. I smiled slightly up at him. "Don't you dare listen to her, Carleigh. You're not a loser or a freak." He said. His arms wrapped around me pulling me into a hug. My left arm was tucked between us, my elbow pressed against his chest, causing me to wince. Nat looked at me with concern and I showed him my elbow. He pulled a Band-Aid out of his pocket. He has always kept bandages with him. I don't why but he always has. He gently placed it over my cuts, right as the bell rang. as we walked inside, a few boys shouldered me, nearly knocking me over. Nat glared at them and pulled me close to him. 

        "I'll see you in English." Nat said before leaving me in the hall. We have almost all of our classes together. Every class except first period, which is the class where I get picked on the most: Math. The whole cheer squad and half of the football team are in that class. We used to be good friends in elementary school, but after I stopped talking they started hating me. I don't know why, they just kinda found something wrong with me. Whatever. I stored my Penny Board in my locker and made my way to class. I took my seat in the back and opened my binder. The class was going just fine until the teacher gave us actual work. Let the teasing begin. "Hey Carleigh. Can you tell me how to do this problem?" "Yeah Carleigh. Can you explain it to me?" Blah Blah Blah. That was how the rest of the class went. 

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      Words can't describe how happy I was when the bell rang. Time for English with Nat! I packed up as fast as I could and almost sprinted out of the room! I got to class before anyone else. This was my favorite class. I had a few sort-of friends. Well, they were more like people who were nice to me. "Hey Carleigh." Someone said. I looked up and saw that it was Jenna. We used to be really close in the third grade but we drifted apart over the years. I smiled up at her. "Did you have a good weekend?" She asked. I shrugged. I looked down at my notebook and she did the same. Nat took his seat next to me. "Hey!" He said. I looked at him and grinned. "How was math?" He asked. I shrugged. "Awful." I thought to myself. "Not that great?" He asked, reading my mind. I shook my head. "I'm sorry." Nat replied. I shrugged again. English went by just fine and so did my other classes. Lunch was another story.

        Nat and I took our usual seat in the back of the cafeteria. Things went fine for a while. I got my lunch and sat down without drawing too much attention. Nat sat next to me and asked me to come over after school. Of course I agreed. "Awww! making plans with your boyfriend?" Chelsea joked, holding a cup of iced Starbucks coffee. I rolled my eyes and looked at my plate. "Go away, Chelsea." Nat shot. "Nat, you don't need her. Come sit with us." She said batting her eyelashes, attempting to be cute but she just looked like she had some mascara in her eye. "I don't like you, Chelsea. Get that in your head." Nat said raising his voice some. "Ugh!" She pouted. I thought I heard her walk away, but suddenly cold, brown liquid and ice cubes rained down on me. The whole cafeteria erupted in laughter. I Jumped up and turned to face Chelsea. "Something wrong?" she asked innocently. I stormed out of the cafeteria, tears streaming down my cheeks. I had to find a change of clothes.

Nat's POV:
        I watched as that brat poured her coffee all over Carleigh. I watched as my best friend ran out in tears. "Hey Bitch!" I shouted at Chelsea. She turned to face me. "What the hell was that for? She didn't do anything!" I shouted at her. "My drink slipped and she just happened to be there." She replied. "If this is all because you're jealous or something, knock it off. She hasn't done anything to you. I don't like you! You are an awful person. I won't ever date you. Ever! Especially since you're nothing but a bitch to my best friend!" I shoved past her, leaving her gaping. I had to Find Carleigh. I saw her as she ran inside the building. I ran after her and found her opening her locker and pulling out a gym bag. "Carleigh!" I yelled and she looked at me. She stood there for a second, frozen. Then she ran straight to me wrapping her arms around me, shaking with silent sobs. "Shh Shh." I cooed, rubbing her back. She looked up at me with her big blue eyes, shining with fresh tears. I noticed she had a bag in her hand. "Do you have a change of clothes?" I asked and she nodded towards the bag. She got changed and shoved her old clothes into the bag which she put in her back pack. "Do you wanna go home?" I asked. She nodded and pulled out her skate board. I retrieved mine from my locker and we went outside and rolled down the pavement. The two of us have been given special permission to go home at any point in the day if necessary. We don't leave very often, just when something like this happens. 

        We went straight to my house and I told Carleigh that she could take a shower. While she was cleaning up, I made got popcorn, sodas and our favorite candy. I also turned on Grease, her all time favorite movie. She got out of the shower, got dressed, towel dried her hair and curled up next to me on my bed. Sometime during the movie she fell asleep. It was nice to see her looking so peaceful after the day she'd had. I don't know why anyone would want to treat her like that. She hasn't done anything to anyone. She's the sweetest, kindest, most caring, most wonderful person in the whole world. 

"Dude, you're thinking like you're in love with her or something.

"What are you talking about? I don't love her."

"Are you sure?"

Positive. She's my best friend."

"That doesn't mean you can't like her."

"Yeah I guess- Wait What?! I don't like her like that."

"Mm Hmm."

Oh God! I'm talking to myself! Man I have one active imagination. I don't like Carleigh like that. Do I? No! I don't. Right? Ugh, damn it!