HEARTBREAK HIGH; •Spencer White•

-18-

"Coffee, Daisy?" Her father's voice called out from the kitchen, Daisy stirred away as she sat up. Her Dad was home.

"Yes please." She pulled the covers off of her as she dressed for the day quickly entering the kitchen, "Morning Dad." Her father sent her a smile, Daisy returning it happily.

She grabbed the made coffee sipping it while she moved past to make toast. "Did you see they're building another Maccas down the street Dad." Her dad moved across the kitchen sitting at the kitchen table.

"Waste of money if you ask me." Daisy buttered her toast moving to grab her bag, "Be better off fixing the bloody pot holes out the front of the pub." Daisy laughed, collecting the car keys.

"Can I take the car Dad?" He nodded, bringing a smile to Daisy's face, as she left out the door. It wasn't a fair drive to school but Daisy took the long way she hadn't driven in a while.

"Dad home Daisy?" Cash questioned as she parked beside him getting out of her car.

"Yep, all good though Cashy." Daisy hugged him happily, Cash smiling as his best mate let him go. "Let's go aye?" Cash rested his arm on her shoulder as the pair walked in.

-

The piece of paper lay on her desk, Daisy's heart pausing for a moment.

B +

She gulped nervously, scanning her eyes over the parchment again as she tried to make sense of the grade. Daisy had never gotten a B before. Gosh she wished her father didn't find out. He knew she was the top student and he liked to keep it that why.

"All good babe?" Missy's voice beside her beckoned, Daisy nodding thankfully the school bell ringing. Daisy packed her things heading to SLT's. She didn't feel like socialising much instead slipping her headphones on as she entered the courts.

"All righty. Thank you all for showing up today. Hang on, we're missing Dusty?" Daisy hugged her arms tightly looking to Spider fairly close to her.

"Yeah, he's not coming." Spencer's tone was angry, Daisy trying to ignore him as her music increased in volume.

"Well, I saw him this morning. He should be here..." Miss Obah trailed off, "So, uh, we're going to be playing a game called Stuck in the Mud. You might be familiar with it." Daisy ditched the headphones somewhat interested in where the lesson was going.

"If you get tagged, you're stuck and you can't move again unless someone crawls between your legs and sets you free." She finished, Daisy regretted putting her headphones away.

"It could be fun." Miss Obah tired to lighten up the mood, "Amerie, you're "it." If Amerie manages to get you all stuck in five minutes, I think I'll give her, I don't know, 20 bucks? Okay, laps. Let's go." She finished most students hesitant.

"Miss, uh, we're not dressed to sweat." Snickers erupted through the class at Ant's complaint.

"Well, I don't care what you're dressed for.
You're all going to start running now, or you'll be running after school. Your choice.
Let's go."

Spencer passed Daisy, a smirk on his face as their fingers interlocked a moment. "Love watching me run, do ya Spencer." She teased dodging Amerie once again. Spencer met her grin, running the opposite direction.

"...Anyone wearing blue is also stuck. And anyone wearing a watch." Daisy cursed stoping as her blue sweater gave her away, meanwhile Spider continued weaving through people behind her.

"Fairness is irrelevant. You're stuck in the mud or you're on double detention." He looked across making eye contact with Daisy as he begun stopping reluctantly. Daisy mouthed 'stop', as he finally stopped cursing loudly.

"All right." Jojo announced clapping her hands together, "Good hustle, Amerie. Twenty dollars, as promised." Daisy huffed a breath, her hands on her hip. She hated running at school.

"You can't make us play a game and then change the rules every ten seconds."

"Right. So you all agreed to play the same game, but someone, me, decides to change the rules. Does that feel fair?" Daisy had no idea where Ms Obah was going with her odd game, instead her attention on red faced Spider.

"No." The class chorused.

"But you still kept playing—

"Miss, you said we'd all get detention if we didn't play." Daisy reasoned, the first she had spoken out against Miss Obah gaining her a glance. "Amerie was promised 20 bucks, I don't see why she wouldn't play either."

"So this brings us to the point of today's exercise. I want you to start thinking about this unfair power balance. About other times something like this might happen in life."

"A boyfriend who decides what their partner is allowed to-

"Yeah, here comes the man bashing." Daisy paled hearing his voice across the room, Miss Obah's face hardening, "You want to know what is unfair? The fact that this entire school is out to get anyone with a pair of nuts." Daisy huffed a breath.

"Okay, that is completely untrue." Miss Obah scoffed hoping the teen would give up. He usually did—

"So I get detention for looking the wrong way, but Harper gets a pat on the back for publicly sh1tting on Dusty. You wonder why he doesn't rock up." He was angry, red flushed in his cheeks.

"Hey, look around, Spencer. No one's feeling sorry for you or Dusty because you aren't the victims here and I really don't think you're convincing anyone that you are. Anyway—"

"—fucking fem n*zi, man." Daisy's head snapped in his direction, their eyes meeting each others. He paled a moment as he watched Daisy's eyes widen. He'd fucked up.

"Sorry, what did you just say?" Jojo had seemed to provoke him further, Spider turning away from Daisy to face Miss Obah.

"I said this is bullshit!" Daisy gulped as Spider collecting his belongings.

"Get out of my class!" She didn't need to tell him twice Spider flipping her off as he left, slamming the gym door. "Um Okay, we'll pick this up next week." Daisy felt bad for Miss Obah, the woman visible disturbed.

"I'll talk to him Miss.. sorry." Daisy approached the woman, comforting quietly as she took off out of the gym after the blonde.