Not All Spider Bites Are Deadly; Heartbreak High

Chapter One

I am not sure who decided that all teenagers have to attend school but I can say whoever they are is a total ass hat. The summer went way too fast, and it feels like yesterday that school let out. Sure, I'm thrilled to see some of the people who I haven't seen all summer, get the summer gossip, I've missed , and be back in a routine that doesn't just mean bussing tables at Atmosphere Coffee , a coffee shop near my mom's office, and being sent up north to dads , which was a total dumpster fire.

Currently, I am running through my house trying to find my house keys, making sure I have a snack in my bag, and that I grab some butter on toast on the way out the door. Mom is already at work at her office in the city. She does something with real-estate, but I am not sure of the specifics because she is not around enough to share them with me. She did, however, when I was eight get a good deal on our three bedroom, two-story house, which she reminds me of anytime I start to complain I don't have enough space. I am sixteen. I have no idea what it means to get a good deal on a house, nor do I fully care, but sometimes it just apeases my mother to think I am listening. Finding the final piece to leave the house: matching shoes. I leave the front door, locking it behind me, and head on foot to school taking a bite of my toast on the way.

I am hoping year 11 is different. I have always been a good student, but to earn those grades I spend most of my free-time studying, and not a lot of time being social. I've been to parties, but to really have fun one should have some good friends or try to be a part of a friend group. I used to have that back in year 9. It started with boys hitting puberty and you getting left behind because you're a girl and then your mom decides that you can't hangout with Dustin "Dusty" Reid anymore because his mom, before she left and his dad got remarried, found drugs in his bedroom. And, well, kids lie and tell everyone that you snitched on Dusty and then you become the social outcast of the year. So then your mom is mad at Dusty for the drugs, at me for being friends with Dusty, at Dusty's mom for "not watching her kid" and to top that off then the whole school wouldn't talk to me and called me a Narc for the rest of the year. It has been fun , but not the type of fun I want to achieve this year.

Last year, they stopped calling me "Narc", not sure if that was because they had better things to do, or time healed the non-existent damage I caused, but I gained friends in my classes. The hope this year is I am going to hangout with my year outside of school.

The walk from my house to the school courtyard was not far, maybe 10 minutes. Less if I put some energy into walking. Even with trying to find all my stuff last minute I still arrived early, but the time I thought was late still gave me fifteen minutes before the first warning bell goes off. I found a seat on a half-wall, on the side of a set of stairs, and sat cross-legged on top and pulled out a novel to "read" while I waited for more students to arrive. In actuality, the book was a cover for people to watch. A lot of kids from year 9, and year 10 were about, but so far I only saw Quinni. She stood awkwardly in the middle of the courtyard and looked like she was waiting for Darren. She saw me look up and waved; I waved back.. We became friendly last year in maths, but our new friend-ness never left the classroom. Quinni was one to alway wear make-up and color to my simple natural make-up look and shades of grey. I sat wearing wide-legged jeans with grey sneakers, and a black hoodies. I read more of my book getting re-sucked into one of the stories I started last week not realizing that more people were arriving. When I looked-up again, I noticed Darren had arrived and was talking to Quinni. The trio of boys arrived walking through the front gate together: Dusty, Anthony Vaughn, and Spence White. They all stopped near one of the red fences surrounding the school. Spencer sat on top of it and Anthony stood next to it while Dusty stood across from them. My book still open in my lap, I observed the boys.

Anthony Vaughn has always been hard for me to read at a deeper level. He has always stuck to Spencer even before arriving at Hartley High in Year 9. They were friends before I started hanging out with Dusty in Year 4 and already came with their nicknames, and what most people call them Ant and Spider. He was, and still is, always on the quiet side when he is with those who are not Spider. I knew thirteen year old Ant, but year 11 Ant is not the same kid. Something is different about him this year. There is an air of uncertainty about him.

Dusty stood in his white shirt and black pants talking with Ant and Spider. His hair is the longest I have ever seen it, and this stupid flirty look on his face. He became quite the "ladies" man in the last few years getting with anyone who wants to get with him. At least that is what the rumors share. He has grown into his boyish charm since year 9 that is for sure. Before all the issues went down, he was more like a brother to me. It still bothers me that we fell out so hard, and my gut tells me that Spider was the one, but I do not have any proof that he is the one who told Dusty I was the one to snitch.

He was the last one I took in Navy pants, Olive shirt, with a white long sleep shirt underneath. His blond hair was the longest I have seen in the past few years a strand falling into his face. I cannot deny he grew into his lanky self over the last two years. Too bad he is an ass. I noticed him tense as Amerie came walking in with Missy and Sasha. Curious. I wonder what happened between them.

The warning bell rang, and I gathered my stuff and started making my way into school. I was walking behind the boys when a red-headed girl ran out screaming "Oi! There's a fully-gacked sex map in the old stairwell!" Everyone started to move, even me. I followed behind, even running a bit with the crown. I wasn't going to miss out on this. This could be my way in this term.

I ran up the stairwell, and was standing to the left of Spider. Reading over the map on the wall, and checking the meaning of lines with the sex key. This was madness. People around me were freaking out over the content. Yelling about what was true and what wasn't. Congratulating each other on what they saw on the map with friends. I was searching for my name. It couldn't be on the wall? Could it?

To the left of me I heard Any ask Spider "You fucked Gemma Dwyer? Man, why didn't you tell me?" in response to Spider's comment of Ant getting a wristy from Darren. It was at this moment that my hands began to shake. That my vision started to blur, but I dug my nails into my palms trying to stop any tears. They will not see me cry, at least not today. Not right now. I looked up at the spider drawn next to his name and sure enough right above was my name, Gemma, with a solid black line connecting us and a gold line that apparently meant destined. I looked to the left of me where I felt eyes around me turn to look at me. I caught Spider's brown eyes, and saw regret in them. Regret of having been my first, or regret of people finding out I am not sure, but I turned and ran.