The Seventeen Effect

Chapter 1

Here's the first chapter, make sure to read, vote, and comment! Thanks to @fairygarden for the cover above!

Chapter 1

Cyara Anders had smelt the unpleasant odor of smoke for so long, it was as conspicuous as her house smell.

On the other side of her, Asra Nasar was inhaling the poisonous chemicals of the cigarette she had placed between her tanned, long fingers. Cyara snapped back into reality as she heard the girl's mouth cupping the deadly stick and taking in the addictive chemicals.

Cyara nudged her best friend's bruised arm, and Asra looked at her in confusion, then at what she was holding in her hands. Disgusted, she immediately dropped it to the floor and stepped on it, keeping it under her foot and pinching her nose so she didn't take in the scent.

The girl placed her hand on her forehead and sighed, her cigarette breath rushing in Cyara's nostrils. She watched her friend, not knowing what to say at first. Asra's eyebrows curled up, the stressed lines on her forehead notable.

"You really need to watch yourself," Cyara said to her, bending down so she can be face to face with her sulken friend. "You keep doing this unconsciously. It's getting really bad."

Asra only nodded her head in agreement, scratching her scalp matted in sweat. "I know, I know, I know. I never should have started." She withdrew a large cigarette box from her black, sleek car that they were leaning on. She stared at it longingly, which alarmed Cyara at first.

"Woah, what in the world are you doing-" she began, but fortunately her friend trudged over to the garbage can against a light pole, hesitantly dumping the box in the trash. She slide her hands together, as if her hands were screaming, "We got the job done!" However, a clearly seen tear slid down her cheek, Asra's hand quickly wiping it off. Cyara's heart broke, pity rushing through her. She never wanted to pity anyone, since she knew she'd hate it if someone pitied her. However, it was inevitable for anyone to feel horrible for that innocent girl.

After pushing through a few of the students blocking her way back to the car, she leaned her body on it again and looked up at her taller, but younger friend. Cyara suddenly noticed neon pink streaks on the last inch of her shoulder-length hair, stunned by her lack of attention; she hadn't noticed them the entire day. However, the girl didn't say a word about it, and let it be.

"You got your final grade for Precalculus, right?" Asra croaked, trying to change the topic. The tone in her voice even more serious than before. She picked up her dark brown, light backpack off of the ground and rummaged through the disaster inside. Cyara moved her long, dark curls away from her eyes and glanced in her friend's bag to see what she was trying to pick out.

"Yeah, I got it. I got a 92," she confided, dancing in her brain at the glorious thought. "I really hope my grade is raised to an A." Asra's baggy eyelids were noticeable in the sunlight when she took a look at her friend, then back in the sack. Her expression was emotionless, the event that just occurred slowly leaving her mind.

"She finally took out a packet, which happened to be the mentioned final. Asra gave it to her; a large, prominent "B-" could be seen from meters away on the test.

"As you can see, I got an 81. All my mistakes were on the first page." Cyara then paid attention to the numerous "X"s seen on a myriad of the problems. "I think I still have a C in the class. I can't believe it, I never got a C in math before."

"Maybe Precalculus just isn't your thing," Cyara snapped before her friend would begin to go on a rant as usual. Although she sounded a little rude then, she was meaning to make her feel a little better about herself. Cyara smiled and playfully hit her with the final on the arm. "It's like me in English. Didn't you get a 97 on the final, and I got a 79? The complete reverse?"