A Little Too Much

Chapter 2

Justin's P.O.V
       I wrote my name on the quiz Mrs.Helen passed out, when I heard a quiet groan next to me. I looked over to see Alice with a pained expression. I stared at her, confused. She noticed my expression and she smiled painfully. I raised an eyebrow, but she mouthed that she was okay. I gave her one last look, then started the quiz. I hoped she was okay.
       Alice always acted so weird. One day, she was perfectly fine, then the next she looked like she could barely move.
       Whenever I asked about it, I could tell she was uncomfortable. Usually one of us would change the subject when I brought it up. I always wondered why she would get upset, but I trust that she would let me know if something major was going on. However, things were beginning to get more suspicious.

Alice's P.O.V
       That was close. Too close. I probably made it so obvious that I was in pain. It was pathetic.
       I was started to get so panicked that I couldn't focus on the test.
       I pondered possible excuses. My mind was blank as I heard Mrs.Helen announcing that we had to finish our quizzes before 5 minutes was up. I had only gotten through the first question!
      My eyes widened. I quickly counted how many questions there were. Luckily, there was only about 10 questions left, and they were multiple choice.

       5 minutes later, a timer rang from Mrs.Helen's phone.
       "Time's up!" She called, and got up from her desk to collect the quizzes.
       Hurriedly, I guessed an answer for the last question before the teacher took my quiz.

       The day dragged on. At lunch, Justin asked me why I looked like I was in pain in History. I told him the first thing I could think of. He believed it.
       I hated that I had to lie to him, but there was nothing else I could do. He would never be able to understand my situation. It's not his fault, he's just that type of person. He basically has a perfect life.

       Finally, it was the end of the day. Both Justin and I were off to soccer.
       Soccer was the only sport I played. Soccer was fun, and it kept me away from my mother for a while on Mondays and Wednesdays. Win, win!
        I was also looking into the volleyball team, which was on Tuesdays and Thursdays. I could hardly imagine almost a whole week that was filled with time away from my mom.
        After about 2 hours of practice, Justin and I walked to the school courtyard.
       "Can I walk you home today?" Justin asked sweetly.
         I looked at the ground. "I don't think so, not today," I answered before explaining another random excuse.
       "You always have a reason for me not to walk you home, don't you?" He laughed. I sighed.
       If I brought Justin even near the house, I'd be killed. She'd probably call me a slut. Maybe a whore. Who knows?
       I bit my lip, trying to think. "Listen, here's the thing," I began. "It's just if I had you walk me home, and my mom saw you, I'd be killed. I can't really have any boys around, but it's really nice of you to want to, and I'd love you to if I could, but I can't. Do you understand?" At least that was partly the truth.
       He nodded. "Yeah, I understand, but why didn't you just tell me in the first place?"
       "I honestly have no idea." I laughed. "Anyways, I have to get home, see ya!" I smiled my best smile at him, then headed home.

That night
       I was sitting at my desk doing homework, when my mother walked into my room, angry.
       "Hey! Where have you been all day?" My mother growled at me.
       I rolled my eyes secretly before turning towards her. "I have soccer on Mondays and Wednesdays." I answered calmly, trying desperately not to anger her.
       She smirked at me. "Oh, really?" She asked.
       "Yes..." I stated, getting annoyed. How come she always had to be drunk?
       "Sure, you were at soccer. Do you really expect me to believe you're actually doing something with your life? Of course you aren't, you're a failure and you always will be."
       Then, she grabbed a book from my desk and slammed in onto my head. I went into a ball to try to block anything she wanted to do to me. She knocked me off my chair, throwing my onto the floor. She kicked at my side, and I let out a small cry. I tried to crawl over to my bed. She took a dictionary and threw it into my back. I wailed when the dictionary hit the already sore spot and fell back over into a ball.
       "P-please, stop." I whispered.
       She laughed loudly. She gave my body one last kick. "You're pathetic." She said, and left.
       I lay there in a ball, tears streaming down my face. I struggled to get up so I could close the door. Wiping the tears, I looked at myself in the mirror. I was drained and exhausted. I couldn't take this. I just wanted it to be over. After a few minutes of staring at my emotionless expression, Justin called me.
       "Hey!" He said joyfully when I answered.
"Guess what!!"
       "What?" I asked, not as joyful.
       "There's a party at Ricky's tonight. Want to go?"
       I thought hard about this. I could say that I was having a soccer team sleepover? My mom would be okay with that...
       "Sure! I'd love to," I smiled. I could get away from this nasty place for once, and have some fun, with my favorite guy.
       "Great. I'll meet you there at 8, okay?"
       "Yep, see you there." With that, I ended the phone call, while smiling at myself.