In Another Life

Chapter One

"Ms.Knight, are you listening?"

"No. I'm having a staring contest with your mole. Thanks for checking though. Can I go now?" I replied, my tone snide. I don't want to be here, but its this or random house jumping, AKA the foster system. So I'm here sitting with my guardian, his son, and a dean of a prestigious private high school, who just so happens to have a gigantic mole off the center of her forehead.

"No, but I will forgive your rudeness given your emotional state." The dean replied with a sour expression.

"Well, gee, I'm grateful. I guess that means you'll also forgive me asking, how the hell you made it through grade school? Were you born with it or did it grow? And if so when? Have you ever considered getting it remo--"

"Maya!" Mr. Pittman shouted from his seat next to me, stopping me before I could finish the question.

Richard Pittman was one of the most successful attorneys, not only in the state, but in the country. And by some random stroke of "luck", he also happened to have owed a judge a favor about a year ago and ended up being the prosecuting attorney for my parents' trails. Which, unfortunately, left him feeling entitled to become my parent, given that mine were dead, hence my "emotional state".

I turned to him then, "Yes, Dick?" I say sweetly. How anyone came up with the unfortunate nickname from Richard, I will never know, but, in situations like this, it definitely comes in handy.

Ms. Park, the dean, just sighed, probably giving up on me and my attitude. Good. "Mr. Pittman", she said, nodding towards Nathan, Richards son, "Will you escort Ms. Knight to her classes today?" He nodded while muttering something like "sure". "Great. Here is a copy of her schedule. First period is almost over, so just head strait to second and wait for the bell." She said it with such finality that I knew it was my queue to leave. Fine by me.

I got up and followed Nathan out the door.

"Why do you do that?" He asked, his voice a combination of angry and curious.

"Do what?" I replied, feigning ignorance. I knew exactly what "that" was.

"Act like such a bitch. You realize it just makes it so nobody likes you,right?" He said, his tone cutting. He had a smirk on his face, like he had just beaten me at my own game. In his dreams.

I looked at him and batted my eyes innocently. "Are saying no one likes me?" I put my hands over my heart, feigning hurt.

He just scoffed and kept walking, leaving me a few paces behind.

"Your first class is here." He said as he walked by a closed door. "We have that, 2nd, 3rd , 5th, and 7th together."

"Oh joy." That only gives me 4th and 6th without him.

"Look, Maya. I know you don't want to be here, but I recommend you start acting like it. My dad's never been one for long term charity work." The warning in his voice was obvious.

"And here I was hoping he'd set me up with one of those fancy trust funds so that I could live off him and his charity for the rest of my life."

"Look, whatever. By the way, everyone here thinks you're my cousin."

"Of course they do. Anything else you want to run by me?" I replied sarcastically.

"Oh, that's right. I also managed to slip in there that as soon as your done with high school you're becoming a nun."

I couldn't help but laugh. "I'm sure they loved that." I said through the laughter. He chuckled a bit himself.

Out of all the Pittmans, Nathan was my favorite, if only because he had never tried to coddle me. Hell, with the way everyone else was treating me, he might just be my favorite person right now in general. Everyone else found ways that they thought made my life, my grieving, easier. Some sent flowers that inevitably wilted and died, others sent cards, and a small group, which included Mr. and Mrs. Pittman, even went to the funeral. All of them had seemed to forget that not only had my parents been murdered, but they were also criminals of a particularly nasty variety. Such is life.

We stopped in front of a door on the second floor seconds before the bell rang and the hall flooded with students who all wore varieties of the school uniform. Nathan pulled me into the room as soon as there was the slightest opening and shoved me in front of a portly woman with greying hair and thin glasses that lingered on the tip of her nose. "Ms. Spaulding, this is Maya Knight, the new student"

She gave me a quick once over, as if assessing whether or not I was who Nathan claimed I was, before nodding. "You can sit there." She said, pointing at a chair near the back of the room. She turned to Nathan, "I expect you to catch her up."

She waved to the desks, indicating that we should take our seats. Nathan moved past me and sat in the desk directly to the left of mine. Just my luck. Sighing, I took my seat next to him and prepared myself for just how terrible this day was bound to turn out.