Fifteen Minutes of Life

Chapter Two

The stench of hormonal teenagers rushes to me as we step out of Lewis' red 2012 mustang. A few walk by us without even saying a word, but the majority decides to walk over and greet me. "Hey Tiffany!"

"Tiffany! My girl!"

"Tif! I've got news!"

"Tiffany you are rocking that muscle tank!"

Lewis comes up behind me and places his hand on the small of my back. The gesture is simple, and he makes me know that I'm not alone. He gently pushes into my back and forces me to keep moving. I smile at the thought of me being ever alone again, and push myself into moving. I smile and say hello back to everyone who greets me. Lewis leans towards my ear and softly whispers, "It seems like you're our new queen."

I smile to myself, glad that I can make such a positive impression. "Hey, I only came here four months ago. I can't be the queen for only four months."

Lewis stops behind me, right in front of the school. I turn around and see him staring at the school towering over us. I walk over to where he is and stare up at the place I never thought I would miss. "Kinda like the hospital." I whisper under my breath.

"What was that Tif?" Lewis questions.

I turn to him, smiling brightly, "Nothing! I was just thinking how much I'm going to miss this place."

Lewis returns the smile without hesitation, "Me too Tif. Me too."

We resume our walking and make our way up the crowded stairs into an even more crowded school. The speakers turn on and everyone quiets down enough to hear the morning announcements, "Good morning Bulldogs! It is May 23rd and seniors know what that means!" I turn to Lewis and see him smirking at me.

"Anyways, seniors, you all have a mandatory meeting in the gym right after second period today, and I believe the rest of your classes will be canceled."

A chorus of cheering starts and I can tell the principal is smiling as she continues talking, "Man you guys are loud. Okay, that's it. You may check your phones for the lunch and continue on with the rest of your day."

The silence from the speakers is soon replaced with the chattering noises made by over a few hundred teens. I smile to myself and shake my head. Out of the corner of my eye, I see Lewis sneak a glance towards me and smile, "Alright kiddo, let's get you to your locker." he says jokingly.

I smirk and lightly punch him, "Yeah yeah. You are older than me by one month. That's not much."

Lewis throws his head back in laughter, "Well, I turned eighteen before you so that has to count for something, right?" he says, wiping tears from his eyes.

Shaking my head, I start walking in the direction of the elevator. "Good morning Ms. Vargas!" a teacher exclaims.

I throw a smile in her direction and continue walking. Lewis catches up to me and looks at me with a confused look etched over his face, "Do you know who that was?"

"No clue."

Lewis laughs that stupid laugh, the one where his eyes crinkle and he throws his head back and he uses his entire body. I start to smile before I realize what I'm doing. I turn away and start heading towards the direction of my locker. "Tif wait up!" I hear.

I pause for a slight second, turning my head slightly so I can watch Lewis run to catch up with me. "What's up with you today?" he asks.

"Nothing, I'm absolutely fine." I snap.

Louis grabs my shoulder slightly and turns me until I'm facing him, "Tiffany look at me."

I shake my head and pull away, "I'll see you later Louis." I whisper.

I didn't pay much attention to the first class of my day. Math class was always my least favorite, and the second I walked in, I knew it was going to be a boring forty minutes. I took my usual seat, smiling at everyone who talked to me. "Alright class," the teacher said, snapping me out of my daze, "Find a partner and finish page three-hundred and seventy two."

A few people turned to me, asking me to help them out. I smile and help them out, deciding to be generous. I help them all out, and turn to my book. Silently cursing the teacher under my breath, I close the book and grab my phone. I check my messages and notice that I got a text from Lewis. "Hey Tif, look, I'm sorry if I did anything and I'm going to make it up to you later. Bye-Lewis." I whisper.

A smile starts to form on my lips, knowing he cares about me makes the scars on my wrist not matter anymore. With a sigh, I turn back to my textbook and start to open it up. I take that moment to pause and look at the time. With an ear-shattering whistle, the bell rings. I flinch momentarily, but choose not to show pain. I quickly gather up all of my stuff and run towards the door, hoping to find Lewis before he finds me.

I run to our second period class, and my favorite of all. Art is a class where you can spend the entire time doodling and not get in trouble. Or you can look up different artists on your phone and you won't get in trouble. Or you can just sit and make a collab with your friends. Most of the time, it doesn't matter, as the art teachers usually in the janitor's closet downing bottle after bottle of beer. This time however, I know for a fact that she will be in the classroom. You can hear her blubbering cries over her newest ex boyfriend all the way from the other end of the hallway. Someone bumps into me, and brushes my arm. I flinch momentarily, the feeling of another human touching my arms makes me think back.

It's only for a quick moment, but it's enough to make me want to cry. I shudder, the shivers traveling down my back at a surprising rate. Brushing the thought off, I quickly rush to the end of the hall, and barely scrape by the door before the bell goes off, signaling the beginning of class. I slip into my spot, but of course, Ms. Kourtney doesn't notice a thing. She quiets herself to a sniffle, looks up to me for a nod, takes her bag, and rushes out of the room. I grab my stuff and move up to her seat, classmates I barely know staring back at me like I'm a goddess. I smile, relishing in the thought, "Good morning fellow seniors! I'm hoping first class went well?"

I get quite a few smiles and even a few nods. I smile once more, widening it as I begin to take attendance. "Alisha? Check. Barb? Check. Destiny? Check. Kevin? Check. Louis?"

I look up for a brief moment, flashing my eyes towards the back of the room where he sits. Our eyes meet for a quick moment and he gives me an encouraging smile. I blush, it creeps up the back of my neck and almost makes it to my cheeks, but I don't allow it. I shake my head momentarily and continue on. "Pepper? Check. Ray? Check. Rochelle? Check. Serena? Check. Is that it?" I ask, briefly looking up.

No one looks at me questioningly, so I take that as a yes. "Alright class, here's the deal. As the final class of the day, and of course the final class of your high school education, the class is yours to do whatever you feel. Whether that's listen to music or talk to friends, all you have to do is draw a small sketch. It's fine if it's even just a little heart. Turn it into me and you'll get a hundred. Have fun everyone!"

The class erupts in cheers and I have to hold back a smirk while I calm them down. They pair up or gather in small groups. After I sink in the chair, I put attendance into the computer and send it. A moment passes and I decide to sneak a look at Louis. He's hunched over his notepad sketching vigorously. A smirk falls onto my face as I cross the room, avoiding stepping on sprawled teenagers. I take my time walking towards him. Sometimes, if you move slowly enough, he won't see you coming. I finally manage to get close enough to him to see his sketchbook.
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