Wallflower

Chapter One.

Chapter one or the first part of my story.

Smile. Smile. Smile. Damn it, Annie. People like smiles, right?

  I stood infront of the bathroom mirror debating with myself whether or not I should smile showing my teeth or not. Yeah, I have childish problems. But heck, problems are problems. I tucked my hair into my jacket and began reciting some soothing E. E. Cummings. I quietly shut the door behind me and tip-toed down the hallway. Mom and Dennis weren't home yet, no one was home, but I didn't want to wake up the pets... or disturb the ghost... I didn't really have an excuse. I just like tip-toeing around like an utter idiot. It was the first day of High school and the best outfit I could come up with was a blue-and-white button up along with my favorite pair of climbing boots. I, of course, tip-toed down stairs into the foyer and wrote a note telling my family who wouldn't even give a damn that I had left for school. I ushered out of the back door, like normal, and walked to the bus stop a block over. It was nippy and the birds weren't chirping yet, I had left an hour earlier so I could sit on the stop-sign-post and finish The Great Gatsby for the third time. I attempted to skip over every crack in the side-walk and avoid breaking my mothers back when the first bird chirped and the sun turned pink and I was on time for F. Scott Fitzgerald.

 The bus was quiet and empty, and the bus driver did not even bother to greet me with a smile. (Which I was okay with, but still) and the very few kids on the bus stared at me as I sat down in the first row. The driver of the bus closed the door and took off like Lindsey Lohan on drugs and I nestled into the window and pulled out Fitz. I kept telling myself that the bus ride was crucial to figuring out who the bad asses were and the bus route, but I gave up on reading people and kept my eyes out of the window onto the streets of Manhattan. Color me surprised, a fight was starting in the back of the bus and a pair of glasses were thrown towards me in a fit of panic. The bully was tall, slender, he had blond hair and dark eyes. I heard him being called Angel a few times, so I guessed, his name was Angel. He was screaming at a short-red-skinned child with a Jewish afro. I assumed he was from the local middle school and that he accidently shoved Angel trying to get into the seat behind him. He certainly wasn't as skinny as Angel and I second-guessed handing him his glasses back. The fat kid turned and looked at me while I was popped up on my knees watching the ludicrous.

"Never seen fat kid, huh?" I realized something in that moment that everyone was a bully. Angel bullied people less than him, Jewish afro guy bullied people less than him and I bullied myself.

"I've seen plenty of fat people. All children are fat. All people have fat. What you have, my friend, is stretched out skin." I regretted words as soon as they left my mouth, because now the whole bus was staring at me in awe and I awaited his response.

"Nerd alert, nerd alert," he repeated this in a nasally voice like a siren until it died down and four guys began whispering into each others ears. I regretted being a child prodigy in that moment, but I kept my tear in my eyes and exhaled.

"What's your name, Genius?" And the bus roared with laughter.

"No, my name is Annie."

Angel looked away from me and pushed the Jew against the emergency exit, "trying to change the subject."

I looked away rapidly and had a seat on my ass before the Jew made me wish I was in the holocaust and the bus stopped. A short, bald man stood up from behind the drivers seat and the bus had a sudden hush. He had rosy cheeks and a stubble-beard, he greeted himself as "Mat the driver" and he went over every rule of his bus.

"No smoking. No drugs of any sort. No eating, drinking, screaming, beating," he said the last one extremely loud and started walking down the aisle and stopped in the middle. "Absolutely no sex and if you must kiss some one you can wait later. If you are going through labor sit in the back three seats and everyone else will proceed with getting home." The bus roared and Mat stomped his foot down, "don't interrupt me while I am speaking and in Manhattan the number one is rule in no porn on my bus. Keep shoes, shirts, pants on. Any questions?"