The Temptations of Chemistry

Chapter Thirteen - Carson, Are You A Virgin?

Chapter Thirteen -  Carson, Are You A Virgin?

Ms. Kinley, my Biology teacher,  raised a disapproving eyebrow at me as she passed me back my last test. Not just any test, a very important unit test. 

It landed on my desk and I took a minute to gain the strength to glance down at it. Once I did, that was when the big 'F' was staring back at me, written and circled in the top right corner in a thick red marker.

F for failure, why was I not surprised?

"Wow, She got an F" A girl from behind me or beside me, I'm not quiet sure nor do I care, whispered loudly. "She really is a failure." Her voice made me narrow my eyes ahead of me as she basically spoke my mind. A few voices chuckled along with her. 

"No kidding." A guy joined her.

I sighed heavily and looked the test over, flipping through the whole seven pages of questions there were. Seriously, what was this? Almost everything I wrote down was wrong. I furrowed my eyebrows as I studied the answers I wrote, trying to configure what else the answer could have been. The saddest part was, I thought that I had done well on this when I wrote it.

After the whole slut-written-on-my-locker-and-getting-Carson-suspended fiasco a few days ago, things have finally calmed down a bit. I mean sure, the snobs were still whispering behind my back, 'bitch' and 'whore' now joined 'slut' on my locker only just in finer print, guys still gave me filthy looks that made me want to chop their family jewels off, but it could be worse. 

I think that at home, Cynthia and John had been starting to clue into things. They treated me like less of a burden and more of an actual member of the family now. It was like after our argument and my outburst speech, they felt some sort of sympathy for me. Of course, as much as I was enjoying the peace and quiet with no growling or accusing, I hated the way Cynthia looked at me. The way she casted her sad-looking eyes over me, it was almost like she had suddenly believed that things weren't exactly my fault.

Most people would think that was what I wanted, but to be honest, it was completely opposite.

The school bell rung desperately loud into my ear, signalling the end of last period and awakening me from my thoughts. I groaned as I pushed up out of my seat, crinkling up my paper that had clearly shown my failure. 

"Jessalyn." Ms. Kinley called. "It may be best you keep that for studying purposes." Her tone was snappy, as if she were trying to be snide. 

I threw her a dirty look, "Whatever." I grumbled, keeping the test bawled up in my fist. She was right, I should use it to study but after the tone she gave me, I definitely wasn't. I didn't need anything else sitting around reminding me of how I can never do anything right anyhow. 

As I stepped through the class room door Taylor Compton, a minion of Jada's, pushed past me while knocking my shoulder as she scoffed. This was something I've clearly gotten used to because now I barely even flinched over it, instead I just rolled my eyes and kept on walking out. I knew that it wouldn't be until graduation, if I even make it that far, that those girl's would stop trying to ruin my life. I'll even admit that their attempts are pretty lame. As if cornering me in the girls bathroom, talking about me behind my back and writing on my locker was going to send me crying home to Daddy. Please, I've dealt with real problems in my life and I'm not going to let some petty high school girls stand in my way. 

With another sigh, I proceeded to strut down the hallway. I forced myself to keep my head high and my shoulders straight. After going to my locker, I was soon standing outside looking out at the student parking lot. In the back, in his usual spot was Carson. He was leaning against his truck, his hair was messy from running his hands through it and his elbow plopped on the hood as he talked to some guy. There was a smile on his face, the smile that managed to make me feel a sense of stability.