Fat Chance

Legend

Raw sunlight shone through the bus windows as I fought to keep my eyes open. Warmth radiated through my body as I leaned my head against the warm glass, a luxury I didn't usually associate with school buses.

I had been forced awake by my alarm at the literal asscrack of dawn (aka 7 am, which isn't that early in retrospect but lets remember that I fell asleep at 5 am) and had barely enough time to throw on the nearest pair of clean clothes, eat a granola bar, brush my hair and teeth, and sprint down to the bus stop.

Danny wasn't riding the bus this morning, thank god, and for once I was actually enjoying the half hour ride. I put my playlist of Rihanna songs on and rested my head against the window, not having to worry about my earbuds being stolen or being the victim of assault. Danny's little followers don't have a brain without him, so I wasn't concerned about them doing jack shit to me. 

Again, I felt myself not thinking about Wyatt. Maybe I can get through this. Have Alecia live through my body and have her fun with him yet have Quinn stay out. But I knew that all it would take is a phone call like the last one and I'd be back to how I was.

After what only felt like a short amount of time, the bus pulled into the school's parking lot and opened it's doors.

"Get a move on, girly," the driver belched from the front seat. 

I groaned, and forced myself out of the seat, down the aisle, and down the stairs. 

The cold air in my face and the harsh sunlight in my eyes woke me right up as I scurried into the school to find Stella. 

The halls of my school were never very crowded, especially not half an hour before the first period bell rang. I walked quickly to the library, even though there was no reason to rush. 

I found Stella in the back of the library sitting at our usual table, and the minute I laid eyes on her, my heart started beating and my palms started sweating. But because I have fucking GREAT judgement, I decided to go and sit down next to her anyways.

As I approached the table, Stella looked up and smiled at me. "Hey, I've been waiting for you."

My heart melted as I thought of her saying those words in a different context. 'Stop it you weirdo," I thought to myself. 'Act normal.'

I sat down and forced myself to calm down and breathe. "Why? This is always when I get to school."

Stella nodded excitedly. "I know, but I'm all excited to tell you what just happened." 

I closed my eyes and tried not to think about how adorable she is when she's excited. "What happened?"

I opened my eyes to see Stella's right pointer finger in my face, though not in the way it would seem. 

She was directing her finger with the fingertip facing to the left, as if she was pointing out something interesting in the distance. 

On the outer surface of her the finger, inked with black and lettered in cursive, was the word "Legend."

I laughed. "Whoa...that looks so real!" 

"That's because it IS real!" she squealed. 

"REALLY!?" I asked, in pure disbelief.

Stella nodded gleefully. "I went behind my mom's back to this guy my ex knows, his name is Tony. The guy, not my ex. Anyways, Tony had tattooed Nathaniel, who's my ex, so I figured he could hook me up. AND HE DID!" 

"How much did it cost?"

"Free," she said. "I told Tony I knew Nathaniel and he totally flipped out. Didn't even hesitate to turn me down when I took out the cash."

I squinted. "That seems kind of shady. What if you get a disease? Or what if the ink's not permanent?"

Stella shrugged. "If I get a disease, then at least I didn't pay. But I'm absolutely positive this tattoo is legit. I scrubbed at it with soap and water for at least ten minutes last night. I don't think it's going anywhere."

She pulled her finger away from my face to admire it personally. "I can't believe how well it turned out, with such little swelling and pain too! Nate was always complaining about how bad his hand tattoos hurt; I didn't even feel anything more then a pinprick, like when you get a shot at the doctors."

I nodded. "What does it mean anyways?"

"What?"

"The tattoo," I repeated. "What does it mean?"

Stella laughed. "Ohhh, I gotcha. I really don't know to be honest. I've always loved the word 'legend' and I have no idea why. Sometimes I think it's because of the power and meaning it holds. Being a legend is very important. It means you are known for something worldwide. And that's what I want to be one day. A legend."

We both sat at the table silently pretending to work on something until the warning bell for first period rang. 

 I groaned, like I always did when the first period warning bell rang. Because, you know, exercise. 

Kids from all over the library got up to go to their classes. I got up and pushed in my chair.

"See you later." I called over my shoulder, rushing to the doors before she could answer.