Red

Chapter 2

Clarissa

I woke from my fantasy at the sound of the bell.

School's over.

Hell has begun.

I slowly got up from my desk, gathered my things together, and walked out the classroom. My locker was on the other side of the school. Plenty of time to get noticed.

I kept my head down as I traveled the halls, hoping my long, frizzy black hair would hide my face.

I knew they weren't absent. I saw them this morning.

I made it to my locker with no sign of them.

Five more minutes. Give me five more minutes.

I opened my locker and packed my things. I shouldered my bag, and started heading towards the exit.

THUMP!

I was slammed back against the lockers. My shoulder ached where it made contact. I braced myself for another impact. Sure enough, it came.

THUMP!

SMACK!

My leg crumpled from being kicked. My cheek stung where I was slapped. I knew there would be a handprint shaped bruise there in the morning.

"Afternoon, m'lady." I heard several snickers at that.

"Hi, Jason."

Jason O'Conners, the most popular kid in school, and the son of the mayor. He was gorgeous, a dazzling smile, green eyes, and windswept brown hair. He wore a designer leather jacket, jeans, and sunglasses with a dark green shirt and drove the most expensive car in the universe, it looked like. Every girl in school was obsessed with him. I used to be too. I used to have fantasies about dating him. Not anymore, though. That died the moment I found out his entire bloodline was racist. And he started bullying me.

"Don't 'Hi, Jason' me. Don't you have any respect for me?"

No, you awful, horrible, sorry excuse for a human being.

"S-sorry." I stood up, leaning heavily on the lockers behind me.

"That's better." He grinned, showing off a dazzling white smile. "Now, what are you trying to hide? It better not be what I think it is."

Oh, crap.

"I-I'm not hiding an-anything."

"Oh, don't lie to me. Give me your bag."

I gripped my bag tighter. "N-no!"

His eyes narrowed, and he placed his hands on either side of my shoulders, trapping me against the lockers. "What did you say?"

I shrunk back from him. "I-I said no."

He sighed, shaking his head. "Clarissa, Clarissa, Clarissa. You know you shouldn't deny me anything I want." I braced myself, preparing for what was coming next. Jason looked over his shoulder at his posse that seemed to follow him everywhere. "You two, Collin, Nate. Hold her steady while I teach her a lesson."

The two boys stumbled over. Collin was an idiot who must have been dropped on his head when he was a baby. His black hair was greasy and his blue eyes had a dull sheen that let me know he wasn't the brightest kid in the universe. Nate though...Nate cast me a sympathetic look. I shook my head, warning him not to do anything stupid. His apologetic stare would haunt me for a long time as he and Collin both grabbed my arms, forcing me to drop my bag. Nate's grip was significantly looser than Collin's.