Laser [Wattys 2016]

Chapter 1

The night Dad sold his minivan for filling up the stomachs of the hungry loan sharks, I cried to myself in sleep. Not because it was crappy to travel to school by the bus filled with rowdy teenagers – at least I would get to make some friends given that I didn't have many, but because it pummeled me that all those secret midnight adventures with my younger brother, Sean, were over. That it would no longer be possible to drive one kilometer to Imagines' World theme park and break in at 2 am in the night, and eat peanuts under the starless sky surrounded by slightly creaking amusement rides. It would no longer be possible to inwardly brag about how cool I am when I get bullied by the Eta Omicron Tau Sigma.

The next morning, I dabbed a pea sized amount of concealer underneath my almond eyes as Youtube had shown me to – that would get me rid of any chances of Veronica passing on vile comments about my dark circles from the previous night. I was taking the school bus for the first time and I noticed Sean was worried about it too; he was pale to the lips. I tousled his shaggy hair as a form of consoling gesture.

Once I got into the bus, I realized for the first time how crammed it could be. Scraps of food flew everywhere, boys engrossed in shoving each other and loudly groaning over Avalanche's loss in the recent game (Avalanche was the school's basketball team), and girls fighting over whether Chris Evans was hotter than Henry Cavill. I slammed down on the first empty seat I could see, in front of Kevin Jackson, the jock with a nose pin. He seemed too absorbed to notice me there.

My seat mate turned out to be Candace Waters, the paradigm of a typical high school hipster. Black emo hair with glasses and an Imagine Dragons headband, she was an independent who wasn't a part of any sorority – a reason why I never had to talk with her before. I kind of envied her for being free.

"Nice t-shirt," she said, cocking her head to one side, "RHCP fan much?"

"Uh, thanks," I replied, socially awkward as always, "Uh, no, uh, actually, Mom got that for me."

Candace's closest friend, Tyler Howard, popped his head over from the front seat. He also had this cute emo hairstyle but wasn't a hipster, more of an emo but not so emo at the same time. He went to the gym and learned beat boxing, was a member of the school's book club, watched anime and collected paintings of disenfranchised men to showcase them in the annual art exhibition.

"Hey, aren't you Lucy Fishman's daughter?" he asked.

I nodded shyly.

"I saw the vid of your Mom's experimentation with that Atom Laser. Awesome shit. I was hoping you'd tell me more about the dope machines you guys have. Will help my Physics assignment."

I sighed. This wasn't the first time anyone had asked me for Physics assignment help, I was usually bombarded with requests.

"Umm, okay, I was –,"

"Yeah, what about tomorrow? It's Saturday and I'm free anyways. Candace and I could come over at your place if you don't mind."

Candace looked bewildered.

"Okay, Saturday sounds fine," I mumbled, forcing a smile.

"Yay, thank you!" he literally screamed.

***

Mr. Ryan was shouting his lungs out about aldehydes when I felt something warm being poured on my seat. I turned around furiously to find Veronica devilishly grinning back at me, finding out to my utter horror she had spilled a cup of red paint on my seat which were now stuck to my white pants. As I gritted my teeth at her, she gave me a nasty look which simply said, "You rat me out, you get beaten up." No wonder she knew all of the Neanderthals who could come charging at me with their big and hairy fists. I swallowed the lump in my throat, tears almost forced out of my eyes, my heart fluttering like a hummingbird's wings at the thought of the whole school assuming I had menstruated on my pants and making a whole fuss about it. That's when I had an idea.

"Do you think you'll be fine or do you want me to bring some clothes from the nurse?" Kirstin whispered to me as she handed me her long shrug that she was wearing. The class had nearly left, but I stayed behind, waiting for Kirstin to rescue me after I had texted her.

Kirstin, the person who made me feel less like an alien. She was the exactly opposite of me; not much of a nerd, makeup addict and partying-whole-night-type, but yet a better hearted person than Veronica. We became friends on a school trip to Las Vegas where we were in the same hotel room.

"I think this'll work, I'll hand it back to you tomorrow," I squirmed.

"That bitch should be taught a lesson," Kirstin growled, shaking her head, "Do you want me and Kane to formulate a plan?"

Kane was her boyfriend.

"No, it's fine, I'm the basic bitch anyways," I muttered absent-mindedly.

"Shut up," she said, dropping a kiss on my forehead, "I have to rush for Spanish class, we'll plan something later."

As I carefully strolled out of the school premises, I knew I was done for the day – that I had to skip my yoga class, which was the last for the day. I decided to take a quiet walk home; nobody would notice that I was gone. Unfortunately, I was wrong.

"Where do you think you're fleeing, loser?" It was Veronica's minion, Bianca, making an L shape finger gesture and throwing it in my face.

Author's Rant: Hey guys, I really hate cliffhangers, but I'd love to know your suggestions for the next chapter! Please vote and share.