The Runners, Book One

Chapter One: Michelle

She had the worst seat in the class. Her parents insisted for her to be placed at the very front of the room. Michelle hated it. She hated her parents for making her take anatomy. She hated her teacher, who always called on her because surely the daughter of two esteemed scientists would know every answer. She hated the way her cheeks would burn when she got an answer wrong.

Her teacher, Mr. Coppernut, would suck his teeth at her whenever she hesitated to give him an immediate answer. His balding head would turn red in pent-up anger. He was probably in his mid-forties; however, his receding hairline and rotund stomach aged him a whopping twenty years. He had never been married, instead chose to devote his life to enriching the minds of high school students. He was passionate about his work, and detested the daily occurrence of students gazing off into space during his lectures.

Today was no different. Michelle blinked back into reality when she heard him calling her name.

"Michelle!" He shouted, walking over to her desk.

She closed her eyes once more. When she opened them, Coppernut was looming over her, waiting for an answer.

"I'm sorry, sir." She said as she blinked her way back to reality. "Could you repeat your question?"

Coppernut huffed at her, disappointed that she hadn't wasn't hanging on to his every word.
He cleared his throat, clearly vexed.

"As I was saying..." He began.

He was cut off by the bell, signaling the end of the school day.

"Wait! I forgot to give you your homework!"
He shuffled through the piles of paper on his desk, knocking over a plastic skeleton in his haste. He passed out packets to the escaping students and mumbled a hasty goodbye to Michelle.

Michelle shoved the papers into her bag and fought her way through the congested hallways to get to the school entrance.

Once outside, she promptly located her jeep and climbed into the drivers seat. A noise from the backseat caught her attention as she put on her seatbelt. A low growling emitted from behind her. The hairs on the back of her neck stood up. She chuckled to herself.

"Okay Claire. Come out you idiot." She laughed.

A head popped up from the backseat and the goofy, blonde, mess called Claire tumbled into the front of the car and onto one of Michelle's tennis rackets. Both girls laughed at Claire's antics and then hugged eachother tightly.

"You coming home with me?" Michelle asked, tying her long, brown hair into a ponytail.

It was just like her best friend to pull something as silly as this.

"Yeah man" Claire panted. "I'll make dinner for you guys, too."

Not one to turn down good food or her best friend, Michelle threw her tennis racket out of the passenger seat and into the back of her black sequoia.

"Alright" she said. "Buckle up."

They filled the car ride home with endless chatter about recent gossip and plans for the summer.

"The coffee shop down the road is hiring" Claire said hopefully "Would mom and pops let you work this year?"

Michelle sighed. Her parents had been talking nonstop about a summer internship at the medical research center they worked at. She doubted they would give in to her pleas.

"Claire. You know they have their hearts set on that internship. I doubt they will even listen to me if I tell them about it. You know I want to. We have been talking about getting our first job together for four years, ever since we were thirteen. I'm sorry, but I don't think it's going to happen."