Anna woke up to the loud ringing of her ten year old alarm clock. She hit the button gently, knowing that her parents would have to pay unnecessary money to get it replaced, as she knew they would. She rummaged through her dresser, which, had no clean shirts in it. She'd have to go to the laundromat later, and while she was at it, she'd con a trucker into paying for one of the gas stations showers. She'd done it enough, and she was never caught or punished, so it was safe enough. She grabbed the shirt she wore Tuesday, and smelled it. It smelled good enough, so she stripped off the shirt she wore the previous day, and put on the "new" one.
She put on the jeans she had worn on Thursday, and figured no one would notice. And if they did, she'd just laugh it off that her parents had bought her the same type of jeans for her birthday. That was one of her bad lies.
She left her room, and heard the sound of her parents arguing. Again.
"Goddammit, Robert," Her mother sounded exasperated, "We need the money!"
"No," Her father had only used this voice once before, and that was when Anna had begged and pleaded him to let her friend, Abigail, stay with them for a while. She knew that he blamed himself, when she ended up dying a few days later. Her sister had beaten her to death.
"Robert!" Her mother shouted.
"No! We are not taking any money from Anna's college fund! I won't allow it!" His anger levels were growing.
"Morning mom. Dad." Anna walked abruptly into the kitchen, and her parents definitely knew that she had heard them.
"Would you like some breakfast, darling?" Her mother asked her.
"No thanks mom." Anna said. She was lying though. She really wanted breakfast. The sandwich she ate yesterday for lunch. But her eating meant more money spent on her. So, she suppressed it until she felt dizzy/faint. Which was usually three, four days tops. But it was still a lot cheaper for her to skip so many meals.
She threw her bag over her shoulder, and headed off to school, about 10 minutes before classes began. She only lived about five minutes away from the school, so she spent as much time at home in the morning as possible, because it was the only time she could see her mom.
Trent walked along side her, only because he had walked up as she was leaving.
"Hello." She greeted, kindly.
"Heya." He smiled. He had a nice smile, she noted.
"How's life?" She asked him.
"It's alright. You?" He seemed sincere. Like one of the few people who asked that question and meant it, but she still deemed it fit to lie to him.
"Okay." She even smiled, a half-real smile, "I've got a question, for you." She added, before she could think.
He raised his eyebrows in curiosity, but said nothing.
She took this as a cue to start talking, "Why are you so different when you're around your friends?"
"Because I adore playing football, and the only way that'll be able to continue, is if I fit in with them." Trent answered.
"But, why do you have to be so," She paused, racking her brain for a word.
"Cruel?" He asked.
"Yeah. I suppose. Why do you have to be so cruel towards others in the process?"
"That's their idea of humor. Personally, I find it appalling, but, as long as they're not doing anything too bad, I tend to let it slide."
"Define too bad."
"As in, I don't let them pick on kids more than a few times, I don't let them hurt people too badly, and under no circumstances have I ever let them touch a girl in a bad way."
"You're a really good person, Trent. Don't let them destroy that part of you." Anna said, walking away to her first period class, which was Social Studies.
The morning went by relatively quickly, and, before she knew it, it was lunch time. For the first time in her entire school history, she had a table to sit at. One with people, at that. Alex and Hailey were already in line for lunch, so, she pulled out her newest book, Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher. So far, it was phenomenal.
Hailey sat down, laughing at something Alex had said, and she slid a sandwich and chips over to Anna.
Anna gave her a questioning glance. Anna really hated getting charity from others. Especially her peers.
"I've got yogurt and my own sandwich," she explained, "and they were free."
"Oh," Anna said, "Okay then."
She still didn't like the idea of this becoming a daily thing, but she was too hungry to care at the moment.
In Acting, things got a bit interesting.
"Look around the class. Find the person you trust the most, and go and stand beside them. Alex and Hailey automatically stood next to each other, but the other four stood on edge, and alone.
"Perfect. Alex, go stand by Isabelle. Trent, by Anna. And Jack, by Isabelle."
They did this, even though they were confused.
"Now I want you to tell them your deepest secret, and I want you to trust that person."
"Why?" Isabelle asked, causing him to smile, widely.
"Because these are your acting partners for the rest of the year. So you might as well trust them. Now, tell them."
Trent looked at Anna, uneasily. And she didn't take offense. Not in the slightest.
She looked at Trent, and swallowed, "My family is in some really bad debt, and we are having a really big financial crisis."
"I'm gay." He responded.
She looked for any hint of kidding in his eyes, but she saw none.
"Now hug them." The teacher's voice called out.
Trent hugged Anna, and said, quietly, "Please, don't tell anyone."
"As long as you keep my secret." She responded, giving him a squeeze, before they let go. They did a few Acting exercises, before the bell rang, and Trent waved goodbye to Anna.
She smiled to herself, knowing she actually had someone she could trust.
She walked into her house. It was quiet, as it always was. She gathered her laundry, and the laundry of her mom and dad. She put them into two plastic bags, and carried them about a block to the Laundromat, where she dumped both loads in, and paid the kid working to transfer them if they got done before she got back. She could only spare a few dimes to give him, but he took it, anyways, and agreed to transfer them.
She crossed the road, and saw that Isabelle was working the gas station.
'Great,' she thought, 'Someone else from school to judge me.'
Before she could walk back out, Isabelle had seen her.
"Anna!" She called, beckoning her over, "What're you here for?" She asked.
"A shower." Anna said, trying to make the truth into a joke.
"Really?" Isabelle asked, and before Anna could even answer, she was handed a bar of soap, shampoo, a towel, and a key, and showed her to the one closest to the door.
"Most of the men that come in here are creeps. Shout really loud if you hear something weird, and I'll come and check on you, alright?" Isabelle said, and before Anna could nod, she was gone. Anna showered quickly, and as she redressed herself, she counted out how much the shower would cost her.
"On the house." Isabelle said, waving her hand as if to dismiss the money from her presence.
"I couldn't--" Anna started, but Isabelle cut her off.
"You can and you will. Have a nice day, Anna." She smiled, and left Anna in a state of confused bliss.
