Isolation (Book #1 of the Taylor Series)

One

"Yeah, but you wanna know what's even more interesting than that?" I don't wait for either of my friends to respond, "The average human takes 960 breaths an hour, which adds up to 8,409,600 breaths a year."

You could practically hear the interest dripping through my voice, drowning it in admiration of newfound knowledge. My two best friends across from me don't have the same reaction. Graham rolls his eyes, while Sienna feigns shock.

"Wow! Evie, that's crazy! I can't believe this! I actually thought we were gonna get through a whole day without some facts that nobody cares about." Graham chuckles in response and nudges her with his shoulder.

"Get sassy with Evie like that again, and I'll kick your ass." He mutters before taking a swig of the hard stuff: Saint Peter High School's chocolate milk.

Sienna smacks him in the shoulder loud enough for the people sat at the tables around us to look over with raised eyebrows. Graham seems unfazed though, as he takes another swig and stares at me with a deadpan expression.

"Hey! I thought you agreed to not swear in front of me anymore. You know I always slip up in front of my parents." She groans and crosses her arms her to her chest... Only to uncross them seconds later to take a bite out of the deli sandwich on her tray.

"It's not my fault that your parents don't accept the fact that you're not five anymore. Your eighteenth birthday is in two weeks, after all." He shrugs her off and nods his head towards me. "--and I can't wait because Evie agreed to deliver a speech about how you're growing up too fast and how just yesterday you could fit in the palm of her hand, she even included a few tears."

Sienna gives me a look as if asking 'Is he serious?' The smirk on my face makes her eyes widen, and she bites her lip to hide her ever-growing smile. I look back down at my Britannica encyclopedia, my prized possession as it took eight weeks of my paycheck to save up for, and begin reading the next topic.

So interesting facts about health was a no-go; I don't understand why. I mean, what's not interesting about fast facts? They're way more fun than sitting in a lecture. I might just be biased though. Most, if not all, of the teachers at Saint Peter High School hate me. If I didn't have a 4.0 GPA and wasn't one of the only students that raises my hand every time they ask a question or to volunteer to present my projects first-- they'd have more of a bone to pick with me.

Oh well. I suppose my religion, or lack thereof, is reason enough for them to get sassy with me at literally any given moment that I look like I'm not paying attention. 

"No, you don't get to ignore us! Lunch is for eating and gossiping, not brushing up on your knowledge about--" Sienna rotates the book, and glimpses at the next heading, "--Breasts?" She narrows her eyes at me and slowly rotates it back to me.

"Anyway," Graham looks uncomfortable for a second before he shrugs it off, "do you have work today?" He asks, rotating his carton of milk with his thumbs.

I nod once and try to remember my schedule, "Yeah, four to ten. Peterson said something about covering Jules' shift because his wife isn't feeling well and he needs to take care of her." I explain, and they nod.

I first started working at Mrs. Peterson's bookstore when I was a Freshman, which was a little over two years ago. The only reason that a 15 -year-old would get a job so young when I have more important things to do (LIKE HOMEWORK!) is because I'd do anything to get away from my family.

You may be wondering, "Eve what is so bad about your family? What could be bad enough for you to put off doing your homework until 11 p.m.?"

To put it simply: Differences of religion. My parents' families, for many generations, have been raised Christian. My father and his family were Mormon before he met my mom, but after she got pregnant and they had a shotgun wedding, she forced him to become a Baptist like her.