CHAPTER ONE
The stairs creak as I saunter downstairs to the kitchen where my stepsister colors at the kitchen table and my stepdad pours a bowl of cereal. I don't take any pride in calling Nate my stepdad. I'd rather call him a punching bag that I kick on a daily basis. Of course, no one understands my hatred toward him but me. Nate has dark hair, blue eyes and two silver rings dangling in his ears. I don't see what my mom sees in him. But I hate his personality more than his ugly appearance. He always has to be right. He plays his music way too loud. He wears this cologne that makes me want to barf. He always makes negative comments about my life. He gave me a stepsister. He has earrings. He won't let me do anything. He replaced my dad. That practically says it all.
So I'm always rude toward him. Always. I speed into the kitchen without looking at him and grab a bowl from the shelf.
"Morning, Aster." I hear him tell me. I pour my cereal without looking up.
"You're still not talking to me?" He guesses. I run milk over my corn flakes and nod.
"Is that outfit really school appropriate?"
I bang my fist on the table. "Why do you care, Nate?" I say.
He bends over to look at my outfit and I cross my legs, uncomfortably. "Good thing you're wearing tights." He says at last. I make a mental note to remove my tights before I go.
My stupid, annoying sisters looks away from her coloring paper and gazes at me with wide eyes. "I like your clothes, Aster." She comments, eagerly.
I hate Cindy a lot as well, even though Nate is worse. She has perfect blonde hair with a slight wave and light blue eyes like Nate's. she's in second grade. Too young to be my sister. I always find her annoying. Even when she says something nice, I never want to return the favor. And I don't want to ruin my reputation of being mean to her. So I grab a red crayon from the table and scribble all over the paper, then I stand up and grab my bag.
"Aster!" I hear my sister wail. "You ruined my picture! I worked so hard on it!"
"Not my problem." I call back to her, walking quickly to the front door.
"Aster, come back here!" Nate yells at me.
"I'll finish breakfast at the school." I call back, before slamming the door and running down the sidewalk.
I normally walk to school. Nate won't let me get a car, I don't know anyone on the bus and I would rather get run over by a truck than ride with Nate. The school isn't too far away, so it's not too much of a walk.
I guess I feel kind of bad about being mean to my sister. I always do. But I learn to ignore that guilty feeling because when I'm mean to people I hate, I feel better about myself. And that's just who I am.
Harvard High School is a big grey building with a few benches at the door and a sign by the door that says, 'Welcome to Harvard High, the #1 School for Success! STAY SMART!!!' I roll my eyes as I pass through the front door.
I hate school. The school crap is lame, the food is revolting and even the social events are lame. No alcohol. No strapless dresses. No dirty songs. What kind of party is that? So I aggravate the teachers and hang with my friends instead of focusing on 'Staying Smart.'
After putting my bag in my locker, I walk to the cafeteria and grab a plate of food. I sit down at a table and bite into my toast when I hear two high voices behind me.
"Hi, Aster!" It was my friends Kelly and Sam. Kelly had her dark hair up in a bun and Sam had her blonde hair in a bob with a stream a pink running through it.
