Along Those Lines

Chapter one.

"you're late, ms.Holbrook. where have you been." Mrs.Marquez spoke, her harsh tone snapping me out of the daydream I was absorbed into.

my gaze shifted to the brunette who had just wandered into the room, as if she owned the whole school. she practically did.

"I was going to ditch, be lucky I showed up." She said with a smile, exposing her dimples. her presence made me uncomfortable and I had no logical reason.

she handed the teacher her pass that was probably forged and found herself to the seat in the way back. I could hear them whispering but I couldn't make out anything.

I glanced back, unintentionally making eye contact with B. her brown eyes saw right into my soul and a shiver ran down my spine. a smirk moved over her face as she stopped talking to the girl beside her, as if she knew what happened.

I quickly moved to face the front once again, my heart racing. she was so bad and she was oh so proud. did her parents not exist?

the rest of the class crawled by, minutes took hours and I could have jumped right out of the window. every time I glanced back, catching a few words of the party going on tonight she was looking at me. that smirk that showed her dimples clearly.

every time I caught a glimpse, I got worked up all over again. I just needed this English class to be over with, and I needed it now.

the chattering of the big party happening tonight was circulating around the room, it was suppose to be huge and drug filled. not suitable for a church going girl like me.

when the bell rang, I practically jumped out of my desk to escape that room. the walls got closer every minute that passed, it was making me nauseous.

when I was out into the flooded hallway, I could breathe again. I scrambled to my locker to grab my things for next period, multiple things running through my mind.

"Chance! I hope you have a dress shorter than your knees." Franky squeaked, opening her locker beside me. my mind was groggy and I had no idea why, why was I feeling like this.

"I don't." I replied shortly, catching her eyeroll. "My dad would burn me on a stake, alive." I said, emphasizing alive.

A laugh escaped her lips, a smile widening over her face. "I have the perfect one. be ready and out your window at nine. lord knows your family goes to bed at seven." She said, always bringing god into the situation.

My dad was a priest, not just a priest the priest of the county and everyone knew of me as the "preachers daughter". not even by my name.

"Don't pull into my driveway. your car is louder than the choir on Wednesdays." I told her, my finger pointing at her face. I had to drill it into her or she'd pull right into the driveway and wake up the the neighborhood and their brothers.

                      ~*~

I wondered into my house, not a second late. I gave my dog a pat, making my way right to my room. I needed to avoid my dad at all costs, I was a horrible liar and giving myself away was what I was good at. Really good at it, actually.

I sat down on my bed, pulling out my homework. I needed distractions and this was about as good as it got. history homework.

I got caught up within the thousands of pages of useless words before three soft knocks echoed. I glanced up from my pages, my dad peeking in through the creek.

"It's dinner time, sweetie. Your mom made meatloaf." He said, flashing a grin of clear happiness. Everyone loved my moms meatloaf.

I gave him a quick nod and a nervous smile. "I'll be right out." I told him, watching as he closed the door quietly. His footsteps faded as he moved down the stairs.

I got up and grabbed my phone, stuffing it in my pocket before I made it to out to the kitchen where my family had all been sitting around the table.

I sat down in my seat on the left beside my mother and sister. "Let's pray." My dad spoke, giving my brother the glare as he had already taken a bite.

I put my hands together, praying to god that I didn't get caught sneaking out tonight, that's all I was worried about at this moment.

"Mary, would you like to open prayer tonight?" My dad asked my mom, giving her a genuine preacher smile.

"Of course." She said, grabbing ahold of my brothers hand as well as mine. I reached over, grabbing my sisters as my entire family connected hands.

"Dear lord we are gathered here today to thank you for this meal we are about to enjoy and for how healthy and true our family is". She spoke so happily, as if the lord actually existed.

I swallowed hard, letting go after we all said amen together. This was one of the hardest things I've done. My mind was all over and I was heavily doubting this party.

Everyone dug into their plate, Cindy talking about her dance recital that was tomorrow morning, that I had to attend to.

"There's suppose to be a party a few blocks over. Did hear anything about it in school, Chance?" He asked, swallowing his meatloaf.

oh no. I was doomed. caught.