Mickey's Lessons on Bad

Chapter Five

Michelle felt like she was walking on eggshells. One wrong move and the dynamite would detonate. In this situation, though, it was more like one wrong word and her best friend, Talen, would blow up. Well, she already seemed to be on her way to exploding, but Michelle wasn't about to be the catalyst.

"I still can't believe she gave us a fucking pop quiz," Talen growled, shaking her fists in the air and constantly glaring over her shoulder as if their chemistry teacher, Mrs. Lopez, was following them. "It's only the second fucking week of school."

"I know," Michelle responded, smiling warily at her cyan-haired friend. Careful, careful. "It was entirely uncalled for."

"Exactly!" Talen's hands flew into the air as she rapidly shook her head in disbelief, her cyan-haired ponytail bouncing against her back. "What a damn crazy teacher... I swear to God..." She trailed off, incoherently grumbling under her breath.

A wary smile made its way onto Michelle's lips. She shifted her books into a more comfortable position in her left arm before her right hand caught a curly strand of hair and twirled it around. Maybe it was better to leave conversation be until English class ended. It should be enough time for her friend to calm down.

As they approached the room labeled 201, students filed out of the classroom while kids in their English scattered around the hallway, waiting for the room to empty. Michelle leaned against one of the lockers, crossing her arms across her chest. She looked to her right, still unsure of what kind of conversation to bring up to her raging best friend, but the partner-in-crime was missing. Her head turned forward, and she managed to catch sight of the cyan-haired girl pushing her way into the classroom.

Michelle's face morphed into a cringe after a guy passed her and hissed to his friend, "That crazy ass chick."

'Talen needs a leash,' she mentally declared, but after another quick thought, recanted the idea. If Michelle were to actually go through with buying a leash, Talen would end up using it on one of the Malone twins. She shook her head, softly chuckling at the kind of complaints the boys would have.

"Michelle Elizabeth Richmond," Cooper would hiss, narrowing his green eyes at her. "Why in the world did you think it'd be a good idea to give Talen a leash?"

"Yeah, Ellie. Why would you put us through that?" Carter, the other Malone twin, would add. Unlike Cooper, who had light brown hair and a fair skin complexion, Carter had the golden boy looks with short, dirty blond hair and almost-always tanned skin. They were both still identical, however, with the same strong jawline, high cheekbones, and uniquely bright green eyes.

With another shake of the head to get rid of the thoughts, she realized the kids waiting in the hall were gone. 'They must've entered when I wasn't paying attention,' she thought to herself as she walked forward.

It was deja vu.

Right as Michelle was about to sharply turn the corner and enter the classroom, her face slammed into a hard chest. She stumbled backwards and dropped her books to the ground, whimpering in pain while grasping her nose. "I'm so so––" Her light blue eyes flickered up to the person she ran into, and she wanted to just groan and walk the other way.

"I think you like running into me," Mickey mused, grinning down at her. His hands were stuffed into the pockets of his black leather jacket with his left arm pressed against his side, holding his textbook and notebook in place. "Third time's the charm."

She had no idea how to respond to him. Instead, she grumbled a quick apology and dropped to her knees, collecting her scattered notebooks, folders, and a copy of 1984. Mickey's dark-jeans-cladded legs were still in her line of vision, and no matter how much she prayed, he didn't walk away. 'Great,' she thought, forcing herself up to her feet. "Well, um, see you around," she murmured, keeping her head ducked.