The Bullies' Slave 1

1- FOR THE LOVE OF EVERYTHING UNDERNEATH A BANANA TREE!

1- FOR THE LOVE OF EVERYTHING UNDERNEATH A BANANA TREE!

"FOR THE LAST TIME CORY, I SAID NO!" I snapped at my brother for the umpteenth time. We were currently headed to school in dad's infamous limousine with Paul, his personal assistant off-office, behind the wheel. Cory, on my right, had been pestering me to give him my hoodie. But there was absolutely no way I was going to give him the very thing I was banking on for protection against peering eyes in this new school!

I was still angry at dad for making us change schools. Honestly, if it had not been for the fact that coming here would be the best for my older sister, Theresa, both work, environment and bill wise, me and Cory would have preferred to stay back at Boise. Fancy him suddenly wanting to reconcile with us after he had callously left us after mum's death. He had no excuse for leaving us. I mean, he was not the only one grieving for their loss. He might have lost his wife, but we had lost our mother too!

Theresa had been there for us. She was our mother, even father. She had been the one taking care of most of the bills, working while she went to college. She had even skipped a year of college. The only good thing then was that dad had paid our tuition fees for that year and the next before mum's demise. It was a school for the rich so most parents or guardians did that. Only God knows if we would have dropped out of school!

Dad had left, few months after mum's death, leaving behind a flimsy, pathetic note of nonsense, permit me to say. He did not even think about Melody, our younger sister. She was just a year and a half old then. Theresa had to make sure we did not starve to death. Then after a year, Bobby Pears reached out to only Theresa requesting to take responsibility for our education. Cory and I had vehemently refused but when we saw Theresa could definitely not handle our education, we agreed.

That had been it. Dad for our education, Theresa for the bills.

The fact that he moved on so fast was the most heartbreaking of all. We had discovered, during one of Theresa's visits to his huge house here in Portland, that our dear father had been married to his wife, Angie, or whatever her name was. Maybe Adela?

It was not until recently, that dad decided to "reach out" to us. He had said he was sorry and regretful and needed us back in his life. Cory and I never bought it though, but Theresa did. Funny, she had even forgiven him. The reason why Cory and I let ourselves be convinced to move here was because we saw how much the bills were taking a toll on Theresa. Also, we all kind of needed a change of environment, one without awful memories.

But thankfully, we all agreed on something. We were not going to live with dad and our "stepmother". So, Dad rented the most adorable house for us. I had to give him credits there. That house is amazing! Not so big, but cute and comfortable.

We only met our "stepmother" once since we moved to Portland. It was the day we finally moved here and we had had dinner with "Mr. and Mrs. Pears". Although, she seemed harmless, that did not mean me and my brother liked her or had made anything less awkward. Theresa, of course, had been nice, while Melody was simply oblivious. She still did not know mum was not alive anymore. We did not take her along to the funeral, not like she would have recalled it anyway. She had been at a friend's house that day. To Melody, mum was part of a research team which was exploring a small village which had no network coverage. Not cool, I know. I hope one day someone would summon the courage to tell her.

So here we are, heading to Crystal High, my new school in Portland, Oregon. A school which, according to Joe, my close friend back in Boise before he moved with his parents to Minnesota during our sophomore year in Beth High School, is known for venomous bullies. Unfortunately, that's the only private school in Portland that admits students into the senior year as long as you have a very strong connection. Which, in my case, was dad.

I groaned as Cory tapped my arm for the hundredth time, still smirking.

"Come on, Sam. Please." Apparently, he had forgotten to take his hoodie along, which in my opinion was not necessary because according to Joe, bullying in his school, was directed mostly to the girls. What torture! And it was not like Cory was going to need the hoodie, anyway. That boy could handle his own. Please! He was a bully himself.

But as for me, I had planned to stay low key and that I am very much going to do with a little help from this hoodie. I heard Paul chuckle just as Crystal High came into view.

Woah, this school is WOW.

"Bye Paul." I said as soon as he parked the limo, before literally flying out of the car. I could hear his and Cory's chuckles. Ugh.

I stood few feet away from the school's building, gawking at it as I heard Paul rev the engine of the limo. It was the most beautiful sight ever! Well, aside my dad's mansion. It was an array of bungalows linked together and it was painted in gold as well as the same cream color of our uniform shirt. I could spot the bluebells, dahlias and some other flowers that surrounded the school making it look somewhat like a modern cottage. I was about to take a step forward when my phone vibrated in my clutched hands. It was then I realized I had been gripping it together with my napkin.

PAIN IN THE BUTT:
Come on, Sam. Don't be mean. Paul says please and he's ready to turn around ;). I groaned loudly, ignoring the few stares I got from passing students.

FOR THE LOVE OF EVERYTHING UNDERNEATH A BANANA TREE!

He was doing this on purpose!

ME:
Buzz off!

As I hit the send button, Cory's goofy grin appeared on my screen, requesting for a Face Time. I quickly hit the red button. I switched off my phone and shoved it into my backpack, together with my napkin. I felt I might not actually need the hoodie, so I took it off and shoved it into my bag as well.

There are bullies! Joe's words suddenly rang in my head.

"I can do this." I whispered to myself as I rubbed my sweaty palms on my black uniform skirt. Honestly, for a school as beautiful as this, I kind of feel the uniform is hideous. I stepped into the school's building only to find myself in a hallway. And it was at that point I wished I had not taken off my hoodie.

I knew they were the ones immediately I saw them afar off. It was not the fact that they were gorgeous, or that students gawked at them but still steered away. It was the bad boys’ aura they had around them. Tough, dangerous, mischievous and manipulating! I walked quietly, until I hid at a corner near where they stood, and away from other students who had thankfully not noticed me yet, to get a better view of these guys.

There was one - a blonde with brown eyes, who was waving his hands hysterically, whining and pouting. He seemed funny and was probably the least dangerous of the four. Or maybe not, I thought, as my eyes trailed off to the guy beside him, who looked clearly bored. He had black hair which was gelled to the back and calm, striking blue eyes. I held my breath as his eyes trailed off and met mine.

I felt my face heat up from embarrassment at having been caught staring. His action made the others turn to look at me. Oh-Oh!
I quickly turned away and hurried to find the reception.

So much for staying low key!

Shirley!!!