Poker Face || Z. Dempsey

Tape 1, Side A

Zach's car was idling outside her house as it usually was when Amelia walked outside in the morning.

She dumped her bag in the back and moved around to get into her usual seat, to find a leggy blonde who she didn't recognize in the shotgun seat. So this was his hookup. Anger, betrayal, and a feeling she didn't recognize when it came to Zach bubbled in the pit of her stomach.

"Uh, Lia, this is Martina. Can you sit in the back today?" Zach winced at the glare which was shot at him from Amelia, but she didn't say anything. She just climbed in the back and fixated her stare out the window.

Zach was too nice, which was one of the thing she loved about him. Even when he had a hookup, he drove them to school the next morning. It had caused some problems, some girls thought that it meant that they were something other than a hookup, but he usually would drop them off and then get Amelia. It was rare that she ever had to share a car with them. He was one of the stars of the basketball team and one of the popular kids, but he was a naturally nice person. He even tried to make small talk in the car, but when met by silence by both females, one pissed that he had to pick someone else up and one pissed that his hookup got her seat, he stopped trying.

As soon as they got to school, she was out of the car and into the overcrowded hallway as quickly as she could, without seeming desperate to leave their company. She was lucky that he had to park his car, so he couldn't follow her.

Hannah's locker, the locker right beside hers, was covered in notes and pictures, left from people who didn't know her or care about her. They were left by the people who laughed at her and spread rumors about her. She scoffed when she saw people taking selfies in front of it, not caring about remembering her, but trying to use it as a prop to get more likes on an Instagram post.

"She was so pretty," one girl said, when a new pair came along. Amelia actually laughed, but she wasn't heard over the loud chatter in the hall. Why didn't they say that when she was alive instead of spreading lies about her which would drive her to kill herself?

She saw Clay Jensen, one of the people closest to Hannah, staring off into space. She felt bad for him, as he didn't have many friends, but he was also left alone which was a blessing in Liberty High.

The bell rang and Amelia hurried to homeroom, the one class she didn't have with Zach. Slipping into a seat next to one of the cheerleaders, one of the nicer people in their class, she began to zone out, as all it would be about was preventing suicide, the only thing any teacher spoke about for the past week.

"Hey, Lia," a cocky voice said and she didn't have to turn her head to see who sat in the seat next to her.

"Justin," she sighed. She had to admit that he didn't look good. There were circles under his eyes and his skin lost its usual hue.

"Where were you this morning? You didn't come and hang out with us." Most mornings, Amelia was in one of the corners with a group of jocks. Over the years, she'd grown so close to Zach that she didn't have any other super close friends. There was no doubt that the person she was closest to was Zach, to her and anyone who knew them, but she had plenty of other people who she would consider a friend.

"I had stuff I had to do. You aren't my only social circle," she lied.

"Sure," he grinned and leaned back in his chair and put his feet on the desk.

"Mr. Foley, we are starting, so if you wouldn't mind acting like a civilized person, I would ask you to leave." Justin's chair fell back to the ground with a bang, and his feet landed with a thump moments after. He sighed loudly to make a point, but quieted down, leaving Amelia to her thoughts.