Synge

|§| Chapter 6 |§|

I stared up at my ceiling from my spot on the bed. My cheek didn't hurt anymore, but I could shake the feeling of my dad slapping me. It didn't even hurt that much... physically. Heavy tears stained my face, I felt exhausted but still couldn't sleep. I jumped off my bed as someone knocked on the door. I wiped away my tears and calmed myself.

"Who is it?" I rasped.

"Allison." She said after a moment of silence.

I rolled my eyes, crossing my arms over my chest.

"What do you want?" I asked annoyedly.

"I-I just wanted to talk to you..." She explained, hope clear in her soft voice.

I thought it over, then nodded.

"Come in." I said, realizing she couldn't see me head-nod.

The door creaked open, and she delicately stepped into my room. She gave me an apologetic smile. I responded by sitting on my bed and hugging my knees to my chest. The bed dipped as she sat next to me. Silence hung over us for a long while.

"Do you hate me...?" She whispered.

I dug my face deeper into my arms, frustration gnawing at my nails as they sunk painfully into my skin.

"What gave it away?" I asked sarcastically.

She sighed heavily, turning to me.

"Could you at least try and be nice? I'm trying to do some good here." It felt like she was bragging.

"You wouldn't need to if you didn't steal my dad!" I snapped, leaping from my bed.

"What are you talking about?" She asked, looking completely dumbfounded.

I groaned and held my face.

"He was married to another woman! He had kids with her! Just because she's gone doesn't mean my dad is up for grabs in the whole dating game!" My throat burned, and my head pounded.

"Coraline, I didn't steal your dad. He has to move on at some point." She said, staying seated.

"Moving on doesn't always mean choosing another woman." I spat.

"Hun, don't you think your mother would want to see him happ-"

"Oh my god, how entitled are you?!" I cut her off, her angelic voice smelling of molten metal.

She has no right to talk about my mother.

"Entitled? Coraline I'm just trying to make things better between-." She explained.

"Just shut up!" I yelled, my ears starting to burn.

"Coraline come on-"

"Get out!" I cut her off again, trying to keep myself calm.

"Cora please-"

"Out!" At that point I simply screamed at her.

She seemed taken aback by the sudden change in tone, and just walked out. I glared at her as she looked back, then scurried down the hall. With a groan of frustration, I slammed the door as hard as I could, nearly splintering the frame. My lungs felt constricted and tight, while my muscles slowly gave out, dropping me to the floor. There I lay, in a sobbing heap, half regretting, half proud of how I spoke to Allison. Exhaustion quickly kicked in, throwing me down into the deep dark abyss of sleep.

*^*^*^*

My limbs ached when I woke up in the cold, hardwood floor on my room. I couldn't help but notice the blanket draped over me, and the pillow squeezed under my head. It was soaked from the crying. My face felt tight with tear tracks, and my left arm felt numb from sleeping on it.

I instinctively checked the time, sighing with relief as it was only 6:30, giving me a half hour before the bus came. After a few minutes of sitting there in the pile of a little nest someone created, I crawled to my feet. I threw on jeans and shirt, then cover my untamable hair with a black beanie.

Once I shoved on my shoes, I walked downstairs. Noah texting someone, while Oscar and Oliver were eating their cereal. Dad was standing at the stove, making food.

"God Morgen." I said nervously, noticing the silenced anger in his face.

He stayed silent, clearly trying to ignore me. I sighed and turned towards the door.

"I'm walking to school." I muttered, forcing my voice not to crack.

All I got in response was a 'Whatever' in a quiet, yet strained voice. With a shake of my head, I trudged out of the house and onto the sidewalk.

Some kids ran past me, while others  rode their bikes down the street. Jocks were throwing a frisbee between each other, the senior preps drove their million dollar cars, the freshmen cheerleaders strutted down the street like they were on the catwalk. The tomboys and their guy friends slipped down the sidewalk on their longboards and skateboards.

I watched them all, living in their own perfect world. No visible problems or blemishes. Just perfection. I was snapped out of my own head was a person started walking next to me. I looked over to see a boy, hugging some books to his chest with a worried look on his face. His lips were colored a dark shade of red, giving off the impression that he was wearing makeup. On closer inspection, I realized he was. He had eyeliner and eyeshadow on as well.

"Can I help you?" I asked.

He glanced behind him, then back to me.

"Just talk to me like we're friends. They won't harass me if I'm with someone.... well, at least not physically..." He pleaded, gulping as the sound of loud voice grew louder behind us.

I looked back, four guys were walking behind us. They were laughing and shoving each other.

"Harass?" I repeated.

He nodded. As if on qui, the boys started throwing insults at the back of our heads. They shouted racial slurs and curse words, calling this boy names that were too racist and rude to repeat. I took a moment to think, when a lightbulb went off in my head.

"So how did you do on last nights math homework?" I asked, a bit too loudly for a casual conversation.

He looked at me confused for a moment, before realizing.

"I think I did pretty good. What d'you get for number 8?" He asked, keeping his gaze on me.

"I got 32, what did you get?" I asked, glancing back to see the group slow down and shifting their attention to other things.

We carried on the conversation until they were completely distracted by the cheerleaders and preps. He let out a big breath of relief, flashing me a big smile.

"Thanks, I know that was a bit outta the blue." He said, obviously much more relaxed.

"No problem.... I'm Coraline."

"Adam." He stuck his hand out for a shake, which I quickly obliged to.

I took a moment to warm up, before gathering the courage to ask him something.

"Are you wearing makeup?" I asked, making sure the way I asked couldn't be taken the wrong way.

He nodded, turning away.

"Yeah... my mom doesn't let me wear it at home, so I wear it to school...." He explained.

I placed a hand on his shoulder, making him flinch slightly. That hurt my heart.

"I think it looks great." I assured him.

He looked at me in surprise.

"You're not.... you're not weirded out by this?" He asked, in total shock.

"Nope. Why would I be?"

"Because I'm a boy...?"

"Well I'm a girl and I have a 'boy haircut'" I retorted, making air quotes around 'boy haircut.'

A genuine smile spread across his face, and he looked forward, walking all the way to school by my side.

~End of Chapter 6~

Key:
God Morgen = Good Morning