Pissing Off the Bad Boy

The Beginning of the End

Worst. Day. Ever. Actually, it's been the worst month ever.

Ever since we moved to Bel Air, nothing has been the same.

Sure, I wasn't popular back home, but at least I had friends and knew the town. I would spend days wandering around our little town and the streams surrounding it; the mountains were so beautiful and everything was so green. I would swim everyday, whether it be at school, in the lake, or in my pool. Luckily, our house in Bel Air has a pool–I don't know what I'd do if I couldn't swim. That's how I spend most of my time, swimming and diving low enough that maybe I'll come up and be back in Nebraska. If I'm not swimming, I'm either reading or practicing some boxing. There used to be a gym back home where one of my friends taught me to fight. Boxing was the latest addition to my portfolio. But mostly, I just stay out of the way.

That's been relatively easy so far as it's summer vacation. Unfortunately for me, school starts tomorrow, my senior year. That means being the new kid, suffering through classes, and having to spend days pretending like people aren't staring at me.

Look, it's not like I'm against making friends and being social, it's just that I don't want to get attached to this place – that'll just lower my chances of going home. I also was never big on going out or partying anyways; a small, close friend group is what I like and what I had.

Sighing, I got out of bed, seeing as it was already 10 am. I guess I shouldn't assume today was going to suck; my mom always hates stuff like that, says it sets you up to fail. After eating breakfast and finishing all the AP summer homework I had procrastinated on, I decided to go explore our neighborhood. We'd been moved in for a week, but, as I spent the majority of that time either moping in my room or swimming, I knew nothing about the area. Apparently, there was a girl my age who lived nearby – Alyssa? April? – and my mom liked. Besides her, I had no knowledge of the people or the places.

Before I moved, I had looked up nearby lakes and the closest was Stone Canyon Reservoir, about a 15 min drive. And, of course, no swimming. Franklin Canyon Reservoir was pretty close too, but still not ideal. Not like home, where watering holes were everywhere. To be fair, some of the scenery around did seem pretty, and the mountain hiking trails had amazing views of the city and landscape. Santa Monica Pier is amazing too. My parents took us there when we first came and it was definitely a highlight. It's only a 18 minute drive from our house and a 45 min bike. I'm thinking of applying to be a lifeguard there once I have the time.

Since I had time, I decided to bike to a nearby canyon park just to relax. When I got there, I found a nice rock along the water and laid down, pulling out my book and pulling down my sunglasses.

I was in this position, peacefully reading, when a figure sprinted past me, jumping into the water and splashing me (and my book). Just when I was about to yell and him, another two ran by, yelling as they hit the water.

One threw his towel next to me as he jumped. Did they even process that I was sitting there? You have got to be kidding me. While the others were generic colors, I looked at the towel and saw that it said "Bellington Prep Swim Team." Great. They go to my school too. To top it off, one is on the swim team. Someone upstairs must have a grudge against me.

I almost let it go, I could've. I would have just walked away from the unnaturally attractive guys and minded my own business. But not only was I already peeved from my book getting soaked (thank god it wasn't a hardcover), one of the guys just had to push it.

He yelled from the water, "How about joining us babe? We can all go skinny dipping! That's something I'd like to see and I promise you'll be happy too."

OK, so not that horrible, but still bottom level harassment. And he didn't even look apologetic! So, naturally, I gave them a flirty smile, walked to the edge of the water, and kicked their towels and clothes straight into the lake. Winking, though I realize now they couldn't see that behind my sunglasses, I turned on my heel and left their shocked faces behind. Hopefully they wouldn't recognize me. Not as if it's a big deal: it's not like it was their phones or anything that could be permanently damaged. No real harm done...or so I thought.

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There's chapter one!