Her Cowboy (Book One Of The Brave Series)

Chapter Two

Chapter Two

M.

I felt like tucking my tail and running. I truly did. My mother and I were walking through the school parking lot towards the front office and I could feel everyone's eyes on me. There weren't many people, maybe a hundred or so but that was just the outside after all. The school was small, painted in warm burgundy, gold, and white. Nervous sweat broke out on my skin and I couldn't help but pop my knuckles, a bad habit my mother tried but failed to break me of.

I forced myself to look straight ahead, my steps never faltered. I'm used to this, I told myself. I've been doing this all my life, nothing's changed. Except that it was a small school, a small town and we were newcomers. We were noticed and rarely were we noticed in the cities we were used to.

Glancing around the crowd were teens of all sizes, small, tall, a little chubby, a little skinny. With another glance there didn't seem to be any anger, or any bullying. No one was fighting or yelling. People were laughing, talking, a careless but friendly jostle on one's shoulder here and there. The girls all dressed for the weather, which was darkly clouded, and breezy, the air chilly as snow softly fell. They wore jeans, some looser fitting than others but none skin tight and awkwardly placed, long sleeve shirts were worn, with thin material jackets placed over them. Some girls had on make-up though it seemed the bare minimum and some didn't. There were trucks lined up in the parking lot and an equal number of cars. The boys weren't cold, like I was used to. They were in groups, not packs, or gangs. They smiled charmingly, and some held girls under their arms their chins resting on the girls shoulder. They wore pants where they belonged rather than half-way down their butts like the city boy want to-be gangsters had. Some wore flannels, and some wore long sleeves. I on the other hand was freezing.

I had woken up this morning at six o' clock due to my wonderful alarm clock and not five minutes after I woke up did the front door slam open. I had cringed at the sound, already a hole in the wall. Great, I had thought. Shaking my head, I waited for the sound of his fumbling footsteps and loudly slurred curses to cease. I got up only when the slamming of his bedroom door shook the foundation of the house.

I had gotten up and looked outside knowing it would be cold but knowing there was nothing I could do to rectify it. With all our moving around Mom always brought us to warm places like Arizona, California, Nevada, and New Mexico. And due to all the moving I've always had to carry light. I only own T-shirts, and shorts. I had a few pairs of pants, and a couple pairs of sneakers. It made packing easier and less of a hassle.

I had grabbed the thickest T-shirt I owned. It was a dark, almost black, blue with the outlying of a wolf howling at the moon. It was one of my favorite shirts and I never minded wearing it even in the heat. I chose a pair of black bootcut jeans and black sneakers with neon purple laces. I had quickly but quietly rushed into the bathroom across from my room and showered before doing my morning routine. I put my hair up in a ponytail then braided it.

When I reentered my bedroom, I grabbed my now empty backpack, save my favorite pen and a notebook, and headed into the kitchen. Mom was already there in her uniform. It always baffled me that Mom was a doctor, because she got good money, and it's not like Dad gave her anything but grief and heartache for all her hard work. She stood over the stove and the smell of chocolate chip pancakes overwhelmed me.

"Mm, smells good Mom," I had said.

"Thanks, I was just finishing them up. Here you go Sweetie." she then handed me a plate with three chocolate chip pancakes on it with cinnamon spiced butter melting over the top. She then handed me the syrup. My mouth was watering so bad I thought I was going to start drooling.