Desperation

Chapter Three: School Bully

John let me play with Amara all day. I didn't have to do anything else. I just played with her and cuddled her when she wanted to sleep. I know, I may sound obsessive, but look at it from my perspective. Can you blame me? I didn't know what it was, if it was the Prozac, the new family, or the new puppy, but I felt amazing. I was truly happy. He stopped me right before I went to my bedroom to sleep. "I have to warn you of something, tomorrow we're gonna take you to the high school at about eight and you're gonna take a placement test."
"What?" I asked. "You need to start school. Proper schooling, so you need to take a placement exam to see where you are in your education. They said you're fifteen so you should be placed in the eighth grade or freshman year of high school. They just need to find that out and then next week you'll get your schedule and start class with the rest of the kids." He explained. I didn't really like the idea. I didn't want to be around other kids. But then I remembered what Daniela told me before we parted ways, and smiled just a little. "Okay. I'll be ready." I told him, and went to the bedroom. I'd brought Amara with me, so when I climbed in the bed she curled up in my shirt on my stomach. She liked the warmth.
Again, I took the medicine and fell asleep. I woke up to Amara's little paws on my face and her little body wiggling and running around the bed, whining. She wanted out. I yawned and put the joggers back on, lifting her up. Sleepily stumbling outside, I hadn't even realized what time it was. It was still dark out. I looked up and the sky was still a dark blue. "Damn, Amara.." I yawned, setting her down on the grass. I liked the placement of this mansion because even if it was broad day and people were outside, no one would see me out here. The mansion was farther into the woods. It was almost completely secluded by trees. There was a yard surrounding the back yard, and a smaller one in front, but the trees lined it. The only opening was the driveway.
Amara ran to the edge of the trees and did her business. In the dark, it was extremely hard to see her. But her blue eyes caught the light and shined brightly. When she finished she ran back to me, but stood in front of me protectively growling. Her tail was stiff and she faced the driveway. "What is it, Amara?" I asked softly, kneeling down to pet her. She growled louder and let out a bark. It broke a little and went high pitched in the middle because of her age, but it was a warning bark. She knew something was there that I didn't.
   I stood up, thinking of what to do. I knew I should go check, someone could be trying to break in. But something in me told me to run. Told me to take Amara and go back inside. Hesitantly, I started walking towards the gates on the driveway, Amara keeping herself between me and the gate at all times. I saw a figure standing at the gate the closer I got, and when we got no more than ten feet close, Amara lost it. She started barking and snarling and running at the gate, sending the person darting away. Quickly I grabbed her up and ran back inside, back to my room.
   John was awake, in the kitchen with a gun. "Bailey. What was that?" He questioned. He didn't question why I was out there, because I had Amara. She was still a puppy so she couldn't hold it, she had to go when she had to go. Amazingly, she was already almost fully house trained. I looked at him. "Someone was standing at the gate. Amara didn't really like them." I explained. "She scared them off before I could get any detail." He nodded and put the gun down. "Well it's five thirty. You can sleep another two hours or go ahead and get ready." He took a sip of his coffee.
   I nodded and went on to my room. "Good job, Amara." I smiled and reached down to let her. She walked in front of me triumphantly. I got dressed and ready, but no matter how much I brushed my hair it was a curly, fluffy cloud around my head. I guess I'd just have to leave it that way. I went back to the kitchen, letting Amara wander wherever she wanted. "Can I have some coffee?" I asked. John nodded and gestures to the coffee machine. "You gotta make it, kid. We can stop by the shop and pick up breakfast on our way to the school." I shuttered. I thought about it again, knowing there couldn't be that many kids there. I still didn't really want to go.
   They all knew about me, they all knew everything, so they probably wouldn't like me. Like the rest of the town, they would think I'm like mom was. But I figured even if they didn't like me I'd be fine. Life would continue as normal. So when we got there, the lady led us to the library. "My name is Mrs. June. I'm the librarian here, and we use the library to do these kids of tests. First, you'll take math. It will last about two hours. Then you're gonna take English. Again, it'll last two hours. You won't get any extra time so you need to make sure you're quick," She explained. "If you don't know an answer just guess. You're expected to be in eighth grade level or freshman year. When you finish, come to me, I'll be at my desk." She talked with extreme bore. Like she hated her life.
   I laughed under my breath at that and went to take the tests. They were on an older styled computer that looked like every other one in this room. They questioned elementary things. Child's play. They got harder as we went along but up until the last few questions I knew I got every single one right. I finished both tests with a little extra time, so I had to go get June. She went through her computer and calculated the results, amazement in her eyes. John picked up on it. He'd sat with her and talked the whole time I took the tests. "What is it?" He asked. "Well, he didn't fall under eight grade or freshman year. He'll be starting as a sophomore." She explained. "He's skipping a year and graduating early."
  John smiled brightly and pat my back. "Good job, Bailey!" He exclaimed. She smiled and nodded. "We will generate a schedule for him and he can start next week." She Said as she got up. "Come with me." She led us down the hall to the main office. We stood at the desk and waited while she ran a few papers off. She handed me a paper and kept one for herself. The classes went Geometry, gym, Honors English two, art one, biology, French, and world civ. Those were the main courses. "The computer generated your electives for you. But if you want to change them, you can."
   I shook my head. "No, they're fine." I shook my head slightly. "Good! Now, come back on Monday and you will start classes. I'll see you soon." She said softly as she led us to the exit and walked off. John led me to the car. "Well, You did good!" He smiled brightly and took my schedule to look at it. "You're gonna graduate a year early, kid, you're doing good." He smiled still. "Let's go home and celebrate with Amara." We hopped into his car and drove home, Amara greeting me excitedly. I'd never seen a dog attach to a person so quickly. She'd only known me for a day and she already attached. I searched the house to make sure she didn't have any accidents, and she didn't, so I rewarded her with treats.
"Hey Amara!" I laughed and fell in the floor with her. John watched. "Hey, My buddy Michael is coming over later today, he wants to meet you." Michael.. I remembered that name. "Adams?" I asked. He nodded. Detective Adams was the one who worked the case of Jeb all those years ago. I nodded and stood up, bringing Amara with me. "Alright," I said. "I get to brag about how smart I am." I laughed. When Michael came over for dinner hours later, he and John clicked. I could tell they had a thing for each other. They were awkward around each other and tried to keep professional.
Me, being the curious one I am, asked questions. "How long have you guys known each other?" I asked. Michael responded with "oh, sense we was kids. We met in elementary and just kind of.." "stayed together." John finished his sentence when Michael couldn't find the right word. I nodded. "I see." They both nodded nervously and babbled on about the shit they'd do as kids. I half listened and half thought about things. I wondered what it'd be like in school. The next week on Monday, i went. Of course there wasn't too many kids there. Most of them ignored me, and I heard their gossip about me every now and then when I listened hard enough.
A couple weeks in was when things started getting bad. "He tried to fuck his step dad once a couple years ago so his mom committed suicide." Was the one lie I heard that actually managed to make me mad.
I snarled. It was in the hallway right behind me. I jerked my head around to see who said it. I couldn't tell, there had to be at least ten kids still standing in the hallway. There was a circle of girls surrounding ones locker and talking about god knows what. I tried to listen in but I couldn't understand what they were saying, so I figured it wasn't them. The voice who said it was a masculine one. So I searched the guys who were standing around. "Looking for me, big stuff?" I jerked around to where the voice came from. A big guy stood over me in a jock's outfit, you know the stereotypical football jacket and jeans, man bun. All that good stuff. He was buff, and had to be six foot four at least.
I looked up at him. "Yeah, I'm the one who just called ya out with my buddies. You killed your mom." I had a deadly glare. I knew I couldn't fight him even if I tried, so I kept quiet. But that didn't mean everyone else kept quiet. Some girl behind him cleared her throat and I saw his face twist on pain. He fell forward and I jumped back, out of his way. "That's what a knee to the ass feels like." She spat. She was short, and had light brown hair, nicely tanned skin, light blue eyes. Her eyebrows were thick and arched. She looked badass.
I'd never seen her around town before, so I knew she was a new girl. "What the hell!" The big dude yelled. "Leave him alone." She ordered him. Then she looked at me. "You're welcome." She had an angry tone. "Thanks.." I mumbled, going to her. "What's your name?" I asked. "I'm Christine. You call me Chris." She ordered. She was one of those people who give off a 'don't fuck with me.' Vibe. "And you are?" She asked, walking off down the hall. I followed. "Bailey." "Bailey? Nice." It was the last five minutes before the final bell rang. "So, you new here?" I asked. For some reason, I wanted to know more about her. Like why she helped me.
"Yeah, just moved here last week, I'm surprised you haven't heard of me yet." "Where did you move from?" "New York, I came a long way. It's nothing like here there." I nodded. "That's a big city. This place ain't half of what it is." I agreed. She laughed. "You're telling me. You ever been in a big city?" She asked. I shook my head. "No, actually, I've never been out of this town." She stopped in her tracks and looked at me. "You're kidding. You gotta be kidding." I shook my head. "Holy shit." I shrugged. "You know that orphanage that's ten miles out of here? That's the farthest I've ever been." "You're an orphan?" She asked. "Well, I figured you'd know the story. I mean, you heard him." I shrugged. "You want to tell me the true story to that?" She asked. "You don't look like the 'I'm gonna fuck my step dad' type."
I looked at her. "I'm not. My mom was a drug addict, and she over dosed. I have no clue who my dad was, he died before I was born." She nodded. "So they made up a huge lie to cover what happened to your mama." She shook her head. "Bullshit. Well, I can ask my grandma to take us out of town so I can show you around. There's a lot more to this state that this dinky little town." Her grandma? I blurted out. "Hey, I have a question. Why did you move here? All the way from New York?" "Ah.. that's the big question ain't it?" "Yeah." I laughed, and she cracked a smile. "My mom sent me here to live with her, because mom wasn't financially stable enough to care for me. That, and she wasn't mentally stable. My dad got arrested a couple months ago and she couldn't handle it." She was so open about it.
It was like she wasn't scared to be judged, and hell, she probably wasn't. She kicked a huge football jock's ass easily. She had no reason to be afraid. "So you up for coming outta town with me?" She asked. "Sure. I gotta ask John though." "John?" "The man who adopted me after all of it went down. Hey, you can meet Amara. You like dogs?" I asked. "Hell yeah I like dogs!" The bell rang and we walked outside. Amara was there waiting for me. These few weeks I've had her she'd grown so much. She leaped up on me and barked excitedly, wrapping her paws around my waist. Chris squealed when she saw Amara and knelt down to love on her.
Amara turned her attention to Chris and licked face excitedly and lovingly. "Alright, Amara, lead the way." Amara barked and trotted ahead, leading me and Chris to my house. The town was small enough that it was a fifteen minute walk to wherever you needed to go. Chris saw my place and gasped in awe. "This is huge." She uttered. "John's parents left it for him." I laughed. Amara barked at the door as we walked up to it and John opened. "Hey, Bailey. Who's this?" He asked, looking at Chris. "This is Chris, she-" "I'm a friend of his." She cut me off boldly. "I was wondering if we could hang out a bit? I'll have him back by eleven." It was like a date, but not. John raised a brow. "Hmm.. Alright. Back by eleven." He looked at me. "See you, Bailey." He gave me a proud smile. He was happy to see I'd made a friend.
We walked off in another direction, and Amara stayed behind to protect John under my orders. "So we're friends now?" I asked. "Well no shit, dummy." She laughed. "No. We're strangers, and I'm kidnapping you." We walked to this house that was two stories tall, and was painted a light yellow/beige looking color, it was probably white at some point but time had taken its toll. It was old and rustic, just like everything else in this town. She barged in and ran to the kitchen, and I followed her. "Hey NiNi guess who got in a fight on her first day of school?" She hollered.
An older woman was standing at the sink. She had a slim build and her hair was braided, it was long enough to go down to her hips and it was silver, almost white. The woman turned around. "You better be joking, girl, or I'll have your hide." She looked at me. I'd known this woman. Her name was Meredith. She had been around sense I was tiny. We had never actually spoken, but I knew of her. "Bailey, nice to finally talk to you!" She laughed and came over to hug me. "God you've grown so much." "So you know Bailey?" Chris asked, raising a brow. "Not personally, no, but he's been here sense he was a little baby. I knew his mama." She shook her head. "I'm sorry for what happened," I shook my head. "No. It's alright." Chris broke our awkward conversation. "So, NiNi, I was wondering. He's never been outta town before. Can you take us out? Show us around?" She asked.
Meredith nodded. "Of course. It sucks to not have anywhere to go. How about we go into Tennessee? They have a lot there." She opted. Chris nodded her head. "Hell yeah!" I snickered at their excitement. I was a little nervous, but I didn't say anything. Meredith led us out to an old blue ford pickup truck and we climbed in. It took a few tries before she got it up and running. "Are you sure she's able to make it all the way to Tennessee?" Chris asked. "She's better than ya think." "You're keeping her together with duck tape." I listened to their argument.
We drove on, for what felt like hours. No one else was on any of the roads, it seemed almost abandoned. "Bailey! I have an idea. Climb out of the window and get into the bed of the truck and we can ride back there." Meredith laughed. "Chris, he's not as practiced as you are. He can't do that, I can just pull over." As she said that I unbuckled my seatbelt. I don't know what came over me, but being around Chris gave me an adrenaline rush. I rolled the old window down and climbed out, holding on for dear life, and threw myself into the bed. I heard Chris and Meredith's laughter as Chris climbed out after me.
"Didn't think you had it in you, pretty boy!" Chris yelled over the loud truck engine. Meredith hit the gas and we sped up. The wind blew my face harshly and sent my hair back. Chris sat on the walls of the bed while I leaned against them and leaned my head back. "When we get on the four lane we gotta lay down if there's a lot of cars, so the police don't catch us. I've got NiNi pulled over before." Chris explained. I laughed. "Oh, that sounds amazing." She laughed and kicked me. "Shut up!" I shook my head. "Make me!" She raised a Brow. "Is that a challenge?" She asked. I nodded. "Fight me." I said playfully.
She flopped down on the bed beside me. "Tennessee has these roller coasters in the mountains that are open all year round. And they have vape shops. You ever vaped before?" "No. I've not." "Oh shit! Well, you're gonna. NiNi can get us vape pins." "Aren't they expensive?" "Nah." We did just that. Meredith stopped by a vape shop when Chris asked and we got pins, and my first time I jacked up a lung. She got us the ones without nicotine, that were just water vapor. Chris seemed more skilled at it, though. She didn't choke or anything. She did tricks.
We walked around that little plaza and Chris saw a gages shop. "Let's go in there. You can get gages, right?" She asked. "Uhh.. no." I responded. "I think you're just scared. I'm getting them. Well, I'm gonna amp mine up. Right now I'm on a six, so I'll go down to a five. You can get twelves," She said. "I don't wanna!" I squealed. "Awww Bailey is too scared!" Meredith nudged Chris. "Leave him be, Chris!" She laughed along with her and I rubbed my ear lobes. "Fine. I'll get twelves," I said nervously. And I did. We went out too a couple shops and ate giant slices of pizza, and then when ten o'clock rolled around we drove back.