Seeing Isn't Believing

Annabella POV

Walking into detention, or anything late for that matter, is never easy. Everyone looks at you like you've decapitated the nearest cat, and I will never understand that fascination of watching who walks through the door. As I sit comfortably in my chair, I scowl at the reminder of why I am here, because I got caught with a flask in my backpack. The flask isn't mine, it's my best friend Ainsley's, but of course I keep it in my backpack since teachers never suspect me. Luckily, the flask was empty but they did confiscate it from me, resulting in me owing Ainsley a new flask. 

I stretch my arms out above my head, and then bring them back before reaching into my back pack and grabbing my sketchpad and pencil. I return to a previous sketch I have been working on for a while, a boy and girl sitting on a swing. The swing is held up by a tree that is rooted into a hill that gradually goes up. I lean back admiring what I have gotten done so far, my long auburn hair brushing onto the desk lined up behind mine. I quickly turn and whisper a sorry, before returning my focus to my art. 

Time went by slowly, but eventually detention was over and I gathered my things and began to place them into my arm bag. I am bumped into from behind causing my sketch book and pencil case to sprawl out in different directions. 

"Hey! Look where you're going guy!" I spit as I regain my balance. 

"S-sorry, I didn't see where I was looking." The now blushing blonde smiled as he spoke, making me feel he was almost mocking me. 

"Yeah well, maybe open those eyes of yours." I looked him over once more, realizing he was someone who hung out in my group. I roll my eyes as I step between the two desks that my pencil case had flown past, and notice the blonde had stepped towards my now open sketch pad. 

"Wow, you're pretty amazin-" I cut him off, ripping the sketch pad out of his hand, immediately realizing what I had done was a bit too rude, and gather my stuff and make for the door. I hove it down the hall and towards my locker, gathering my things and making my way out to the front entrance. 

The now evening breeze brushes up against my exposed legs as my black skirt dances with it. I pat my skirt down, and tug my soft pearl blouse down as well and make my way to the parking lot. My mom always picks my clothes out, making it very etched in my mind that "how you dress is how you treated", a phrase I will never understand. I reach my Blue Volkswagen Beetle that my parents had given to me for my 17th birthday last weekend. Open the driving side door, slipping in and shutting the evening air out. With fall in full swing, the air had begun to cool off but not enough for me to be bothered with pants, not like I could be bothered with them ever. 

I start my engine up, it whines and then rushes into a roar and I put it into drive and pull out of the student parking lot. With it being an hour past final bell, the parking lot was empty making leaving a breeze. Traffic was always so awful when all the students are trying to leave at once, like they're trying to escape a hellish place. I make my short drive to the neighborhood we live in, and pull into the drive way of our 4 story, 4 bedroom home. I shut my car off, and make my way into the house, bookbag on my shoulder. 

"Mom, I'm home!" I shout out, half-expecting no reply. 

"Welcome home sweetie," My mom walks into the kitchen, her midnight black hair pulled up into a tight bun and her pressed work suit missing the jacket. "Dinner will be done soon, were you with a friend after school?" 

"Yeah mom, studying for midterms tomorrow, you know." I wave my hand in the air as I move past her, signifying a more it doesn't matter motion hoping she doesn't catch me up on my lie. My mom finding out I got detention is not what I am afraid of. It's more so why I got the detention that she will ground me till I'm old enough to retire. 

"Alright dear, I'll call you down when dinner is ready. Please stay quiet, your dad is in a business meeting." I smile back at her and make my way up the stairs, passing dad's office in a soft manner and then making it up a second flight of stairs to my room. I was lucky enough to be an only child, it resulted in me not having to worry about fighting over whose room is whose. Not to mention, I got to turn one of the spare rooms into an art room, which both mom and I occupy sometimes. 

I slip into my room and shut the door behind me. I walk up to my canopy bed and move aside the blue satin drapes, dropping my bag on the mattress. I grab a few of my textbooks and study packets, tossing them onto my desk beside my bed, and reach back in the bag for my drawing pad. That guy was gonna compliment my drawing, I shouldn't have been so hard on him but no one has seen my art since it's not a skill I try and publicize. Girls like me get made fun of for having hobbies like art or music, since we're suppose to be the simple girls. I will never understand that. 

I step back out of my room, making my way down to the art studio and slip inside. I shut the door behind me and let the smell of old paint and damp wood surround me, this was my safe place. I look around at the strewed about art easels, paint cans, and miscellaneous art supplies, and smile to myself. I step over the fallen sheet on the floor in front of me, and make my way to my drawing space. Mom created this area for me in the room so I could have a place to shut the world out and focus on my art. 

Planting myself firmly onto the chair, I set my sketchpad in front of me and grab a few charcoal pencils, sharpening them just enough that I can effectively use them and begin working on a new project. 

Deep in concentration, I jump as I hear the chime of my cellphone go off in my pocket, alerting me someone wants to video call. I set my pencil down and bring my phone into view, revealing that Ainsley is looking to video call. Accepting it, I walk out of my art studio and down back into my bedroom. 

"Hey girl, what's up?" I hold the phone up, the camera capturing my face and showing it up in the left corner of the screen. The rest of the screen being a blur of movement, Ainsley was obviously busy doing something. 

"Hey," Awkward rustling noises interrupt her speaking, "thanks for taking that fall for me earlier, my dad would have killed me if he found out I stole his flask again. Are you going to the party this weekend?" I roll my eyes at the camera, she's too busy to notice and it makes me wonder why she even decides to video call and not just voice. 

"I haven't decided, right now I'm more focused on my studies and you know that." Lies, all I wanted to do was draw. I hear laughter come out of my phone, and return my attention to the screen. There she is, wide eyed and attempting, but failing, to stifle her laughter. 

"Come onnn, you and I both know you don't give a damn about these midterms. You've got perfect grades, failing them isn't gonna hurt you at all. You're like the perfect package! Brains, beauty, and an ass that makes men break their necks to watch you walk by." I roll my eyes again, being sure she saw it this time. 

"Yeah yeah, whatever. I'll let you know tomorrow, maybe, look is that all you wanted? I love you and all, but I really gotta focus." Another lie, really all I wanna do is just draw. My attention is drawn away from Ainsley and to the speaker next to my desk, it plays a soft chime that can be heard in each room of the house.

"Sounds like your too-rich-to-get-called-down-stairs-by-a-real-voice speakers are going off, better head downstairs before mommy-dearest bites your head off again." Smiling, I nod at her and end the call, immediately sighing. I don't like when she refers to me for my money, but I can't tell her that or we might fight again. I'm so tired of fighting with her, she's just as stubborn as I am.

Dinner flies by, dads too busy to eat and mom doesn't keep good conversation since she's so tied to her phone. I finish my plate and wash up then head to my room quietly as to not disturb my dad. I hear soft talking coming from behind his door, he must be in a meeting with some other colleagues.

Feels like he's always in a meeting nowadays. I can't remember the last time we all actually had a dinner together. I sigh and make it to my bedroom, shut the door behind me and begin getting ready for bed.

I remove my clothes and pull an oversize baseball tee shirt over my bare body, and pull some soft pink panties up and over my womanhood. I brush my hair and teeth and collapse into bed, crawling under the sheets and pulling them close to my shoulders, letting the soft lulls of sleep take me away.