The Daughter of Apollo.

Chapter 2 - No one comes to my band-aid.

Warning; There are mentions of suicide in this chapter.

Before entering the school gates, I did all I could to cover the scratches. But all I could do was very little. Seeing as its summer, I'd get detention if I wore long sleeves at school. And the last thing I needed is more trouble. I had already been expelled from several schools, and this is the last chance I get before being sent to one of the cheap public schools in my area. Trust me, no one except the juvenile kids wanted to go to those places. I would just have to keep my head down and hope that no one would notice the many band-aids covering my arms.

My first class was Math, which was easy but really boring. The classroom was at the opposite end of the school and for once I didn't have to run to make it there on time. Maybe I'll catch up with Yasmine along the way? Her classroom isn't too far from mine. No such luck. I made it to class a full five minutes before it started, which normally would be a good thing, since I had extra time to finish homework. But not today. Today there was others waiting outside the classroom... waiting for me. Oh no. I thought, desperately trying to leave unnoticed, Not today of all days!

"Oi! You there! Yeah, you!" One of the boys from the group shouted at me. I groaned and turned slowly, I couldn't run since class was starting soon. I hurried to hide my arms behind my back, but I was too late. A girl from the group, with a face full of overdone makeup and pink high-lights in her hair, spotted my band-aid and immediately started pointing and whispering with her friends. The others noticed and the boy who had called out to me, Bradley Alan was his name, made his way over to me, strutting in his normal posh-boy fashion.

"Oh, Clemson. Why, oh why, are there band-aids covering your arms?" Bradley Alan sneered. I rolled my eyes, even though I knew no one in my school called others by their first names, unless they were friends. It was pretty silly, as we were all only thirteen and it seemed like a thing only grown-ups did. But, I had to go along with it, the last thing I wanted was for the bullies to think I was trying to be their friend.

"That's none of your concern, Alan!" I told him forcefully, in my head I was begging him to leave it be. I froze up when I realised what I had just done. Slowly moving my head upwards, I peered at him from behind my hair. His angry figure was towering over my small one. His hair, as black as ink, had been gelled back to show his devilish face. All the girls found him handsome, except Yasmine and I. We knew what he really was – a beast. And now, I had just angered that beast. Crap.

"What did you just say to me?" Bradley Alan sneered, his words long and drawn out. All the girls in his group backed away, knowing what was going to happen next. The boys in his group gathered together, probably taking bets on how long it would take for me to cry. I silently cursed myself. I should've just kept my mouth shut, but as always, I forgot to think. And now I had to face the consequences. Bradley Alan grabbed my navy-blue bag from where is was slung on my shoulder and chucked it to the boys. They immediately started digging through it and I thanked the heavens that I had time to go to my locker and drop off all of my valuables. Bradley grabbed me by my arms, his fingers digging into a couple of the scratches, making them bleed more and me wince. He saw this and grinned in some sick delight.

"I see why you're all scratched up now, Clemson." He smirked, leaning in closer but talking louder so that his so-called friends could hear. I tried my best to lean away, but he had already raised me on to the tips of my toes. "You couldn't take it, could you? You wanted to end it all? Kill yourself? Is that it? Hmmmm?"

I shuddered at his proximity and kept my mouth shut. The next thing I knew, Bradley Alan had thrown me to the ground and ordered his friends to return my bag.

"We don't need to be seen around people like you, suicidal freak." He spat and then swaggered off with his gang. I sighed in relief. Honestly, this encounter had gone rather well in comparison to our other 'lovely' meetings. My watch told me class was going to start in one minute, so I quickly stood up, dusted myself off and picked up my things, all while ignoring the disgusted look my classmates gave me.

I was the first one through the door when the teacher, Mr. Jones, opened it. Straight away, he noticed my arms and gave me a questioning look. I sighed as I sat down at my desk. This is going to be a long day.

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After Math, I had English, and then after that was Health Education. Health was one of the only classes I had with my best and only friend – Yasmine. Yasmine was strong willed and musical, and she would've been popular too, if she hadn't chosen to be friends with me. She would always tell me that she'd rather have me as her only friend than have a handful of fake ones. I still get confused, she could've had such a better school life if I wasn't her friend.

Yasmine will probably go places as well, she's got an incredible voice that makes you feel all warm inside when you hear her sing. She's got soft, sort-of pudgy cheeks that go well with her long, straight nose. Her eyes were the shape and colour of almonds, and she had dead-straight black hair. No one else at school has seen her hair though, since her religion keeps a scarf hiding her raven hair. It's not like anyone cared about what she looked like without the scarf, as soon as she declared our friendship, everyone stopped caring about her. But I'm glad she made that sacrifice. She's a wonderful person and friend and she's the reason I've made it through high school so far. I look up to her a lot, but then again, I look up to everyone, being the shortest in my year.

Time seemed to go by at the pace of a snail in English. I'm not going to say much about it because there isn't much to say. Finally, I made it to Health. I let out a long, breathy sigh of relief as I eased my sore behind into my seat. Thankfully, we could choose who we sat next to and Yasmine and I instantly paired up.

I looked up to see Yasmine entering the classroom, gliding along like a graceful bird, like she does when she's not upset. She sat down next to me and frowned at my scratched and newly-bruised arms.

"What's up?" Yasmine asked, her melodic voice filled with concern.

"Let's just say... it's been a very long and tiring day. And it isn't even recess yet!"