I opened my eyes and looked around the room. I had fallen asleep in class, again. I knew the teacher would be giving me dirty looks, I was clearly asleep. I kept my head down and watched, I noticed I had made myself a comfy pillow out of my lined paper. The bell rang and my friend Kaiden poked my back. "The bell, Alice." he stated. "Yes I know." I mumbled. "What's your problem lately? You've been falling asleep in class for the past few days." Kaiden told me as he put his notebook in his backpack. "I know." I sighed. "You've also been asking me for paper, which is usually my question to you." Kaiden zipped his backpack up and stood by my desk. I was silent, knowing the problem. "How long have your parents been fighting? I could hear them last night, I could hear your stepdad..." Kaiden knelt by my desk. "I just hope my mom dumps him. My dad was the only good guy for her." I sat up, the paper sticking to my face. Kaiden looked at me, eyebrow raised. "You're dad's been gone for a while, Alice. Are you sure he's coming back this time?" Kaiden asked me as sympathetically as possible. I plucked the paper from my face and sat up a little straighter. "Yes, I do. He said he was coming back and I'm sure of it." I put the paper on the desk next to my Imagine Book and picked up my backpack. "Alice, don't get carried away. He's been gone for ten years." Kaiden told me. "You think I don't know that?" I growled, adjusting my straps on my backpack. "I'm pretty sure you do, but I just don't want you to get your hopes up. I know he loves you, considering all the times he chased me out of your house thinking the wrong things...but just don't get to excited." Kaiden said. "He loves me, and he will come back. He has once, he can do it again." I looked at my Imagine Book, it was full of story plots and drawings. My dad gave it to me in hopes of it calming my constantly working mind. It didn't help anything. The cover has a big peace sign on it. "I know he came back...but what if he doesn't this time?" Kaiden folded his arms. "He will. You just watch, he will." I glared at him. "Don't get mad at me Alice, but all I'm saying is don't get your hopes up." Kaiden put a hand on my shoulder, I shrugged it off. "You need to stay out of my life!" I nearly shouted and reached out to grab my Imagine Book, Kaiden grabbed my wrist with a sympathetic look on his face. "You're not yourself Alice, I just don't want to see you get hurt again." Kaiden told me, trying to keep his voice as steady as possible. "You don't have to worry about me, I'm a big girl. I can handle myself." I tried to get my wrist from his grip. "You're a freshman Alice, I think it's safe to say you're going to need someone with you at one point." Kaiden looked at me, some sympathy draining from his face. "I can handle myself! You don't need to be my personal body guard. And so what if I'm a freshman, no one messes with the freshmen anyway!" I tried to rip my wrist from his grip violently, he hugged me quickly, I squirmed a bit but just let him hug me. I hugged him back and calmed a little. "You know you're like family to me right?" Kaiden asked. "Yes." I mumbled. "I just don't want anything to happen to you, you mean a lot to me." Kaiden hugged me a little tighter. "I know..." I buried my face in his jacket.
At lunch I sat with my friends, Kaiden has his own group of friends that he hangs out with when he's not with me. And has a different lunch hour. "So Alice, how's Kaiden?" Maxxine teased, we call her Maxx. "He's good, how's Daniel?" I proded back. She looked at me and narrowed her eyes, "Touchee..." she bit her sandwich and I ate a chip. "I heard you two had a fight, is he okay? You didn't give him a bloody nose again did you?" Jasmine asked. "Okay, that first time was an accident. And no, his nose is fine." I stated. Jasmine put her hands up as if saying, 'It's all good, just saying.' I looked at Amy, she was just sitting down. Sarah sitting with her. "You will never guess what I overheard in the bathroom!" Amy clapped happily. "You invented the first time machine, went back in time and watched the Shot Heard Around The World, and witnessed who shot first." I looked at her hopefully. "No..." Amy looked at me confused. "Aw, now I'm sad." I sighed and leaned back in my chair. Amy looked at me and smiled, I can always make everyone smile. "Danny Martin is having a party tonight and everyone is invited!" Amy cheered. "So?" I asked. "So? What do you mean so! Danny Martin is the most popular kid in school, I will drag you there if I have to!" Maxx told me. "But I was going to go to the shooting range with Kaiden." I mumbled and looked at my black paint splattered lunch box. "Well forget it, you're going to the party." Maxx folded her arms. "Do you really want to go there?" I growled. "No but I want you to go to the party, it could seriously improve your social status. And looking at how it is now, we shouldn't even be seen with you." Maxx told me. "I could care less for what people think of me, and I wont go." I told her. "If you don't I will tell your parents you have a facebook!" Amy stood up and leaned over the table and glared at me. "I guess it's my turn to say touchee..." I glared back. She looked surprised at me and sat back down. "You're going. If you don't then I'm breaking you and Kaiden up." Amy stated. "How will you do that? We're closer then I am to my own family." I leaned back in my chair. "I'll tell him what you did." Amy raised an eyebrow at me smiling mischiviously. "I guess I'm going then." I stated and sat up a little.
I sighed and looked at myself in the mirror. I didn't change a thing, I was going to go to a party I didn't even want to go to in the first place, so why even try to look nice? That or a hoochie mama, I don't know how you dress when you go to a high school party. I put my hands in my pockets and walked out of my house casually, I walked down the street and met up with Maxx and Amy, they sighed as the observed my clothes. They wore the shortest dresses I have ever witnessed, and they looked nice don't get me wrong, but they looked like hoochie mamas. "You really need help." Amy grumbled. "What, you said I needed to go to the party, you never said I had to look nice." I smiled happily. "This is one of those loop hole things isn't it?" she growled. "Yes. Yes it is." I folded my arms triumphently as Amy groaned and Maxx took me by the collar of my shirt and dragged me to the party. Maxx let go of my shirt when we got to the door of the house, he knocked on the door three times with her left hand on the left side of the door, then four times on the right side of the door with her right hand. The door opened and music poured out of the house like it was flooded with liquid tunes. It hit me like a wall, I almost stumbled over the concrete steps, someone grabbed my shirt, I looked and saw it was Jasmine. "You guys are so late." she smiled at me. "I'm happy to see you're here, Al's. You've been hanging out with Kaiden a lot lately, made us feel kind of left out." Jasmine told me. "Yeah, sorry. I've just known him for a long time is all." I shrugged. "Hey lets go show her off, we actually got Alice Secret to come to a high school event that isn't related to Marching Band." Amy cheered happily. I put my hands in my pocket again, I didn't want to be seen here, people were staring at me enough as it was. Amy grabbed my elbow and pulled me up onto a table in the main room. "Everyone look who I've got!" Amy shouted, that got everyones attention. They stared for a few seconds, trying to remember who I was. When they remembered who I was some were amazed that I was there, and kind of confused why. Others were annoyed I was there and wanted me out immediately.
"What's she doing here?" Annabelle, the popular girl in the high school, growled.
"I brought her." Amy said defensively.
"Why? She's going to weird this place up."
"Well maybe you should get to know her better!"
"Maybe you should fix her, she's different! You know how different people are."
"Yeah, they're not fake like you."
Everyone was silent, me including. I wanted to leave, I wasn't making this party any better. I started a fight, I wasn't wanted there. "Maybe I should go..." I mumbled. "Yeah get out of here freak." Annabelle pried. I went to step off the table, Amy wouldn't let go of my elbow. "She has as much right to be here as you, Annabelle." Amy glared. Annabelle and Amy glared at each other for a while. Annabelle grabbed my other elbow. "She's leaving, freaks aren't allowed!" she shouted. Should I Stay or Should I Go by The Clash came on the radio, it pounded through the house like a giant on a rampage. "She isn't a freak, she's just got more imagination then you!" Amy pulled me closer to her, Annabelle pulled me away from her. "Maybe you shouldn't be here either, freak defender!" Annabelle snarled.
I looked at them, wondering what would happen next. Suddenly someone jumped through the window, they held a gun up, everyone screamed in unison. Suddenly two other people jumped through two other windows, all holding weapons of their own. They all wore black hunting masks with caomflage on. "Alright! Release the girl!" the leader ordered. "Crazy people! They're all crazy people! You see what this freak does to us normal people! They should all be drowned in the river." Annabelle announced, no one agreed with her. "We'll be taking our prisoner and leave, no one follow, not even you lady on the table." the leader pointed his gun at Amy, she flinched as if he pulled the trigger. The leader pulled me out of the house as his two friends followed him. I hit the leader and he yelped, "Ouch! I do you a favor and you smack me?" Kaiden took off his mask beaming. "You bring weapons to a high school party? What is wrong with you?" I nearly shouted. "What makes you think they were loaded?" Kaiden laughed and showed me the empty clip. I couldn't help it, I started to laugh too. His friends took off their masks, laughing too. "You guys are such idiots." I giggled. "Come! Let's hop the fence to freedom!" Kaiden walked over to the wood fence and I hopped up onto it, he joined me. He was about to hop down when someone threw a full bottle of beer at me, it crashed on my shoulder, it startled me and I fell over, Kaiden reached down to catch me but ended up falling himself. "Gah! My ankle!" Kaiden howled. "Oh god, are you okay?" I got up immediately to help him up, his ankle was already swollen. "Here, lean on me." I told him as his friends hopped over to join us. "Damn dude, you alright?" one of them asked. "I think he sprained his ankle. And considering the circumstances of people throwing alcohol bottles at us, we should leave." I said. "Agreed." the friend said and got Kaidens other side and we went home.
