Being the Villain

-6-

Monday came too fast. I had slept in until one in the afternoon on Sunday and had finished my homework late in the evening. Now, my dad was driving to the small public school where everyone knew everyone's name and probably part of your life. My dad looked like he was already done hearing kids for the next twenty years. I was only vaguely paying attention though because I was excited to see Sawyer and Aidan. Sam and Elliot went to another public school thirty minutes from ours. They were cute but their relationship was so small and only beginning. that it was sometimes awkward when they were together.

The school looked the same but I had found a reason to actually enjoy the place or at least the people. To my disappointment, Sawyer didn't acknowledge me as anything special. He smiled but that was it. He was surrounded by a few of the popular girls putting up his normal school look. Aidan had said hello and waved but still wasn't much.  I guess I was going to still have no friends during the day.

It was hard to play my usual role as a quiet girl, unnoticed by all. It was weird after such a chaotic night on Saturday, to be going through a normal routine on Monday. In Chem class, we got new seats which is normally a blessing but today, happens to be a curse. Mrs. Huck places me in between the smelliest kid and the most talkative kid. My dad has told me several times that each student has a unique background that has shaped them and how they are at school. I try to be nice but the smell overwhelms my nose and I have a headache from non-stop talking.

Lunch is like the hero saying my terrible start to the day. A weird analogy for a villain to make. It didn't matter who I would end u sitting with, anyone would be better than the two boys I was just sitting with.

Aidan came to the rescue and sat down next to me."How has your day been?" He asked sincerely.

"Not great, " I started with, "I had to sit between two of the worst guys ever. One always smells terrible and the other doesn't know how to shut up. World History was my first class and it wasn't terrible but she assigned us an essay due in a week which I don't want to work on. I honestly couldn't care less about Roman history right now." I realized I had been rambling about my own life and hadn't asked about his. "How has your day been?"

He finished spilling his decent day and we dug into our food. I had packed my lunch which consisted of a peanut butter and honey sandwich, chips, and a cookie. It was an average school lunch. We finished up our lunches and parted ways to our next period classes.

The day finally came to an end and I ended up back in my dad's classroom. I didn't have as much to clean today, but I still had to vacuum and today grade some of his classes' papers. I never understood what it was like for a red pen to run out of ink until I helped my dad grade. The red pens in my bag were hardly ever used and were lost before finished.

"They're are having a ceremony for the people lost in the mall accident. School is canceled for tomorrow." My dad muttered. Of course it was called an accident. A fire started in the building near the food court and several other locations. No one knows who started all of them, but five lives were lost including Valerie and one of the middle school teachers.

I didn't quite know how to respond and comfort my dad. We had been through so much, but her death was still such a touchy subject. I walked over to his desk from the student one I had been using and gave him a hug. We hugged for a while and when I pulled away, I noticed both of our faces were wet with tears. "We'll get through this." was all he said. We went back to doing what we had been doing previously. I may have been grading papers, but my mind was else where.

I was reliving memories of when we were in first grade. Mom had signed us up for rec soccer and we were both excited as could possibly be. We both enjoyed it, but it became my sport while I was younger. Valerie turned to dance. She was amazing at it and she rose through her lessons quickly. She had had a huge recital coming up only five days after her death.

Looking at myself now, it feels like she's only at a dance camp for the weekend or on a trip with her dance team to compete in other states. It feels like she'll be home in only a few days. Except that day never seems to come.

When my dad rose from his seat I took the cue it was time to go. I packed up all my stuff and followed him out of the room to his truck. The truck ride home felt longer than normal. The day seemed to start to be slowing down in efforts to keep tomorrow from arriving. I felt like I was a window in the middle of a hurricane. One were the window wasn't boarded up well and is about to break.

My mom tried to make us all happy by making spaghetti for supper, a meal we all like a lot, but it was also Val's favorite food. After supper and washing dishes, I retreated to my room to be alone and try to do some homework. I mean the teachers can't exactly be mad if I don't finish my homework because of obvious reasons, but I still wanted to try and get some done. I pushed myself until I pulled out my phone and allowed myself to be pulled away into a better world where it was just me and my friends.

A/N: Another chapter through and one step closer to the end. I would like to give a major shout out to an amazing author and designer leshworld. She is the designer of the new cover you see for this story now! Let me know what you guys think and go check out her Cover Shop on her page if you guys want to see some covers she has done. Thanks girl!

Vote and comment my dear readers!