My (Not So) Charmed Life

So This Is What A Hangover Feels Like

Author's Note:
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The next day, I walked into school with bags under my eyes that no amount of concealer could cover. I was grateful to not be a member of the in crowd; there was no way that I could show up looking perfectly poised and polished after a night of partying.

As I made my way to my locker, I noticed that there were a lot of people looking at me. I had always prided myself on my best ability: being able to blend in so well at school that I may as well have been invisible. So, needless to say, this was a new experience for me. As I went about my morning classes, the whispers grew louder and the stares more pronounced, I lifted the hood of my sweatshirt and tried to be as inconspicuous as possible.

By the time lunch rolled around, I was sick of all of the people talking about how crazy I'd been at the party. Lacey had glared daggers at me all day, and I was paranoid that she would try and get back at me for interrupting her dance with Bradley. Speaking of Bradley, he was avoiding me like the plague. I hated myself for having allowed myself to get so drunk.

Shira and Max sat down with me and Shira filled Max in on our adventures from last night.

"Liza actually allowed you to take her to a party? I can't believe I missed it! I swear, next time my parents ask me to visit my brother at college, I'm ditching. Watching Liza get wasted would've been way more fun than listening to my brother try to convince my parents that he wasn't partying every night." Max seemed actually dismayed.

"Oh, poor you, sitting comfortably in your brother's dorm. I still can't believe how lucky I was that I didn't get caught by my parents for coming home at four! Not to mention that everyone thinks that I'm some psycho drunk girl!" I said, following my words by smacking my head on the table repeatedly.

"Hey, Psycho Drunk Girl." I knew that voice.

"Please tell me that Ryan isn't standing right next to me," I said, my words muffled by the fact that I was talking into my sweater-covered arm.

"H-hey Ryan," Shira said nervously.

Great. Just fabulous. I was stuck with a friend who was blinded by the asshole's looks.

I slowly raised my head and tried to ignore him while I scarfed down my sandwich. I had no energy to deal with him or his weird wizard family that wanted to kill mine. Shira kept him occupied by blabbering on and on about how much fun the party had been and how upset she was that she hadn't seen him, while Max pouted about the lack of attention she was giving him.

I managed to get through the lunch period without further incident, and slipped away from the table as soon as the bell rang to go to class.

In my hurry to get to class early to ask Mr. Connelly to let me switch partners, I was running down the hallway and rounded a corner, smacking straight into a hard chest and stumbling backwards, falling on my butt.

"Hey, watch i- wait are you okay?" I glanced up to see who I had run into, and my heart fell into my stomach.

"Uh, hi Bradley," I mumbled, my voice shaking. Of all the people I could embarrass myself in front of, I hated that it was Bradley. He extended a hand to me, and I stared at it, not understanding.

"Do you need a hand?" He asked, looking pointedly at the hand he'd proffered. Oh. I was such a loser.

I sneakily wiped my sweating palms on my jeans and gripped Bradley's hand, hoisting myself and my backpack off the floor. My hand tingled where it came into contact with his, and I had to remind myself to breath in and out.

"Babe, I was talking to Sean about this weeken- What the hell are you doing with my boyfriend?" Lacey was coming down the hallway, and she looked pissed. I paled, hoping that I could melt into the ground and be away from this humiliation. I longed to get back at her with a flick of my wrist, but my reputation wasn't worth allowing my family's secret to get out.

"Lacey, chill out. She fell and I helped her up. Don't be dramatic," Bradley said, looking complacently at Lacey.

"Oh, silly, it isn't you I'm worried about," she replied, turning to me. "Keep your geeky hands off of my boyfriend, bitch." Her glare looked like it could cut through glass. Her arm was cocked on her hip and her perfect eyeliner accentuated her angry eyes. I gulped and backed away. "Run along now, dork, Bradley has better options to look at."

I swallowed back the lump in my throat, and turned tail and speed walked the rest of the way to my class. Unfortunately, I had no opportunity to talk to Mr. C because I slid into my seat with barely enough time to avoid being late, let alone early.

I tried to concentrate on the lesson and as soon as it was over, I rushed up to Mr. C's desk.

"Listen, Mr. C, I know that we're not supposed to switch partners, but I really can't work with Ryan. He's too obnoxious! Can I work with Simon instead and let Marrissa work with Ryan?" Simon Mathers was one of the biggest geeks in school and I'd rather work with him than Ryan, since there was no chance for a relationship there.

"No can do, Liza. I can't bend the rules for you. I'm sorry, but it's only a two week project. You won't be stuck with him for the rest of your life. Now go to your next class before you wind up being late." I waited until I was turned around to roll my eyes and let out a groan. What was I supposed to do now?

As I sat in my room later that night after avoiding telling my parents about being partnered with Ryan, I tried to look at the situation from all angles. I knew that I couldn't ever bring Ryan home. The chances of him seeing a spell book or my mom spelling the dishes dry were too high. But what if I only agreed to work with him if we worked at his house? Not that I was so keen on being at his house with his dangerous family, but if I could spy on them a little and figure out what was going on over there, I could help keep my family safe.

This was such a messy situation. As I fell asleep, I remembered when my biggest problem was failing my geometry midterm, conking out into dreamland.