Tulips and Roses

Chapter 15, flashbacks

High school in New Zealand
Rosie was proud she was never late, not once. At least she could boast that at her shop, high school was a different time for her. She only ever stayed in New Zealand for three months, it felt like there was no consequences to her actions, that included being late for registration. What Rosie lacked in her ability to wake up in the morning, she made up for in excellent grades, which were, coincidentally, the reason she could not get up in the morning.

Because of this, she was a part of two worlds; the advanced classes throughout the day and the detention room after school. Obviously, being late does not instantly make you popular, with anyone. Though she was well respected around the school, she never made any friends, it never bothered her, she could still call her friends back in Australia.

The only time she ever felt lonely was during detention. The pupils there were, to put it nicely, different from their peers. Unless someone from her English class struggled to get out of bed that morning, she would be alone.

Isolated, Rosie sat in the drab room, near the exit. She fiddled with the hem of her skirt and prayed she would blend in with the fading pink walls and plastic chairs. For the most part, her prayers were answered. A part from a boisterous boy from her history class, Kai, simply saying hi, she was left undisturbed.

Rosie glanced out the large rectangular windows at the other side of the room, you could clearly see the park across the street. It burst with colour. From the reds of the roses, the yellows of the daffodils, the purples of the foxgloves, there was not an inch left plane. Even the green grass canvas and forboding trees seemed to be beautifully saturated. She wanted to create beauty like that some day.

Her glance only lasted for a moment, lest she gets caught by her classmates. She knew they could get away with murder in here. Even though there was usually no teacher, there were multiple security cameras outside in the hallway to make up for it, deterring those present from leaving. Rosie wondered if anyone was actually watching them from the other side, or if they were just there for show. Either way, she was not going to take the risk.

Strangely, her class was silent. She looked over to her boisterous classmate from earlier who was now completely pale, like he saw a ghost. Now she was nervous. She tried to occupy her mind once again with her grandma's garden over in Korea, but her she kept fluttering back to the classroom. Everything felt tense. Then, as if a beast was awoken, laughter roared from the back of the classroom.

Girls.

Rosie should have known, pretty girls always made the boys quiet down a bit, though they were a bit extreme today. Feeling stupid, Rosie returned to her thoughts, not noticing a classmate's voice calling her name. She also did not notice them walk across the room. She did notice the looming figure when she was hit over the head, snapping her out of her daze.

"I'm trying to talk to you," A voice sneered, Rosie vaguely recognised it from her Spanish class, "What's a smart girl like you doing in detention?"

"She's here everyday," One of the boys blurted, clearly trying to impress this girl.

"Is she?" The girl snapped, "Which boy are you trying to get with then? Is it Kai?"

Laughter erupted again, both boys and girls, though this time it sounded forced, like they did not want to offend this girl. Most of the regulars sort of left her in peace, this girl was bad news, Rosie could sense it, growing more uncomfortable by the second.

"Why are you here, Emily?" One of the boys, called out, trying to distract her, "You never get detention."

"Shut up," She barked, Returning to Rosie, leaning onto the table, "I was just kidding about Kai, don't look so depressed. Everyone here knows you're a fag."