hair dye

chapter one

"He wears perfume scented with roses to hide the smell of blood from the sores in his mouth, that'll never heal," I gasp for air and Lisa throws back her head with laughter. My serious face cracks into a smile.
"No!" I exclaim, "I'm supposed to be serious, you're not helping, Lisa."
"Sorry, sorry. You don't need help, babe, you've got this play thing sorted."
I grin. "Thanks."
"No problemo. You're a natural actor."
Lisa is my best friend, fellow wannabe actor.
"I really can't believe you haven't practiced yet," I exclaim. "Auditions are in three weeks." I sing the last part.
Lisa leans back on her elbows on the carpet. "Hey, what can I say? I work better under pressure."
Lisa and I aren't opposites. We look different, but our attitudes... they're the same. We're both a little, well, wild. And both probably prematurely balding. I just re-dyed my hair, signature baby pink with a simple cut, Lisa's is long and straight, her hair dyed a bright white with dark brown roots. She is beautiful. You bet she knows it, too.
"C'mon anyway," Says Lisa. "We have to catch the bus."

So, now unlike all stories I have just explained the whole plot to you first thing. I think that was a mistake, but I don't know, I don't usually write things. In fact, this whole story-journal thing is to improve my drama skills or something. I don't even know how - something about finding it easier to write things down (for future script writing?).
Anyway, Lisa and I caught the bus to school. I really hate the bus. It's got dusty seats and smells really musty which makes everybody sneeze. The bus driver is always so dazed that sometimes he forgets where the bus stops are and just drives right on, but he himself is a alright person.
The bus stops at my other best friend, Caleb's, stop. Caleb is quite good looking, almost unnaturally even. Heaps of girls have crushes on him, not me and Lisa, though. In fact, and I mean this in the most sincere way possible, but I'm pretty sure he's gay. I just get that vibe. Lisa's not too sure. We have a bet going; if one day he admits he's gay, I get a tenner from Lisa, and if the subject somehow gets brought up and he says he is most definitely not, thank you very much, then the sides are swapped.
He climbs aboard the bus and smiles at Lisa, who is sitting in the window seat, and pretends not to see me.
"Hey Lisa," He chirps. "Seen Celia anywhere?"
He sits on my lap and I push him off laughing.
"Get off me, grasshole."
He grins at us and scoots in the seat in front of us with this girl called Julia Simmons who basically whimpers at the sight of him. He doesn't notice her though, he just turns back to us.
"Apparently heaps of new kids are coming to our school because the one across town just shut down last month," He says. "I've been told that they're all snobbish and most of them refuse to come to a school that isn't private and all about rules."
Lisa sneezes (musty bus smell). "Bad time to come; it's halfway through the year already."
"It's sort of exciting, if you think about it," I say. "I mean, now there's a whole heap of students to freak out. And the Prank People finally have somebody to prank that doesn't predict it."
Prank People is a club that does the pranks on special occasions - dances, school meetings, whatever. The whole school knows about it. Caleb, Lisa and I are part of it with the rest of our year. Since it was our year that created it, we promised to stay in it till we graduate.
Caleb says, "True. We'll need to host a meeting straight away, or, at least, at lunch break. We have a school meeting first thing to 'welcome the new students' which should be interesting."

And indeed it was.
Imagine being a snobby, private school, straight 'A' student, standing on the school stage at the front of the hall looking down at hundreds of kids with dyed hair blowing gum bubbles and staring at you like you're alien.
Yeah, that's right. It would be strange, weird, and terrifying. I felt sorry for them, I really did. Our school has almost no rules, no guide lines, they would probably feel lost.
Our principle, Mrs Harrington, cleared her throat through the microphone even though there was no noise to be silenced. It was a stand-off between St. Michaels and us, Green Hill High. I mean, silently. I'm over exaggerating.
Mrs Harrington clears her throat again. I don't know why she keeps doing that.
I'd be embarrassed if I were her.
"We've gathered here today to welcome the students of St. Michaels. We're a fun school with many opportunities to take every day of the year. I'm sure the students here will make you very welcome. Now, could we invite head boy of St. Michaels up here please?"
Mrs Harrington stands back, obviously flustered. The head boy looks like a snooty prince. He's good looking but smirks down at us with his chin held up, and I don't know how me manages not to look demented. I instantly dislike him and Lisa snorts next to me.
When he reaches the microphone his smirk widens. I roll my eyes.
"Hello," He says. "Students of Green Hill High. As you probably know, our school has recently closed, due to renovation, and the following students behind me decided to attend to this school. I can already tell, just by looking at you students, that you are fun and... wild. The purpose at our school was to spread intelligence and manners which we will hopefully pass on to you -,"
Mrs Harrington flushes noticeably.
Suddenly, somebody from our school yells, "Obnoxious cow!"
Then more yells.
"Yeah!"
"Who does that guy think he is?"
"You don't tell us what to do!"
Mrs Harrington scrambles for the microphone and shouts, "Okay, okay, guys that's enough."
The head boy looks more than proud of what he just did.
"Everybody you are dismissed. There's still fifteen minutes left, I would recommend getting some homework done in that spare time. Now off you go."
We all stand and everybody talks at once. I look around and see that there's a lot a shoulder pushing going around from our side and sneering from the other.
I guess we're more physical than the others.