All Because of You

Chapter 3

I wake up to the screaming of my alarm clock. I get dressed and brush my teeth. Then, like every morning, I go out in the back yard behind a group of trees and lay down in the grass. The fence next to me divides up my yard and my neighbor's yard. I sit up when I hear footsteps close to me. A boy my age walks up to opposite of the fence and rests his chin on it. His blonde hair is neatly combed and his blue eyes stare at me curiously. It was the new kid. "What are you doing here?"

"This is my back yard," the boy on the other side of the fence says.

"Of course it is," I reply.

"Do you always do this?" the boy asks.

"Well, yeah kind of," I reply embarrassed.

"That's going to get annoying soon," he laughs.

"I'm Olivia," I stand up and shake the new kid's hand.

"I'm Andrew," he replies.

"I'm going to go now," I say. I walk away before he can say anything else. I shake my head, hoping that I can erase that moment from existence. I walk back inside and grab my book bag for school. I quickly eat a Poptart and my mom comes walking downstairs.

"Have a nice day at school," she sings.

"I'll try," I groan.

"You look extra happy this morning," my mom says sarcastically.

"I made a bad first impression," I said.

"With whom?" my mom asks.

"The new kid living next door," I sigh. I give my mom a hug and start to walk to school. When I pass Andrew's house I see him walk out the door. I try to avoid him but he runs after me.

"Hey Olivia!" He calls while running up to me.

"Hi," I say softly.

"I think we got off to a bad start this morning," Andrew says scratching the back of his head.

"I agree," I laugh.

"You have a cute laugh," Andrew smiles.

"No I really don't but thanks," I say. I have never met someone as nice as Andrew. I realize that I'm starting to really like him.

"Do you have lots of friends in school?" Andrew asks me.

"No, I only have one," I say staring down at my feet.

"Make that two!" Andrew smiles and we both laugh.

Jason comes running up to us and puts his arm around my shoulder. I look at him in a weird way but he doesn't seem to notice.

"I didn't know you had a boyfriend," Andrew smiles.

Jason looks at Andrew and says, "We're actually just-"

"Acquaintances," I cut him off. Jason frowns at me and Andrew laughs.

"You two are real cute," Andrew laughs.

I shake my head in disagreement and Jason smiles at Andrew.

"Are you new here?" Jason asks him.

"Yeah," Andrew replies.

"Cassie's coming through!" Cassie sings as she walks past Andrew and Jason to stand next to me.

Cassie opens her mouth to say something but stops when she sees Jason's arm around me. She points to his arm and I shrug. Cassie notices Andrew and they exchange weird looks.

"I didn't know you were so popular!" Cassie smiles at me.

"I'm not!" I say. I take Jason's arm and pick it up from my shoulder. "I don't know why everyone's being so nice to me lately."

"What do you mean?" Cassie asks me with a confused look.

"People used to bully and ignore me. Now they're being super nice to me and it's getting really suspicious," I say.

"I just want to be friends," Jason says putting his arms up in the air like he was under arrest.

I groan and walk away and I see Jason and Andrew talking. They're probably going to become best friends. Cassie glares at Andrew when we walk away and I stare at her.

"Why are you staring at me?" Cassie asks when she looks back at me.

"No reason," I say. We open our lockers and half run to home room because we're late. I sit down next to Cassie when we get there. The teacher takes attendance like always and a girl tosses a piece of paper to me. On the front it says From Courtney. I open it up and neat bold letters sit on the paper. There are only three words. Just die already. I crush the paper so it resembles my heart. Crushed. I can feel the hate and anger fill me up and I haven't felt this in three months. I hold back tears and the bell rings. I throw out the note and go to my locker. Since most people are already in class there is no one in the hallways. I kick my locker and slowly sit down against it. I take deep breaths and my eyes are teary. I put my face in my arms and I feel a hand on my shoulder.

"Are you okay?" Jason asks me.

"No," I say as I quickly stand up and walk to class. I surprisingly make it before the bell and I sit down next to Andrew and put my books down. Andrew talks to Jason, who sits in front of us, the whole time and doesn't acknowledge me. Of course. Then again, I don't blame him after what I said this morning. The bell rings after forty minutes and I am happy to leave.

"Olivia, before you leave, may I see you?" My social studies teacher, Mrs. Baikly, asks.

I walk up to her desk and she turns her computer around so I could see it. On the screen is my grade. Sixty three percent.

"You need to get your grades up," Mrs. Baikly says with a very serious voice.

"I know," I reply.

"I am giving you extra credit for home work and it will be worth five points," my teacher says while handing me a paper.

"Thank you," I say when I take the paper. I leave the room and head to my second period class. Andrew is not far ahead of me and I see him start talking to Courtney inside the classroom. They hug and I roll my eyes. They are dating. When I walk past them, Courtney trips me and I fall. My face turns hot with embarrassment and the teacher stares at me.

"Olivia! It is not acceptable to cause disruptions during class," Mr. Hoffman says sternly.

"I'm sorry," I mumble.

"It wasn't her fault. Courtney tripped her," Andrew defends me.

"You two," Mr. Hoffman addresses me and Andrew, "come here."

Andrew and I slowly walk up to our teacher's desk.

"Two hour detention after school today," Mr. Hoffman writes us detention slips.

We don't argue and I walk to my seat. The bell rings and when I reach my locker Courtney shoves me into it. She laughs and walks away. The rest of the day is a blur until I reach detention. Andrew and I sit in the back of the room and we just talk the whole time.

"I'm sorry for getting you a detention," Andrew apologizes.

"You didn't give me a detention," I reply. "You stood up for me."

Andrew smiles and says, "I thought Courtney was pretty nice until she tripped you," he admits.

"I thought you were dating," I admit.

"Please, I would never date that girl," Andrew laughs. But for some reason I could've sworn there was some doubt in his voice.

"Good, but just promise me you won't date her because you'll end up regretting it," I laugh.

Andrew looks me in the eye and says, "I promise."