TIWIS

BETA: A Million Dollar Deal... 2.1

I hate Math. I wasn’t terrible at it, but Math and Grammar classes were the most strictly compulsory classes in school, and missing it would warrant your parents being in school, so everyone attended it. Everyone had to, everyone except the home scholars.
The home scholars are certain students who are home-schooled but take exams in the school. That’s it. All they had to do was on the day of the examination, they come to school and write the exams; they didn’t even have to write the tests, just exams. It however, was more expensive. In my opinion, it was just a way of extorting money from the students. Only a few students actually opted for this option, and if you did, you either were a snob in the other student’s eyes or must be very cool, ‘so to say’.
The so-called snobs were the kids who solely came for the exams and since they were smart and really rich they had that no-nonsense kind of attitude, which sometimes can make them really snobbish. Then the cool kids like Wailey came to school, socialized with the normal cool kids, and so they just blended up as cool kids. I had asked and begged my mother to let me be home-schooled, but she, on all the occasions, said no. It wasn’t because we couldn’t afford it, but she had said she didn’t want that to add to my already anti-social personality, which was true but I’d still like to stay away from school.
So, there I was, in one of the two classes I dreaded the most. Math. I entered the class with Wailey and the same reaction as the cafeteria happened. The ‘Cool Kids’ surrounded her in an instant and taking that as an opportunity to get away from the weirdo, I squeezed myself out of the crowd of certainly desperate people. Happy that I had succeeded in getting away from Wailey I resumed back to my lonely fulfilling invincible life.
I walked down to my usual seat — and you guessed it — it was at the right end (corner) of the room. As I walked down to my seat, I pulled my hoodie up, trying even harder not to be seen. I sat down and bowed my head silently for about five minutes before it finally dawned on me that I had not checked the time. I pressed a button on my smartwatch so that the time would display. It was 12:20 pm. I glanced over at where Wailey was, and she was smiling talking to Tasha. I frowned, angrily thinking to myself, I was twenty fucking minutes early. I am so going to kill that girl. Well, weird thoughts like that just kept coming until I decided to rest my head for a few minutes at least just a bit before the teacher comes in. Almost immediately as I had rested my head, the teacher, Mr Andrews came into the class and even though everyone was trying to get themselves in order the first thing he said was, “Could someone please tell Miss Alphares to either wake-up or get out of my class, thank you?”
Just then I felt a wad of paper previously chewed, saliva covered, hit my forehead, right in the middle and then it fell off. Under my breath, I muttered ‘spit-ball’ as I heard someone from somewhere in the room say ‘bull’s-eye!’ Oh, and Mr Andrews hates me. Just because I said, I didn’t see why he had to use the quadratic formula to solve an equation when the equation could easily be solved with the elimination method and give the same correct answer. I sat up straight pulling my hoodie down and bringing out my Math book from my bag while simultaneously checking my watch again. It was 12:24. He was sixteen freaking minutes early and since no one else was saying anything about it, I shut my mouth, not wanting to get the already annoyed teacher angrier.
Realizing there was no point to keep complaining within myself, I decided to focus on my food. The people around seemed to be pleased with that. I was now slouching with my face down. Finally, they decided to ignore me the way normal people ignored people, pretending I didn’t exist… which was all I ever wanted! After bending my head for what seemed like forever, my neck began to feel sore. What could they be talking about that would be taking so long? I tried to listen in then I caught things like cute boys, teats, ram, cock, confused as to what their topic could be about I decided once again to go back into my self-made limbo.
Hell! I was sleepy. I had tried getting up earlier, but Wailey had given me that, ‘if you get up I’m going to kill you’ look. I was starting to get vertigo when by some miracle they all left. I stared at Wailey and asked pleadingly “Can I go now?” she looked at me smiling so calmly she almost seemed normal. “Please…” I said trying my best to pout. “Fine… Fine… where do you wanna go?” she finally said after about five minutes. At her asking this, I felt like burying myself. I needed to get away from her and go back to my peaceful invisible life. “Anywhere that isn’t here,” I mumbled back.
Wailey didn’t answer she just wiped her mouth with the table napkin (by the way there was nothing on her mouth) and started walking away. She got to the cafeteria door and stood there alone for like a minute or so, and then she turned back and started walking back to the table. She stood in front of me looking so disappointed I almost felt bad for her. “I forgot my purse,” she said without attempting to pick it up from the desk. Still sitting down, I raised it up to her face asking, “This one?” She looked at me furiously as if she wanted to cry. “Yes! That one, can’t you just come along peacefully, do I have to drag you?” “Err… first of all no — and no, you don’t have to drag me anywhere and I don’t have to go anywhere with you”. I looked at her, and she looked as though the whole world just saw her nude pictures; ‘horrified’. Realizing I had somehow hurt her feelings I added “– because I have homework. Your purse?” I raised it up again for her to take it. She did this time and then said, “Whoa, for a moment there I thought you didn’t want to spend time with me, as if!”
“Yeah, as if…” I muttered under my breath.
“Right, –” Wailey said sitting down again “– so which homework do you have?” I sighed rolling my eyes and said “History.” I said this because we didn’t it have together.
“History…, why do you always have so much history assignments, I guess they really do drill you guys there. — I mean why would you even be doing history, it’s just that it’s so boring. Sitting for hours listening to how someone else led their life and how they either failed or succeeded. It’s just depressing. In my own opinion, it’s better to try to understand your own life than trying to understand someone else’s –” she stopped her rambling for a second before continuing, “– and they even grade you… whoo! (Sighing) I just so happy I don’t have to do it” she finally looked at my face, and I was trying to look offended then she said, “well I guess it could be okay since you’re doing it but still for me it’s an uh-uh”, she finished her sentence shaking her head dramatically at each uh.
“Yeah… could be.” I replied to her very subtle apology
“So, do you need help with your homework? I’m not doing it but I know someone who might be”, Wailey said.
The class started and he introduced the class to Matrices. The class was eerily brief and by 12:45, the class was over. Once again, I apparently was the only one that was surprised as to how the class ended so soon. As usual, not to draw attention to myself I shut up. My next class, Art, wasn’t till 1:15, so I still had thirty minutes to get out of here before the ‘Cool Kids’ got bored. I hurriedly started putting my books and pen into my bag. I heard Stacey call out to someone, “Hey! Where are you going?” Moments later, someone was standing in front of my seat. He was towering over me as his shadow made him seem taller than he was. I paused for a second getting my mind and body ready for what was about to happen and accepting it was my fault for not getting out of the hall quick enough. He stood there and asked the least bullying question ever, “Hi, Can I sit?”
I was confused. It didn’t sound like a trick question but that could just be the trick. Trick you into a sense of security and then pounce. I carefully analysed my surroundings peeking up to the front where Wailey and the other cool kids were all seated staring at me. All except Wailey of course. She was obviously trying and failing to hold a meaningless conversation with Tasha, who wasn’t the least bit interested in what she was saying. They were all looking in my direction. This was scary. Who was standing in front of me? And could Stacey stop glaring at me, her stare could bore a hole into my head. I resumed rummaging my bag trying to put everything in order since I was already screwed, I might as well get ready to leave whenever they’re done. He sighed and instead of sitting in the chair in front of me as he had asked, he sat in the one beside me. Noticing that he was staring at me like a predator staring at its prey I sat straight up tensely. It must have been funny to him because he chuckled a bit before saying, “Hey! Ailey! She’s your friend, right? Is she always this… modest?”
I heard Wailey answering from the front of the class, “No, she’s just sort of socially awkward”.
I gulped slightly waiting for the huge laugh that would erupt from the class but all I got was a few snickering from some corner of the hall; then it was as if my brain did a rewind back to five seconds ago, did he actually just call Wailey by her actual name? I was so caught up in my thoughts I didn’t hear him when he said something I just saw him from the corner of my eyes, moving his mouth. I looked at him for the first time and I almost choked on air. It was the jock from the cafeteria. The weird one that didn’t do anything foul to me. He was stretching out his arm to me, so I took it thinking it was the oldest trick in the book using the handshake buzzer or having a spider or something, crawl onto my arm. Typical. He kept looking at me smiling. For some weird reason, I kept my hand in his handshake patiently waiting for the big disgrace, but just like in the cafeteria, I got nothing. I kept looking at my hand in his, getting impatient, after all, I still had to get to Art class, so the sooner he did his business the sooner I can clean up and get to class. The impatience finally gave me the courage to look up, and he was looking right at me. For a second, I met his gaze and it felt weird, so I gave myself something else to look at. He started smiling and somehow, he managed to mix both a wide smile with a soft smile then he said so quietly it was as if he was talking to someone trying to sleep, “you weren’t listening to what I said earlier, right?”
I looked at him shocked but not letting my guard down, I shook my head slowly pausing from side to side. He smiled that his wide soft smile of his and then said, “Hi, my name is Axel, nice to meet you”