"Hey Tawnie, do you have any nail polish?"

"Umm…No…But I have a Sharpie!"

"'Kay, that'll work. Thanks!"

I was talking to Drea like it was any other day. I guess it was, then.

We were all squeezed into one tiny lunch table, all of my friends and me. Just like always. I sat across the table from Mattie and Drea, who were newer friends that, like me, were into more punk music than the rest of my friends. On one side of me were Libyia, Lark, and Julie. On the other side were Lauryn Rhys and Kaelin. Though Libyia, Kaelin, and Lark were the most outspoken of the group, they were still milder than Mattie and Drea. I don't think I've ever heard any of them even ever say "Oh My God!"

Don't get me wrong, I'd known all of them for over six years and we were all best friends. But…I gotta say, sometimes, I got tired of how gross they could be. Especially Lark.

"Tawn!" Libyia's voice broke through my daydreaming.

"WHAT?!" I shouted. Heh…she should have known better…I was well known for sudden reactions to stuff. It was always rather amusing to see them jump.

"Whoops, umm…oh, yeah. What…er, who were you thinking about? Matty boy again?"

"No, and I DO NOT like Matthias like that. We're just friends, okay?" I said, lying through my teeth. I really did like him like that…but nobody knew that. If Libyia found out, it'd be all over the school in no time.

"I thought we'd already established that," said Kaelin. "Is anybody ready to go yet?"

"Yeah, I am," I told her.

"Me too," said Gwen. She had just walked over from a table where she'd been sitting with a few of my other friends, Shane, Jake, Grace, and Joel.

I walked over to the garbage line, and threw away my trash and spoon. We always threw our spoons away, because even though they were metal spoons and could be re-used, it was our little way of getting back at the school for not giving us any money for a decent soccer program or more art supplies.

Gwen, Kaelin and I walked outside. Though we were in 10th grade and should officially be excused from having recess, we still had to play along with the district's illusion that even sophomores need playtime. It sucked. Big time.

As we walked around the parking lot to get to the blacktop, we talked about our band's next gig. Shane, Jake, Kaelin, Gwen, and I were "My Vivacious Suicide". Shane, Gwen, and Kaelin played guitar, Jake played drums, and I played bass…Though Shane, Gwen, and Kaelin all played guitar, only two of them would play during a song. We changed it up by having a few different lead singers. Depending on the song, Shane, Gwen or I would sing. We played a ton of punk, rock, and emo stuff. If asked, any one of us would say that we were influenced by Green Day, Incubus, Bowling for Soup, Good Charlotte, Weezer…the list goes on and on.

"So we're supposed to be at the Java Room to set up at 5:30, right?" I asked.

"Umm…yeah, but I'm gonna be a little late. I gotta baby sit." Kaelin grinned sheepishly at us.

"How late? You know we gotta warm up, and we only get an hour, Kae," Gwen said worriedly. She was rather motherly. While around young kids she'd been known to say, "I want one!"

"Calm yourself, Gwennie. I'll be there by 6." She said. "At the latest." She rushed on, seeing Gwen's face.

The bell rang when we were barely to the blacktop. We all crowded the double glass doors, hoping for a mosh pit like the one a few weeks ago. With no luck, I walked inside and down the hall to my locker. The faded red locker stuck constantly, so after I did my combination; I kicked and punched it twice. Only then did it open. I grabbed my Current Issues notebook and walked the few short feet to the small hallway leading to the cramped classroom. I stepped inside and made my way towards my seat between Riley and Ian, greeting Drea, Kristi, Libyia, Rhys, and Shane. About two seconds after sitting down, I suddenly stood up, remembering to grab my journal so I could do the Daily Question.

Who was recently injured in a skiing accident?

Easy. "Ozzy Osbourne."

Extra Credit: Should sophomores have recess? Why or why not?

Also incredibly easy. "No, because, nobody enjoys it and we should just get a longer lunch period to eat."

"How's everyone doing today? Remember, no points on the extra credit question unless you say why or why not." Mr. G greeted the class.

"Hey Mr. G!" A bunch of the preps said. I'm not saying I hate all preps, but these were the super-annoying suck-ups.

"Hello guys!" he said, giving them that horrible finger wave. "So! Today's topic: The Suffrage Movement. Should it have happened? Are women better off at all today?"

I couldn't help myself. You know the old redhead-temper myth? Well, it's true for brunettes too. Not only that, but I'm a strong feminist. Swear to God, even if I could go back and change what I said now, I wouldn't. I mean it. So anyway, back to then.

"What the hell do you mean, are women fucking better off at all?!"

"Watch your mouth, Tawnie, or I'll be calling Dr. Stearn." God, Mr. G wasn't even looking at me.

"Oooh, the principal. I'm sure he'll care what I said in an open debate. Or have you forgotten the First Amendment? Anyway, I'm sure he'd be happy to know what a sexist pig you are."

"Really, Tawnie? I'm sure the First Amendment covers opinions." Wow, he was actually looking at me now.

"Or should I call the parent's association? I'm sure they'd be glad to know we have a sexist teacher on the board." I was musing to myself out loud.

"Tawnie, I'm warning you one last time. One more word out of your mouth, and I'm calling Dr. Stearn." He actually looked a tiny bit scared that I wasn't listening to him. Strange.

"Do I care? Look, I'll call him myself." I walked over to Mr. G's desk and picked up the phone, dialing the number for Dr. Stearn's extension. I looked around the room, mildly surprised at the looks on my classmates' faces. They looked as though they were enjoying it!

"Hello, Dr. Stearn here."

"Yes, this is Tawnie Reid. I'm in Current Issues right now, and I thought you'd be interested to know that your teacher, Mr. Giovanni, is a sexist pig." That was as far as I got before Mr. G yanked the phone out of my hand. Okay, he was mad now.

"Tawnie, go sit down." He said, between gritted teeth.

I waltzed back over to my seat between Riley and Ian, two of the biggest preps in school. Only Ian was mildly amusing, and only because he was obsessed with the Weather Channel.

I sat down, and suddenly realized that about half my class was staring at me. Some had shocked expressions, those people were mostly preps. All my friends were looking at me with proud looks.

"Wow." Ian said.

"Holy God." That came from Riley.

"What? I was merely voicing my opinion." I said. "On what a sexist pig Mr. G is." I added under my breath.

"Tawnie, go see Dr. Stearn." Wow, Mr. G was talking again!

I got up and walked out of the classroom, all eyes on me.

A/N: I'm really not sure what the title'll be, so it'll probably change a lot…any suggestions? I'm not sure if I like this chapter…please give honest reviews. If you see anything that needs changing, tell me.

~Ave

PS: I do not own Sharpies, The Weather Channel, the First Amendment, or Green Day, Incubus, Bowling for Soup, Good Charlotte, or Weezer. However, I doown the band name "My Vivacious Suicide".