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Chapter 1
A loud shriek pierced the lovely dream Sky had been enjoying, which included a certain Johnny Depp and a nasty-looking whip. Her eyes jerked open and she reached out an arm to slam viciously on the offending alarm clock. Sky dropped her head back onto her pillow and tried to drift back to sleep, back to the comforting arms of her Johnny.
Chirping came from her bedroom window and a ray of sunlight danced across the inside of Sky's eyelids. A lazy smile drifted across her lips. How the hell could anyone stay grumpy when the weather was so cheerful? The mood passed and Sky scowled. She certainly could. It was so depressing to have her sunshiny side take a hold of her. She got enough of that from her mom. Sky squeezed her eyes shut and once again fell unconscious.
"Argh!" The guttural scream rose out of Sky's throat before she could stop it. Ten o'clock? TEN o'clock? She was late for school! LATE! Her mom didn't wake her up! She was goddamn LATE now! What about her make-up? Did NO ONE care about her well-being? Sky scooted off to take a shower, her dark black mane whipping back after her.
It wasn't until the soothing steam enveloped her when she realized it was Sunday. Full-fledged panic came rushing back as Sky realized she was supposed to be at the library finishing up her chemistry project with Renee.
An hour ago.
Sky moaned and sat down hard on the tub floor. Renee may be her best friend, but it was highly doubtful Sky had any immunity from her strict demands about punctuality.
Boy, was she in for a tongue-lashing.
"Might as well get it over with," Sky muttered. Wearily, she pulled herself up and went off to face the day.
-
"Hi!"
A stony glare was all Sky got in response. Fine. She slammed her books on the table, hoping for some sort of reaction.
"Let's get started, then," Sky mustered up in a fake cheerful voice.
Silence.
Another glare came from Renee.
Sky snapped.
"Why are you looking at me like that? Why the hell are you so mad? So I'm late. So I overslept. Is it that bloody awful that I did that? Come on. I couldn't have helped you that much on the project anyway," she said in a low hiss.
Sky continued in a more normal voice. "Look. You've gotten to a great start already. See? Now all there is left to do is my part." Anything to break Renee's icy exterior.
"Sky... it's not about that," Renee whispered. Sky had just noticed red spots on her friend's cheeks. Red spots meant either Renee was really pissed or she was trying not to cry. Sky thought it had been the former but...
"What is it?" she said in a worried voice. Renee was annoying, Renee was sometimes an idiot, Renee was completely opposite of Sky... but they were friends. Best friends. And any type friend always warranted some worry.
"I invited Brandon here to work with us," Renee started.
Renee had a huge crush on Brandon, Sky knew. Personally, she thought Brandon looked geeky in his overly large glasses and big rabbit buck-teeth. She was also a bit creeped out by his perverted ways. Renee didn't know, but Sky had caught him sneaking a pinch at her friend's bum in English one day. Ugh. He was going the right direction to grow up as a plumber who surfed porn sites in the middle of the night.
Sky grimaced. She had forgotten the main reason she hated the boy so much. He had been hitting on her since 5th grade, ever since he had first moved here. It was good that Renee had conveniently forgotten that fact.
"He came, but he didn't see you here and left," Renee muttered dully, unaware of the thoughts going through Sky's head.
Sky was startled out of her reverie when she saw some tears form in Renee's eyes.
"I thought he liked me. Brandon-he nearly kissed me once. And he's been touching me a lot... I thought I meant something to him. I thought-I thought he didn't like you anymore."
"Renee! Forget him. He's nothing but a complete pervert. Brandon feels up every member of the opposite sex whenever he gets a chance to. He's not worth your time! ...Renee..." Sky pleaded. The fact that Renee had noticed Brandon touching her didn't escape Sky's notice, but right now wasn't the time to laugh about it.
Renee gave her a cold look.
Sky growled. She really didn't need this. Renee could SEE how much she deserved a guy that wasn't as much of a demented moron like Brandon. Why was she hanging on to him so hard?
As if reading her thoughts, Renee spoke up.
"I just WANT Brandon okay? I didn't fall for him on purpose. Love doesn't work that way. But, I don't suppose you've ever been in love, have you Sky? All these years, and I'm betting you never felt this way before. We're in 9th grade now. We're in high school, and you still don't know how I feel. Maybe if you did, you wouldn't be such a cold bitch."
Sky opened and closed her mouth soundlessly.
"I-I like Johnny Depp," she stammered pathetically, still trying to collect her bearings. Renee didn't just talk to her like that, did she? Renee didn't just diss her best friend since 2nd grade, right?
Anger sparked to life and smoldered under Sky's dark blue eyes. She hadn't been talking about love. She was talking about common sense, which up to this point, Renee seemed to have a lot of.
Sky didn't wait for a reply. She grabbed her books and stormed out of the library to wait for the bus.
Screw Renee, with her newfound ideas of 'love'. Screw Brandon for starting this mess.
Screw the chemistry project that Sky still had to waste the rest of the weekend finish.
Screw the bus for taking so long and giving her time to think about these things.
All she needed was a nice long bath and some K.O. time in her bed. Yes, Sky decided. That would be perfect. A nap that would take a few more weeks, at least until school ended. She beamed at the prospect.
'Hopefully things will lull over by the time I wake up,' thought Sky, as the bus pulled up with a screech in front of the stop.
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