“Good morning class and welcome to day one of AP Calculus, I am Mr. Jameson and I want you to know now that no one will pass this class without actually doing the work,” he says as he makes eye contact with each of us, pausing longer when he looks at Sam. I guess she’s not the do-your-own-work type of girl. That doesn’t surprise me in the slightest.
I stifle my laugh as a light tap raps on my back. Turning in my seat, ready to chew out the Captain, I meet the brown eyes of a girl instead.
“Hi, I’m Shay,” says the caramel-skinned goddess with dreads. Her hair has to be at least three different colors and all natural from what I can tell. Brown, auburn, and blonde twist amongst each lock. People pay hundreds, if not thousands of dollars, at salons for the color of her hair. Her face is covered in freckles and her platinum white smile is perfection that is made even better with a slight gap in her top front teeth.I swear by gap life.If you don’t know, now you know.
I smile, "I’m Riah.”
She quickly responds, “Oh trust me, girl, I know who you are, everyone here does. You’re the first new person in this school since like middle school. We never have anyone move into town.”
I chew the inside of my cheek. “What do you mean you don’t ever have anyone new here? Don’t people ever move in?”
Mischievous brown eyes meet mine as if she is about to let me in on all the town’s secrets. “No, if you haven’t noticed, this town is small and just about everyone here has been here for generations. And when I say generations, I mean since colonization. So, for your f—,” her whispered words are cut off by the raised voice of Mr. Jameson, drawing our attention back to the front of the room.
For my what?Grinding my teeth, I internally gripe. Of course we would be interrupted just as she was about to spill the tea.
“Miss Warren, is there a reason you are speaking when you should be listening? Did I miss the memo that stated you were the teacher this year?”
“No sir. I'm sorry for interrupting. I was just trying to inform my new best friend on the inner workings of Edgewood,” she responds with a smile of perfected innocence.
Oh, Shay is good. I have a little manipulator on my hands. I can see it now. She handled that better than I would. I'm not sure I could have refrained from making a snarky response to his sarcasm.
I do take a moment to digest that she not only called me her friend but her 'best' friend. I wonder if she knows I'm the very definition of anti-peopling? Like when you look up the wordfriendlyin the dictionary, my name is listed under the antonyms. I mean, I’m not an asshole or anything. I just never have the time to socialize. Ever since Dad went missing, if I’m not working, I'm taking care of my siblings. It leaves me with hardly enough time to breathe, much less have a social life.
Mr. Jameson's voice interrupts my thoughts before they go spiraling. “Oh that’s right,” he says, as he takes me in like he’s just remembering there’s a new face in the room. “Miss Bishop, is it?”
Dammit!My silent prayers have been ignored.
I know where this is going and sigh. “Yes, that would be me, Mr. Jameson.”
“Well, Miss Bishop, why don’t you come up here and introduce yourself to the class, since you and Miss Warren seem so keen on disrupting the explanation of my expectations for the year,” he all but sneers at me.
Does anyone in this damn town have manners or did they leave them on the Mayflower with the Puritans?
Huffing out a breath, I stand and the snickers from the peanut gallery in the back of the class get even louder.
Just as my first words are about to cross my lips, Sam’s annoying voice chimes in, “Mr. Jameson, this one has no class. So, if you have any expectations for her, I would just lower them considerably.” This chick has a seriously defective personality. Snickers turn to laughter at Sam’s lame attempt to insult me.
My head snaps in her direction and I see the mirth filling her features as her lips twist into a sardonic smile.
Lord, pleasedon’t let me break a nail when I break this bitch’s feelings today, Amen.
Reining in my temper, I let the calm wrap around me and school my features. Refocusing my attention to the front of the room, I ignore the attention-seeking troll. Obviously, whatever she received from the Captain wasn’t enough to sate her superfluous-sized ego. I will not be feeding that beast.
“That’s enough, Miss Davenport. If I was seeking your input I would ask you for it,” Mr. Jameson’s curt tone slices through the air silencing all the chatter. “Please continue, Miss Bishop.”
Nodding, I introduce myself.Have I mentioned how much I hate doing this shit?
“My name is Ariah and I moved here with my family over the summer. I have a sister and twin brothers, in elementary school. I'm here for senior year and then I’m off to college.” I wave and give a small smile before I sit back down. My hope is by saying that I'm only here for a short time, they will see I don’t want to be part of the drama, but I’m sure they won’t. So, I refuse to share anything else about myself that these people could try to use against me.
But, of course, Samantha wouldn’t go quietly. I haven’t known the girl for a full hour and I can already tell she’s ‘team too much.’
“What? No talk about your alcoholic mother or deadbeat father?” Sam snarks.
Forget not feeding the beast.Nope!Whatever ‘when they go low, we go high’ vibes I had before fly out of the window.
My neck snaps to her so quickly that I almost feel a breeze across my skin. I have every intention to read her better than any storyteller. But, before I can utter a word, a commanding voice draws the attention of everyone in the room.
“Sam, why don’t you just shut the fuck up already, with your ‘rode-through more than a drive-thru’ pussy. Are you that intimidated by the new girl?” a god of a boy, no a man, says.
