Aria’s POV

"Copy the note and be quick about it," the teacher commanded, his gaze piercing through his iron-rimmed glasses.

I looked at the empty whiteboard, then at the teacher before slowly raising my hand. "Err, what note... sir?"

He frowned and glanced down at me, his expression dripping with superiority. "Are you deaf?"

Okay, that hurt. What a nasty person. I was even trying to be respectful. You know what, forget that.

"I wasn't the last time I checked," I retorted.

Veins bulged on his head, and then the girl sitting behind me abruptly stood up. "Sir! She didn't understand what you meant. Ignore her, sir. We all make mistakes, after all, we're only human."

Ignore me? I rolled my eyes. Although I liked the artistic nature of this town, we haven't really been able to interact with its locals since we moved here. Today was my first proper interaction, and everyone we've met has been a different kind of stupid.

Sue had a different class, so I was stuck here, alone and without backup.

The teacher used a finger to push his glasses further up his nose. "Oh, I see..." He picked up a heavy textbook from his table and dropped it on mine. "Chapter 10, pages 90-93. Copy."

I'm pretty sure my desk vibrated when the book landed. I attempted to pick it up, but it was so heavy. I glanced at the teacher's arm. Although his clothes were slightly baggy, I could still tell that there were zero muscles in his arm. Yet he carried the book with one hand, while I could barely lift it. As if it's not bad enough that everyone was quietly giggling as I tried to haul the textbook onto my lap, I opened the page he had called, only to realize that the text was so tiny that I had to squint to see it. And to think I had to copy three pages of it!

I picked up my pen and started. Besides, if I skipped some parts and words in the note, he might not notice. A few minutes later, when it felt like my head would fall off my neck, I raised it to see that I was the only one still copying. Mr. Teacher was reading a book, while everyone else was talking or chatting on their phones. I was also the only one with a textbook on my desk. I frowned.

About half an hour later, I walked out of the class. I was so annoyed. For the rest of the class, all I could do was copy the stupid note as fast as I could. When I was finally done, the bell rang, and I couldn't even be bothered to return the textbook to his table. I picked up my things and stormed out. My hands were shaking like a very old lady's leg.

When I got to my locker, Sue was already there. She was leaning on the wall, nodding her head to the song playing in her headset. Her glossy black hair, the same as mine, was no longer in a ponytail. Instead, it was scattered around her head. It looked like she was listening to rock, and she only does that when she's mad. She opened her eyes just then and stared at me.

"I hope your first class was as shitty as mine," she said.

I shrugged and stuffed my books into my locker. "I don't know. If we compare later, mine might be shittier."

PE class. It'd be stupid for anyone in a new school to think that their first PE class will be safe, especially with the existence of... Dodgeball. We changed into our sportswear in the locker room with a bunch of other girls. The sportswear was not flattering in any way, at least ours wasn't. The other girls already had a chance to alter theirs, while ours was still two sizes too big. I rummaged through my bag and found a pair of shoelaces. I always carried extras in case I lost mine or needed to tie something, like my hair. Sue took the one I gave her, and we used it to hold up our pants. We tied the balloon-like top into a makeshift crop top. We were the only ones left.

At the door, Sue shook my shoulder and said, "Remember, do not cry."

I grinned and replied, "Even if the ball hits your eye."

We pushed open the doors and slowly walked in, feeling like warriors on a battlefield. Everyone was separated into two dodgeball teams. The teacher, who was about to blow the whistle, saw us and smiled. Not in a 'I'm nice' way, but more like a 'you're so dead' kind of smile. She pointed at Sue.

"You there, what's your name?"

"Sue Andrews, Miss."

"I ain't your Miss."

She then pointed at the team on the left, which had an awfully familiar face. "Your name is Sue. I'm sure you won't mind joining your namesake," she turned to me. "Go to the other team, girl number two."

There was a collective guffaw from the rest of the students.

I smiled coldly at her. "Name's Aria. Nice to meet you too."

"I wish I could say the same," she retorted.

Ouch. The teacher's got spunk.

The game started. The game ended.

What happened in between is too painful to remember. All I can say is give me a gun, and Bitchy Sue and I will paint the school red.

At four in the evening, the three of us met under a tree at a distance from the school. Jerry had a small bruise on his cheek.

Sue looked him up and down. "You're a mess."

Jerry huffed. "It's just a bruise... at least I wasn't bullied."

I cut in, "Hey, let's set this straight." I pointed at Sue and myself. "We weren't bullied... we just played dodgeball."

Jerry scanned the several bruises on our faces and arms. "Right. Don't you know that dodgeball is the game of bullies?"

"Hey, guys," Sue waved at us to stop talking. "Dad just sent me a message. It says, 'I won't be home tonight. I have to work late. Take care, sweetie pies.'"

I frowned. On its own, the message wasn't odd. It would be a normal thing if mom sent it, but dad?

Sue frowned too. "That's weird."

Jerry nodded in agreement. "Yeah, Dad hates anything pie."

I mumbled, "And he definitely doesn't think we're sweet."