Fallen From Grace

[Aphrodite]

I took a deep breath and walked through the huge double doors of Cony High School. The halls buzzed around me and the smell of fresh paint hung in the air. My mind was racing as I tried to find my only girl best friend.

As I walked around the crowded cafeteria I could feel my long midnight black ponytail swinging across my upper back. It was still way too hot for me to leave my hair down. I was never comfortable in crowds. I was always the outcast. The girl no one wanted to be around. I had gotten used to it. So I always went off on my own or with one other friend.

Things changed when I got to Cony though. Suddenly I was the cool, popular girl everyone wanted to be around. It was all new and strange to me. Guys were drooling over me, girls wanted to be me. I never considered myself prep material, but at Cony I was the Queen Bee, the head prep and I let it go to my head. I wasn't so sure I liked it.

I turned down one of the many hallways in the giant building and started heading to my first class of the day. Halfway down the hall some new freshman ran right into me. "Why don't you watch where you're going?!" The freshman looked at me terrified. I don't blame her. I didn't even know who I was anymore. I had turned into a bitch.

[Apollo]

I got out of the back of the car. The door squeaked with age and I made sure to slam it so it wouldn’t pop open later. “Hey.” Vincent said from the passenger window next to me. I bent low so I was eye level with him. “I know you’re not happy with this but we’re to old looking to pass as any kind of high-schooler. . .”
“And what? Thank the lord I’m close to lookin’ like a senior?” I snapped at him.
“Samuel. . .”
I sighed and looked at Mike in the driver’s seat, looking ahead but he turned toward me and gave me that look of his. The look that said he knew and you knew what you did was wrong now say you’re sorry.
“I’m sorry Vince.” I grumbled, but he smiled at me so I knew he wasn’t mad.
“Just don’t think of this as time away.” He said, he ruffled the hair on top my head, the light brown messy short thing I had. “think of it as. . .”
“Practice for being on your own which you need to have.” Mike finished.
I nodded, I knew they were right but it did not mean I had to like it. I turned around to face the school, I shifted my backpack on my right shoulder. I took a breath and went to turn around again to say goodbye, but the car was gone and so were they. “One of these days they’re gonna have to teach me how they do that.” I muttered as I began my walk into a school in the middle of nowhere.

[Aphrodite]

I made my way into the empty classroom and took a seat in the back. I hated being in the front, it was like being the center of attention.

The first bell rang and slowly preps, jocks, and outcasts made their way into the room. By the time the warning bell for the beginning of class rang there was only one seat remaining. It just so happened to be one right next to me.

The teacher walked into the room a minute later and slammed the door behind her. The sound echoed through the room. I jumped about a foot off the seat. She slowly walked over to her desk and sat down. She started taking role. Her voice was monotone and reminded me of a prison warden.

"Micheal Anderson," her voice drove me insane. No one said a word. Just raised their hands.
"Cindy Bourque, Anna Cavanaugh, Derek Dumas, Mitchel Dunforth, Rosaline Evans, Missy Jones, Timothy Kingsford, Anthony Mason, Sierra Peterson, Gregory Stevens, Samuel Thomas..."
"Samuel Thomas?"

[Apollo]

I walked through the empty halls, the only sound was own heels hitting the floor. A girl was crying in the corner and no one was around to help her. I stopped to get down on one knee. "You alright?" I asked.
She told me of running into an older girl. "Hey it happens, alright? Jus' keep your chin up." I told her, I gave her a smile and lifted her chin a bit with a finger so she looked at me. She smiled and nodded. I nodded back and went to find my classroom.
I found the door to be closed and so I opened it and walked into the room.
"Samuel Thomas?" She said in a monotone voice. Looking at her she must have been taking roll call. I nodded. "Why are you late?"
"Sorry, I'm new and my brother got lost." I smiled a bit and she did too. Everyone always did that when I smiled, smiling back at me.
I put my head down and walked to the only seat left in the back.

[Aphrodite]

He dropped his bag and sat next to me. I just sat there not saying a word. I didn't want to risk him talking to me. Me, being the bitch I had become didn't really want to associate with him. He looked like an outcast, a nobody.

What's wrong with me? I was like him before.

My gaze stayed locked on the white board ahead of me but I was completely aware of this new guy sitting next to me. I didn't quite know what was going on with me. There was a part of me that wanted to get to know him. I just couldn't bring myself to do it.

The Queen Bitch had taken control.

[Apollo]

I twirled my pen between my fingers as I watched what the teacher was putting on the board. I fidgeted a bit; I was never good at sitting still (hence the pen). I pulled my laptop out of my bag, it was a silver Toshiba satellite and almost my favorite possession. I typed out notes quickly with one hand, twirled the pen in the other and started lip-syncing to a song that was in my head. Sadly my head started to bop to the imginary tune. A girl on one side seemed to be looking at me, all over. As the teacher went to write more on the board I asked, "Any reason for the staring or jus' not liking the idea of paying attention?"
She was snapped out of her trance and started to stammer. "I. . .I was j. . . What're you listening to?" She whispered.
"Nothin', it's in my head." I said not even looking up. "My playlist of my music is jus' stuck up there. Not good at sitting stilll or doing jus' one thing at once." I chuckled a bit. The teacher looked at me.
"Something funny?" She asked me and the girl. The girl's eyes fell to her desk.
"No, jus' commenting on bad spelling." I picked up a grammar mistake quickly to pick at.
"which would be?" She glanced the board over to find it.
"You spelled Augusta with no 'U' by the 'A'. "I said confidently.
Checking once more she smiled for a second and then fixed her mistake with a red-face.
"Thank you, young man." I nodded a welcome and went back to typing, lip-syncing and twirling the pen.

[Aphrodite]

I looked to the new guy and noticed some strange behavior. What's with the pen and the bobbing? Whatever, I don't care enough. I glanced up at the board and went back to taking notes.
I sat there chewing on my pen and trying not to fall asleep listening to the warden drone on about only God knows what. The clock slowly ticked by and I was sure this class was going to be the end of me.
I glanced over at Sam and he was still bobbing and twirling the damn pen. "Would you mind stopping?" I hissed, trying not to get in trouble.

[Apollo]

I heard someone snap at me which took me off beat and out of my song. "Huh?" I looked to the other side and saw another girl. This one had jet black hair, tied back. I looked down once as I adjusted my seating, but looked her once over secretly. She looked like the girl the freshman had mentioned. "Oh, sorry, didn't mean to, I have a problem staying still." I gave her a smile. I turned back to the teacher who was finally wrapping up the lecture, I saved my notes and put away my laptop. The bell rang and I stood. "Was nice meeting you." I said to one girl (The one that had been checking me out.) She nodded while smiling, she put her hair behind one ear and walked out. I turned to the other side, the girl with the darker hair. "Sorry I was bothering you." I decided to get to know her. "Maybe I can make it up to you?" I asked, I shrugged one shoulder and gave that smile I had.

[Aphrodite]

My head shot up to Sam. I think he just asked me out. What do I do? I can't get too close to people.

"Um, yeah sure. That sounds good to me," I replied, shaking a bit.

I wrote my cell number down on a piece of paper and handed it to him. I gave him a once over and my heart skipped a beat. My eyes slid over a six foot hottie. His short light brown hair was slightly messy, his eyes were haunting. A deep brown, almost black color. He was muscular, but not too muscular. He was gorgeous.

NO! I shouldn't be thinking this about an outcast.

[Apollo]

I nodded and took the piece. After a quick look I smiled and placed it inside my front pocket. "Name's Sam, jus' moved from. . . doesn't matter really does it?" I chuckled and walked out the door. Once I was I hid behind a set of lockers where no one would find me, remembered the number and I dialed the new number. This should be fun I thought to myself. I waited for her to answer.