Shattered [[part 2]]

The fresh morning air smelled of autumn. I engorged my nostrils with the dewy fragrance as my brisk walk continued. Soon my bus stop was in clear view and I scurried across the street before traffic got heavy. My head hung low, like it always did when I was surrounded by kids my age. This morning I was quite pleased. They had redid the alleyway and the new bricks had a sparkle to them, which blatantly fascinated me. As I admired this form of art my senses seemed to disappear until a loud screech broke through the silence. "Hey LOOK OUT" I heard. My head snapped upward fast just in time to see the drunken headlights veering toward me.

Cat-like reflexes enabled me to throw myself to the ground as the car rolled over my body. A blurry vision of pipes and tires flashed before my grape-fruit sized eyes. Then in seconds it all melted away. "Holy *bunny*, are you alright" Kids from the stop stood above me squinting in awe. Social butterfly I was, I stammered like a moron and looked at everyone. "Forget it, come one I'll help you up". A hand reached out for mine and I grabbed it reluctantly. Physical contact scared me more then intoxicated skin heads in pick up trucks. "Thank you" I whispered. "No prob, and I'm Claira by the way". Claira had a mo-hawk and a long bang. Her lip, nose, and eyebrow were pierced. Despite the distracting body piercing and her obnoxious way of chewing dentyne, Claira was a really pretty girl. "Hey Claira, I'm Naiya" I responded noting that our nose piercings sat on the same nostril. We walked to the bus stop with the others and she introduced me to the ones she knew. Making sure I knew who the freshmen were which helps because you never want to be caught with one of them losers. "I remember you, you went to Jefferson last year too, we had Civics together". Now that I thought of it I pretty much knew all the returning kids, I just never had the mind to talk to them. "Oh yeah, we did, funny you look a bit different this year" she giggled softly. "Ya, its the piercings, and the new hairstyle, ya like babe?" I nodded smiling, as she modeled, reassuring her it was totally hot. Five more minutes went by with small talk. Who had their babies over the summer, who dropped out and who was dropping in, and the debate over the best birth control to use. From the banter, I could tell what my sophomore year was going to exist of, and I didn't like to much of it. But change is a good thing right?

After the never ending walk up the stairs to Jefferson High, we reached the entry doors. Claira through them open and threw her head back "Claira has arrived darlings, leave your optimism at the door, WELCOME TO HIGHSCHOOL"! Most laughed and clapped, some shuttered in fear at how strange this girl was. I studied her, the style of clothes she wore down to the sudden twitches in her nose. We discarded our bags on the search table and walked through the metal detector. Immediately Claira beeped and a security guard ordered her to empty her pockets and go back through. "Oh come the *bunny* on, Are you blind, piercing HELLLLLOOOOO!" The men scoffed while eating her up with their eyes. Next up, me. I walked through with no hassle what so ever. Claira rolled her eyes "*bunny* demon" she murmured and smiled I laughed. We had exactly 10 minutes to get into home room so me and Claira invited me to scuffle around and see what everyone had been up to. Kindly as I could muster, I declined and headed for my favorite stall in the bathroom. Silently I stroked my hair as my knees shook and prepared for yet another year.

First period reared its ugly, receding hairline. By this I mean Mr. Tomlinson. One of the most hated or feared teacher in the building. "Welcome to Chemistry 1" he bellowed as I climbed onto a stool and rested my head in the cradle of my arm. Behind my eyelids exotic color blotches danced and swirled. I felt high, though this wasn't exactly illegal. Just as a hot pink diamond tried to eat a turquoise circle, a strong voice interrupted. "This seat taken..."
Hesitantly I looked up into electric green wolf eyes. The intensity hit me and I damn near fell out my seat. "No" I said and watched as this beautiful creature sat on the stool beside me. His hair hung straight and black around his face, and stopped inches past his distinctive jaw line. Naughty urges erupted inside of me and I wanted to run my tongue along it, but something told me it would make things awkward. "I'm Darren" he sung in a rich voice that hung in the air long after he had spoken. "Oh, well I'm Naiya, nice to meet y.." "Alright lets get this par-tay started" Tomlinson yelled. "For starters I want you all to know that the person you are sitting next to will be your lab partner for the year, unless I choose to separate you, understood" I nodded and placed my hands together, steeple style, giving silent thanks to god. Which by the way I haven't done in 13 years.