I woke up, bright and early, smile on my face, which was pretty rare.  

The trees a few yards away gave a fresh smell, despite New York's pollution.

I got dressed in the bathroom.  Julie had given me at least 3 different shirts and pants and a few sweaters and dresses.  I felt so happy to be able to change my clothes everyday.  

Today, I decided to wear a pretty blue t-shirt with black leggings.  I pulled a black sweater over my head, and pulled my backpack on.

After staying with Peter for a few hours, learning some math, some might say that it was complete hell.  

But I actually kind of liked it.  It felt like I was smart.  

Even though I was there because I wasn't smart.

People say Monday's are the worst.  Before, all the days weren't counted.  

But I might just have to disagree with that. 

The walk to school was cheerful.  

I dunno, I guess forgiving Sam was the right thing to do.  That heavy burden had lifted.  

Although it felt like there was still a million pounds on my back. 

When I came through the doors of the high-school, I made a beeline to my locker, not wanting to be late.

But instead of making it to the locker, I came face to face with a wall.

A human wall.  

His muscles were massive, his t-shirt stretched tight.  He looked pretty hot.  

I mentally slapped my forehead in frustration.  Pull it together Barlowe.

"Hey, watch it!"  the guy said, his face red.

I rolled my eyes, and kept walking.

"I'm talking to you!" he said, demanding attention.  "Hey!  HEY!"  he roared.

Boys.

He grabbed my arm.  My mind became a whirlwind of memories.

All bad ones.

My eyes glassed, my mind blocking out everything that he was yelling at me.

A man, in dark clothes, his eyes hidden behind sunglasses.

His thin, bony fingers wrapped around my frail wrist, his sharp nails digging into my flesh.  

Four other men standing with their arms crossed, ready to attack anyone who defen-

"Hey!  Take your hands off her!"  a familiar voice yelled.

I came back to reality.

I shoved the guy away, holding my wrist in my hand.

"You big jerk!"  I yelled.  "Too much of a baby to handle a little shove?"  

His face turned even redder. 

I grinned.

I turned around to see Peter.  "You ok?  he asked.

"Yea, I'm fine."  I replied, averting my eyes to the huge guy.

He strode closer to me, till I could feel his nasty breath on my neck.

"This is not over," he whispered.

I felt chills run up and down my arms, but instead, I turned on my heel and continued walking to my locker, pushing my way through the growing crowd.

Throughout my day, I could feel hot gazes boring into my skin.  I tried my best to ignore them.

I was always a pretty confident person.  Looks never bothered me.

Until now.

Something broke inside me when I came into this school.

Jealousy.

I've had cracks running up and down my soul ever since my parents were murdered.  It only takes a little tap for it to all come down.  

And when it does, everything will be laid out in front of me.  I can't run from my past forever.

But for now, I will.

At lunch, Julie and her friends were glaring at me.

"Calculus was complete HELL!"  I said, setting my food tray down, gazing at the food hungrily.

"You owe US an explanation." Julie said, pointing at me.

"Yea." her friends chorused. 

At first, I had no clue what she was talking about, till I remembered my encounter with the big muscly guy.

"I bumped into him on my way to the locker and he freaked out," I said briefly, spooning a big bite of dried up mac and cheese in my mouth.

"It's not just HIM!  He's Trevor Balducci!"  one of Julie's friends cried.  I think her name was Alice.

"Bald what?"  I rolled my eyes.

"You know, football star, that clichè guy?"  Julie raised an eyebrow.

"Oh. Ok."  I said, slurping some chocolate milk.

"Just OH?  I heard what happened Char!  You stood up to him!  You're on his radar now!"  Julie exclaimed.

"I don't really care."  I said.  "I have other things to worry about."  

"Girl, add it to your list!"  Alice said seriously.

I have murderers coming after me and I need to have a high-school guy on my list-of-people-who-want-to-murder-me?

I laughed to myself.

Give me a break.

After the school bell rang, and Mr. Nash's annoying reminders, I packed up my bag, stuffing some books in it.  

I felt a tap on my shoulder.

It was Peter.

"I'll give you a ride to my house.  C'mon."  he said calmly.

Why was this guy so calm?

Julie stared at me.  She sent me a look that screamed-  YOU OWE ME A HUGE EXPLANATION!!!

"It's ok, Peter, I'll walk."  I said.  

"I insist.  I feel bad asking you to walk the whole way."  Peter said intently, a frown on my face.

Julie gasped.  "You don't have transportation?" 

I ignored her.

"Ok," I said to Peter, a little unsure of my answer.

"I don't kidnap," Peter joked, straightening his shirt.

I didn't laugh.

"Ok... well, shall we go?"  Peter said, offering his arm.

I pushed his arm away, laughing.  "See you later Julie," I said, to the dumbfounded girl.

Peter walked off, me following.

His car wasn't all that impressive, but it was a car.   It was a black Sedan, which had a few bumper stickers sticked on the trunk.

He opened the door and jumped into the drivers seat.

I don't know if I was hoping for some chivalry or something, but I guess chivalry really is dead.  Or maybe I'm not very experienced in this sort of thing.  

I opened the door for myself, and sat in the passenger seat.

The ride to his house was awkward.  No music, just plain silence.  

Except for the passing cars and the honks, we didn't say a word.

I picked at my fingers, hoping the ride would be over quickly.

"So are you new to the school or something?"  he asked, scratching his head, with one hand, the other focused on the wheel.

"Yes,"  I said stoutly.

Awkward silence again.

This time, I tried to break the silence.

"Why do you sit with the popular kids?"  I asked, a question I'd been wondering blurting out of my mouth.

"W-what?"  he repeated.  "Popular kids?" 

"Yes," I said, almost regretting why I asked.

"Oh- um-," he spluttered, "I guess I was invited?" 

"Invited?" I asked.

"Nancy, the blonde hair one, took um- a liking to me," Peter said, his face flushing.

The blonde one must have been the one of the ones who were shooting me dirty looks when I had first come to the school.

"You know, Eli thinks you're smoking hot," Peter said, looking at me.

My face turned red.  "WHAT?" 

Peter laughed, "I'm just kidding,"

"Who the hell is Eli?" I asked, trying to recover from my outburst.

"One of the biggest jerks.  He can't tell a square and a triangle apart.  It's a miracle he's come thus far," Peter laughed.

"And he's one of your friends," I said, realizing his point.

"Yea," Peter said, "Unfortunately."

We both chuckled, as Peter pulled up to his flat.  We walked in, Peter holding the door open for me.

My stomach flipped.

Seriously Char?  Over a freaking DOOR?

Peter pulled out a chair, and started to pull out some math books.

"I haven't forgotten the fact that you're extremely behind in subjects, but since you're taking calculus, I've decided we'll focus on math."  Peter said.  "Here's some of my old math books, you can have them and we can use them," he said, handing me a stack of books, which were in a shopping bag.

I took them gratefully, pulling one out.

"Shall we get started?"  Peter asked, taking the book from me, and flipping to the beginning.

I nodded, elated that I was going to learn.

I was going to learn math.