Living Life

By Jenn Christiansen

Everyone was watching her as soon as she walked down the hallway. The crowd was divided like the red sea when she came their way. Most girls made a face when she passed by. Some boys drooled when they saw her. Grace, on the other hand, was ignorant of what was happening. She just smoked a weed on her way to school. Her head was growing wheezy and any moment, she would doze off in the class. Luckily, her mind was clear enough to wander through the location of her locker. She managed to reach for it and did the unlocking. She placed her books inside, those that were not going to be used for today. When she closed the door, Jackson appeared behind it.
"How is the Whore of Babylon doing?" he asked. Grace turned to the long, blond- haired guy with a skinny physique. She smelled cigarette from his breath, a sweet perfume to her senses.

• Language: English
• Publisher: ilovetoreadandwritebooks
• Release date: Jul 27, 2019
• ISBN: 9780463303160

Book preview

Chapter One: The Disgrace

Everyone was watching her as soon as she walked down the hallway. The crowd was divided like the red sea when she came their way. Most girls made a face when she passed by. Some boys drooled when they saw her. Grace, on the other hand, was ignorant of what was happening. She just smoked a weed on her way to school. Her head was growing wheezy and any moment, she would doze off in the class. Luckily, her mind was clear enough to wander through the location of her locker. She managed to reach for it and did the unlocking. She placed her books inside, those that were not going to be used for today. When she closed the door, Jackson appeared behind it.

How is the Whore of Babylon doing? he asked. Grace turned to the long, blond- haired guy with a skinny physique. She smelled cigarette from his breath, a sweet perfume to her senses.

I’m good. Always good, she replied. She turned in her heel and started walking. She fished her class schedule out of her bag and looked at it, squinting. The words were blurred in her eyes. An arm wrapped around her. Jackson followed her.

How were you able to pass the security reeking with weed? Jackson asked as he sniffed her. Grace elbowed him.

They’re used to me. They knew that nothing can stop me, she said proudly.

I wished I have that reputation, Jackson said then he kissed her sloppily on her mouth before leaving. Grace wiped the drool with the back of her hand. She headed to her first class, in all her luck was Algebra. She failed the subject last semester and had to take it again. If she did not, she would be retained in high school, something that did not bother her at all, but her Uncle Connor. She entered the room and the fellow students who were chatting suddenly stopped. She was like an angel who could stop anything in a moment— a fallen angel. She came in just in time because the teacher just stepped in as soon as she sat at the last row. Freaking Mr. Carson, she thought. For her, it meant caricature time.

Mr. Carson went through the syllabus during the entire hour. Grace received occasional glances from her classmates, but as soon as she caught them, they would turn away. Cowards. Grace got through the class finishing a comic strip of Mr. Carson’s class. Grace put bubble speeches above the heads of her classmates, as if these were their thoughts during the class. Grace watched the long hand of the analog clock above the white board turned to twelve. When it did, she stood up a few seconds earlier until the bell rang. This made Mr. Carson’s face red and when he was about to say something, probably because of Grace’s sudden motion, the bell rang. Instead, he shut up and watched Grace walked out of the room with disgust.

Grace went to her next class. It was American Literature, another boring subject for her. Like earlier, she sat at the farthest seat. She watched the doorway as the other students came in. But one caught her eye. He was definitely new. She practically had been classmates with all of the students in Clarkston High School since her teachers always transferred her to different classes if possible just to avoid her. She was too difficult to handle, especially when she saw things that they said were not real. She was brought to a psychiatrist for a number of times but her Uncle Connor stopped her medication.

The new student seemed to be confident. He smiled to some people he passed by. He took a seat next to her. Grace frowned. Pity on him. He did not know that she was the kind whom you did not want to be around yourself at least five feet in radius. The guy turned to her and waved. He smiled so wide that she almost saw his gums. He had braces on, as well as glasses. Nerdy. His red hair was cut properly, following the school’s prescription. Grace remembered nobody followed that rule.

I’m Joshua Abrams, he introduced, giving her his hand. Grace just looked at it.

I’m not asking who you are, she said. Joshua’s mouth started to open, about to say something but chose not to. Instead, he smiled as he brought down his hand.

Well, I’m just introducing myself. I don’t want you to think of me as a complete stranger. At least you know my name, he said. Grace frowned