Not So Cinderella Page 2

  Once they’re gone, I turn to Mason. “What did she want this time?”

  “The usual,” he replies. “Oh, Macie, my books are so heavy,” he mimics in a pretend, high pitch voice while throwing his arms around dramatically. “I think I’m, like, totally going to fall over,” he continues. I laugh at the all too real imitation of the demon child.

  Watching me laugh, Mason pulls his beanie off, runs a hand through his hair, and smiles. I like when he smiles; smiling isn’t something we do much anymore, and I wish I could change that faster.

  Soon, the warning bell rang. Mason and I leave the locker and walk to class. For History, Mason is a year ahead, in the senior class, since his best subject is History. We enter the classroom and take our usual seats at the back. I immediately take out my headphones with a glance at Mason.

  He nods.

  Like always, Mason takes notes while I read, study, or draw since my least favorite subject is History. Even though he’s younger, Mason always helps me keep my grade up in that class.

  A few minutes after the tardy bell rings, someone pokes my arm. Knowing Mason wouldn’t bother me, I ignore it. I don’t want to talk to anyone. I never do. All other students ever talk about are the rumors that Lexi spread. Did you really have a baby? Did you seriously try to kill yourself? Why did you try to steal Lexi’s boyfriend? Are you really sleeping with the entire football team?

  I hate that everyone believes all, or at least some, of what Lexi tells them. No one takes the time to know the real me.

  Poke.

  Poke.

  Poke.

  Poke.

  “What?” I snap, lifting my head. My eyes connect with Drake’s blue-green gaze, and I groaned. Why won’t he leave me alone? I notice his hand near my arm like he was getting ready to poke me again. “If you touch me again, I’ll break your hand,” I warn, pulling one of my headphones out.

  Drake’s eyes widen at the threat, and he pulls his hand away. He shakes the surprised look off his face and raises an eyebrow, peering at me. “What are you gonna do about Mr. Richard?” He asks. I freeze and glance at Mason, who was now interested in the conversation.

  “What about Mr. Richard?” Mason asks, leaning closer to me.

  “He grabbed her arm and kept staring at her.” Mason looks to me for confirmation. With a sigh, I nod, which makes Mason growl.

  “Why didn’t you tell me?” He asks, turning his attention to me. I press my lips together, raise an eyebrow, and tilt my head. At that, Mason drops his head and rolls his eyes. “I know you can take care of yourself, but I’m your brother,” he fires back.

  Again, I nod. I know Mason worries about me, but I don’t want to bother him if I can take care of it. Drake’s eyes jump back and forth with confusion.

  Turning to Drake, I narrow my eyes. “Please leave me alone, Drake,” I request before putting my headphones back in.

  Drake, his friends, and Mason watch as I stand and make my way out of the room. I don’t bother grabbing all my things because I know Mason will get them. I run. Through the halls. Out the back. To the field. I enjoy being outside where the air is clean and where I’d be alone.

  If Drake keeps butting into my business, he might find out my secret. If he found out, he’d never leave me alone.

  I lower my body to the ground, lay back, and close my eyes. Would they care about my past? If they found out, would they tell everyone? Or would they give up and leave me alone after a while?

  In any case, I feel it would be best to keep my secret between Mason and me. Even if they didn’t care about my secret, I can’t let anyone else get hurt because of me.

  A sound causes me to open my eyes. The blond guy from Drake’s group looms over me, staring. A small shriek jumps from my lips, causing the blonde to slap his hand over my mouth. “I won’t hurt you,” he declares. What the heck? I glare up at him as he removes his hand from my mouth. “I didn’t mean to scare you,” he admits, taking a step back.

  Watching the blonde, I sit up and crawl backward away from him. Why did he follow me? I look him over. He’s tall, like Drake, but he’s not covered in tattoos; actually, I can’t even see one tattoo. He’s kind of adorable, like those little golden retriever puppies you find in cardboard boxes on the side of the road.

  “I’m Ross,” he says, holding his hand out so I can shake it. I glance at his hand, then reach for it. If he wants me to introduce myself, he doesn’t say.

  Once we’ve shaken hands, we drop our hands awkwardly, and I give him a questioning gaze. Ross smiles and sits on the grass across from me. “I thought I’d come to check on you,” he informs me. “Drake can be… pushy, but you’ll get used to it.”

  “I don’t think so,” I blurt. Crap. Ross’s head pops up, and he beams at me, glad I’m speaking to him.

  “It’s just that he doesn’t like when people ignore him. He gets kind of annoying and… ” he trails off, waving a hand toward the school as if that explains everything. I roll my eyes. Kind of annoying? Try ‘I-want-to-punch-him-in-the-face’ annoying. Drake is more than kind of annoying. He may look like a bad boy with his tattoos and leather jacket, but he acted like a three-year-old with his incessant poking.

  Pulling my legs up to my chest, I wrap my arms around them and rest my chin on my knees. “Well, you can tell him to leave me alone.” Ross frowns, and I sigh, slightly curious, “Why are you here, anyway?”

  “Oh, well, as I said, I wanted to check on you. I thought I’d keep you company,” Ross answers. “Under all that,” he starts, waving his hand at my body, “I’m sure you’re a nice girl.” I glance down at myself and scoff. What does he know? I’m worse than him and all his friends combined. I have baggage, family problems, and secrets I can’t tell anyone.

  “Well, I’m not, and why would you care?” I ask, looking up into his bright blue eyes.

  Ross chuckles and rakes his hand through his shaggy hair. “We may seem like bad boys, but I’ll let you in on a secret,” he says, leaning forward and cupping his hands around his mouth as if to tell an important secret. I feel silly when I lean in, but I must admit, I’m interested.

  “We get into fights, and we got kicked out of our last school, but we’re not bad guys.” He leans back on his hands and smiles.

  I shake my head. Whatever.

  The silence shatters when the bell rings. The sound fills the school and spills out into the field. Before Ross can say anything else, I’m on my feet and walking away.

  Ross jogs to catch up with me and quickly falls into step beside me. “So, what’s your name?” I glance up at him and bite my lip, ignoring his question. “I guess if you don’t tell me, I’ll have to give you a nickname...” Ross trails off. A second later, he snaps his fingers and exclaims, “Oh, I can call you Button!”

  I stumble as I stare at Ross. Is he serious? His expression, narrowed eyes, smirk, and lifted eyebrow, tell me he is. “Why?” I question as I push myself to walk faster.

  “Well, you’re cute and small, so Button.” The hairs on my arms stand on end. Cute? Small?

  “I’m not small; you’re just a giant,” I fire back, the failed insult making him laugh. His heavy arm drops onto my shoulders, and when I try to shake it off, he squeezes me. “Anyway,” I mutter, pushing his arm again. “I need to get to class.” He nods, and I take off in the opposite direction.

  Chapter 2

  Athena

  My next class is Algebra, which passes quickly. Like my other classes, I half-listen and doodle on the paper I got from the teacher.

  Before long, the lunch bell rings, and I trudge through the hallways to Mason. We always eat together. Most people would be sick of their siblings, but not me. Mason is my best friend, so we’re always together. He’s the only person I feel entirely comfortable being around.

  When I find Mason, he’s beside my locker with my backpack slung over his shoulder. He smiles and passes it to me, letting me shove it in my locker before we walk to the lunchroom. “Have any more trouble with Lexi?
” I ask as we creep through the lunch line.

  Mason shakes his head. “Nah, she got the message earlier,” he answers. I bob my head and pay for our lunch.

  The walk through the lunchroom was more manageable than walking through the hallways, and soon, we’re at our usual table. “So, any new information on tonight?” I ask, taking a bite of my burger. I hope the rookie backs out and picks a fight where he has a chance of winning.

  “Nothing new, but there’ll probably be a dropout. You can grab the spot if we’re there early enough,” he says. Sometimes, people drop out of their fights right before they’re supposed to start. Some give lame excuses, and others don’t bother showing up. I’ve had a few opponents drop their fight with me before, and it’s irritating because it makes me lose money and wastes my time.

  I box to let out excess energy and honor my dad. He used to fight. They called him The Wolf, and he was one of the best. Fighting keeps his memory alive.

  Suddenly, a tray smacks down on the table with a loud thud, making me jump. I whip my head up and quickly bite my tongue to suppress the words that threaten to spew from my mouth, like word vomit. Drake smirks down at me, probably liking that he caught me off guard, and sits to my left. Alec, Ross, and Chase sit across from us.

  “Hello, Button,” Ross greets, snatching up one of my fries. Without thinking, I throw my hand out and grab his wrist, twisting it and freeing my fry. The fry falls back onto my plate with a plop, and I drop his hand with a smirk.

  “Wha-? How?” Ross gapes. There’s a particular pleasure to gain from shocking someone speechless- a treat I really shouldn’t enjoy.

  “Don’t take her food,” Mason warns- too late- in a sing-song voice while munching on his fries. Ross shakes his head and pulls his hand back to his side.

  “So,” Drake starts, “Ross won’t tell me your name.” I glance at Ross before cutting my eyes to Drake. He’s studying me. The intense swirl of blue in his eyes makes me shiver, so I turn away. Without looking at Drake, I take a bite out of my burger. I don’t need to look, though. I can tell he’s still staring.

  “Probably because he doesn’t know it,” I mumble, shrugging a shoulder. Drake grunts in response but says nothing else, so I continue eating and listen as Mason talks to the guys. They introduce themselves, and before long, the conversation turns towards free time and sports. None of it interests me, though.

  After a while, the shrill bell rings. So annoying. I groan. PE is next, and Lucas and his gang of friends are in that class too. I’m not able to keep away from him or Lexi long enough to have a peaceful day. At first, I thought they made sure one of them was always in my classes, but they don’t have that kind of power.

  Once I’ve thrown my trash away, I drag myself to the gym and into the girl’s locker room. To go unnoticed, I keep my head down as I yank my gym locker open to grab the school-issued gym uniform.

  Begrudgingly, I pull on the inadequate outfit. With Lexi being the Queen Bee and Lucas somehow being the head of the student committee, they picked out the new uniforms: short shorts and white v-neck shirts that become see-through as soon as you sweat. Anyone with a brain can see these “uniforms” are inappropriate. The principal just doesn’t want to go against his student committee since Lucas’ parents and my step-monster gave the school “very generous donations.”

  As soon as I’m changed, I head to the gym. When I walk in, everyone’s already sitting on the bleachers, waiting for Coach’s instructions. I sit on the end of the bleachers, away from everyone, but as I take my seat, Drake catches my attention. Did he have to be in all my classes? I sigh and close my eyes, silently cursing my bad luck.

  Before I can open my eyes, someone rips my glasses off my face. Frowning, I spin around to find Lucas and two of his friends laughing. “Do you need these, nerd?” Lucas taunts.

  “Give them back, Lucas!” I order, keeping up the guise. Lucas laughs and throws the glasses across the room. I run to catch the flying glasses, but one of Lucas’s friends caught them. “Give them back!” I yell again. The surrounding guys laugh, making a game out of it and throwing the glasses back and forth.

  In the end, Lucas catches my glasses again. He saunters up to me and holds them high above my head. “If you can reach them, you can have them back.” He smirks, knowing I wouldn’t be able to reach the glasses because of my short stature.

  I need the glasses, but not in the usual sense. Just like Clark Kent, the glasses play as part of my facade. I don’t want to give up that mask just yet. I need everyone to see what I want them to see.

  Work smarter.

  My dad said that to me all the time. If there was a larger, stronger opponent, take them down by being smarter, by thinking. I might be smaller, but I could be more intelligent, quicker, and more flexible than my opponents.

  Smirking, I sweep my leg out. Lucas, surprised, falls against the gym floor with a thud and a groan. He drops the glasses, and I jump forward, grabbing them. Luckily, they didn’t crack the lenses, so I slide them back on as Lucas curses and stands back up with an angry expression on his face.

  “You little-”

  I’m turning away when he grabs my arm and slams his fist into my jaw. Surprised, I stumble back and fall, landing with a startled yelp. Pain sears through my face, and because I wasn’t expecting the hit, I have to blink back tears.

  The room erupts into yells and sounds of skin hitting skin. I look up just in time to see Drake hammer his fist into Lucas’s face. It’s something I’ve always wanted to do. Lucas’s body slumps against the ground like mine had, blood pouring out of his nose. He groans and moans before rolling onto his side.

  “Never hit a girl,” Drake seethes. I watch as Lucas lifts his hand to his bleeding nose and nods his head.

  When I touch the sore spot on my cheek, I whimper. Opponents have hit me before, but I have time to prepare because I expect it. When I’m in a fight, I can defend myself. Also, Lucas had never hit me before, so I didn’t expect it either.

  Wincing, I climb to my feet, ignoring the stares from Drake and his friends. I turn and run. I have to get away from their eyes.

  Don’t show pain.

  Don’t show weakness.

  “Wait!” Drake yells, running after me. The sound of his pounding steps is close enough that when I slow down, he catches up. I take a minute to lean against the lockers and watch him approach. His hands are outstretched like I’m a wild animal that’ll bolt as soon as he gets near. The thought makes my heart lurch. This guy has defended me more than once, and he deserves my thanks.

  His hand wraps around my bicep, making me close my eyes. I don’t know if I should look at him. I spend so much time blocking people out; it scares me to think of letting someone in.

  “Hey, look at me,” Drake murmurs. He hooks a finger under my chin, and with little pressure, he tilts my chin and connects our eyes.

  I expect to see narrowed eyes, a straight, angry face, and thin lips. Instead, I see round, worried eyes with a slight frown. I stare, and when I don’t speak, Drake sighs. “Are they always like that?” I nod.

  Always teasing.

  Always mocking.

  Always humiliating.

  Always making life more challenging.

  “He’s never hit me before,” I whisper, forcing my eyes away from his. Drake’s eyes are beautiful. So blue, they reminded me of the deepest ocean.

  A loud bang startles me, making me raise my head. Drake is no longer in front of me. His fist is buried in a now dented locker. “I hate bullies,” he growls, not necessarily to me while leaning his forehead against the cool metal. He doesn’t look at me but directs his glare at the scuffed linoleum floor.

  “Athena,” I whisper, stepping closer to the angry teen.

  His head snaps up. “Athena?” He repeats, confused. He shoves off the locker, and the space between us disappears as he steps closer. I hold my breath, trying to calm my racing heart, yet the closer he gets, the faster my heart runs.

  “My nam
e is Athena,” I mumble, looking up at him. His breath fans against my forehead, causing goosebumps to pebble my skin.

  He smiles and wraps his arms around me. I don’t expect the movement which gives him a chance to pull me against him. For a second, I tense up. Drake tightens his hold. Comfort washes over me, and I relax, letting him hold me up. “Thank you,” I breathe, leaning my head on his chest.

  Maybe he’s not as bad as I thought.

  Chapter 3

  Athena

  After what happened in PE, I went home early after texting Mason. I need to clean before tonight anyway, so here I am, cleaning the house. I already cleaned all four bathrooms, the living room, Lexi’s room, and my step-mother’s room. Now, I’m working in the kitchen.

  “I’m home!” Lexi’s shrill voice calls as the front door opens. Nobody cares. When no one answers, she walks into the kitchen with Mason trailing after her, carrying all her books. Lexi waves Mason away. “Take those to my room, boy,” she says, making my anger reach another level.

  “He has a name, you know,” I tell her, trying to rein in my anger.

  Lexi looks at me and scoffs, “And I don’t care. Do I need to tell mother you’re not doing as you’re told?” She asks me, knocking over a bucket of dirty water. The bucket crashes to the floor, splashing me in the process. “Look at what you’ve done!” Lexi shrieks, walking out of the kitchen. My hands ball up into fists, and I walk after her.

  “Woah there, tiger,” Mason says, grabbing my arm.

  “Thanks,” I tell him, leaning against the counter and closing my eyes. After a minute, I’m calm, and I open my eyes to see Mason cleaning up the water. He soaks it up in some towels and throws them into the laundry room. When Mason returns, he glances at the clock. “We should go get ready,” he points out. I usually get to the Underground early for surprise fights, if there are any.

  I look back at the clock and see it’s almost seven. Running up to my room, I go to my bathroom, take out my contacts, and put them into their containers. I set out a towel before jumping into the shower. I do my usual routine quickly, washing up and shaving before climbing out.