Chapter One: “Like an Offering to a Goddess”

Mike was busy, hunched over a math book and a half-blank paper when he felt it strike the back of his head. Mentally, he sighed, he knew just what it was. The little ball of paper rolled onto the tile floor at his feet. He snuck a glance behind him, looking for the thrower, spotting him immediately. Stewart had his eyes on the paper, looking a little embarrassed, until he caught the eyes of Mike. A look of disdain flashed across Stewart’s face, then he turned back to the math work.

Maybe if you weren’t such an idiot, you’d know how to throw a damned paper ball at someone.His hand wandered, picking the ball up from the ground. Normally, he’d toss it to someone random, with a snicker at Stewart, but a name caught his eye, written on the outside. Lexis…

Lexis was the girl, who was quickly becoming a woman, before his eyes. She had just turned fifteen, a month younger than himself. He sighed slightly; then poked her in the back with his pencil.

“Psst!” Mike hissed, ball of paper in hand.

“Yes?” She muttered, a tad confused, as she turned around. He blankly thrust the paper out, like an offering to a goddess. “Oh! Thanks!”

“Ah... um... no problem,” was the dumbfounded reply. Mike had a problem… Lexis had the little ability to make all of Mike’s charm, what little charm he had anyway, melt away like oil from a roasting ham ... which, actually, was what Mike felt like when he was talking to her, a ham that is*. She had turned away, and thus ended his little interaction with her. He knew he never stood a chance with her anyway. There was a little hierarchy at Elton Leon High, Mike’s private school, and Mike sat very close to the bottom.

Mike thought longingly about Stewart’s high status. He desperately wished to be like him, despite the vast amounts of stupidity that filled his head. Stewart had everything Mike wished he had, and more. You see, Stewart was rich, popular, had the finest of everything and, worst of all, was terribly stylish and good looking.

 Short black hair, round brown eyes, a small nose, rather large ears and an oval face ... slightly chubby, though far from being pudgy ... and tan skin, typical of the Chinese. Not terrible, overall ** assessed Mike in his mind, as he caught his reflection in a window.

Stewart, on the other hand, had loose, long brown hair, a small nose and skin as white as snow. The bell rung and everybody gathered their things. He has everything, dammit! His thoughts were an angry flash of red in his mind as the class began to leave. Stewart pushed passed Mike and waited until Lexis slipped her book into her backpack and donned it before wrapping his arm about her waist. Everything ... including Lexis’s heart.

*: For those of you who might not get that, to be a ham is to be foolish. It’s a common English idiom.

**: This is supposed to be set in an area which is still predominantly white, and Asians, though not openly harassed (often), are looked down upon. This is part of the reason for Mike’s low “status”.