Chapter One: Early Morning

Jovanna Riley woke up and let herself roll off her mattress. She let the alarm clock ring for a few seconds, wondering whether or not her father would wake up. She doubted he would.

" He wouldn't wake up if a tornado hit the house. " Jovanna muttered under her breath.

She searched her closet and sighed. She grabbed a plain red polo and a pair of dark blue jeans that she'd worn the day before yesterday. She crossed the room to the vanity/dresser and began brushing her dishwater blond hair. She snagged a few knots in her hair and pulled it into an elegant knot at the back of her head.

Next thing to do was put on her socks and shoes. Her shoes were all worn out and about a year old. They barely fit, but Jovanna's dad couldn't afford anymore with the little paycheck he received.

" Damn it! " she shrieked as she tried to put her left shoe on. The last part of the outfit was the purple sweater her grandmother had made. She walked out of her room and went into the kitchen and wasn't surprised to find Jerome's ((Her dad, for all those of you who are confused)) girlfriend, Rusty, sitting at the kitchen table. Jovanna despised Rusty.

" Good morning brown eyes. " Rusty said cheerfully.

" Don't call me that. That's what my mom called me, right before she left. " Jovanna said, grabbing a bagel and leaving the house. She walked down the street for a short time, but soon met up with Chastity Wilson and Amanda Munn, two of the most popular girls at James Monroe.

" Oh look Amanda. It's Jovanna. " Chastity said in her usual snobby tone. Amanda wrinkled her nose.

" Ew! You're right. Look's like she got those clothes at Goodwill. She probably did with all that money her father doesn't make. " Amanda said in response.

Jovanna felt the tears well up in her eyes, but she didn't, wouldn't cry. '7th graders don't cry' she reminded herself. The bus stop was only a little farther ahead. She could see Griffin up ahead and that made her feel better.

Griffin Valtheran was her best friend, and he got picked on a lot. Griffin was gay and when people found out they shunned him. He'd been very popular before that and it was easy to see why. With his perfect brown hair and gorgeous green eyes, he could make girls swoon. Then there was the heart-wrenching smile that melted the same kind of girls. Jovanna immediately took him under her wing and they made it through many tough times.

" Hey Griffin. " Jovanna called, waving to him.

" Hi Jovie, " he chorused, " Have you gotten Michelle Branch's tape? " he asked happily. Jovanna shook her head, but smiled knowing she might get it.

" Don't look now but here comes prep and preppier. I'm praying that Kyle got some mysterious illness and will die of the disease. Or that Jessie flushed him down the toilet. " Jovanna said waiting for the bus to pull into view so she could sit with Jessie Pendragon, her other best friend.

" Maybe he did, you never know. " Griffin said as the bus pulled into view. Jovanna sat down in seat Black 3 with Jessie, who looked a little angry.

" What's wrong? You look like someone didn't invite you to play basketball or one of your softball tournaments got canceled. She said referring to her friend's interest in sports.

" Look't Kyle. The tomboy and the loser are sitting together. They'd make such a cute couple, but wait they aren't Homo's, that's Griffin's job. I forgot. " Chastity said, clutching Kyle Starbanks's hand. His blue eyes were full of laughter, as though he had some secret joke he thought as hilarious but wouldn't share with the rest of the class.

" Since when are they a couple? " Jessie asked, shaking her head. This made her dark brown, almost black, hair in its usual braid hit Jovanna in the face. Jessie also had brown eyes and tan skin, which wasn't unusual since she came from India.

" I hear about it yesterday on the 'Gossip Express,' " Griffin said from behind them, " It was a big huge grapevine kinda thing. "

" Well, go figure. They are the most popular people in the seventh grade. I knew it would happen. It only took a matter of time. " Jovanna said as the bus rolled along. Past the Allsup's on the corner and Texaco next to that, which led to the morning's topic.

" Why would you build two gas stations next to each other? In case your car broke down going down the block and you had two choices or something? I just don't get these people. " Jessie muttered, staring at them. Jovanna looked out the window longingly. Hoping that some kind of miracle would happen.

The bus stopped beside the track at the school and let all the kids off. Most of them pushed each other to get off, but Griffin knew it was better to be patient than sorry and waited for everyone to get off instead of pushing and shoving and getting jumped.

" Let's go to the football field. " Jessie suggested, knowing that it was only part of the track. It consisted mostly of dirt and was easy to get blown away by a sandstorm during that time.

" Okay, but only since I know you'll go crazy if we don't. " Griffin said, leading the way. Most of the football guys were still on good terms with Griffin and weren't very homophobic.

Jovanna stared off into space and didn't see the boy coming her way. Not until they met in the middle and both fell to the ground. She looked across the ground to see a boy with shoulder-length dark brown hair and brown eyes.

((AN:// This is a new character not randomly thrown in here. And these people are based on people from my school, which is actually called James Monroe and we are located in New Mexico, although it is a very dull place. I just thought you should know. And Jessie owns herself. I used her character because I promised to put her in a story.))