Jaded

Chapter 1

Private school. What's the first image that comes into your head? A huge white building with a chapel, perhaps. School uniforms. Wealthy kids spoiled rotten by their parents.

Well, all that doesn't matter. You're close enough. Because, at Greendale, there are kids like that. And there are parents like that – but I don't happen to be one of them. I'm just plain old Christina Parker, daughter of Lance and Rina Parker, businessman and costume designer, respectively.

School's more a prison, than anything else. Pretending otherwise is just wishful thinking – or else willful delusion. The polished iron gates are meant to keep us in and the rest of the world out because there's just some things credit cards and security alarmscan't protect you from in this world of ours.

One such thing being old men. I'm not even joking. Have you seen the uniforms? If I ever get my hands on the man with the schoolgirl fetish that designed this loosely-defined skirt, why I'll —

“Christina?”

I looked up into the hazel eyes of my best friend. Renee Martinez. I could feel my jaw relax, the thoughts of beating a pervy grandpa with his own cane fading from my mind, even as I broke out into a smile. She was just like that. “Hey. What's up?”

“Everything!” she cried, exasperated. “I’m up to my neck in papers,” she said, putting her hand level at her throat. “First of all, homecoming is going to be a total wreck. We had to postpone the dance a week because the stupid band geeks have practice that night and they need the gym for rehearsal.”

She's on the student council. I hold that she should have gone for drama, since she's got such a penchant for theatrics.

I rolled my eyes. “Then the world's going to end, isn't it?”

“Not funny, Chris – this is important. People already paid their tickets in advance. I swear, there’s going to be a total riot.”

“Well, the old farts could use a bit of riling up,” I suggested, with a grin.

She wasn't amused. “Not when it's my ass on the line, Parker.”

Her hazel eyes flashed like firelight. I was treading dangerous ground. “What did we get as a theme?”

Renee scowled. “Monopoly. Kyle Moore is already bugging me about being the monopoly guy – I have six guys bugging me to be the monopoly guy.” She threw up her arms in annoyance. “We should just make the monopoly guy our unofficial school mascot, since everyone seems to love him so much.”

I had the sudden urge to laugh, and swiftly pushed it down. “What about the seniors?”

“They got Candy Land. The sophomore class tried to fight us for Monopoly and ended up getting Life. Freshman got stuck with Chutes and Ladders.” Her face lit up a little. “I’d like to see what they’re going to do with that one.”

“I think I have one in my closet.”

“Who doesn't?” Renee rolled her eyes, stepping ahead of me. “Leave it to the seniors to pick a shitty theme.”

I could feel my hair slip a little in its clip. There had been no hairspray in any of the bathrooms that morning – and mom had been far too scatter-brained to go shopping for any. Dad was apparently getting a load of grief at work, from his superiors. I wasn't sure what about. The whole business politics thing went way over my head and you didn't get to take Econ until you were a senior. All I knew was that some jerks were trying to get a new product approved, and dad was giving them the no-go because it was... dangerous. For the consumers and the environment.

It all sounds very James Bond, I know. But trust me, my dad can make anything sound boring.

Anything.

“Wait up,” I called, balancing my books – there were three of them; U.S. History, Biology, and English – on one arm, as I struggled to fix the wayward clip. “Shit!” The books fell and the papers in them went flying, carried off by the gentle breeze.

Renee was too far away by now, or else she would have lectured me on my 'language'. I squatted down, gathering up the papers in messy handfuls and praying there was nobody around to look up my skirt and see my Hello Kitty underwear. Damn it. Things like this never seemed to happen to Renee. “Shit, shit, shit,” I added, for good measure.

I may sound bitter, and I probably am. Renee's the kind of person who – how can I explain this? She can light up an entire room with her presence. And her smile. She's always so annoyingly cheerful, even when she's not. It's as if anger's a joke for her; something that's never fully experienced.

And, yes, I'll admit that I'm not the happiest of campers... particularly on certain days of the month. And Renee's almost the only person who can manage to bring me out of it, usually with some subtle statement such as, “God, Christina, don't be such a bitch.” (The other person is Alex, but I'll get to him later.)

I won't lie. It's not easy being Wonder Woman's best friend...

I used to think that she'd make the perfect cheerleader and – surprise – she was, back in Jr. High School. She said that being constantly on display wore her out (psh, yeah, right, Ms. Attention Whore) and the other girls' vanity got on her nerves (this I could believe). But most likely, she probably hadn't liked the way her legs had looked in the High School Uniform. It's shorter than the skirt I'm wearing.

But I know even she has her own insecurities and nagging doubts. She's told me some things about herself that shocked me, that I wouldn't even believe at first – not from someone who seemed so strong. So flawless. I guess it just goes to show that we've all got something to hide behind these masks.

“You missed this,” a very male voice said, breaking into my thoughts.

I looked up in shock. An icy blond guy was holding my outline of the Revolutionary war out in front of him as if it was... tainted. He was wearing leather, fingerless gloves, black pants, and a tight, very aptly-termed muscle shirt. And he was staring down at me with a cool, blasé look that I'd frequently seen in the eyes of the other students here, but never managed to perfect. As if they ruled the world.

Well, he had it down pat.

Oh god he hadn't seen my underwear, had he? Why else would he sneer at me like that? The shock and indignation faded to a sneer that rivaled his own. Yeah? Well, I can make faces too, you prick!

His mouth twitched. Like he was resisting the urge to laugh at me. To openly mockme.

...Bastard.

I rose to my feet with as much dignity as I could muster, and snatched the paper away. “Thanks,” I snapped, whipping around to hide my blush. I was very aware that my hair was a mess, and my makeup... non-present. How long had he been standing there, watching me? I felt goosebumps prickle my bare arms. I'd never seen him before in my life, and he hadn't been wearing a uniform...

And if he wasn't wearing a uniform, that meant he wasn't a student.

I froze for a moment. A pervert? When I turned around, there was no one there. Impossible. Nobody could disappear that fast. “Hey,” I called out. Was he hiding?

“Hey!” I repeated, louder this time. “Get back here... you pervert!”

A few leaves rattled against the pavement with a hollow sound. There was no response, and I hadn't really expected one. If he had been hiding, he was probably long-gone by now.

“There you are!” Renee said. “I was looking all over for you. What are you doing, still standing here?”

“I – ” I realized I was still holding the outline in my hand. “Nothing,” I said hastily, stuffing it in my pocket.

“Come on,” she said, like a parent chiding an uncooperative child. “Let’s get to class. The bell’s going to ring any second now.”

As if on cue, the bell rang through the now-empty quad.

“Oh shit,” I said.

“The bell,” Renee moaned. “Great.”

I smirked. “Race you to class?”

“That is so dumb, Christina. Like fourth grade.” But I heard her running to keep up when I took off. Our laughter echoed through the deserted courtyard, and I felt that prickling sensation on the back of my neck. I felt like I was being... watched. Haunted, even. I'd even met the ghost.

His eyes had been the most pensive shade of forest green... I wondered, for a nanosecond, what secrets he'd been hiding, beyond that faultless mask. And then the thought was gone.