She slowly walked around the school into a back alleyway that had long been forgotten by the police officer that patrolled the school on his bike. It was an annoyance to come all the way back here, but that's where everyone went during break to get their morning nicotine fix, and today she needed a smoke more than ever. She took out a cigarette and looked for the nearest person to give her a light. She had stopped bringing a lighter to school after a school wide attempt to fight against smoking where lighters were banned. Someone stood with his back to her, his smoke spiraling upwards into the sky. She tapped his back and extended her cigarette. He turned around to face her. She immediately turned away and dropped her cigarette on the ground. "Sorry," she said and walked away. She would have to do with out a smoke this period.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

If there was anyone her parents hated without a doubt it was Ryan Nixon. Sometimes Bri felt that their hatred outweighed anything they ever felt about her. She even found herself jealous that this Ryan could evoke such strong feeling from her parents, something she had never been able to do. When she stopped talking for a month, her parents didn't care. She pierced her nose, her parents didn't say anything. She dressed in all black, and her parents looked right through her. Sometimes she felt guilty that the reason she hated him had nothing to do with her sister. Her sister, it seemed so long ago that she had a sister, but that's when everything changed.

She had been a sophomore then. Her sister was a junior. They had never been close. Every one expected they would be. To an outsider sisters so close in age were bound to be best friends, but that couldn't be farther than the truth. Bethany had been "perfect." She made good grades, was popular, and athletic. Everyone had loved Bethany. The teachers had always been shocked that Bethany's kid sister was anti-social and rude. Possibly the only thing they had in common was their looks. They both had light brown hair, green eyes, and full lips.

Bri still remembered the night they had gotten the call as if it had been yesterday. It was a Friday night. She had been sitting home as usual lying on the bed trying to find pictures in the cracks on her ceiling. The phone rang, but she didn't think anything of it until she heard her mom crying downstairs and her dad running to the car. She walked out of her room and stood on the landing watching in slow motion her parents running to the car. She tried to run after them, but they had forgotten her in their urgency to get to Bethany once again. Since she had no idea what had happened she had to wait until the next day when her parents arrived home early in the morning to find out what was going on. When she heard the news she fainted right away. Was it possible that last night she had had a sister and this morning Bethany was gone. No matter how much they hadn't gotten along the pain and anger suffocated her. How could someone do this to her family?

Bri was brought back to the present with the sound of the warning bell. Great, she though. Another late check.