The Arranged Marriage
By: ConstanceGosselin
Chapter 1
The loud shrill bell of the alarm clock rang through Rafferty's subconscious. She groaned and threw her hand out to punch the off button. She pulled back the covers, and set her feet on the ground. She stood and let out another groan when her bones cracked. Then, she remembered. Today was her eighteenth birthday. Unfortunately, it was on a school day, so she had to endure the drone of her teachers' voices as they lectured. She couldn't wait.
She quickly made her bed, and grabbed random clothes from her closet. Rafferty hated it. Everyday she did the same things; she would get up, make her bed, get dressed, eat, brush her hair, brush her teeth, and then go to school. She looked in her long mirror that was hanging on the back of her door. This was another thing that she did everyday, she would stare at herself for a few seconds, and think how fat she was, and how ugly she was, and how she looked so dorky with her glasses. Her auburn hair was dull, and frizzy, and her green eyes held no shine.
Well, she didn't have anything in her life to make her eyes shine. Yes, she did have a loving family that she loved to death. But that was only on her mother's side. Rafferty had stopped seeing her father when she was fourteen because of some circumstances. No, he wasn't beating her, or anything else. He was mentally abusing her, and that's the worst kind of abuse you could possibly get. He would put her down, and tell her that her grades weren't good enough. This, of course was a lie, because she got excellent grades, and in fact, she was going to graduate in the top five percent of her class. So, Rafferty had had enough of feeling depressed and long nights of crying, and she stopped going and he never made a big fuss about it.
Rafferty opened her door and padded out of her room and down the stairs. When she got to the kitchen, her mother was there, as she always was, eating her cereal. Rafferty grunted as she walked past her, and opened a cabinet to get her cereal.
"Well, good morning, sleepy. Happy birthday to you!" Her mother said way too cheerfully. Despite her sleepiness, Rafferty smiled. She loved her mother to death.
Rafferty set her bowl of cereal on the table and kissed her mother on the cheek.
"Thanks, mom," She answered.
Her mom smiled, and passed her the milk. Rafferty sat and poured the milk, spilling some on the table. She snorted.
"Ok, this is a bad sign. Everything is going to go downhill from here."
Her mother shook her head.
"You need to stop being so negative, you need to lighten up! It's your eighteenth birthday. You can get a credit card, order things off the TV, and you can be tried as an adult." Rafferty blinked.
"Thanks for the sympathy, mom." Her mother only just smiled.
"You welcome, honey." She stood and put her bowl in the dishwasher. Then she exited the kitchen and went to get ready. That's how it had been for as long as Rafferty could remember.
She quickly gobbled down her breakfast, and then went to get ready. By the time she had finished her mother was downstairs waiting to drive her to the bus stop. Before she went downstairs, Rafferty stared at herself in the mirror again.
"Well, Rafferty. This is going to be like any other day. You're going to get teased, and your lunch is going to get trampled on, and Blake Williams is going to make your life a living hell, as he has done for the past." A pause happened here as she took a moment to calculate the time. "...five years. No one is going to give a shit that it's your birthday. Except your friends. Your friends are going to be there for you, and back you up. Ok, you're ready. Let's make it happen."
She exited her bedroom, and ran down the stairs and out the front door to her mother's car.
~*~*~*~*~*~
Rafferty had been right in her assumptions. She had been teased. Her usual taunters calling her fat, or frizzy hair, or some ridiculous name like that. She had had her lunch trampled on. She had been walking down the stairs from her class, on her way to the cafeteria when she was bumped from behind, and her lunch spilled from her lunchbox and her sandwich had been squashed. No one seemed to care that they were stepping on her lunch. No one ever did.
Her friend Heather had been with her most of the day, putting encouraging thoughts into her head. She had thankfully made it through the day without her usual taunt from Blake Williams. Well, the day was not over yet.
"Hey, so, I'll see you guys at my house. We're going to have pizza and then cake, and then presents, and then who knows what else!" Rafferty smiled at her four friends in front of her. They had been there through thick and thin for her.
The one to the far right was Cynthia Nixon, she had blonde hair and brown eyes, and was slightly taller then Rafferty. They all called her Cindy because she hated Cynthia. To Cindy's left stood the bad girl of the group. She was Eliza McMillan. Eliza had died her hair jet-black. Her eyes were a really dark brown that almost looked black. When I say bad girl, I mean she cussed and smoked and drank, but she was still loved. Eliza was the one that knew Rafferty the longest.
Heather Roget stood to the left of Eliza. She was a pretty blonde that was taller then the other four girls. Her eyes were a hazel color. Her hobbies were dancing and horseback riding. Finally, to Heather's left stood the major flirt of the group Lucy Caldwell. She was a pretty brunette with green eyes. All that she thought about was boys, boys, and more boys, but she was still part of the gang, and Rafferty loved her to death, as she did all of her friends. They were like the sisters that she never had. Well, unless, you count her sister-in-law.
"Yeah, dude, I'll pick these guys up and meet you at your house." Eliza said. She had the wheels. Rafferty nodded.
"Yeah, see you guys at five!" She waved and then turned and smacked into something rock hard. She heard her four friends gasp behind her, and she knew exactly who it was.
"Jesus, O'Donovan watch where you're going." Came the deep voice that she had heard everyday of her life for the past five years. She groaned and looked up into beautiful bright, sky blue eyes. And then she backed up, and looked at Blake fully. He was by far the most handsome guy she had ever seen. If he wasn't so cruel to her, she would probably have had a crush on him.
"Sorry," she mumbled.
"Yeah, watch where you're going," an annoying voice repeated. Rafferty's eyes switched to the blonde cheerleader that was attached to Blake's arm. It was Bailey Blair the girl that had been going out with Blake since sophomore year. Blake was a jock, he played three sports: golf, football, and baseball. That's the reason for the really annoying, ditzy cheerleader on his arm. Boy how Rafferty despised cheerleaders.
"I gotta go." Rafferty mumbled again. She turned back to her friends. "See you later." She side stepped the couple and walked off. Oh how she hated her life!
By: ConstanceGosselin
Chapter 1
The loud shrill bell of the alarm clock rang through Rafferty's subconscious. She groaned and threw her hand out to punch the off button. She pulled back the covers, and set her feet on the ground. She stood and let out another groan when her bones cracked. Then, she remembered. Today was her eighteenth birthday. Unfortunately, it was on a school day, so she had to endure the drone of her teachers' voices as they lectured. She couldn't wait.
She quickly made her bed, and grabbed random clothes from her closet. Rafferty hated it. Everyday she did the same things; she would get up, make her bed, get dressed, eat, brush her hair, brush her teeth, and then go to school. She looked in her long mirror that was hanging on the back of her door. This was another thing that she did everyday, she would stare at herself for a few seconds, and think how fat she was, and how ugly she was, and how she looked so dorky with her glasses. Her auburn hair was dull, and frizzy, and her green eyes held no shine.
Well, she didn't have anything in her life to make her eyes shine. Yes, she did have a loving family that she loved to death. But that was only on her mother's side. Rafferty had stopped seeing her father when she was fourteen because of some circumstances. No, he wasn't beating her, or anything else. He was mentally abusing her, and that's the worst kind of abuse you could possibly get. He would put her down, and tell her that her grades weren't good enough. This, of course was a lie, because she got excellent grades, and in fact, she was going to graduate in the top five percent of her class. So, Rafferty had had enough of feeling depressed and long nights of crying, and she stopped going and he never made a big fuss about it.
Rafferty opened her door and padded out of her room and down the stairs. When she got to the kitchen, her mother was there, as she always was, eating her cereal. Rafferty grunted as she walked past her, and opened a cabinet to get her cereal.
"Well, good morning, sleepy. Happy birthday to you!" Her mother said way too cheerfully. Despite her sleepiness, Rafferty smiled. She loved her mother to death.
Rafferty set her bowl of cereal on the table and kissed her mother on the cheek.
"Thanks, mom," She answered.
Her mom smiled, and passed her the milk. Rafferty sat and poured the milk, spilling some on the table. She snorted.
"Ok, this is a bad sign. Everything is going to go downhill from here."
Her mother shook her head.
"You need to stop being so negative, you need to lighten up! It's your eighteenth birthday. You can get a credit card, order things off the TV, and you can be tried as an adult." Rafferty blinked.
"Thanks for the sympathy, mom." Her mother only just smiled.
"You welcome, honey." She stood and put her bowl in the dishwasher. Then she exited the kitchen and went to get ready. That's how it had been for as long as Rafferty could remember.
She quickly gobbled down her breakfast, and then went to get ready. By the time she had finished her mother was downstairs waiting to drive her to the bus stop. Before she went downstairs, Rafferty stared at herself in the mirror again.
"Well, Rafferty. This is going to be like any other day. You're going to get teased, and your lunch is going to get trampled on, and Blake Williams is going to make your life a living hell, as he has done for the past." A pause happened here as she took a moment to calculate the time. "...five years. No one is going to give a shit that it's your birthday. Except your friends. Your friends are going to be there for you, and back you up. Ok, you're ready. Let's make it happen."
She exited her bedroom, and ran down the stairs and out the front door to her mother's car.
~*~*~*~*~*~
Rafferty had been right in her assumptions. She had been teased. Her usual taunters calling her fat, or frizzy hair, or some ridiculous name like that. She had had her lunch trampled on. She had been walking down the stairs from her class, on her way to the cafeteria when she was bumped from behind, and her lunch spilled from her lunchbox and her sandwich had been squashed. No one seemed to care that they were stepping on her lunch. No one ever did.
Her friend Heather had been with her most of the day, putting encouraging thoughts into her head. She had thankfully made it through the day without her usual taunt from Blake Williams. Well, the day was not over yet.
"Hey, so, I'll see you guys at my house. We're going to have pizza and then cake, and then presents, and then who knows what else!" Rafferty smiled at her four friends in front of her. They had been there through thick and thin for her.
The one to the far right was Cynthia Nixon, she had blonde hair and brown eyes, and was slightly taller then Rafferty. They all called her Cindy because she hated Cynthia. To Cindy's left stood the bad girl of the group. She was Eliza McMillan. Eliza had died her hair jet-black. Her eyes were a really dark brown that almost looked black. When I say bad girl, I mean she cussed and smoked and drank, but she was still loved. Eliza was the one that knew Rafferty the longest.
Heather Roget stood to the left of Eliza. She was a pretty blonde that was taller then the other four girls. Her eyes were a hazel color. Her hobbies were dancing and horseback riding. Finally, to Heather's left stood the major flirt of the group Lucy Caldwell. She was a pretty brunette with green eyes. All that she thought about was boys, boys, and more boys, but she was still part of the gang, and Rafferty loved her to death, as she did all of her friends. They were like the sisters that she never had. Well, unless, you count her sister-in-law.
"Yeah, dude, I'll pick these guys up and meet you at your house." Eliza said. She had the wheels. Rafferty nodded.
"Yeah, see you guys at five!" She waved and then turned and smacked into something rock hard. She heard her four friends gasp behind her, and she knew exactly who it was.
"Jesus, O'Donovan watch where you're going." Came the deep voice that she had heard everyday of her life for the past five years. She groaned and looked up into beautiful bright, sky blue eyes. And then she backed up, and looked at Blake fully. He was by far the most handsome guy she had ever seen. If he wasn't so cruel to her, she would probably have had a crush on him.
"Sorry," she mumbled.
"Yeah, watch where you're going," an annoying voice repeated. Rafferty's eyes switched to the blonde cheerleader that was attached to Blake's arm. It was Bailey Blair the girl that had been going out with Blake since sophomore year. Blake was a jock, he played three sports: golf, football, and baseball. That's the reason for the really annoying, ditzy cheerleader on his arm. Boy how Rafferty despised cheerleaders.
"I gotta go." Rafferty mumbled again. She turned back to her friends. "See you later." She side stepped the couple and walked off. Oh how she hated her life!