S.L.U.B

ONE

Kay sighed and looked down at Anna. The fifth grader was cute, that much was for sure. With her low braided pig tails and her thick glasses. It made the senior want to pinch her cheeks and pat the crown of her head. Instead she moved a piece of her shaggy curls out of her face and sighed tiredly. When did she grow a tail? Because that's what Anna tended to be at times.

Dani grinned, highly amused, her own dark hair falling easily over an eye. "So, do you enjoy being an English tutor?"

They were in the library after school. It was the only area on campus where all the grades could congregate together without anyone bothering them. Really, Dani was there to proof read one of Kay's essays, and Anna was a walker. She had seen the senior and had all but ran towards her, arms wide open.

"I do enjoy tutoring." She eyed the little girl, "Wouldn't your mom wonder where you are?"

Anna shook her head. She refused to say much else, aware of both senior girls eyes on her, and she could feel a blush staining her face with embarrassment. "She works late today."

Sighing again, Kay stood up and grabbed her satchel. "I'll walk you home. I'll see you later Trash."

Dani nodded her goodbye, chuckling to herself as she watched the eleven year old follow her seventeen year old friend out like a duckling following its mother.

TWO

Dem hated tutoring; the thirteen year old had better things to do then to have Greg explain to him what certain English terms meant. Then he noticed how Greg was actually very pretty with her short blond hair and sky blue eyes. And even though they were only a year apart, the other knew what she was talking about.

After a while he was looking forward to tutoring with the quiet eighth grader.

THREE

Courtney was caught smoking behind the gym. The ninth grader scoffed at the young eighth grader who had caught her. Shandi was in her P.E class, and the two girls rarely interacted with each other as it was due to the fact that Shandi tended to skip that class on most days. Sometimes Courtney even forgot the girl was there.

"What? You gonna tell on me?" The fourteen year old gave her junior a challenging look.

The other girl just shook her head, straight hair swishing to and fro. "I just wanted to skip science."

"You skip a lot." She took another drag of her cigarette, not even bothering to offer one to the other girl. "You're gonna fail if you keep doing that."

"And you're gonna eventually get cancer if you keep doing that." Was the unexpected response that she received.

FOUR

"I swear, I made out with like three guys last night. We went to so many different parties!" Dani grinned wickedly as she took a bite of her sandwich that she had packed for lunch.

Across from her Kay remained silent. She was still a virgin, and had only kissed maybe two people. She was a little envious of her friend, but tried her best not to show it.

Outside the cafeteria window she could make out the seventh graders switching classes. She envied them of their innocence.

FIVE

Dem let out a strangled sigh. It was after school and he was in the locker rooms with his best friend. Or, the other boy was his best friend, until he stuck his hands down Dem's pants.

He bit his lower lip and ran his hands through his hair. Sure, he had thought about doing something like this, but didn't plan on anything like this happening until he was a little older. Maybe at sixteen, and definitely with a girl. He didn't really mind this, however. He wondered vaguely if that made him gay.

SIX

Anna enjoyed recess. She knew it was her last year being allowed to run around on the playground. Once she was in sixth grade she'd be like all the other older students in the school. Too busy studying and becoming an adult.

She was excited about being part of that group of upper classmen. To be taking her first steps into that type of lifestyle. At the same time she didn't want to go. If she were go move up to the next grade, then Kay and Dani would graduate, and she'd never see them again.

That thought made her sad.

SEVEN

Greg was quiet; she mostly kept to herself when it came to a lot of things in life. Not to say that she didn't have friends. She did, but usually one could find her in the library, pretending to read while taking a catnap during her free period.

EIGHT

Shandi hated school. It was that simple. She hated their uniforms, she hated her classes, she hated being in such an establishment. She'd often times skip and hang out in the empty girls' bathroom on the third floor, behind the gym, or under the bleachers at the pool.

She'd always wanted to go up to the roof, but that's where a lot of the seniors went. She couldn't wait until she was as old as they were, so that she could work and make her own money and not worry so much about her education.

NINE

Courtney took a sharpie out from her pocket and began to write on one of the tiles in the girls' restroom. Her boyfriend had just left her for his female best friend. The ninth grader knew that she shouldn't have trusted the two of them together.

Bitterly she wrote 'CALL TIFFANY FOR A GOOD TIME' in her sloppy hand writing.

Afterwards she locked herself in a stall and cried. It felt as if her heart would never work properly again.

TEN

It was tutoring day in the library after school. Where upperclassmen would volunteer for extra credit to help a younger student, or sometimes same aged student, out with a subject that they didn't understand.

As usual, Shelby wasn't there for Courtney. But the girl showed up to make sure her paper got signed by the librarian. As proof to her teacher that she had attended. She was surprised to see Shandi there, and both girls left before the hour was up.

Dem was trying his hardest to focus on the words coming out of Greg's mouth, yet his mind continued to replay what had occurred to him mere days before. The girl in front of him was still pretty, but he was sure that he was attracted to his friend as well. He resisted the urge to cry. Life was confusing.

Anna was rewriting an essay about Teddy Roosevelt. It was something that she desperately needed help with, spelling was not her forte. Kay sat there, copying Dani's math work down while she waited for the girl to finish up in order for her to correct it.

XIVZ: I wanted to give off that vibe of adolescent hood and growing up. The characters are all based off of real people. Also, it's unbeta'd, so please ignore the errors. I hope they enjoyed reading it and take no offense! Please review.