A/N #1: Welcome everyone to the life of Tarren Reid. A majority of this story is told through Tarren's POV, but once in a while I might include someone else's POV.
Disclaimer I am not advertising any of the name-products I mention in this story, nor getting paid for it. I'm just using these products because it's what we normally use.
"When Two Sides Meet"
CHAPTER ONE
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I was sleeping, rather peacefully, in my nice, cozy bed when the alarm on my clock filled my room with it's annoying ringing. I instinctively turned it off and then went back to sleep. I guess about 5 minutes later, my mother came into my room and deemed herself my back-up alarm clock.
"Tarren Samantha Reid, it's already 7:20 and you have school in about half an hour. If you don't want to be late for school, then I suggest that you get up right now." My mom stated.
I rose from my bed after my mom left my room, which was practically nothing but the essentials; my bed, desk, small television, storage spaces, stereo, and a couple of my CD's. I opened my closet and took out my favorite jeans, a tank top, and a thin sweatshirt.
I know its still summer, but I hardly wear anything without a sweatshirt. It's not that I am purposely trying to perspire or anything like that, it's just that I pretty much grew up to them, as silly as that may sound.
My best friend, Anna, says I shouldn't hide myself with my baggy jeans, and my oversized sweatshirts. I do understand why she would say something like that. My body was considered attractive enough to wear those tight skirts, tube-tops, and high-heeled shoes. But the truth is, I absolutely hate wearing those types of clothes.
I find it very uncomfortable having to keep your knees together every time you sit down, and at this point of my life, I do a lot of sitting. Plus, to me, it almost seems that the purpose of a dress or a skirt to emphasize a girl's looks. I also don't find it comforting to be the center of attention. By wearing the clothes that I wear, I usually avoid any unnecessary attention.
After putting on my outfit, I looked at the full-length mirror attached to the back of my bedroom door. I was content with the clothes that I have chosen, and started to work with my hair.
I hair wasn't something to rave about. When I'm in fairly lighted room, my hair does appear black. But if I stand out in the sun or a bright room, it kind of has a brown shade to it. Anyway, I don't do anything special to it. All I do it put it in a ponytail. Now that I finished grooming myself, I gathered my backpack and walked out of my room.
I descended the stairs and entered the kitchen where my dad, mom, and my 12 year-old sister, Jeanna, were eating. Unlike the rest of my family, I'm not a breakfast eater, so I just went to the fridge, pour myself a glass of juice, and drank it. I then gathered my belongings and walked out the door to my car.
It only takes me about 5-7 minutes to get to my school, Wilmington High School. I parked my Corolla in the student parking lot and then walked into the building. The halls were filled with students, especially confused freshmen. I finally reached my locker and found my best friend Annabelle Walker, but she prefers to be called Anna for short.
I've known Anna since we were in grade school. She was a few inches shorter than my 5'8 height, and she had long blond hair with a couple of colored streaks. Today, she decided to go with purple.
If you compare me to Anna, you can easily tell which of us is more outgoing. You'd have to be blind not to figure that out. She was indeed a lot more energetic than I am. She loves people and she'll talk to anyone who can. That's what's so great about her. People can't help but like that bubbly attitude of hers. The only problem with Anna is that she is a mall rat. Her parents acquire a highly substantial income and they usually give Anna a certain amount of money each week. To some, they might consider that arrangement for someone who is spoiled, but that's not what I think.
Believe me, Anna is far from spoiled. To me, a spoiled person is someone who repeatedly asks/demands for the things s/he desires, and it is given to him/her, no questions asked.
That's not Anna. She never asks her parents for anything. At least not anything frivolous. If she really needs it, that's when she'll ask. As for the money, her parents give it to her. She doesn't ask for it. They just give her the money every week.
There were times when she would refuse to take the money, but her parents insist upon it. So when she has all this extra money to spend, she heads straight to the mall.
"Morning." I greeted as I unlocked my locker.
"Hey Tarren." Anna said, she then studied what I was wearing with a look of disapproval on her face. "Why am I not surprised that you are wearing that?"
"Because you know better than to think I would ever wear anything else."
"Seriously Tarren, one of these days I'm gonna have to rid you of those sweatshirts. I mean the least you could do is wear pants that won't require you wearing a belt to keep them in place."
"Well excuse me for being comfortable." I said as we closed our lockers. "So what class do you have now?" I didn't want to further discuss my so-called fashion problem.
"I got Chemistry with Mr. Burgon. You?"
"Calculus. I'm really glad that I got Mr. Kurishira rather than Mrs. Meiler."
"Well, I guess that's what you get when you're among the Top 10 in the class."
"Just because I have above average grades doesn't mean I get by my classes with ease. I have trouble with my subjects just like other . . ." I was about to finish my sentence when I bumped into something, actually someone.
"I'm sorry, I wasn't looking where I was . . ." I stopped mid-sentence just moments after I found out who exactly I bumped into. Standing in front of me was Ryan Miller, the acclaimed star-football/basketball player of our prestigious school.
Ryan was about 6'2, six inches taller than me. Being the accomplished athlete that they say he is, he looked quite fit. There didn't look to be any excess fat anywhere on his lean body. His face consisted of sharp, cheekbones, a straight nose, and eyes with irises that seemed to be made of the clearest green.
I first met Ryan back in middle school. Out all of the days I have met Ryan, there isn't a single day that we haven't got along. I don't know how or why, but we seem to have this natural ability to dislike each other. We were both different people. Maybe that's what made us have this somewhat bitter relationship that we have now.
"How ironic that I bump into the last person I wanted to see." Ryan said, bitterly.
"Can't say I'm happy to see you either." I said, with equal bitterness.
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Ryan's POV
I walk into school, expecting to meet and greet all of my buddies, but then I bump into someone. She was in the process of apologizing until she stopped. I knew from that moment, the voice belonged to Tarren Reid. To be perfectly frank, we hardly ever get along. I've known her since 4th grade and we have been less than friends since 4th grade. I don't know the exact reason behind our usual quarrelling, but it just happens.
We said our usual greeting to one another, and I tried to move passed her, but she always ends up on the path I choose to take.
"Why the hell are you blocking my way? Can't you just let me pass?" Tarren said irritably.
"Me? Why don't you just get out of my way? You're the one who bumped into me in the first place." I countered. Well, what I said didn't get through to her brain because we just kept that up for another few minutes. I finally had enough of that meaningless dispute and just let her pass me. I usually don't back down from a quarrel between Tarren willingly, but class was about to start in like a minute and my first class was about a 3-minute walk. As soon as Tarren passed by, I practically sprinted to my first class before I got a detention.
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Tarren's POV
Oh the nerve of that guy. How dare he thinks that he is superior enough to block my path, just because he's a basketball player. That was what I mainly thought of as I entered my calculus class. That encounter with Ryan probably just ruined the somewhat happy mood I was in, and then listening to an introduction by Mr. Kurishira probably made my already irritable mood worse. I thanked God profusely the moment the bell rang its sweet sound and officially ended the period. Now I had to deal with the rest of my classes.
I didn't think my attitude could get any worse, but of course, I was wrong. I had gone through my 2nd period class, Spanish 3, pretty easily, but my 3rd period was just a bitch. It was U.S. Govt./Economics and I had the most abhorred teacher possible, Mr. Painen. And to make matters worse I had Ryan in my class and the head cheerleader, Denise Chambers, probably the only person I detest more than Ryan.
You could definitely say Denise and I were opposites. I was a brunette; she was a blonde. I earned A's and B's, she earned C's and D's. I wore pants and sweatshirts; she wore short skirts and tight tank tops. I didn't like Ryan; she practically adores Ryan. Ever since the middle of freshman year, it wasn't a secret that she liked Ryan, but I couldn't really tell if Ryan felt the same. But why should I really care of who he likes or not? Let alone Denise. For all I care, they can just ditch class and make out in the bathroom.
Anyways, I tried my best to keep my distance from both Ryan and Denise. I didn't want to make my grouchy mood worse. But living up to his name, Mr. Painen thought it would be best that Ryan sat behind me. At that moment, I officially declared today a living hell. Now I have to put up with Ryan for the whole school year. I couldn't imagine almost 9 months of him sitting next to that pompous and arrogant jerk.
The only thing good about Ryan sitting next to me is seeing the look on Denise's face. Now don't start thinking that I was happy for her jealousy, because there is nothing to be jealous about. I'm just happy that bitch has finally got a taste of not getting what she wants. Mr. Painen then passed out our textbooks, and already assigned us homework, which wasn't really surprising from what his previous students have said.
To my relief, and probably the whole class, the bell finally rung, indicating that class was over. I dashed out of the room and headed directly for my 4th period and the last one before lunch started. My 4th period class was English 4 AP. That class brightened a portion of the dark mood I was in, which was mostly due to the fact that I had my friend Blair Gunning was in my class. He's a really sweet guy. Blair is really intelligent and humorous. He lives just a few houses down from my house, and we've been friends since we were able to crawl, so he gained the title of my best guy friend. But to my dismay, he was also a member of the basketball team and hangs out a lot with Ryan and the rest of the star jocks.
"You seem like you're having a wonderful day." Blair said sarcastically, as I took the seat next to him.
"Don't even start with me. I just want to get through the rest of the day without any more mishaps threatening to ruin this day."
"You know, you shouldn't be this mad. C'mon, this is our senior year. Our last year before we graduate. You should be excited."
"Easy for you to say. You're not the one who has your mortal adversary sitting right behind you for a full 50 minutes and for the whole school year."
"Yeah, well that's true. You do have point" I sighed at his hopeless attempt to cheer me up. But it was lifting my spirits that he was trying. "But what makes Ryan so bad? I've been playing ball with him for the past 6-8 years. He's not that bad of a guy. Sure he has some undesirable traits, but who doesn't?"
"Look, I don't want to discuss anyone or anything that associates with that name, so could we please drop it?"
"Sure. Any further discussion of Mr. Miller has just been terminated, for the day."
I shook my head at him. Blair always insists that I should stop this grudge with Ryan, but I don't see how that is even possible. The day I get along with Ryan is the day Denise and I become friends.
When the bell rang, I gathered my things and walked straight to the Snack Bar, those were for the people who didn't have lunch cards. I bought myself some fries and a fountain drink of Pepsi. The sun shining its bright golden rays in the courtyard, so I took my lunch outdoors and let my tension from the morning gradually slip away. After finishing my lunch, I just took out a book I was currently reading for fun.
I know I'm sounding a bit unsociable, but after the morning I gone through, I definitely needed some peace and quiet. That's what was really great with Anna and Blair. We know each other well enough to allow one the space they needed. I just needed this time to relax, and reading was one of the things that help me relax.
By the time the bell rang for everyone to go to their 5th period, I felt a lot better than I was during 4th period. Now to only keep it that way till my final class.
My last class of the day was physiology, which to my relief, my final class and I didn't have any people I didn't get along with. But it was still boring. I was practically watching the digits on my watch slowly go tick away.
When the final bell rang, well at least for those who only have 5 periods of class, everyone gave another sigh of relief and walked out of the door.
After class, I walked to my locker, placed all the books I wouldn't need for the night in my locker, then I walked out of the building to the student parking lot, where my car was located. I threw all of my belongings in the backseat and then drove off campus.
END OF CHAPTER 1
A/N #2: So, what do you guys think of this story so far? Do you think that it has any potential? Well, you can tell me all about it when you review, which I hope you do. I am a firm believer of your 1st amendment rights and I think you should really express what you feel. I do read your reviews, and I would really appreciate your cooperation by your honesty. Like I said, express your 1st amendment rights by saying what you want. If you have any questions or comments, I am available through e-mail or MSN Messenger. My e-mail address and SN are posted in my Author Profile. Once again, I do hope you liked my story, and I hope to hear from ya.