Abandoned by Abigail Livinghouse (distant reading txt) 📕

back with wild volume. Her eyes were such a shocking dark green, so different from his dull jade ones. She was tall, most girls didn’t reach up to his shoulders, and she had a very slim build.

 

Another thing was that she barely paid any attention to him. Even when he talked to her it seemed like she was only half listening. She walked around with her chin up, looking no one in the eye when they addressed her, a nice chip on her shoulder. Another nice thing was that she didn’t seem to like him at all.

 

Girls he talked to tried to flirt with him and go out with him. He usually charmed them just for fun and didn’t really go out with each of them more than once.

 

Now, Rick Lenard wasn’t a player. He was a really nice and funny guy. He was the kind of guy that people instantly liked and wanted to hang out with. But Tessie, she seemed to completely hate him, which only made him like her even more.

 

It would be nice to have a friend who was a girl but not a girlfriend. He didn’t have many of those. Even though she didn’t like him, he would still be her friend.

 

       Tessie wasn’t the kind of person who made friends that often. The friends she had had at her old school were old elementary school friends that she had kept ties with over the years and stayed on pretty good terms with through high school. She hadn’t planned on making friends at her new school, she really didn’t want to. She figured she’d just sit under some tree with good shade from the hot sun at lunch and then coast through the rest of the day, maybe skipping one of her more boring classes like biology or French, which she didn’t understand half the time anyway.

 

But Rick was actually a pretty nice guy, and she kind of liked him a little. He wasn’t all that annoying, it was easy to tune him out when he talked, and he was pretty funny when she actually listened to him.

 

Right now he was showing her to her gym class, which was one of the classes she knew she would pass. Just because her grades were lame when it came to academics doesn’t mean she couldn’t kick some serious ass in dodge ball.

 

“Here it is. There’s the girl’s locker room and I think you can figure out the rest.” Rick said, pointing to a door with a tiny rectangle of a window.

 

It looked like she was early, since no one was in the halls yet and the first bell hadn’t rung. She nodded.

 

“Thanks. I’ll see you later.” She walked over and gripped the handle to the locker room door.

 

“Actually”, Rick said, causing her to turn. “I have this class with you. So, I’ll see you out on the floor.”

 

He opened the door to the boy’s locker room, casting her a taunting glance, “Today’s dodge ball, good luck.” He teased, giving her a wink before ducking into the locker room.

 

Tessie’s lip turned up. Whacking some high school snobs with hard rubber balls. This was going to be a good first day.

Chapter 24

The gym uniforms consisted of a gold tank top and baggy blue shorts. Tessie wore her tennis shoes while other girls whined about not being able to wear their strappy sandals or stilettos. She snorted. This was high school for crying out loud, and these chicks acted like they were preparing for the runway, or the corner.

 

While they all filed into the gym, which was a large area with thirty foot ceilings and scuffed wood floors, the girls around Tessie whispered. She caught bits and pieces of the conversations as she passed them.

 

“ . . . yeah, the new girl.”

 

“Did you see the way she dressed?”

 

“Looks like a slob to me.”

 

“Dropout? Yeah, probably.”

 

“I bet ten bucks she won’t last the week.”

 

“You think she’ll get kicked out?”

 

“Or start a fist fight and get expelled.”

 

“She looks pretty pissed off most of the time.”

 

Tessie moved away from those girls, then another group moved up near her. “–Don’t know about you, but I’m staying away from her.”

 

Tessie snickered, falling back so that she was alone. Stuck up rich girls, which translated to her as big time bitches. Ah well, this was high school after all.

 

The boys came into the gym next, Rick grinned at Tessie when he caught sight of her. She nodded in his direction. Since the boys’ coach was absent, the only coach that was here was Coach Lessor, who couldn’t have had a more appropriate name with less than most hair, the lights shining off his bald head, and a less than attractive build, with a large gut strained against his T-shirt.

 

He blew his whistle. “Alright kids”, he barked much too loudly, his voice echoing unpleasantly in the large space. “Split into four teams and let’s get to throwing some balls!”

 

 A few kids snickered but Tessie ignored them. She moved into a team with mostly guys, ignoring the teams of bottle blonde girls. Rick was on her team, and he came over to her, grinning.

 

“Hello”, he said giddily, she half-smiled. “So, what do you think of our fine school system so far?” He asked, spreading his hands wide at the scratched floors and water stained ceiling. Tessie laughed.

 

“It’s very fine. Are we having quail and biscuits for lunch? Or steamed salmon? Maybe even baked Alaska for desert.” Tessie said. Rick laughed loudly.

 

“Most certainly, madam.” He tried on a ridiculous British accent, causing her to laugh harder. She shoved his shoulder playfully.

 

Coach Lessor’s shrill whistle sounded, and with it, a raining of rubber fury came their way. Tessie pushed Rick away, ducking in the process and falling to the ground on her knees. She grabbed a red ball, getting into a crouch position and looking for a good target. She found one, aimed, and then hurled it at a tall spray tanned girl who was busy examining her manicure. It slammed her in her gut, and she doubled over, gasping.

 

“You’re out!” Coach Lessor shouted, giving a little tweet of his whistle.

 

The girl gave Tessie a vengeful glare before hobbling off to the bench. Tessie laughed, grabbing a green ball out of the hands of a fidgety freshman.

 

“Hey!” He shouted in protest just before a ball smashed into his face, promptly causing blood to gush out of his crooked nose. He howled in pain, covering his wound with his hands.

 

The coach blew his whistle again. Oh how she wanted to grab that thing and throw it at a bottle blonde just like she had with the dodge balls. “

 

Time out!” Coach Lessor shouted. “Rick, Jamie, take Kyle to the nurse.” He said, gesturing to the whimpering boy.

 

Rick sighed, dropping an armful of rubber balls he had been holding. One bounced off Tessie’s leg.

 

“Poor little freshman”, she muttered.

 

Rick snorted. “You’re not the one who has to lug him to the nurse’s office.”

 

She shrugged, grabbing a blue rubber ball and taking aim at a girl who very much resembled Barbie, with a slutty twist.

 

“Have fun.” Rick said, slinging one of Kyle’s arms over his shoulders while Jamie took the other.

 

       The game was moderately less interesting without Rick there. Tessie took out most of the fake blonde team, then the posers, but she didn’t bother hitting more than two of the Goths. It was amusing to be on the cheerleaders’ hit list, but she didn’t need a druggie or crack head on her tail.

 

When the game was over and she was back in her ordinary clothes, it was time to head to chemistry, or better yet, to skip chemistry. Not that she wasn’t in the mood for a nap, she’d rather nap at the nurse then fall asleep in class and wind up with a detention on her first day. She was on her way down the hall after the bell had rung, making everyone who wasn’t in class late, when footsteps echoed down the hall. She sighed, stopping. If she was caught by some obnoxious teacher then she would be given a detention anyway.

 

“Hey, Tessie wait up!” She was glad to hear Rick instead of any staff member.

 

He bounded up next to her, grinning. “Are you skipping on the first day of school? I’m impressed.”

 

She rolled her eyes. “Speak for yourself. What are you doing in the halls and not in class Mr. Goodie Goodie.”

 

He snickered. “Ha ha. Who said I was so good? Where are you headed?”

 

She shrugged. “Nurse. I heard she’s a real pushover. I figure I’d be able to catch up on my sleep.”

 

His grin widened. “I like your style. But I know a great joint down the street. Serves the best burgers in Chester. You up for it?”

 

Tessie smiled mischievously, eyeing the glowing exit sign just above the door a few feet down the hall from them. “I’m up for anything.” 

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Publication Date: 12-23-2013

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