Jaded (Rock Star Trilogy) - By Mercy Amare Page 0,3

empty seat beside him.

“Will you please tell me your name?” I pout.

“If I tell you, then you'll have no reason to eat lunch with me. So, no, I'm not telling you.” He turns his attention forward, and I roll my eyes at him.

Mr. Franks is my algebra teacher. He actually looks nervous as he teaches. I resist the urge to bang my head against my desk. Why can't everybody act normal around me?

Because you're NOT NORMAL, a voice from within reminds me.

While Mr. Franks teaches, I have a hard time concentrating. In fact, I'm thinking about the first time I met a celebrity.

I was 15 years old, and had just finished recording my debut album. I was about to go on tour with Alec Torch, and we were meeting for the first time. I actually forgot my own name! I was so embarrassed. But Alec sat me down and we had a long talk. He gave me the “I shit too” speech and I couldn't help but laugh. We've been best friends ever since. He's very down to earth for a celebrity, and really, he is the one who has kept me grounded. Trust me, it's very easy to lose yourself when people are shouting your name. I'm thankful for him.

The bell rings, alerting us that class is over, and I panic, realizing that I just dazed out for the entire period. Great... At this rate, I am still going to be repeating my senior year at age 40.

“Ready?” Thor asks.

I nod. “You know, until you tell me your name, I am going to refer to you as Thor.” I smile at the creativity of his nickname.

He stops half way to the door, and looks at me cautiously. “Why are you naming me after a Greek god?”

“Your eyes. You put Chris Hemsworth to shame. And I would know, cause I went to the movie premiere.”

“Are you real?” he asks.

“Last time I checked.” I answer with a shrug. “Why do you ask?”

“No reason.”

I follow him to my next class, which also happens to be his class. I guess I shouldn't be surprised considering how small Hope High School is.

Again, Thor sits beside me in my next class. I decide right then and there that this is going to be a long day.

11:01 am

And the blonde jokes begin...

I don't share the following class with Thor. He happily walks me to the door, and says he'll meet me by my locker for lunch.

“Goodbye, Thor,” I smile up at him.

“Goodbye, Rock Star.” He shakes his head at me as he walks away.

I enter Mrs. Borring's class, and can't help but laugh at her last name. I wonder if she really is boring.

This class is called study hall. When the bell rings, I wait for the teacher to get up or say something, but she doesn't. I watch everybody around me pull out their books.

I look at the girl next to me. She's reading a novel, and she looks really into it. I look around me to find somebody who doesn't look preoccupied. Finally, my eyes land on the guy behind me. He's got a look of amusement on his face as he watches me.

Creep much?

“Why isn't the teacher... um... teaching?” I whisper to him.

He leans forward in his desk like he's going to let me in on some mind blowing secret. “Tell me, is the blonde hair natural?”

I roll my eyes. “Either you're stupid, or you don't watch TV. Everybody knows my hair is natural.” Duh, creeper.

He smirks. “Feisty. I like it.”

I glare at him. “So are you going to tell me what I'm supposed to do, or what?”

“It's called study hall, Blondie. It's where you study.” He looks amused. “Can you even read?”

And the blonde jokes begin. “I can read just fine, thank you.”

I turn in my seat, looking forward. I already don't like this guy. I'm about to pull out my phone when I feel a pencil poke me on the back. It's sharp.

“Son of a bitch!” I yell, rubbing the spot where he poked me, and then instantly cover my mouth. “Sorry,” I apologize to the teacher and the classroom. When everybody looks back down at their work, I turn around in my seat. The boy behind me is silently laughing. “I hate you.”

He covers his heart with his hands. “That hurts.”

“Maybe you should stab yourself with the pencil next time. In the heart. That is how you kill an evil being right? A stake to the heart?”

He actually smiles, and