Chapter 1

love stories

Cammi walked into school and looked for the boy she’d seen every day of her life since the sixth grade. She found his cropped sandy blond hair in the crowd of freshmen, sophomores, juniors, and seniors shoved into the narrow hallway. She found him showing someone how to open his locker, forever the nice guy she thought. Oh, right, there was a new kid supposed to come this year. In a town as small as this every bit of news spread like a wildfire. The drama was also ridiculous, but of course the reality T.V show producers wouldn’t be able to find us on the map. She studied the back of the new kid’s head. It was covered in medium brown hair; it was wavy and curled a bit at the nape of his not too thick and not too thin neck. She walked up and planted a kiss on Jeremy’s cheek.

“Hey babe,” He said.

“Um, Alex you said? This is my girlfriend Cammi.”

Alex turned to face her, “Hi,” he shot a dazzling smile at her. Whoa. Alex was HOT! Okay, okay, okay! I am taken I am in a relationship banish all thoughts of what his amazing abs look like UNDER that tight T-shirt. Jeremy doesn’t have abs… SHUT UP!

Cammi collected her thoughts, “Hi, I’m the student body president; I hope you join some clubs or something, you’ll meet more people and get used to our school faster.” She shot her own smile at him. She seen something in his clear grey eyes after that smile that she just couldn’t place. Agapé… She’d heard it in English class it was Greek or something… but she couldn’t remember what it meant… Probably agape like mouth open, people didn’t usually think she was the student body president type, what with her black hair and electric blue eyes, people thought she should trade places with Demi, the blonde haired, hazel eyed… Goth chick. The bell rang as Alex slammed his locker shut, and hesitated with his hand on it, showing Cammi his muscles. Holy crap…

As she hooked her arm through Jeremy’s she turned back and said, “I hope we can be friends!” He looked after her, eyes drifting to her plaid mini skirt. She let him look as she left.

 

Raina

 

“You have it bad.” She said to the hot new guy.

“Have what?” He replied in his poetic voice.

“You’re in love with Camille-Rose Marie Amora.” She said watching his eyes watch Cammi’s swinging black curls disappear.

“C’mon, we have the same first class.” She added as he protested. She grabbed his hand and tossed her red hair over her shoulder. She pulled him to AP history. Hm, a boy with a brain, that’s new, well I guess not, Will was smart. Will was the boy who sat in front of her in this class; she usually cheated off of him. They enter the room looking winded from the run. People giggle. Everyone thought they were making out. Let them. She thought to herself. Raina’s best friend Ashley passed notes to her.

Nice Job scoring the new guy, he’s gorgeous.

She didn’t object instead she just replied, Thanks, any boys you’ve got your eye on this year?

Mr. Tware came and crumpled the note, but not before reading it out loud and Ashley shook her head. Alex looked at Raina from his seat next to her bewildered, she winked and he smiled. Raina spent the rest of the class staring at the back of Ayla’s twin (weirdo) brother’s head. She zoned out as she studied Will’s light brown curls. His ears were a little sticky-outy, but they made him look like a little elf, it was sort of cute. Like the four year old boy you’re babysitting kind of cute, not Alex cute. Those curls! They looked like so much fun, she could barely resist the urge to grab one and pull, see if it would spring back.

 

Demi

 

Demi pulled down the long sleeves of her red sweater, there was a fresh scar from last night and she didn’t want anyone to see it. If only he hadn’t done this to her in those glorious 9 weeks at summer camp. He loved her, or so she thought, until she caught him laughing with his friends, about her! She had called home that night and begged to be taken home, her rich parents, who would never deny her anything, conceded and came within the hour. She hoped she would never have to see his sorry face ever again. Her face turned red with a mixture of the effort to hold back tears and anger. Her tiny hands clenched into tinier fists as she stalked the halls, her skinny feet slipping out of her black flats. She was so small; no wonder he could hurt her so easily. She walked straight into a solid wall of muscle as she imagined all the terrible things she would do to him if she saw him again, things she’d never had dreamed of if she was the former Demi.

“Watch it!” She said in the most menacing tone her high voice could muster. She looked straight up into the tall boys clear grey eyes. She’d know those eyes anywhere…

“Alex!” She exclaimed lapsing into old Demi mode.

“Demi?” He said, “What happened at camp? I came to see you that night in your cabin, we’d been planning to, you know, and you weren’t there! Your friends said you had left but would tell me why! What happened?”

“Oh don’t play dumb with me!” She snapped, “I heard you talking to your friends that day! ‘She’s so tiny! She’s like a skinny oompa loompa!’ ‘Dude, you probably won’t even fit tonight!’ they said and then you laughed! You said such awful things about me! Now look what you make me do!” She then did two things the new Demi would never do. Ever. She rolled up her sleeves and cried in front of someone. He recoiled in disgust at the angry red lines on her wrists.

“Oh.” He says.

“’OH’ THAT’S WHAT YOU HAVE TO SAY? DO YOU KNOW WHAT YOU DID TO ME? I CURLED UP IN A FETAL POSITION FOR THREE DAYS, I DIDN’T EAT, I DIDN’T SLEEP,WHAT MADE ME GET UP WAS THE PAIN FROM THE LACK OF WATER. I fainted on the kitchen floor after I took one sip of water and when I woke up, I turned into what I am now. Goth.” She gestured to her red and black outfit.

“Oh.”

 

 

Nikole

 

“And just one more pluck…” Nikole’s best friend Jamie’s tongue poked out of the corner of her mouth.

“Are you sure that this was worth ruining my perfect attendance for?” Nikole asked worriedly.

“Of course! It’s only school, you aren’t missing much.” Jamie replies as she rips the last eyebrow hair out of Nikole’s face. Nikole wished she had gone with waxing.

“You FINALLY got your braces off! It deserves a new you!” Jamie spun Nikole around in the chair and Nikole screamed. Her silvery-blonde hair was silky straight and according to Jamie it would be until January. Her green eyes popped and her eyelashes were practically one solid bar of mascara, but not w***e-ish. Her lips looked full and shiny and colored carnation pink.

“Wow.” Nikole breathed. Jamie beamed in her signature I-told-you-so face.

“Now, C.J will be home in uh, five seconds,” Jamie said looking at her watch “So go out into the hall, drop the mail and pretend to be picking it up! GO, GO,GO!” Jamie pointed towards the door of Nikole’s apartment dramatically. Nikole raced to the door and grabbed the envelopes and drops them. They stay in a perfect pile! She heard footsteps coming up the stairs and she kicked them around with her feet. Her hands shook as she bent over to pick up her mail.

“Miss, why are you picking up Nikole’s mail?” C.J asked. Nikole looked up.

“Oh my God! Nikole! I didn’t even recognize you,” Without looking away from her face he bowed to pick up her mail for her, jean jacket rustling.

“So I’ve been meaning to ask you this for a while, but um, I was wondering if you wanted to go out tonight? I know its short notice, but I chickened out yesterday… and the day before... And the week before…” He rambled. Nikole’s face lights up in a grin.

“Yeah!” She replied a little too enthusiastically.

 

Jamie

 

            My little girl’s all grown up! Jamie thinks as she walks to her apartment. At least Nikole’s happy. She thought. She opens the creaky door of her apartment.

            “WHO’S THERE?” Her drunken father bellowed. This is why she never had friends over! Her father got up and stumbled over, hand raised. He recognized her, she knew, but he was still going to hit her… and more.

            After her father was done Jamie trembled cold and naked on the cold linoleum floor, waiting for her mother to come help her clean up. After her dad threw up and passed out on the couch her mom picked her up, after these things Jamie usually couldn’t walk. She runs the hot water in the bathtub and settles Jamie down, washing off the blood and other things while Jamie shook in terror. Everyday, you’d think she’s get used to it. She never could. Her mother sang to her to calm

her down and then dressed her in pajamas and let Jamie sleep.

            That night, Jamie had nightmares, per usual. But in one dream family friend Jack was there. And that made it better.

 

Author's Note

I've never written in thrid person before, so bear with me :)