Yelling, crying, crashing, fighting, banging, screaming, smas-

“Malia! Pay attention!” Mrs. Kim said, snapping me back into reality

“Sorry.” I said.

“Now as I was saying, we’re leaving today to go to Springcreek so you can stay with the Kents. They already called the local school and have you registered to start on Monday” she said.

“Ya ya” I said lazily.

“Malia, they’re good, nice people, you’ll enjoy it there” replied Mrs. Kim.

Two hours later we were in the car on our way to Springcreek leaving the group home that I had only been in for a month. Eight hours into the drive I started to get antsy.

“Mrs. Kim, when are we going to get there?” I whined, and groaned when she said it would be another hour.

“Mrs. Kim. Look around there is nothing but farms and forests all around what kind of place is this! You do know that this is the kind of place where people get killed and the body doesn’t get found, and as my social worker you are not allowed to put me in any kind of dangerous situation!” I ranted.

At this point Mrs. Kim was just looking at me with a smile on her face. “Malia, it’s just a small town, you won’t die.”

“Ya well tell it to the jury.” I shot back.

The last hour of the drive I stayed quiet and stared out the window. When we started to pull through the town I couldn’t help but get nervous. I mean I’ve been to many foster homes and group homes before, but for some reason I couldn’t help but feel nervous. We finally pulled up to a small one story house and I saw two people standing outside. I stayed in the car for a minute as Mrs. Kim and the couple talked. As I finally started to get out of the car Mrs. Kim and the couple walked towards me.

“Malia, this is Susan and Daniel Kent, your new foster parents.” Mrs. Kim introduced.

“Oh Malia, it’s so nice to finally meet you. Mrs. Kim told us so much about you. Come inside and I’ll show you your room while Daniel gets your things.” Mrs. Kent gushed.

As we walked through the house towards the bedrooms Mrs. Kent was telling me where what was in town and where the best places to go to. When we stopped outside of a door she asked me if I was ready to see my room, when I nodded she opened the door and stood back so I could take a look. It was a pretty simple room.

The walls were a blue/green color, with a bed pushed in the corner. Under the window was a desk with a computer and across from it was a dresser. All in all it was really simple, but compared to what I was sleeping in at the group home, this was more than enough.

Mrs. Kent started to ramble, “We used green. Mrs. Kim said green was your favourite color. I also got some new clothes shoes for you. If there’s anything you don’t like we can easily change the room and exchange the clothes.”

I told her it was fine. Just then Mr. Kent walked in with my bags and set them down by the dresser.

“We’ll leave you to unpack while I start dinner.” Mrs. Kent said as she and Mr. Kent were leaving the room, closing the door behind them.

As I started to unpack Mrs. Kim came in to say goodbye.

“Malia, you know you can call me for anything right. I’m just a phone call away if something is wrong, and I’ll check up on you,” Mrs. Kim said.

“I know.” I replied without looking up. Mrs. Kim patted my shoulder and left.

As I continued to unpack I pulled out a photograph from when I was younger….

 

The atmosphere at dinner table was tense. The only sounds were from the utensils scraping on the plates and the sound of the thunder from outside. At the table there was a young lady, a man, and a young child. As the child reached across the table to get the salt, a cup of water was knocked over. Everything went silent as the cup hit the floor and shattered into a million tiny pieces. As the man began to rise from his seat the young lady began to plead.

“Please Charles, the child didn’t mean to. It was an accident.” She said in despair.

“Quiet Mary.” He snapped back.

As the man began to advance towards the child he said in a menacing tone “you’re going to regret that m”-

 

I was startled by a knock on the door.

“Malia darling, it’s time for dinner,” called Mrs. Kent through the door.

“Coming,” I yelled back.

After dinner I went back to my room to finish unpacking. Considering I didn’t have a lot of stuff I was done pretty quick, so I decided to go to bed early. As I was getting ready for bed I was wondering how long it was going to be before I got shipped of somewhere else. My only thought was that I shouldn’t have unpacked my stuff as I drifted off to sleep.

 

The next morning I was woken by someone gently shaking me. As I opened my eyes it took me a second to remember where I was and once I did I saw Mrs. Kent standing over me.

 “I made breakfast if you’re hungry, and I was wondering if you wanted to come to town to get some stuff with me,” asked Mrs. Kent.

“No thank you,” I replied in a sleepy voice.

After breakfast I went back to my room and decided to go on to the internet. And that is where I stayed for the rest of the weekend, through Mrs. Kent did remind me to be ready by 7:30 tomorrow for my first day of school and to get my papers from the office.

I settled into a dreamless sleep.

 

When my alarm woke me on Monday morning I lied in bed and groaned at the fact that I was starting another new school today. Looking at the clock I noticed I only had an hour and a half to get ready and eat breakfast so I quickly hoped in the shower. When I got out I dried my hair and put it up into a simple ponytail. I dressed in a pair of dark skinny jeans and a grey and white V-neck sweater, and the new shoes that Mrs. Kent bought for me. I grabbed my bag and headed to the kitchen. Mrs. Kent was already there cooking breakfast.

“Where’s Mr. Kent.” I asked

“He’s already at work. He works down in the salt mines.” She said.

As I sat down, Mrs. Kent placed a plate of eggs and bacon in front of me. Though I asked if I could have toast instead since I was allergic to eggs.

“Oh goodness dear!” cried Mrs. Kent. “I completely forgot,” she said as she switched the plate for a plate of toast.

As soon as we were done breakfast we got into the car and started the short drive to the school. As we were driving, Mrs. Kent let me know that she would pick me up after school ended. We pulled up to the school. There weren’t many people since it was still early. I thanked Mrs. Kent for the ride as I got out of the car. As I looked at the building I didn’t notice Mrs. Kent pull away. As the nervous feeling came back I just stood there and thought that my life couldn’t get worse.

2: Chapter 2

After standing still for a few minutes I made the move to walk into the school. Springcreek Collegiate Institute. I followed the signs for the office and ended up in front of a double door with office printed on it. As I opened the door I walked into a small office and saw an older lady sitting at a desk.

“Excuse me, I’m new here and my foster mom told me to come here to get my papers,” I said quietly.

“You must be Malia Keahi. Susan called about you. Here is your schedule, your locker number and a lock. I’m Miss. Williams,” she said.

“I love you name dear, it’s very nice, where is it from?” she asked.

“It’s Hawaiian,” I told her shyly. Not used to people complementing my name, but rather complaining because some people had trouble pronouncing it.

“Well it was nice talking with you,” I said as I walked out to find my first class.

“Have a nice day dear, and come by if you need anything,” I heard her yell as I walked away.

Walking through the hallways I noticed more people had arrived and some glanced at me questionably, not knowing who I was. Since I didn’t have many things with me I decided to skip finding my locker and go straight to class, Math. It took me a while to find it even with how small the school was, but when I did, the nervous feeling came back. I took a deep breath and pushed open the door.

There were only a few people already at their desks and the teacher. Two were by the window and one was sitting in the back. I glanced around the room as I walked up to the teacher and saw that the desks were arranged in pairs. When I walked up to the teacher he introduced himself as Mr. Davidson, and he was also going to be my homeroom teacher. He gave me a textbook, and the class package, and told me to sit in the third row from the back by the wall.

I sat down and glanced at the clock. Two minutes till the bell rings, starting the first class of the day. Mr. Davidson left to get something from the office as a group of boys and girls walked in. One of the girls, with short black hair came and sat next to me and took out her things. The rest of the group sat around us with the seat behind me left empty. The bell ringed, and the rest of the class filed in and took their seats but the one behind me still remained empty.

As Mr. Davidson came back in he started the class. He assigned us three sheets of quadratic formula equations to complete by tomorrow and gave us the whole class to start.

“Hey,” I heard from beside me. I turned and saw the girl with the short black hair.

“I’m Emily. Your new here right. It’s strange I didn’t hear about a new family moving to town,” she said.

“Oh it’s just me, I’m staying with the Kents while I’m in school,” I told her.

“That’s cool. Before I forget, these are my friends,” she said as she started to introduce me the group she came in with.

 “The girl with the blond hair is Michelle, the guy with a scowl on his face is Jason, and the guy with the black hair is Damion. Our other friend, his name is Wallace, but we all call him Wally, is running late today,” she said.

I looked at the people she introduced to me. Michelle had long blond hair and blue eyes with a nice complexion, nicer than mine. Jason had short brown hair with brown eyes that almost looked black. The guy she said was Damion had short black hair and hazel eyes like my own. He also gave off an air of power that set me on edge. I could tell that by the looks on their faces that they weren’t happy that Emily was talking to me. As I turned back around to face my desk I told Emily that it was nice to meet her but I wanted to get a start on my work. However Emily kept trying to talk to me even though I ignored her. I didn’t want to make any friends since I wasn’t going to be here long.

“Give it a rest Em, she doesn’t want to be your friend so stop wasting your time,” I heard a males voice say, so I assumed it was either Jason or Damion.

 Just then the door opened and in walked to most gorgeous guy I had ever seen. He had Short sandy blond hair and light blue eyes.

Mr. Davidson greeted him, told him what the work was and ordered him to take his seat. When he started to walk towards me I realised that the only free seat was behind me. As he was walking down the aisle our eyes connected and I saw him freeze and his eyes widen. He had only stopped for a mille-second before he resumed walking. However instead of going to the seat behind me he went to Emily’s side. I could hear what he was saying but when she got up and moved to the seat behind me and he sat down beside me my heart to beat faster.

“Hi, names Wallace but you can call me Wally,” he said in a voice that could be illegal.

“Malia,” I replied back.

“So where are you from,” he asked.

“If you don’t mind, I really want to get this work done,” I told him.

“Hey Wally, give it a rest, she wouldn’t even talk to Emily earlier,” someone said, but I’m assuming it was Jason again.

Wally turned around so quick I thought he was going to get whiplash. He stared hard at Jason and the group like they were having a mental conversation. After a few minutes the group got a shocked look on their face as Wally turned back around to face me. Just as he was about to say something the bell rang signaling the end of the class. I quickly gathered my stuff up and booked it from the classroom before anyone could say anything.

After I got to my second class the rest of my morning was uneventful. A few people tried to talk to me during class but for the most part I was left alone. Emily, Wally, and their friends weren’t in any of my classes so for that I was thankful. Then lunch came.

As I entered the cafeteria I went and stood in the food line while debating what I would have for lunch. Nothing really appealed to me so I just got some fries and an orange with a bottle of Dr. Pepper. After I paid for it with the money that Mrs. Kent gave me that morning I went to an empty table by the door and sat down. However, before I could start eating I heard someone call out to me.

“Malia, hey!” Wally said as he and his friends walked over to me and invited themselves to sit down.

“How’s your day so far,” Emily asked as Wally just looked at with me with a small smile on his face as everyone else started eating.

“It was fine,” I said quietly as I started to peel my orange.

“So where you from huh,” Michelle asked.

I looked at her confused and asked if she meant where I was born or where I just moved from.

“Both,” she answered.

“I was born in Hawaii but I just moved from New York,” I told them.

When Jason asked me why I left Hawaii I tried to change the subject by asking if they were all born here. As they started to talk amongst themselves I busied myself with eating my lunch when Wally interrupted me.

“So,” he asked with a hopeful look on his face, “do you need a ride home; I can drive you if you want.”

“It’s okay, Mrs. Kent is picking me up, but thank you for the offer though,” I told him.

“Well, if you’re ever stranded and need a ride just call me and I’ll come get you,” Wally said.

I knew that he was trying to get me to ask for his number so I did the exact opposite and told him that I would think about it and before he could reply I turned to Emily and started a conversation with her. The rest of lunch went by like this, with small conversations, and with everyone trying to get more information out of me but I kept changing the subject. When the bell rang Emily asked me what class I had next and when I told her that I had art with Mrs. Cole, she got excited and said she had the same class and dragged me off faster than you could say see ya.

3: Chapter 3

I love drawing. Drawing is one of the only ways I can forget about the past, at least for a while. However right now I wasn’t enjoying it as much as I would have liked. Sitting in art class with Emily was an adventure in of itself. I don’t want to sound mean but she would not be quiet.

“Watcha think of Wally,” she asked with a smile on her face.

I looked at her for a moment before I answered.

“He seems okay, why,” I asked.

“Oh no reason, I noticed that was looking at you the whole time during lunch,” she said with a sly smile.

I stopped what I was doing and looked at her. “Emily, I’m not looking for a relationship right now,” I said.

“He’s a really nice guy, and I know he really likes you,” she continued.

“Emily stop,” I snapped, but then apologized when I saw her face.

“It’s okay” she said “I shouldn’t have pushed,” she said back, then looked down.

For the first time in a while a felt bad for making someone upset, but we didn’t talk for the rest of the class and I was able to get some of my sketching done. The rest of the day went by quick and before I knew it the day was over.

 

After school I sat outside on the steps and waited for Mrs. Kent. As I waited I watched the other kids get into their cars and leave. I flinched when I felt someone behind me touched my shoulder and when they came to sit beside me I held in a sigh as I realised who it was.

Wally.

“Hey Wally,” I said, trying to be nice. For some reason I felt like I had to be nice.

“Waiting for Mrs. K?” he asked.

“Huh uh,” I said not really paying attention.

“I’ll sit and wait with you,” he said as he started to ramble on about some things he liked, like his favorite color, what music he liked, etc.

He kept asking me what I liked but I didn’t answer so he kept talking about his likes and dislikes. I felt bad that I wasn’t answering, since I could tell that he was really trying to get to know me. So when I noticed that Mrs. Kent had pulled up I called over my shoulder to him as I walked to the car.

“Wally,” I yelled.

“Ya?” he said.

“Green.” I told him, and he looked at me confused.

“My favourite color is green,” I explained as I saw his face light up with a smile that filled his face, and I felt butterflies in my stomach come alive when I saw it directed at me.

“I’ll see you tomorrow Malia,” he yelled back with a grin on his face as I got into the car and drove away.

4: Chapter 4

I let out a sigh of relief as I got into the car and buckled up. I didn’t know what it was, but there was something off about Wally and his friends. I just couldn’t put my finger on it.

“So, how was your day? Was there any problems? Did you get everything sorted out at the office? “Mrs. Kent asked as she pulled away from the school and started to drive home.

“No. Everything was fine.” I told her while looking at the scenery outside the window.

Mrs. Kent started talking about her day and what she was going to make for dinner while I was trying to figure out Wally. Growing up in the system makes you realise that everybody, no matter how nice they are, always has an ulterior motive. I had to learn that lesson the hard way.

“Mrs. Kent, Do you know who Wally is, he has short bland hair and is about my age?” I asked, trying to sound not too interested.

“He’s friends with Damion, and Jason right? She asked looking at me from the corner of her eye.

“Ya, you know him of him right? I asked again, already regretting the question from the smile that was forming and Mrs. Kent face.

“Oh, Wally, such a sweet nice boy.” she gushed out like a 16 year old girl. Then she looked right at me.

“Why do you want to know about him, do you fancy him? Oh Malia, your first day of school and already you have a budding romance.” I just sighed and looked down as Mrs. Kent went one about how nice he was and how she thought we would make a good couple. That made me snap my head up and looked at her.

“Mrs. Kent,” I said cutting her off, “no offence, but I won’t be here long enough for any of that to happen.” I said while looking back down. I looked back up as I felt the car come to a stop and looked at Mrs. Kent with a confused look on my face.

Mrs. Kent looked at me with a small frown on her face. She started to say something but I cut her off before she could start.

“No, Mrs. Kent. Don’t start. I’ve been doing this for a while and I know how things work. Everything starts out fine and I start getting close to others and then in a few months, back comes Mrs. Kim to get me and I get placed in another stupid group home while they try to find some stupid foster parents for me to stay with who don’t care about anybody but themselves and are only in it for the money from the government.” I said angrily, and before I could stop them, tears started to run down my face.

Mrs. Kent didn’t say anything for a moment while I sniffed and tried to stop the tears from falling.

“Malia, I’ll make you a deal.” Mr. Kent started to say and I looked up at her waiting for her to finish.

“Mr. Kent and I are not like the other foster parents that you lived with. We truly care about your welfare. So, if you promise to make an effort to get to know other people and interact with them and just smile more, then I will do everything I can to make sure that you stay here. And Malia, you can come and talk to me if anything is bothering you. You don’t have to keep everything bottled up inside all the time. Okay?” She finished.

I looked at her for a while and I for some reason I could tell that she was truthful and really did want to help me, and quite honestly I was tired of having to change homes every few months.

“Okay.” I said looking at her. “You have a deal.”

Mrs. Kent smiled and started up the car and started to drive again.

“Just some advice sweet heart, don’t let Mr. Kent see that you’ve been crying. He’ll go and get his shot gun.” She said with a small smirk on her face.

I couldn’t help the small laugh that came out. The ride the rest of the way home was quite, but unlike the other times, it wasn’t an uncomfortable silence. Mrs. Kent and I had a moment.

 

As we pulled up to the house, Mrs. Kent told me to go and start on my homework while she started on dinner. I ran to my room but slowed down as Mr. Kent yelled at me about no running in the house. I was about to go into my room when I heard them talking so I stayed around the corner and I kept silent as I listened to Mr. and Mrs. Kent talk. I heard them talk about keeping me hear and how Mrs. Kent had to convince Mr. Kent that it was the right thing to do. Listing to foster parents talk about me was nothing new and I figured that I would be leaving soon if Mr. Kent had any say about it. However when I heard him say that I better not bring boys home or heard go and get his shot gun and how he’s too old to deal with teenage hormones I held in a laugh. His remark about boys made him sound like an over protective grandparent. I walked into my room and plopped on the bed and stayed there looking at the ceiling till diner.

5: Chapter 5

Waking up this morning was much easier to do than the previous nights. I think knowing that Mrs. Kent was willing to fight for me had something to do with it. I took my time getting ready this morning and walking to the kitchen feeling bright eyed and bushy tailed. I greeted Mrs. Kent as I sat down and smiled as she sat a bowl of oatmeal in front of me. I started to eat but choked when she told me that she asked Wally to pick me up and drop me off today.

I looked at her with a look of panic, “what you do that for.”

“I thought you liked him. If you didn’t why were you asking question about him yesterday.”

I sighed and with a pitiful look on my face finished eating. I was putting my bowl in the sink when a knock sounded at the door. I glanced up, watching Mrs. Kent go to the door to answer it knowing that Wally was on the other side. As I gathered my stuff and walked towards them I could hear Mrs. Kent thanking him for picking me up and dropping me off. When I came into view I saw Wally smile and say his goodbyes as he led me to his car. I smiled at him as I got in and pulled on my seat belt. It was quite as he started the car and pulled out of the driveway.

“What kind of car is this?” I inquired, trying to make conversation.

“A 2009 Chevrolet Camaro,” he answered back without taking his eyes off the road.

I hummed in acknowledgement, and looked out the window.

“You’re going to have to wait after school till about 5. I have baseball practice on Tuesdays,” I looked over as he said this and silently groaned.

It wasn’t long before we pulled up to the school, and as we got out I stopped when I noticed how many people were watching us.

“Wally, everyone’s staring at me,” I squeezed out of the corner of my mouth.

This little bugger didn’t say anything but take me by my hand and practically dragged me into school.

“You need to go to your locker?” he asked.

“Hmm, no,” I said as I shook my head, while looking at him.

So we went to Math class.

We walked in and I saw his friends sitting in their seats and when they saw us, Emily, Michelle, and Damion smiled at us while Jason gave a two finger salute.

“Omg, what about this math homework Mr. Davidson assigned us. I was up late last night trying to do it but it was too hard, besides, when will I ever need to solve quadratic equations in my life,” Michelle complained while Damion rubbed in back in sympathy.”

“How about you Malia, did you find the work difficult?” Emily asked after I was settled into my seat with Wally right beside me.

“Actually it was pretty easy. All you have to do is arrange the equation in the form "(quadratic) = 0". Also, the "2a" in the denominator of the Formula is underneath everything above, not just the square root. And it's a "2a" under there, not just a plain "2". So you need to make sure that you are careful not to drop the square root or the “plus/minus” in the middle of your calculations, and remember that "b2" means "the square of ALL of b, including its sign", so you can’t leave b2 being negative, even if b is negative, because the square of a negative is a positive,” I started to trail off as I noticed the look awe they were all giving me, Jason included.

“I’m good with numbers,” I said with an awkward smile as I looked back at them.

It was silent for a moment after that.

“That amazing, I know who is going to be my partner when we get to do our tests in pairs, sorry Wally but she’s mine,” Emily rushed out with a joking tone.

I blushed as I l turned around to face the front as Mr. Davidson proceeded with roll call. Class was quite as we handed in our homework and received another set of equations for homework, and Mr. Davidson talked about Scientific notation. When the bell rang Wally stopped me from leaving with the rest of the class.

“What classes do you have next? Can I walk you there?”

I looked at him for a moment before replying.

“I have Science than Physics,” I told him.

I turned to look behind me when I heard a low whistle coming from Jason, “beauty and brains, ya don’t see that often,” he remarked with a smirk on his face.

Before I could say anything Wally stepped in front of me and had a stare down with Jason. I was going to walk away when Wally grabbed my hand to keep me in place. He stared at Jason for a few more seconds before he turned and pulled me out the room with him. Just as I noticed that there were no students in the hall, the bell rang signalling that we were late for our next class.

6: Chapter 6

I glared at Wally as he put on a cute look trying to get back on my good graces. I didn’t say anything as I tore my hand out of his and tried to walk away but he caught up to me.

“Hey, what’s wrong?” he asked catching up to me.

“What’s wrong, what’s wrong is that you made me late to class on my second day because you had to prove some macho shit. That’s what’s wrong. Just leave me alone!” I spit out as I tried to walk away again, but he wasn’t having any of it.

“I was trying to protect you from Jason.”

“I don’t need you to take care of me Wally. I can take care of myself. I was able to take care of myself back when Mr. Johnson hurt me, and I’ll be able to take care of myself in the future.” I ranted off not realising what I allowed to slip out.

Wally got eerily silent as he glared at me. “Who’s Mr. Johnson?”

“What?”

“Mr. Johnson. You said he hurt you. What did he do to you?”

When Wally asked that I froze, realising what I had said. I tried to tell him that it was nothing and to forget it but he grabbed my arms and pushed me against the wall, demanding that I answer him. I didn’t know what I was going to do until a teacher rounded the corner and came towards us.

“What’s going on here? Wally, let go of the girl,” Demanded a teacher as he came closer.

“Nothing sir, I was just going to class.” I said as I pulled away. I heard the teacher telling Wally to go back to his class and as I turned the corner I glanced back and saw Wally in the same spot still watching me. Speeding up, I walked down a flight of stairs and made it to my science class.

Taking a breath I knocked on the door and entered when I heard a voice answer. As I walked in everyone in class stopped what they were doing and turned to look at me.

 I felt like a new animal at the zoo. 

I walked up to the teacher, a middle aged man with tan skin and explained who I was. When he asked why I was late, I told him that I had gotten lost. He introduced himself as Mr. Pereira, gave me the textbook for the class and told me to sit in the third desk from the door, and he resumed his lecture on circuits.

I didn’t pay attention during class. I was too busy worrying about how I could let Mr. Johnson slip. I was only glad that Wally doesn’t know the whole story. Before I knew it class had ended and I was on my way to Physics. I didn’t run into Wally or his friends I the hallway, but I felt like someone was watching me but whenever I turned around I didn’t find anyone, plus the hall was full of students.

Physics was boring for the most part, but at least Mr. Charles was entertaining to listen to. I did meet at girl named Amy, who invited me to sit with her friends at lunch which I agreed to right away. I don’t know what I would have done if I had to sit with Wally’s group. Talking with Amy made the time go by fast and our only homework was a question sheet on radioactivity.

Walking to the lunch room, Amy was looking at my schedule, seeing if we had any other classes together which we did. Biology and Chemistry. As we entered the lunch room Amy guided me over to a table that had three people already. Sitting down, Amy introduced them as Megan, Chelsea, and Susan, and we started talking.

“How old are you?” Susan asked.

“16,” I answered.

Megan looked at me and asked how a 16 year old was in the 12 grade and when I told them that I skipped a grade, they congratulated me at how smart I was.

The truth is, I never really skipped a grade. I’m supposed to be in grade 11. When I was transferring to my last school because of a new group home I had told the school that the last school bumped me up, but the papers got lost in the move. I was lucky they believed me. My plan is to get school over with as soon as possible so I could go to College and get out of the system.

As lunch came to an end I realised that my last class was Art with Emily, and that my ride home was Wally.

History passed by too quickly for my liking and then came Art. Walking in I looked over to where I sat yesterday I saw Emily look up and smile, but her smile fell when I walked to a different seat. I ignored her, and worked and my drawing which was starting to come together. The shapes of streets and rundown buildings were starting to come together. Looking up and seeing the time I started to pack up so I would be able to be the first person out and not run into Emily.

The second the bell rang, I bolted out of my seat and dashed out the door, but I came to a halt when I saw Wally leaning against the wall. He didn’t say anything as he grabbed my hand and pulled me to my locker to get my stuff. During History it had started to rain so his Baseball practice was cancelled. Once I had gotten my stuff that I needed I was pulled to his car and once I got in he pulled out of the parking lot and started the drive back to my house. I could tell just by the look on his face that he was still upset about what happened in the hall.

Everything was silent until he asked why I didn’t sit with them a lunch. I looked at him as I told him about Amy. He was silent again until he brought up what happened in the hall, but not in a way I expected. Gripping the steering wheel he told me that no matter what happens, if I ever need help or someone to talk to that he would always be there.

I smiled and thought how sweet that was, which I told him, and when I reached over and patted his hand as a silent thank you, I saw his body relaxed as he let out a deep breath. It was silent the rest of the way to my house. I spent the time thinking about how sweet Wally was to me even after I had yelled at him and tried to think of a way to make it up to him when I thought of an idea. When we pulled into the driveway, he finally looked at me and asked if I wanted him to pick me up and drop me off again tomorrow. I smiled at him and told him that I would appreciate that. Before getting out of the car I turned and asked him if I could come and watch one of hi practices. I figured that since Wally wanted to be around me all the time that this would be a perfect way to make it up to him.

Seeing a smile light up his face I knew I was right.

Leaning over across the console I did something that I haven’t done in 3 years. I hugged someone.

As I hugged him I felt his arms come around me and his face by my shoulder, and all I felt was warmth, and heard his slow heartbeat as I rested my head on his chest. I whispered that that was sorry for yelling at him and I felt his arms tighten a bit as he told me that it was okay. I didn’t want the hug to end, but I pulled away.

I smiled at him as I got out and hurried to the door to get out of the rain. Once I was inside I heard him pull away.

Taking off my shoes and hanging up my coat I was stopped on the way to my room by Mr. Kent watching TV. He told me that Mrs. Kent was at a bridge game with her friends and that won’t be back till later, but there was frozen dinners in the freezer if I was hungry.

As I continued to my room Mr.Kent stopped me again and without looking away from his show told me that there is going to be no hanky panky in his house, and I blushed, knowing he saw the hug in the car. I was quick to assure him that nothing like that would be happening, and I rushed off to my room.

Dropping onto the bed on my back, my mind wandered back the scene in the hall…

 

Mr.  Johnson, please don’t.

Quiet you little bitch, before someone hears.

If you do this I’ll tell Mrs. Johnson.

She won’t believe you. Now stay still and I won’t be as rough

Mr. Johnson, please no.

What did I say, uh.

No, no ,no Mr. Johnson, no.

Ahhhhhhhhh-

 

I remembered waking up in the hospital with a stab wound to my chest which scared. Apparently one of the neighbours heard and called the cops, and in an effort to keep me quit Mr. Johnson stabbed me.

Mrs. Kim was there when I woke up and told me that Mr. Johnson was arrested and I was going to be placed in a new foster home after a few days in the hospital.  I was 13.

Rolling over in bed, I reached down and pulled the covers over me and fell into a dreamless sleep.

7: Chapter 7

Waking up I was hungrier than usual which was probably due to the fact that I had missed dinner. I got up and dressed and went out into the kitchen. Mrs. Kent was cooking breakfast which I ate twice as much as I usually do.

“Sorry I couldn’t cook diner yesterday, I got back pretty late.”

“It’s okay,” I said while stuffing food in my mouth.

“Do you need me to drive you to school?”

“Hmm, no. Wally’s got me,” I said, not noticing the sly look on her face.

After I finished eating I got my shoes on and I heard a car honked from outside. I said goodbye as I ran out to the car and smiled at Wally as I got in, and he smiled right back at me.

“Do you have baseball practice today?”

“Probably, since it was cancelled yesterday, why?”

“Would it be okay if I watched? You wouldn’t mind?”

“I would like nothing more.” Wally said with a soft tone while glancing at me out of the corner of his eye.

I looked down trying to stop the blush forming on my face. The car ride was a comfortable silence with idle chit chat about what we liked and hobbies.

As we walked to my first class Wally had pulled my bag of my shoulders and was carrying it for me. Coming up to my Biology class Wally asked if I wanted to sit with him at lunch. My programed response was to say no but I told myself that I would try this time so I accepted. When I told him so, he smiled and before I could stop him, leaned down and pecked me on the cheek then took off to his class. I stood still and faced my hand to my cheek and could feel the tingle and heat from my blush and the butterflies in my stomach. I didn’t noticed the other students walking around me to enter the class but the teacher telling me that I should take my seat before I’m marked late snapped me into motion.

When art class came around I made plans to apologize to Emily for the way that I had acted. When I entered the class Emily was already there but unlike Yesterday, she didn’t look up at me. Walking over I rehearsed what I would say and hoped she accepted my apology.

“Emily, I would like to apologize for the way that I acted towards you. You were only being nice and I was acting like a brat. I’m sorry if I hurt your feelings. You don’t have to forgive me if you don’t want to but I wanted to let you know,” I finished and before I could walk away I had to steady myself as Emily launched herself at me in a hug and ranted how she already forgave me and told me to sit next to her.

Art went by quick talking to Emily, who tried to get me to talk about Wally and our relationship and the kiss in the morning. When I questioned how she knew she told me that everyone knew and it was going around the school that we were a couple.

When class ended, we walked out and while I was putting my sketch pad in my bag I was nudged by Emily who pointed across the hall at Wally. I smiled at him as he came up to us and took my bag from me but the smile turned into a glare at Emily as she giggled and mentioned how she would leave and give us privacy.

Wally laughed as he took my hand and led me towards the back doors of the school.

“Do you have to buy lunch?”

“No. Where are we going?”

“I thought it could just be us for lunch.”

“Ok.”

I couldn’t stop blushing and think how sweet he was being. We ended up sitting on the bleaches by the field. We talked and ate while I scrolled through his iPod and played the games on it. When lunch was over we walked back into the school and Wally walked me to Study Hall.

“I have practice after school.”

“That’s fine, I don’t mind.”

“K, I’ll pick you up after History?”

“Ya. Oh, here’s your IPod back.”

“Keep it; you can give it back to me later.”

“Are you sure?”

“Positive.”

I reached up and gave him a hug and felt him hug me back. When he pulled away he gave me back my bag and with a smile was off to his class. I walked in to the room but before I could take a seat the teacher called me to speak to him. I noticed it was the same teacher that came to my rescue in the hall yesterday.

“You are Malia right?”

“Yes.”

“You’re in the 12 grade but haven’t taken the SAT’s yet. The school year is almost over. Do you have plans for College?”

“Ah, ya, I want to do Chemistry.”

“Then you should think about taking them soon, the sooner the better. If you want I can talk to your homeroom teacher to arrange the test for some time next week.”

“I would appreciate it thank.”

“Stop by after school, I have the study package if you want it and College Packages”

“Ok.”

After that I went to an empty seat and tried to work on my homework from yesterday and today but I got distracted playing the games on Wally’s IPod and listening to his music.

At the end of the day I came out of History and met Wally at my locker. Before he was able to drag me off I told him that I had to see Mr. Zivko for a SAT study package and College booklets. He got this weird look on his face and gave me a tight lipped smile and led me the teacher’s office.  After getting the packages from the teacher Wally told me to meet him at the baseball diamond while he changed.

Waiting for Wally on bleachers, I was looking through the College booklets trying to decide which school to pick. I was so engrossed that I didn’t notice a guy come up to me.

“Hey, you’re the new girl huh?”

“Mmh, my names Malia. What’s yours?”

“You can call me James baby doll.”

“Don’t call me baby doll.”

“Don’t be like that, come on,” he said gabbing my hand.

“Let go,” I said, now standing up.

“Hey, I said don’t be like that you bitch!”

“The lady said to let her go, so I suggest you let her go,” a new voice interrupted.

“Wally!” I couldn’t help the sigh of relief that I let out when I saw him standing there in his practice clothes.

“Stay out of this Collins, this is between me and the bitch.” The so called James argued back.

I don’t know what happened but in a split second I saw my fist colliding with his nose then pain in my hand.

I stood in shock at what I did while Wally picked James of the ground and shoved him off with blood running down his face. I looked at Wally as I felt him pick up my hand that I socked James with.

“Nothing looks broken, but I’ll go get ice for you so it doesn’t swell, you’ll still have some bruises though,” Wally said before taking off to get me the ice.

I sat there looking at my hand and cursed at myself for using my drawing hand. I looked up as Wally came back and placed a bag of ice on my hand and I smiled in thanks at him.

“Will you be alright while I practice?”

“Go, I’ll be fine.”

I watched as he walked to the baseball diamond and went back to looking at the different Colleges in the area. Without a doubt I would have to apply for student aid and all the scholarships I could, and should start this weekend. I sorted through the schools that had good science programs and was left with; The University of Notre Dame, DePauw University and University of Chicago.

I stood and gathered my stuff as practice finished and Wally came towards me.

“Here, you can go sit in the car if you want,” he said as he handed me his car keys and walked back into the school.

I walked to the parking lot and turned on the car and climbed in and waited. Looking at the car I came to the decision that it was a nice car and that I wanted to drive it and that’s what I asked when Wally came arrived. I climbed into the driver’s seat while Wally sat in the passenger side and showed me where everything was. I slowly pulled out of the parking lot and onto the main road and slowly speed up to the speed limit.

“What’s your school mascot?” I asked while not once taking my eyes off the road.

“Wolves, The Springcreek Wolves,” he answered with a hint a pride.

It was quite for a moment.

“So, College,”

“Ya, are you planning on going?”

“Taking over the family business.”

“Really? What is it?” I asked but he changed the subject by asking what Colleges I have picked.

“It’s down to Notre Dame, DePauw, and Chicago.”

“You don’t think those are kinda far?

“No not really.”

I don’t know if it was the talk about College, but Wally got really quite and looked out the window the rest of the way to my house.

Pulling up, I put the car in brake and got out the same time as Wally. I waited by the driver’s side for him to come over. Once he was near I launched myself into his arms and gave him a hug and heard him chuckle as I thanked him for letting me drive.

“Anything for you,” he said as I pulled back and pecked me on the cheek.

I smiled and walked in the house and heard him drive off. During dinner that night we mostly talked about College and the SAT test. They told me that they would help any way they could. After dinner we watched TV for a bit before I went to my room to finish some homework before bed. When I went to bed, I fell asleep with a smile and thoughts of Wally.