Chapter 1
"Don't forget to stub your toe, Erin!"
The voice from a student rang through the hallway, landing with smug precision. A ripple of laughter followed. Erin didn't even flinch at first. She had heard it a million times before, same joke, different hallway. Her reputation for smashing her toes against desks, chairs, even flat air had become a running mockery. Erin, the girl who could trip over the concept of space itself. She was well known and she had been given many nicknames over the years, but one of them stood out the most, The Stub Queen. One might even think she was cursed
On a normal she would have let it go. Rolled her eyes and kept walking like it didn't bother her. But today? Today wasn't usual. Today she was pissed, hungry, and already one sarcastic comment away from shoving someone into a locker.
She stopped mid-step, turning around with an unbothered expression, she flicked up her middle finger and flashed a deadpan smile. "At least my toes are getting banged constantly. Can't say the same for you, Lisa."
Gasps and laughters followed. The stunned look on the other girl's face was priceless, she stood frozen like she'd just been slapped with a wet hot towel in public. Her stance didn't even bother hiding their amusement. Even her friends who were backing her up in belittling Erin had turned their backs on her, tuning into the laughter.
Erin turned back grinning to herself. It was petty, sure. But a win was a win. Eventually, the school bell rang. It was now 8:30 AM. Time for English.
Erin stopped in front of her classroom door and stared at the plaque beside it. Room 2B, Mrs. Stefan. She sighed as her hand hovered near the doorknob, but it didn't move. Rather, she contemplated on whether she should go in or not. Finally, she spun, muttering under her breath, "Screw it,"
She wasn't going in. Not today, and It wasn't that she was the kind of girl who skipped classes for fun. No, in fact, she usually wasn't. She got decent grades, she knew how to handle herself, she didn't exactly blend in but didn't care to either. The problem was that tomorrow was her parents' visitation day.
The same parents who had dumped her off like a borrowed umbrella the moment she was born. No explanations. They just handed her off to her aunt and vanished. Once every 365 days, they reappeared, the came with gifts and other things, like nothing had happened.
All through her life, she demanded answers, from her aunt who refused to divulge any information and to her parents who were odd. She would confront them, eyes teary, voice cracking, but all they did was smile like robots and tell her that everything would be okay.
Eventually, Erin didn't cry over it anymore. That was years ago. Now, she just simmered. Bitterness wasn't a flavor she acquired, it was poured into her bloodstream at a young age. But the resentment was still there. Burning brighter and hotter as each day draws closer to July 12th, her birthday, and also the day her parents would come.
She sat on the bench outside the school's main doors scrolling through her phone, not really reading anything. Her brain couldn't hold focus. She hated being idle. She hated when her emotions slowed her down and it made her ssoft. She had been sitting fir the better part of 20 minutes and now, she was already bored.
With a grunt, she stood, slinging her bag over her shoulder and marched back inside. Time to stop sulking and get it over with. Go to class, go to another class…then another. Then go home and face reality.
She reached the classroom again, this time forcing herself to take deep, slow breaths. "Focus," she whispered. "Don't let her bait you. Just play the game."
She was referring to Mrs. Stefan.
She stepped into the room and almost instantly, every pair of eyes turned toward her like she was a late-night show they'd been waiting for. Mrs. Stefan gave her a tight smile. Erin muttered something inaudible under her breath, because she knew what was coming next. Trouble.
"Miss Thorne. Care to explain why you're late?"
"I had a little trouble at home," Erin replied.
Mrs. Stefan raised a brow. "Really? Did you go go home?"
"Well I uh…I—"
Mrs. Stefan abruptly stopped her from finishing her sentence. "Because I'm quite sure I saw you standing outside that door at exactly 8:31 AM. Just staring. If anyone asked me, I'd say you were contemplating on whether you should step in, or not." She stated like a de
Erin clenched her fists. Her eyes sharpened "I… had a thing to take care of."
"What thing? A 'thing' isn't an answer. It's not even a thing." She said provocatively. "Ditching class isin't I your best interest, Thorne. And lying about isin't in your best interest either."
It was very obvious, she was trying to get a rise out of Erin and being questioned like that certainly didn't sit right with her, the pressure she felt about her parents visiting was also getting to her and eventually it did. She snapped.
"Could you, like, get off my back and mind your FUCKING business for once?"
Gasps echoed within the classroom, some already had their hands covering their mouths in shock, like they had just witnessed a horror scene in real life.
The word came out before she could stop it. She knew it, the second the word left her mouth, it was over. Swearing in front of a teacher was the equivalent of setting the school on fire.
"Detention. Today. After school."
Erin just stood there, breathing hard. She didn't say anything. There was nothing left to say. She exhaled sharply, then walked toward her seat with the slow, exhausted resignation of someone who knew their day had just officially gone to hell.
How bad could it get exactly..?