Life Of A Bitch

27

"Hey," Alz tries to snatch the cigarette out of my fingers. "We're entering school now. Throw that away. And besides, I thought you didn't like smoking." 

"I don't," I answer, pulling into the parking lot. "I just need the the ash."

Alz scrunches up her face in confusion and walks out of the car. "You seriously are weird," she snaps and slams the door, walking away.

I get out of the car and crush the cigarette on the ground. Then, carefully picking up the ash and putting them into a plastic ziplock bag, I close the door and walk towards the building.

Stephanie joins me as I enter the building and I hand her the packet. She nods and we part ways.

I enter the hall and see that she does too in my peripheral vision. I see her walking at a brisk pace, emptying the contents of the packet on her fingers. I smile, heading towards my locker. I take out my Chemistry binder and turn around, only to see Stephanie colliding with Callaghan with such force that she makes her fall down. Callaghan winces and Steph helps her to her feet. Then apologising, she gets out of her way and walks down the hall. Her eyes meet mine and we smile: this was really easy.

I turn around and pretend to take out a pencil out of my locker. Stephanie arrives at my side and I know it's the moment. I turn around and see Brandon kissing Callaghan. My insides don't burn as they used to: I don't like him. But she does. And I'll love what will be happening any moment.

Brandon takes her hand and they start walking to their lockers. He takes his hand away from hers to scratch his nose and stops walking.

"Callaghan's asking him what's wrong," Stephanie informs me as Brandon looks suspiciously at her and says something.

"Brandon asks her if she's been smoking," She says as I smirk. Stephanie's an awesome lip-reader. Her grandmother became deaf in the few months before she died of a heart attack. She refused the help of hearing aids and learnt to lip-read. Steph learnt from her. It's an awesome power.

"Callaghan shakes her head and laughs. Why would I do that, she says."

Brandon then takes her hand and smells it. Then he drops it and folds his arms across his chest.

"Seriously, Michelle, your hands smell of cigarettes, strong ones,'' he says- as relayed by Steph. "And don't even ask me why- my grandfather smoked them all the time before he died of them."

"I don't smoke, and you know that." Callaghan says, smelling her hands herself.

"I just wish you wouldn't lie about it, Michelle." Brandon says and walks away without another word. Callaghan stays where she is and examines her hands, trying to find out where the smell came from.

I look at Steph and she smiles at me.

The first fire has been lit.

*

"Cueillez dès aujourd'hui les roses de la vie," the girl read fluently, as if she was born French. "Sonnets pour Hélène, 1587."

A few students start clapping, and then the whole class joins, alongwith Miss Berger. I clapped a little and clasped my hands together. Personally, I don't find it at all interesting. It's just a bunch of lines.

"She read with true emotion, didn't she?" Stephanie asks me, smiling. I nod and look at our teacher.

"And for those robots who didn't understand anything," Miss Berger says, eyeing me. I look down, embarrassed. "Stephanie, please translate them."

She gets up and looks at the book in front of her. Assured that it will take a while, my mind wanders off to the next class, English. Ugh, why? Two boring classes in a row, darn it.

But I smile, imagining Callaghan's face today. It was so confused or as Jane Austen would put it, so 'vexed'.

It's just the beginning. There are many more to come. Because, I learnt that no one likes a direct bitch. But, do they love the subtle ones.

After class is over, I exit the class with Stephanie and walk towards my locker. Stephanie hands me a small bottle of pink coloured powder and walks to her physics class. I look at the powder in my hand and dash off to English, hoping that no one has reached the class yet, except for her.

Callaghan looks at me and rolls her eyes, walking out of the class. It's her habit: reaching the class first, keeping her things on her desk and leaving the class to chat with her nerds.

I smile and walk towards her desk and open the drawer, taking out the omnipresent water bottle- she carries a water bottle everywhere with her. I unscrew the cap and pour some of the powder into it. Then keeping the things as it is, I walk back to my desk nonchalantly and sit down. 

The powder is a sample Steph stole from her mother's lab. It was an exceptional medicine for those people who struggled with anxiety, nervousness and cold feet- it kinda made them boisterous and friendly. So, while her mother was being offered a Certificate of Excellence by the company's CEO, Steph snuck off to her mother's lab and got me this.

2-3 pinches were enough for one person.

I added a teaspoon. 

Let's see what happens.