Crap.

The chair I sit in is creaky and chipped. Many teens before me have been scolded in this very chair. And now, it's my turn to pass on the legacy.

The office is unkempt, papers littering every avalible surface. A clock ticks loudly it the corner and art lines one of the walls. The principal sits at her desk and eyes me wearily.

"Miss Kent," she (Mrs. Evans, I think) began, "The school day hasn't even started, and you're already on my list! What drove you to make such an innapropriate gesture in these esteemed halls?" 

It takes every ounce of self-restraint to not burst out laughing in her pointed face. So I take a small breath and look straight into her brown eyes.

"Miss," I say with as much sincerity as I can muster, "I really do apologize. It was an impulsive mistake that won't be made again. But I was defending myself."

Her groomed eyebrow arches. "Defending yourself from what, exactly?"

I reply with a stony face. "A group of boys were disrespecting me, ma'am, either because I'm new, or because I'm a female. I will gladly do a punishment to redeem myself, but I refuse to feel inferior to any man."

So maybe I'm not THAT offended, but Mrs. Evans swallows my story right up.

"Was it, perhaps," she asks slowly, "a group led by a Mr. Cayden Michaels?"

I'm intrigued. How is it that everyone knows who I am? But I try to keep my face neutral and say, "Yes, ma'am."

"I see." She shuffles some papers around on her messy desk. "Well, I'll look into it, Ms. Kent. But in the mean time, here's your schedule and a map." She looks up with a plastic smile as she hands me the papers. "Have a great day."

***

The whispers in the halls are different now, and an air of caution follows me towards my first class. My photographic memory comes in handy, especially with this new reputation I've befallen apon myself. I just look at the map once then make a show (albiet an overdramatic one) of crumpling it up and tossing it in the trash.

My first class is english. Off to room 313.

It's only a few steps away, so naturally, I do a lap around to make sure the area is secure.

Kidding.

I slink into the class with as much composition as I can muster then plop down in a seat in the back. And, yay, I already have a partner.

Who, like me, is trying very hard to melt into the shadows of the room.

At least she's polite enough to clear off my side of the table. I catch her attention and try to ask for permission to introduce myself. She gives a slight smile, a thank you, but she shakes her head.

Fair.

Class starts.

The teacher bursts into the room, arms full. He sets it down on his equally messy desk and straightens his shirt.

"Good morning guys." he smiles. "To kick today off, I would like to introduce our new student," a quick glance at me and my horrified face, "who you will find hiding in the back."

Everyone turns to look at me. I harden my facial features and look around. "Hi." I deadpan.

"So, what's your name, age, hobby, and favorie color?" he asks.

Is he serious? What are we, in first grade again?

"Do you want me to stand up?" A few people laugh.

"If you'd be so kind."

I get up slowly, eyes locked on his.

"My name is Lydiah Kent. I am seventeen years old. I like to read about murderers. Only one person in the entire world knows my favorite color, and they just so happen to be dead. So you can imaginw why I would not like to divulge that information today. Thank you."

I sit.

The teacher is stunned, but quickly recovers.

"Um, th-thank you, Miss Kent." he turns to address the class, the attention finally off of me. "Class, I would like you to get out your assignments on the summer reading. I don't expect you to have it, Miss Kent."

I raise my hand in protest.

"Yes?" the teacher asks, a hint of weariness in his voice.

"Isn't it unfair to the other students if I'm let off easy?" 

Cries of "yeah!" go up immediately.

"Isn't it an insult to me," I continue, "that your expectations of me were so low that you did not think that I would be responsible enough to do my research, read the assignments, then write a paper on it? If everyone was supposed to do it, am I not included in that catagory? I should like to think that it is in no way a belief against my sex, sir, and I in no way wish to convey any disrespect. I wish to conclude that I did do the summer assignments, I take my schoolwork as the highest priority, and I refuse to be held at a lower expectation than anyone in this room, sir."

Dead silence.