Torn

CALLIE'S POINT OF VIEW

I sit in the back of that class with Jess, painting our nails.

"What color do you have." I whisper, she holds up a sparkly black bottle, "Oooh, gimme." I smile, starting to paint the shiny black on my nails.

Michael turns around to face us, "That smells like shit." He frowns.

"You smell like shit." I say back, and Jess laughs.

"Thank you, Callie, that was very mature." He says sarcastically.

"Sure was." I smile, finishing the first finger. He sighs and turns back around. I've known Michael since like, fifth grade. I mean, we've all known each other since fifth grade basically, besides Sara, she only hangs out with us because she's dating Calum.

"Hey do you think Michael and Morgan are ever actually going DATE." Jess asks, finishing her right hand.

"Eh. Doubt it."

Michael turns back around, "Okay my sex life is not a conversation topic." He says.

"Well, obviously it is, if we're talking about it." I smile, knowing it annoys him. He rolls his eyes.

"Look, can't you talk about something better?"

"Uh huh sure." I shrug.

"THANK you." He turns back around.

I whisper to Jess, "I heard them fucking the other day."

"OH MY GOD." Michael throws his hands in the air. I laugh.

"Girls, you need to put the nail polish away." Mrs. Norberry says.I roll my eyes.

"Or no." I mumble.

"What was that?"

"I'm not done with my nails." I say louder, but keep applying it to my nails.

"It doesn't MATTER if you're done with your nails or not, put it away."

"Just give me a second." I roll my eyes.

"NO. Put it away NOW."

"Damn lady, does your boy not pleasure you enough or something? What's your deal?" Jess asks, and I immediately start laughing. Morgan and Calum laugh from across the room too, while Michael does his best to not.

"Principal's office. Now."

"Mkay, cool." We smile, and take our nail polish with us.
~~~*~~~

"So, we have a newbie." Morgan smiles devilishly.

"Who is it this time?" I ask, opening my milk carton.

"His name is Luke, he's in our grade, and he's totally like us." She smiles. Calum and Sara sit next to me. Again, her head is down, and she just sits there, reading.

"Who is?" Calum asks.

"Luke, the new guy." Michael says.

"Oooh a newbie."

"Callie." Ashton turns to me.

"Hm."

"I dare you to go up to him."

"What? That's not even a worthy dare, please." Ashton is constantly trying to set me up with guys, it's freakishly annoying.

"Really? There he is." He points in some direction behind me, and I turn around. Wow. Blonde, beanie, lip ring, tattoos, icy blue eyes, the whole 'fuck off' look. He actually is just like us.

I glare at Ashton, "Fine." I get up, and as I start walking, the whole table starts yelling and hooting. My face turns red out of embarrassed, I turn around, walking backwards, "Shut up you little shits." I laugh, and bump into something. I turn around, and Luke is standing in front of me.

"Oh- Hey." I smile.

"Hey." Damn his voice is hot, "Cool hair."

"Oh- Er- Thanks cool... Beanie.." Cool BEANIE?! Oh come on Callie you can do better than THAT.

He laughs, "Thanks."

"I'm Callie." I put my hands in my back pockets.

"Luke."

"Well Luke, how'd you get here?"

"I was expelled from my last school." He shrugs. Then takes a step closer to me, "Why are you here?"

I smile up at him, "Story for another time. See ya Luke." He bites his lip as I walk away, and when I sit back down at my table, Calum, Michael, and Jess are laughing. "What?"

"Cool BEANIE?" Jess laughs, pounding her hand on the table.

"Oh please, like you could've done better." I roll my eyes.

"Actually yes, I could have." She nods.

"Oh really? Mkay, there," I point to some random kid, "go do better."

"Right now?"

"Right now." I nod. Now Ashton laughs.

"Fine." She smiles, accepting the challenge, and walks over to the kid, sitting next to him. By the time she comes back, we're all laughing.

"FAIL." Morgan fails.

"Okay, it's not my fault is girlfriend is living in India and they'll never be able to be together and he felt the need to cry, MKAY?" She crosses her arms.

In the next class period, I just sit in some random seat in the back, with everyone else scattered around the room. Luke walks in ten minutes late, and sits next to me. He sniffs me, which weirds me out, until he says, "You smell like weed."

"Shit." I mumble, searching through my backpack. I take out the mandatory perfume and spray it away from him, "What about now."

"Nope you're good." He says. He doesn't have a binder, or a backpack. How much he DOESN'T CARE kinda turns me on. Is that weird? I guess growing up like that kinda makes it attractive.

"So, everyday this week, we'll write something we're grateful for." The teacher finishes. I raise my hand. "Yes?"

"Yeah... Er.. What if we aren't grateful for anything?" I ask. Luke looks over at me.

"Well I'm sure you're grateful for SOMETHING." She smiles.

"N-No, I'm literally not grateful for anything... I'm a foster kid as of five years ago when my parents decided they were bored of me, I hate school, I hate my foster parents." I shrug. I can feel Luke staring at me so much, I swear his eyes are laser beams.

"Well.. What about health? You could be thankful for that."

"Right..." Except for the fact that I'm always high, but okay, teach, whatever you say. The teacher keeps talking, and I stare down at my hands, the nail polish already starting to chip off.

"Foster kid, huh?" Luke asks. I nod, not looking at him.

"Yeah I know, I'm sorta a freak." I laugh a little.

"That... Doesn't make you a freak." He says softly. I look at him. We have a moment, of course, until Calum turns around.

"Do you think llamas spit at us because they don't like the llama song?" He asks. I immediately start laughing. I tuck a strand of blue hair behind my ear.

"Umm, I don't think so, Calum." I smile.

"Mkay. Just wondering." He turns back around, and I realize Luke's just been looking at me the whole time. My face is probably pink. I look at the ground and bite my lip, trying to not say something stupid, like nice hair or something.

Notes