After making it through my science and history classes without losing it, I am thankful for the familiar sight of the chaotic art room. Valiantly fighting off my demons, I had endured both while managing to not lose my shit. The seconds had ticked by excruciatingly slow, but now that I see my friends at our usual table in the back, I can relax. I take a seat and have decided to not share my tale of woe with the group, when Jade gives me an apologetic smile. Damn it.

"Sooooo," she starts, glancing at Emma and Lucas for backup. "I had overheard someone mention something about Natasha picking on someone at lunch." I avoid eye contact for a moment by concentrating on organizing my meager supplies I had brought. Unfortunately that didn't take long, so I look up at them and do my best to refrain from sounding annoyed at their concern.

"You know it's insulting that you automatically assume it was me." Definitely failed.

"Well..." Lucas starts, "You know we love you. But was it you?"

"That's not the point." I scoff, being the answer they need. It's not a secret that I have frequent altercations with Natasha and her lemmings. However, they prefer to attack when I'm alone, so my friends usually get to hear about my embarrassment second hand.

"Ugh, I hate her. Why do you let her bully you? Can't we tell a teacher and try to-," Jade starts before Emma interrupts obnoxiously loud.

"You want me to cut her? That bitch has it coming for always being so awful to everyone she deems less than her. It would be a public service at this point, don't you think?" Her expression is dark and she looks serious, though I know her being the weakling she is that she would never win the fight. Still, the gesture is sweet. 

"I agree!" Lucas says nodding quickly, "Or at least let me have one of my cousins slash her tires."

"Or cut her brakes!" Emma says enthusiastically, not having a problem with the looks other classmates are sending her way as she tries to plan a hit during class.

"Violence is not the answer!" Jade's tone is exasperated. Her expression contradicts her words as her eyes send daggers towards the two before addressing me. "You just need to stand up for yourself and tell her to back off, or tell a teacher. It would be lovely to see her get into trouble for once."

This is not the first time we have had this conversation, so I'm already over it.

"You know she wouldn't get in trouble anyway. And it's okay, I'm okay, I should be used to her stupid taunts by now. I don't even want to talk about this." I say, avoiding their eyes.

The three of them drop it, but for sure will bring it up later. They always do. I don't want to think about it anymore, I want to relax and enjoy the last hour of the day in art induced bliss.

I'm wondering what our project will be, Mrs. Baker had mentioned it before winter break but refused to give details. Our teacher likes to assign projects that last the whole semester, because you can't rush the artistic process. There will be random, small assignments spread through out, but a big portion of our grade will be based on the main project. The bell rings, but everyone continues to talk. Mrs. Baker is usually late to class due to her frequent runs to the teacher's lounge. That woman has a caffeine addiction. She's older, in her late fifties, and was probably a total hippie back in her day. She's very eccentric, always dressing in crazy colors and patterns with her long, red hair tied back into a bun. Her hands are constantly stained with paint and ink, and I think she's amazing. 

"So what are the plans for this weekend?" Lucas says as he drums his pencil on the table, interruptingmy thoughts. "We should start the semester off right." 

At that we all look towards Jade, who smiles. She's the most social out of us, and due to her frequent dating has met a decent amount of people who go to other schools. Jade is the only reason the rest of us ever go out.

"Oh, I'm sure there's a party somewhere. I will ask around and report back. By the end of this week we will definitely need to get fucked up." She pulls out her phone and starts texting, presumably to see if anything is going on this weekend. Parties aren't really my favorite thing in the world, but usually after a few drinks I can somewhat enjoy myself. I hate the whole socializing aspect, I would rather get shit faced alone in a corner. However we haven't gone out in awhile, since before the holidays. I'm not going to pass up this opportunity, I will have to tell mom I'm staying at Emma's or something.

Just then we can hear Mrs. Baker's loud voice coming from the hallway. She is less than five minutes late, so that's pretty good for her. She strolls in, coffee thermos in hand, with a smile.

"Hello, Hello! How are all my lovely students today!" She sings as she walks across the classroom. Stopping at her overflowing desk she takes a big swig of her coffee before turning towards us. "Now, you should know today I will be announcing our semester project and what we will be focusing on!" She starts walking around the large classroom before stopping at a table towards the sinks. 

"Before that though, just want to introduce our newest artist joining us!" She exclaims. "I expect you to all be on your best behavior and your usual helpful selves!"

You gotta be fucking kidding me. Since I'm sitting facing towards the back of the room, I have to twist at an odd angle to see who she is referring to. At this point I can't say I'm surprised to see who it is. Seriously though, if this is the universe giving me the middle finger I'm picking it up loud and clear. Seeing her makes me internally cringe at the thought of our conversation this morning. I hate that I will be stuck next to her in multiple classes, and it makes me want to call in sick. For the rest of the year.

Thankfully, now she is sitting far away from me, but knowing she will be in here is unsettling. Ugh, I know I'm overthinking this. After we talked she probably just thought I was weird and moved on with her day and could not give a fuck less. Who am I to think I'm that significant enough to take up space in someone's head? I'm being ridiculous and stupid. 

Emma shoots me a weird look, which makes me wonder what my expression was during my zoning out. I shake my head and try to tune back into the conversation at hand. So much for trying to relax.