Hate Me

by Leen Elle

  I rolled my eyes and went back to choosing a movie. "… And I also want to spend some time with you," he continued, ignoring my blatant look of distaste. Seriously, was this guy cheesy or was this guy cheesy? "Cheesy, I know. But true. Kill that guy?"

  "Sorry?" I said automatically. Kill what guy?

  "Kill That Guy. You want to watch that? I'll pay," he gestured to the screen. I sighed and nodded in resignation. If he was going to stick around, then so be it. Free movies should not be turned down. He disappeared around the corner to purchase the tickets as I stood motionless, wondering why I had confessed to Belinda that I wanted a new boyfriend in the first place.

  Three hours later, I had made the discovery that Danny was a sweet, caring, adorable and good-looking to boot guy. Within the next hour, I was officially his girlfriend. I stood before him with my hands planted firmly on my waist, "One rule, Danny, and you must never break it. I'm your girlfriend for only one week. We can be acquaintances after that, but not friends. Alright?"

  "When I came here to drop the laundry off for my mom," he murmured, taking hold of my wrists and pulling me towards him. As I succumbed to his hug, I could not help but think of how right it had felt to be Viper's embrace. "I hadn't expected to meet a girl. Much less a perfect one in the form of Raylin, the resident Ice Queen. I agree to your terms and conditions, my princess."

  "What did you call me?" I lifted my cheek from his chest and looked up at him. 'My princess', he mouthed again, capturing my lips in a sweet kiss. "Hmmm, princess. I like that… Boyfriend."

  VIPER

  It was a regular Wednesday morning when someone intercepted me on my way to my first lesson of the day, "Hey, Viper, Madam Pince wants to see you."

  Now, as I sat staring at her office door, I was wondering idly whether to name the sofa I was sitting on since we were on such familiar terms already. Sophie would be a nice name, my brain was saying. Just as I was seriously contemplating the fact that I was slowly being driven crazy by my own brain, Madam Pince's door opened and she beckoned me in.

  "Sorry, Viper. I was busy with a phone call. I hope you didn't have trouble finding your way here. Now, do you know why I called you here?" She asked, sitting down and pressing her fingertips against each other. I shook my head, holding back the temptation to remind her that I had been here very frequently since my first day in school. She was opening a drawer with countless folders and was scanning through them quickly before taking out the folder with my name printed on it.

  "Your art teacher, Mr. Grisham, has nominated you to apply for an art scholarship to a very prestigious art school in London. He has views your work very highly and also mentioned that you are one of the most talented students in his class. So what do you say? Are you willing to put in the extra effort to get into this art school?" She looked at me expectantly. I thought I hid my shock remarkably well given the circumstances I was in while I nodded numbly. The art scholarship Madam Pince had brought up was one that majority of the students in the art class were straining for. I had never so much as given a second thought about it because I believed that the standard that the art school was looking for was higher than the standard I set for myself.

  Furthermore, Mr. Grisham had never so much as given me a second glance. Apparently, I was way out of his league of obedient, preppy school students wearing tweed jumpers and neatly pressed jeans or knee-length skirts. Despite having mumbled a few approving words when he graded my drawings and paintings, he had never given me further compliments. Madam Pince was beaming at full wattage now as she closed the folder with a quick flick of her wrist. "I knew you would be sensible enough to accept this offer. Now off you go for your lesson. I think I've taken up more than thirty minutes of your time."

  I left her office feeling slightly disoriented, walking down the hallway briskly before realizing that I was headed in the completely opposite direction. I finally managed to recall that the art room was situated at the end of the hallway. Yes, my first lesson of the day was art – talk about irony. When I entered the art room, the students were already painting in silence. The atmosphere in the art room was always heavy, always thoughtful, as though speaking to each other while absorbed in your own work was a crime to be punished. Mr. Grisham looked up from his table where he was working on a sculpture. His salt-and-pepper beard was dotted with white spots of clay as his pale green eyes studied me intently.

  "Madam Pince asked to see me," I explained. He froze then nodded slowly, giving me an understanding look. As I walked past his table, it occurred to me that I should probably thank him for giving me the chance. "Thanks, Mr. Grisham."

  He was silent as I continued making my way towards my table. As I placed my bag on the floor, I heard him reply neutrally, "You deserved the chance. Don't let yourself down." I spent the rest of my art lesson in considerably high spirits. Three hours of painting later, the bell rang for recess. As I neared the lockers, the chatter of students was imminent. I had just shut my locker when I felt a presence next to me. I was greeted by Jerome and Jacelyn, whom I had been spending my recess with recently. I nodded at them and began walking, starting to adjust my bag straps.

  "Viper, I need to talk to you for a while." Jacelyn placed a hand on my arm. I halted mid-step and went on fiddling with my bag. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw her give Jerome a warning glance. "Alone, please."

  Jerome gave me a look that I could barely decipher before sauntering down towards the canteen, leaving the two of us behind. Alone. I leaned back against a locker and looked down at her. She was biting her lip and scuffing her feet on the ground nervously and stammering away, "Viper. It's just… I mean… I think I… You know, I just…"

  "Do you want to think through what you need to say first?" I enquired politely, a vague idea of what exactly she wanted to say slowly dawning on me. She took a deep breath and nodded, keeping her eyes on the ground at her feet, which were still scuffing the floor. I laughed. "You're going to spoil your pretty shoes if you don't stop doing that."

  "Viper, I like you." She blurted out, oblivious to my sudden discomfort. Her brown eyes were suddenly boring straight into my blue ones, seemingly searching for an answer. Suddenly, she averted her gaze. "You know, more than as just a friend. You're witty, you're charming, you're nice and good-looking. It's quite hard not to like you."

  I was stunned into silence. That definitely explained Jerome's weird look and confirmed my prediction of what she was going to say. It was the first time a girl had confessed to me in such a sincere manner that I had no idea how to deal with it. Cue an image of Felicity and her hideous diamond-encrusted nails. I stumbled over my words as I told Jacelyn laughingly, "Y… You're rather straight-forward, huh?"

  She went on giving me the same searching gaze, her fingers tightening around her stack of books. I pushed myself off the locker and took the books from her hands, "Here, I'll hold those for you. Er, let's walk and talk, shall we?"

  She smiled sweetly, her dimples appearing as she followed me down the hallway. I licked my lips nervously, processing my words carefully before beginning, "You're a really sweet girl, Jacelyn, but… I don't exactly like you the way you like me. I like you a lot, as a friend. Both you and your brother but uh… it's just… Thanks for your compliments, I really appreciate them but I think I can't have a relationship with you just because you told me you liked me. It would be unfair to you. So… sometime in the future, maybe? But not right now." We stopped before the canteen, facing each other.

  "I understand what you said. I understand it perfectly but… couldn't we just give it a shot? Just a short period of time… If you really can't stir up any feelings for me, then we'll go back to being just friends. What do you think?" She looked up at me earnestly.

  I opened my mouth, about to reject her in the gentlest way possible when across the canteen, I saw a familiar girl at the vending machine, with a pair of arms wrapped tightly around her waist. Behind her was the blonde guy who had had everyone talking about when he came to school on Mon
day holding Raylin's hand. 'Raylin and Danny' were the latest phrase floating around the school. I felt a panging feeling in my chest when Raylin popped the can of Diet Coke and leaned back against him, offering him a sip. Well, I comforted myself. At least they would be over in two more days. Of course, it had been my fault when I pretended that nothing had happened back on Saturday. Was that why she found herself a new boyfriend? I thought she had wanted us to be regular friends. Was that not what she meant? You have to start thinking about other things, boy. And this is one time I agree with that other voice. You need to forget her. You have been thinking about her for days now. I never said that you had to forget her, I just said think of other things. Then again, I'm getting sick of churning her face just so that you can grin like an idiot when you think of it.

  "I don't grin like an idiot!" I cringed when I heard myself saying that out loud.

  "Viper?" Jacelyn was giving me a very worried look. She raised a hand to brush the hair away from my eyes. "Are you okay?"

  Looking at her flawless complexion and wide, trusting eyes, I smirked. I could learn to like this girl. A lot. A lot more than her step-sister. Oh you, just shut the fuck up. I smiled at her and chucked her under the chin, "Y'know, Jacelyn. You're right. We can definitely give it a shot."

  I felt her lunging into my arms with glee, circling her arms around my neck, "Thank you, Viper! I know we'll make this work!" I chuckled at her sudden ditziness and wrapped my arms around her. It felt different, somehow. Different from the way I felt when I was holding Raylin in my arms. I smacked myself mentally. Concentrate on Jacelyn, you dimwit. Raylin is yesterday's news. Bah, humbug.

  "Yeah," I murmured in her ear. "We'll make this work."

  Chapter 15

  Dirty Little Secrets

  "I was nauseous and tingly all over. I was either in love or I had smallpox." – Woody Allen

  RAYLIN

  'Horrified' would be an understatement if I used it to describe my feelings when I saw the state that my closet was in. There was a red shirt amongst the blue, a couple of skirts with my ransacked collection of jeans and oh Satan, a bra perched on a tank top?! I hurriedly took out a black skirt and a simple white racerback with the word 'DIVA' stenciled in hot pink. I looked at the clock – I was supposed to be ready in another ten minutes, but with so much organizing to do…

  "Rayne!" I hollered in exasperation, folding my arms. She emerged from her room and flopped onto my bed. She looked at my wet hair and bathrobe, then took in my irate expression and finally, her eyes flickered towards the closet. She smiled meekly, "Sorry, sis. I was looking for your white belt."

  "Belts are in the bottom drawer. How many times must I tell you?" I snapped irritably as I began toweling my hair dry vigorously and reaching for the hairdryer at the same time. "I wonder why I haven't killed you yet."

  As she slid off my bed to begin rearranging my clothes back in order, she giggled, "Because I'm your little sister and you love me!"

  I ruffled her hair as I reached over for my clothes, saying curtly, "I don't love anyone, Rayne. And please arrange my clothes only when you've finished your homework."

  "That's what you think," she said with all the wise air of a sage. I rose an eyebrow, beginning to apply my lip-gloss. "I finished my homework an hour ago. Are you going on a date or to a party?"

  "Party," I paused the process of curling my eyelashes to reply her. "Can you give Jerome or Jacelyn a call and tell them there's a party at Danya's? I can pick them up in another ten minutes if they want to go."

  "I'm beginning to think that you treat me like your secretary rather than your sister," I heard her grumbling in the background as she reached for my cellphone and began scrolling through the contacts. "Hey Jacelyn! This is Rayne… Yup, I've had dinner. Raylin says that there's a party at Danya's house and she can pick you up in ten minutes if you and Jerome want to go. Alright, I'll tell her that. Bye! Sis, they're really hyped up about the party so it's probably a 'yes' and you've a message from Danny saying 'Hey baby, I'll pick you up in another twenty minutes. I hope you look hot.' Seriously, sis, what kind of guys do you date?"

  She tossed me the phone as I laughed at her tone, "You sound more like my mother than my younger sister now." I began dialing Danny's number. I did not have to wait long before he picked up with a husky, "Yes, my princess?"

  "Danny, I told you I'll be going with the girls. I'm telling you for the fourth time that I always go to parties with the girls. Yes, I know you're my boyfriend but no, I will still reject you if you come driving past in your stupid little car and telling me to get in," I cut past all his protests and hung up on him. Rayne stopped folding my jeans to shudder, "Icy."

  "Bye, Rayne. I'll be back at around midnight so don't sleep too late. Mom's out on a date so be careful when you're alone at home and the-"

  "Sis! I know. I love you. Now get the hell out of the house because we all know the party won't start without you," she clapped a hand over my mouth and shoved my out the door. I turned and hugged her tight before getting into the car. My first stop was Calista's place where she was waiting at the driveway. She got into the car and began adjusting her red vest.

  "Nice jeans," I said casually, driving towards Belinda's house. Calista grinned at me and pointed at our pretty princess decked in a short pink dress. "Hey, Belle. Where'd you get the dress?"

  "Topshop! It was on sale!" She giggled and began touching up her make-up. Leila's house was the second final stop where my best friend was tapping a foot clad in a black boot. Calista hooted at her dark green hotshots, "What a hot mama! Where're the fishnets?" Leila leaned over to smack the hazel-eyed hottie on the arm as I started the car again.

  "Hey, Danya's house is that way. You took a turn at the wrong corner." Leila poked me in the back, making me squirm.

  "Move your asses over to the side, ladies. We've one more stop tonight… Hey Jerome! I love your skirt, Jacelyn," I grinned at the twins as they got into the car. "And please, careful with the seats! I just cleaned them yesterday."

  "Don't get your fingerprints on the window, Jacelyn. Ray will throw a fit," Calista nudged my step-sister and laughed. Jacelyn looked good in a green shirt and white skirt and I was certain that many girls would be swooning over my step-brother in his black tee and baggy jeans.

  "No, she won't!" Belinda protested, her face twisted into a droll expression. My passengers turned to look at her in confusion. "She'll just freeze you to death with her patented ice glare."

  There was chortling as I pulled up in front of a house with people milling about. Two minutes later, as we walked through the door, someone shouted, "LET THE PARTY BEGIN!" All at once, there was music blaring and the party was in full swing.

  "And off we go again." I smirked as we all split into different directions. I went off in search for Danny. It was Friday, and time for the speech. I didn't have to go far before Danya appeared beside me in a tight white dress that clashed horribly with her newly acquired tan.

  "Raylin! You're finally here," she squealed, keeping my arm in a death grip. She pointed to the kitchen. "Danny's in there, he's been waiting for you to arrive! C'mon, let's go over!"

  I shook her hand off, giving her a smile, "It's alright. I'm sure I can walk there myself. See you around." Danny was sitting at the bar in Danya's house with a group of guys, chugging down a can of beer. I noted in disgust the many empty cans that littered the floor. Someone announced my presence to Danny and he turned around and lurched to his feet, stumbling over drunkenly.

  "Hi, baby. You do look hot," He drawled before latching his mouth to mine, pushing me back against the kitchen wall in a matter of seconds. I could taste the alcohol on his lips as he slid a hand under my skirt. There was hooting behind him as the guys enjoyed the show that he was putting up for them. I shoved him aside roughly. He had been sweet while it lasted, but his week was up, and he was drunk. Terribly so. He made his way towards me again on unsteady feet, one hand sliding behind me to touch my butt. I rolled my eyes and kneed hi
m hard. He stumbled backwards with his hands to his crotch, cursing with all the spirit of a sailor. I ignored his colorful curses and bent over to look him in the eyes.

  "Danny, we need to talk." I told him grimly. Then, deciding that nothing I said would be registered in his alcohol-addled mind, I decided to cut to the chase with two words. "We're over."

  With that said, I turned on my heel and sauntered out of the kitchen, leaving the guys behind me in stunned silence before there was a roar of rage from Danny, "THAT MOTHERFUCKING BITCH!"

  I knew without looking that the other guys were holding him back. They were used to it. They all were – and I was anything but bothered. Now I could drink and dance to my heart's content. This was the best life I could ever ask for.

  VIPER

  I stepped into the crowded house feeling out of place. Danya, the disturbingly bimbotic cheerleader, had stopped me in school earlier to invite me to her party. Although I had told her that I would 'think about it', I had already made the decision to not attend her party at all. Why would I want to go to a place swarming with slutty girls and drunk guys? Half an hour ago, however, Jacelyn had called me to ask me to go to the very same party. I was compelled to agree and here I was, standing amongst a crowd of people milling around, waiting for someone to arrive.

  "Hi Viper! I'm so glad you could make it!" Danya came sashaying up to me in a dress that turned my stomach – in a bad way. "We're waiting for the Queens to arrive so we can start the party. Do you want anything to drink?" Raylin and her friends. Why was I anything but surprised? I nodded at Danya before indicating that I could get my own drink. She moved off to drape herself around Kenneth. I pushed past the crowd into the backyard where there were decidedly less people around. There was a table laden with cases of beer and a couple of half-filled bowls of chips. I grabbed a can and popped the tab, taking a huge gulp to quench my thirst. Almost immediately, I thought of my father and his stupid obsession with alcohol. I found myself wondering how he was doing in the rehabilitation centre. Just then, my phone rang.