free falling (Cynnn!)

[Deleted]

Hazel sat behind her desk, rummaging through her papers. She glanced up at the clock and sighed. Two minutes until the bell rang. And from the looks of things, it was going to be a long two minutes. Standing up, she walked over to the blackboard and started writing on it, looking down at her notes. She would be assigning a project to them to work on over the weekend. She just hadn't decided how many the groups would have. This period was always the one who kept her most on her toes. Willow was in the class, as was Miss Stone. The day both of those girls were absent from the class was the day that she got to take it easy.

She looked down at her agenda and sighed. A new student was going to be in this class. Alanna Adams. Of course, Hazel always loved it when she got to meet new students. But it did mean that she had more work cut out for her today than most days. Of course, that would have happened whether or not she had a new student. Hazel was very actively participating in spring fling week, so much that she was wearing gray sweats and a black tank top. Not exactly her usual slacks and blouse, but this was pajama day. Hazel was going to show her school spirit.

“He won, like I say. Pay up” Isaac said with a grin as he walked in the classroom, followed by Marcus. He was having an okay day, for actually being in school. It was a rare thing, and today he was here only because Natasha had begged him to participate in spring fling week. Isaac didn't understand the custom. In his school back in Venice, he never had weeks where they wore pajamas or anything else. But he finally gave in after Natasha was relentless and came in a wife beater and draw-string pants. He glanced up at the clock as he came in.

He still had a couple of minutes before the bell would ring. Rushing to his usual spot in the back corner by the window, he opened his guitar case and started to strum on it. Isaac was learning quickly which teachers tolerated it and which ones wouldn't. With Miss Aden, she didn't care as long as he wasn't disturbing anyone else. She had told him that if she catches him playing it during class when everyone else was working, she would take it from him. But this wasn't during class when everyone was working. This was before class and nobody was working!

It definitely helped him when he couldn't understand a word people were saying. Isaac was having trouble with the English language, but he wouldn't admit it to his father. Every time his father called from the training center to check up on everyone, he reported that he was doing great in school and was even picking up quite a bit of English. Of course, he said all this in Italian. He really wasn't looking forward to when the training was over and his dad returned. Several of his teachers said they would like a parent-teacher conference. But, he figured it'd be a long time before his dad returned, and by the time he did, Isaac would have formed a band and wouldn't need school anymore.

Marcus chuckled as he slapped a five dollar bill in Isaac's hand before the italian dude went and sat down. He really didn't mind losing the bet, though he was surprised that he lost. Before classes even started that morning, there had been a fight that he would describe as epic: Ian vrs. JJ. Upon seeing the fight, he approached Isaac and made a bet over who would won. Of course, his money was on the school bully. But Isaac looked at the fight and said he thought Ian would win. And he was right. Ian really creamed JJ. Marcus had never seen anything like it, without the use of knives anyway.

He looked around and set his backpack down in the center of the front row. It wasn't where he would normally sit, but he thought that people should see his outfit. After all, how often did a dude wear a spiderman costume with school-colored boxers on over it? He had to show it off. The costume was just too brilliant, he thought. Pulling out his can of silly string that he had snuck off to get since one of the girls took his can earlier, he slipped behind the door. He was going to jump out and spray the string all over the first girl who walked through that door. Marcus figured Spiderman needed his web! Besides, it was fun.

Natasha walked in, chanting the cheer under her breath. "Ali, Ali welcome to your throne.
You're big and strong, you're number one. Degrassi's king, you are the best, got smarts and looks and all the rest” She only had a few hours to memorize it after all. Natasha didn't mind the rushed deadline. The cheer was really a group effort and it was fun! She walked in, wearing a very shiny pink nightgown with pink shorts underneath it. “Hello!” she called to everyone as she took the seat next to Marcus's backpack.

She was trying to get her pep back today. After hearing what Ali did to Augusta, the blond just felt terrible for the head cheerleader. How could someone do that? She understood that not all relationships worked out, but he should have at least told her before he moved on! Natasha didn't like liars. She looked over at Augusta as she walked in and sighed, thinking. Maybe a slumber party would help. They could get private massages and mani/pedi's. She would have to ask her daddy about it. She was sure he wouldn't mind, especially when she told him how much of an emergency this was. It really was, too. The girl quit cheerleading! It was most definitely an emergency

Augusta walked in and sat near the back, wearing a pair of sweats and a Degrassi sweatshirt. Not exactly the hot lengerie the rest of the cheerleaders were going for. But she really had no reason to be. Not after what happened. She couldn't believe that he would walk her to class when Augusta had the same class! Augusta found out that morning just how blind she was when it came to Ali. Everything that Summer told her—she should have known. Stupid jackass. He was cheating on her. And he never even planned on being with her again. If he had, he wouldn't have asked Summer to the dance.

But that was fine. It was all just perfect. Because Augusta would have the last say in matters. First, she and the other cheerleaders would be cheering a breakup between them. She was going to leave the jock as embarrased as he had made her. Then, she would see that little miss Santos got kicked off the squad. If she was leaving, then so was Summer. She didn't even care that she was going voluntarily. She was the principal's daughter. She could ruin her life. And she had every intention of doing so. After all, if Summer didn't care, than why should she?

Willow walked in without the rest of her posse for once. She was actually having a pretty good day today. She was wearing white silk pajamas, which she was sure would get Shequial's attention. He'd be crazy not to notice her. She hadn't done too much to ruin anybody's life today. She was actually being pretty mellow. All she really did was tell Ali the truth about what happened at his party. Sure, he was probably panicking and trying to find Augusta to talk to her. But Willow thought she really did him a favor. At any rate, it was her sister who was on the hunt to ruin lives. She was the one who publicly embarrassed Augusta, after all.

She sauntered over to the very last seat in the front, a few rows in front of Isaac. Willow liked her spot in the front. Even if technically, the best seat in the room was in the center. But, she had been assigned to this seat in the beginning of the year. And she wasn't doing too horribly at sitting there. Sometimes, she stood and wandered but that was pretty much it. As she sat, she looked around for someone interesting to talk to.


Her dark eyes narrowed in on the Australian boy. “Look. I'm not like Delilah and Brooklyn and whoever else you have wrapped around your finger, ok? I have a boyfriend. Sure, he's not here and I'm going to the dance with Jacob. But I still have a boyfriend. And no offense, but I've heard rumors. And I'm not into that kind of thing.” Of course she had. Willow, Rachel, Abigail, and whoever else hung out with him saw to that. And while she knew the clique was kind of mean, they normally didn't lie. Besides, Jack hit on so many girls that it probably wasn't a lie. Oceana wasn't stupid. She listened to some rumors, especially when they seemed to be true. He was a love em then leave em guy. Oceana didn't do one-night stands. She only had one experience, and that was with her boyfriend.

She shook her head, entering the class and spying Marcus, who had fallen asleep. She rolled her eyes and took a seat in the middle of the room. She figured the bell would ring and wake him up, anyway. Oceana was wearing a purple tank top with flowers, and matching pants. As soon as she sat down, her eyes went to the board. While she was away from Brandon, she might as well focus on her class work again. Pulling out her notebook, she began copying the notes.

Jack shrugged, trying not to show how frustrated he was really feeling. He was supposed to be able to charm any girl, and he normally could. Except this one. Oceana Kwan was the only girl who never responded favorably to his charm. It was like she was immune or something! He knew he shouldn't let it bug him, he would have a chance to do what he wanted with her, whether or not she liked him, on Saturday night.

But it did. He had no idea why. He wasn't really into all of these girls like Isaac was. And yet, it bothered him that Oceana didn't swoon over him. He decided to try one more time, but the bell rang. Grumbling, he took a seat nearest the door. He didn't care about any damned project, or anything else that he read on the board. He only cared about one thing. But with the game so close, he knew he had to be extra careful. He was a jock now. He needed to act like one. And as a jock, he should be acting excited over the championship game on Friday. “Everyone's coming to the game, right? We're gonna slaughter Lakehurst!” he announced with feigned excitement in his voice. Yeah, he really didn't care. But he knew how to act like he did.

[Alanna Adams]

"Get the hell out, you don't come back during spirit week dressed like that," Tommy's voice was teasing as Aaron walked side-by-side with him to the classroom door. The two had met back up that day. It had been a while since he saw the other guy. It had been a long time since he really saw a lot of the kids from Degrassi. He missed a few here and there. But Aaron had always been the type that was only seen now and then anyway. It wasn't as if he spent all his time around his friends. Tommy had been all right. The two of them got along and had partnered up in PE the year before a couple of times. He didn't have a clue it was Spirit Week, but apparently that was what it was, and he didn't know if he would have dressed up anyway. He was dressed in his normal jeans and a tee-shirt and didn't feel all that bad about it. Of course, Tommy was giving him hell for it, and he shook his head laughing.

"Maybe I just don't wear pyjamas." He replied with a smirk, the two heading into the classroom to find their spots. Tommy cracked up and sat down just behind Willow.

"Don't let Willow hear that," he joked, only because his sister was right there, and he gently reached forward and gave her a little nudge to the back of her shoulder in greeting. He was dressed in a plain Degrassi tee shirt and sweatpants. Hey, at least he put forth the effort! Tommy was a jock though and school spirit went with the whole thing. Plus, it was kind of fun to be able to throw on something he'd normally wear to bed. It was easy and comfortable, though he really felt like he needed to be heading to sleep than to classes. And if he couldn't give someone hell about not dressing up, then who could? Tommy thought that by being the jock, he was simply entitled to that. And when he heard Jack's exclamation, he chuckled. "They might as well already be six feet under," he called back over.

Without a word to anyone, Zach slipped into the classroom. His head was down, and was trying like hell to focus on anything but what people were saying around him. He wanted quiet. Pure, quiet. The last night was stuck in his head. Coincidentally, he'd caught an interview of some political analyst on some damn news station, only to find out that good old dad was doing interviews in Canada that week. The whole thing brought memories back that made him sick to his stomach. The sight of him drove a certain fear in him. What if he found out he was out of the hospital? He could find him, shove him right back into that damned place and he didn't know if they'd let him be strong enough to break out a second time. All night, he tossed and turned with nightmares, with the knowledge that his dad was somewhere. Now, he was always close, and probably closer than he was right now. He crossed the border, that was all. But New York was never that far, not far enough for him to feel completely at ease. It was irrational, but he was irrational. It must have been the anxiety, but his head pounded, and while the voice talked, it wasn't as painful as the headache.

He sat down at a desk, dropping his bag to the ground before resting his head against his arms. It was Jack that made his eyes open lazily and look over him. Did he not get the list bit of irony in saying that? He didn't have the energy to address him however and instead chuckled under his breath and rested his head back down against his arms, shutting his eyes.

Alanna (wearing this) turned out to walk right in on Spiderman and yelped as silly string was sprayed at her. "Bad Spidey! You take out bad guys! Bad guys." She scolded, even though she didn't know even know the guy. She didn't know how many kids she was going to know. She figured a lot of them stayed after middle school, but there were always new students too. "Bad guys like..." She looked around the room, looking for someone to put on the spot, and Jack did that for himself, by calling out about the game. And since he looked like the jock type, she thought it would be completely silly to reference him. Because he was probably a good boy jock type. "Him!" She gestured, but in case Jack looked, she flashed him a playful smile. She wasn't looking to make enemies. As she finished wiping the silly string off, she took a seat, seeing Augusta. "Augusta!"

[Deleted]

Hazel looked up as the bell rang. “all right, you guys. Settle down. Listen for your names quietly if you don't want a pop quiz. Jack?”

“here!”

“Zach's here. Isaac?”

“si”

“Ok, put up the guitar, the bell has rung. And Matt?” Hazel looked around. “Matt? No Matt. Ok.” She marked Matt tardy, knowing that he could and probably would, come in late. “Marcus?”

“here”

“Oceana?”

“present”

“Aaron?”

Isaac groaned and put his guitar away. He looked up at the board and copied it down, even if he didn't exactly know what it said. He could hear English ok at times, but reading English was a different story. To him, they were just a bunch of confusing letters. But if his dad were to check his binders, they would be full of notes. He copied down the teacher's writing exactly. It wasn't that he was embarrassed to ask for help. If he really wanted to, he could flirt with some girl and get some help. But he didn't care. He didn't think he needed it. Because he knew how to read music notes, and that was all that mattered to him.

Marcus stared at her, wide-eyed. It was a good thing his face was hidden because he would have been mortified if she had seen him like that. She was gorgeous! Those long legs, that beautiful hair. Marcus decided it must be love at first sight. Even as she scolded him, a smile crept on his face. “How else is Spidey supposed to attract a beautiful Mary Jane?” he asked, flirting with her. Yeah, he was a Spiderman nerd. And a dork altogether. But he couldn't be called a wimp. He at least tried to hit on her.
“I'm Marcus,” he introduced himself.

Augusta had been staring into space when she heard her. “What?” she snapped, before realizing who it was. “Oh my god. Alanna? Is that you?” She jumped up, wrapping her arms around her as she pulled her into a hug. It had been years since she moved away! They were in what? 8th grade? Augusta had wanted to go with her when she left, and had even offered to disguise herself as a chair or something. But, they both knew that she would have gotten caught. “I can't believe you're back!”

Willow scoffed and stood up. “Wow. Alanna. Look at you. It's been so long,” she said with feigned kindness. “Love the pj's.” No, no she didn't. Willow was standing there, wearing this. And the girl didn't look sexy at all. She looked childish. Smirking, she said, “Cute hat. You know, Aaron's five year old sister has one just like it!” She had already turned her nose down to the girl, and she had just gotten there.

Once she finished with Alanna, she walked over to Aaron and smiled. “Hey, big guy.” she was now ignoring the girl altogether. Sliding herself onto Aaron's lap, she flipped her brown hair. “Are things finally slowing down for Mr. College Student?”

Oceana watched Willow then looked at Tommy. “And you two are related? Geez.” She shook her head, before returning to what she was doing. Oceana had some beads and was making a lizard. It was for Brandon. She was going to sneak to the post office and get it sent off. Even if she couldn't call, she wanted him to know that it wasn't because she didn't want to. Her mom had done the whole forbid-you-to-ever-talk-to-him-again. Maybe she shouldn't have ran off to LA, for as much good as it did her. But at least she got to see him.

Jack said, looking back at Alanna with a wink. “I can be a bad guy if you want me to,” he added to her. Sure, he felt a little something for Delilah. But he was Mr. Charming. He needed to say something right away and let her know. He was the cool jock from Sydney. Everyone loved him. Well, ok, not everyone. But he was getting there. He looked back at Tommy with a grin. “And after we're done, I'm having a party at my place to celebrate. My parents won't be home.” Well, not alive, anyway, Jack relied on his teammates to help him bring his popularity up quite a bit. Tommy especially, cause he seemed to be cool with everyone.

When he spotted Zach, he stood up and walked over, smacking the back of his head and picking up his bag. “Well, hello, mate. You look like you had a long night. But then, I guess nights in the shelter are always long, aren't they? You know, your dad called. Even he thinks you'd be better off in the pound.” he smirked and slung the other boy's bag over his shoulder, only to hear Natasha squeal two seconds later.

“Jack! That's so mean! He's not a dog! And you know, hitting him isn't very nice.” She jumped up, wrapping her arms around Zach. “Are you ok? I don't know what's gotten into him! He's a nice guy You know, we were on a trip to Disneyworld together, and he kept his girlfriend from trying to fight me. Not that I would have fought her if he hadn't. I don't fight people, I take them shopping and that normally calms them down.” she giggled and bounced right in the seat next to him, talking 90 miles an hour.

“You're Zach Briar, right? Oh, I know who you are! You wanna know a secret? I totally nominated you to be a Prom Prince! I hope you get it, too! I mean, come on! You're like the cutest guy in this class, you know?” She hoped that would take his mind off of Jack. She honestly thought that Jack was probably just having a bad day. A lot of people were. But at least, maybe she could cheer Zach up some.

Jack rolled his eyes at Natasha and tossed Zach's bag in the trash before going over to Alanna. “Alanna? Did I hear that right?” he asked, putting one arm around her arms. “The name's Jack Basely,” he said with a smile and another wink that he had picked up from Tommy and a few other guys that spent their lives flirting. Hey, it was working for him.

The door opened and Matt slipped inside, not saying a word to anyone. But then again, when did he? He nodded to Hazel, who spoke up and said “Mr. Del Rossi, you're late.” But he didn't answer her. He knew he was late. She knew he was late. So what was the point in saying anything? He wandered to the side of the room that was empty, intending to sit alone, as usual. Matt liked things this way. He found peace and solace. As had been the custom since he found out what Jack was doing, he avoided eye contact and simply had a seat.

[Alanna Adams]

Aaron shook his head a little when she insulted Alanna, and gave her a small smile, as if to say that he wasn't going to insult her hat and that his little sister probably didn't have one exactly like that. Though, it didn't look like the blonde was offended at all, which was good on her. He didn't think she should be. As Willow sat on his lap though, he was more than distracted and rested his hand on her leg, mostly because it was there. They were in the middle of class, so it couldn't go anywhere and he wouldn't have let it anyway. He was taken and completely loved the girl he was with. And Willow just wasn't a Lindsay. But, she was hot and he was a guy that liked some attention. "Yeah," he replied with a smile. "And how's the queen of Degrassi? Keeping your subjects in line?" He asked, jokingly. Though she was queen bee, so he imagined the answer was yes.

Tommy nodded a little. He never understood the need to be cruel to anyone. He got along with everyone for the most part. There were some people that got under his skin and he ignored them or people he really didn't have a chance to notice, but he wasn't going to rule the school with an iron fist and a sharp tongue. He didn't run the school at all. "I like to think of her as my evil twin." He replied to Oceana, jokingly with a smile. "What're you making?" He asked, peering over at her desk, curious.

The hit to the back of his head caused Zachary to hiss in pain. The headache was worsened by the contact, and he didn't move at first, just kept his head down in hopes that it would settle quickly. When he started talking though, his head lifted and his eyes narrowed into a cold glare. Not only was he being insulting and bringing up his dad in the same sentence, but he was resorting to taking his things. Suddenly, he felt like he was five, getting picked on by the school bully and took a breath. "I'm sure he thinks better than me, than your daddy ever thought of you," he growled under his breath. He didn't want to hear him. Really, he would have loved to shove a knife right through him. Sighing, he heard another voice, but was stunned silent when he felt arms around him. He wasn't used to being touched at all, let alone hugged. He froze, just sitting there, unable to cut in, because she was talking one hundred miles per hour and the teenager couldn't keep up.

Jack was nice? He knew he used his charm, but if only she knew. He was sure Jack would have loved to cut her up. And it was disgusting. She seemed like a nice girl. A very talkative, peppy girl. But nice, and not deserving of that. When she said she nominated him for prince, he blinked. He knew full well he wasn't cute. He was ugly. At least, that was how he saw himself. Even in his head, he heard laughter and the reassurance that he was, in fact, a monster. Even if she nominated him, he was positive he wouldn't win anything. It was a popularity contest and he had no reason to be worried. Because, that title was something he never wanted. "Uhm... Thanks? I-- Yeah, it's nice to meet you." He was stuttering slightly, trying to get into the conversation awkwardly. "Sorry, I'm tired." That was a good excuse. By now, he knew where his bag was, but he made no move to go get it. Eventually, he'd go get it, and maybe beat Jack with it... Or not.

Alanna giggled a little at Spiderman. The kid had guts, she had to give him that. "Well, if that's what you were doing, congratulations on a job well done. I'm Alanna." She introduced herself. There was no need to be rude to him. He was dorky, but kind of adorable. And she had no shame in that. Of course, now she had to deal with the bitch of the school, but that was easily handled too.

"Oh, thanks sweetie! My dad's whore's got pyjamas just like those too! I always thought they made her look like the right mixture of sleazy and cheap, but not too cheap." She snapped right back. Oh, she wasn't going to listen to that. She liked her clothes and wasn't going for the sexy factor. But, apparently she got more than enough attention and at Jack's response, she smirked. "I'll hold you to that." When he came over to her, she smiled. He was cute, well, more hot than cute, but hey. She looked him over, pretty shameless about it. "Jack, huh? It's really nice to meet you."

And it would have been nicer to get to know him, even with class starting. It was the late kid that got her attention and she let out a high pitched noise, akin to a squeal and jumped out of her seat. "Mattie!" She had been friends with Matt, long before she moved. And wow, did he look different. She rushed over to him, not even caring if class started and wrapped her arms around him, practically in a tackle. "Oh my god! You're not even a geek anymore!" She said, immediately touching his hair. 'How could you get hot and not tell me?" She teased, not caring about the huge disruption. It was Matt!

[Deleted]

Hazel nodded and looked at her roll sheet. "Tommy?"

"Oh, he's here" Augusta answered her

"Alright. Willow--never mind. I see you. Natasha?"

"Right here!" she called

"and Augusta. All right. guys?" she stood up and sighed. "Guys! I need your attention"

Isaac saw the jar in her hand. He wondered what that was for. Either essay or a group project. He looked around at the class. If it was a project, he wanted to work with Tommy. He was the only one in the class that the boy really liked. He and Asriel were the two that Isaac would consider to be friends. And he was happy with his little circle of friends. Of course, he'd be happier when he found bandmates. He stayed quiet as Hazel attempted to get the class's attention. He had seen enough of this teacher to know that she had the mistaken view that detention slips were candy. And detention just wasn't Isaac's thing.

"Mar-Marcus." Didn't he just give her his name? He was sure he did. Ah, well, now she definitely knew it. He watched her handle Willow with a grin slowly appearing on his face. It was a good thing that Willow couldn't see because he watched as the queen bee's face turned red, and he could see target signs in her eyes. It would only be a matter of time, he knew. And generally, when Willow didn't like someone, Rachel, Abigail, and Shania made their lives miserable. The guys had it easier, they weren't expected to actually say anything. They were just there to look good and be cushions for Willow. Of course, he knew that had Shequial been in this class, Willow wouldn't be coddling Aaron like that. Shequial was the queen bitch's boy toy. When he heard Hazel, he quickly sat down. resting his arms on the desk.

"Oh, it's ok! Not everyone likes getting up early like I do. Oh my god, I totally got up and the sunrise was like, extra gorgeous this morning, you know? And I'm totally excited for today! I just love these spirit weeks! And you know, they're totally telling scary stories in the auditorium during lunch today and we get pizza! You should totally come and like, sit with me, you know? I just LOVE scary stories, even if I do get scared and if I get scared, well, then I have a perfectly good shoulder, you know?" She did hear Hazel calling for attention, otherwise she might never have stopped. She put a hand over her mouth and giggled "oops! I guess I should sit down. Nice talking to you!" she said and sat down in her seat with a giggle. She hadn't exactly taken her meds yet that morning.

Augusta smirked when she heard Alanna's answer to Willow. "Damn, girl. You just totally cheered me up." She said as she sat back down, a smile appearing on her face for the first time that day. And sure, Carson helped her a lot. Her best friend helped her come up with a kick-ass cheer to break up with him. It was going to be a nice ending to her cheering for the year. But it hadn't exactly cheered her up. Now, seeing Willow being called a sleazy, cheap whore--that cheered her up.

Willow's eyes narrowed. The girl was brave, but that wasn't a good thing when it came to talking to her. Who did she think she was? Oh, Willow wasn't going to tolerate it. For now, though, she would let it slide. It would be handled, but not until she had her girls with her. When Aaron spoke up, she looked at him "absolutely. You're coming to the slumber party tonight, right? We could have lots of fun" she winked at him, putting her hand on his to bring it closer to her drawstring of her pj pants. She gave him a flirty grin, but was quickly distracted by Augusta. Her head turned and she glared at her. Did she really expect to get away with that? Smirking, she looked her up and down. "And how is Ali, Augusta? Oh, wait. I should be asking Summer that, now, shoudln't I?"


"Ehh. Just something for my boyfriend. I tried to go live with him. Didn't work." she shrugged and tied the string once she had finished one of the legs. Well, obviously it didn't work since she was back. She looked at the beads and held the thing up, half finished "his name is Moe" she informed him with a smile. Yeah, she was odd. But she liked it. She liked all of her weird pets and her job. And her hair--she was pretty sure it was the whole reason why Willow tended to leave her alone. Who wanted to mess with the girl with purple hair? When Hazel spoke up, she sighed and stuck her work in progress in her backpack. "You have my attention." she answered the teacher.

Jack scoffed at Zach's attempt to offend him. The truth was, he was probably right. But Jack was never close to his father anyway. It was his mum that he was close to. "And yet, you're the one in a homeless shelter while I'm in a house. Go figure, mate" he said with a wink. When he saw that smile of hers, he knew she was falling for his charm. The whole charming thing was getting really easy. "Nice to meet you too, luv" he said, putting a hand on her shoulder as he made his way to his desk and sat down. He didn't really need detention, after all.

Matt blinked when he was suddenly tackled. He looked up at her and fought back a smile, if only for his image. When she touched his hair, he moved his head, trying to get it out of her reach. He really didn't like his hair being messed with. He didn't say a word, because he didn't want to be rude and tell her to go away. But at the same time, he had his image to protect. Matt was a loner, he was the guy nobody messed with. Well, Brandon messed with him. And Jack. But most people left him alone. He didn't have to say anything, though, because Hazel spoke up.

Hazel was really not in the mood to spend half the class period waiting for everyone's attention. Opening her drawer, she pulled out her detention slip pad and held it up. "So, who's gonna be the first volunteer?" she asked, nice and loud for all of them to hear. To Alanna, she patted her desk. "Come stand in front of the class."