Sk8er Boi (Logan Reese)

nine: probationary period

Quinn avoided me the whole night we spent in our room. She kept giving me death stares, but it didn't bother me one bit. I was fine with being on my side of the room, listening to my music and doing my homework. Once it was bedtime, she didn't even tell me when she was going to turn the lights off. She just turned them off and I had to put my homework away. It slightly angered me, but I kept my anger hidden so that I wouldn't get into more trouble. 

I didn't sleep good during the night. At first, I had troubles falling asleep. For some odd reason, I couldn't get Logan out of my mind, which was weird. We weren't even friends (I didn't know what we were, honestly), so why was I thinking about him? Maybe it was because he was the only one on my side after the fight.

Second, my hand was killing me. I knew what it felt like to punch someone, but it had been a while since I did it, so I wasn't expecting it to hurt so bad. It didn't help that my whole right arm was sore as well from falling onto it. It would get better soon, though, so I didn't bother with going to the nurse. 

And lastly, I couldn't get Dean Rivers' words out of my head. He told me that I did belong here, unlike what Lola and my own mother told me. It was the worst thing that could be told to someone, and two people had told me that I didn't belong. It sucked that it hurt me. I didn't want to feel anything with those words, but I did, and it cut me deep. To be honest, I cried myself to sleep once I was able to. 

I slept fitfully. My dreams were plagued by different people telling me that I didn't belong anywhere, that I wasn't wanted. It was awful, to dream about all my worst fears. That was why I shoved my fears and bad feelings down into the deepest depths of my soul, away from the light of day. But they always seemed to come out at night, haunting me in my dreams. 

Once early morning came, I was half asleep in bed, not wanting to get up. I heard Quinn get up in my half asleep state, but didn't bother with opening my eyes. She probably wanted to get ready for the day. I wasn't going to get up that early. 

And then I felt something on my forehead. My eyes flashed open and Quinn was leaning over me, holding a few of her inventions in her hands. One of the inventions was touching my forehead, like she was trying to probe my mind. I groaned, closing my eyes for a second. It was too early for her to make me angry. 

"Quinn, I'm going to murder you," I said without opening my eyes, "if you don't get away from me right now."

Her footsteps were loud as she ran away from me. I heard her inventions hit the ground, and then the door slammed shut. My eyes opened, and I was glad that she left the room. She had no right using her inventions on me without my consent. She was one of the craziest people here, and I was not glad to be her roommate. 

Since I was awake, I decided I would get dressed and head over to the library. Dean Rivers emailed me and told me that a list of places to volunteer at was at the library. Hopefully it would be open this early in the morning. 

Slipping out of my bed, I rummaged through my clothes and grabbed the darkest outfit I could. I wanted to blend in with the shadows today, and this outfit would help me achieve that. Once I was satisfied with the way I looked, I grabbed my phone and MP3 and headphones, sticking the headphones in my ears. My music was on the softer side today, which was fine with me. It was quiet since it was early morning, so I really didn't need my music to be screaming in my ears. 

I stepped out into the hallway, walking over to an exit near my room. I shoved the door open and slowly walked outside. The sun was gaining height in the sky, barely cresting the tops of the trees in the distance. It was a nice, pleasant morning, but I didn't like it. A warm wind was blowing through the abandoned PCA campus, which meant that it was going to be stifling later in the day. Great. 

The trek to the library was very uneventful since no one else was around. I saw some lights in the building, so I let myself in. There were a couple of librarians in there, and they kept their eyes on me as I made my way to the table that displayed the volunteer list. Dean Rivers was right; everyone would be watching me to make sure I did what was asked of me. It wasn't any different than the other schools I went to. 

There was a binder full of many different places where us students could volunteer at. Each page was a different place, but none of them piqued my interest. I didn't have many interests, so it was hard for me to find something that I would enjoy doing. 

The very last page looked newer, and my heart constricted in my chest. A local museum was asking for people my age to volunteer there. My dad and I went to this exact museum right before he took off, leaving me with my horrible mother. We had the best day at the museum, and he promised me he would take me again. He broke that promise. 

At the bottom of the page was a place where you could write your name and email address. After a moment of hesitation, I picked up the pen next to the binder and scribbled my things down. I would probably regret this later on, but I didn't quite care then. I wanted to feel closer to my dad again, and this was the only way to do so.