The Price to Pay

Chapter One (Part 1)

"A thousand times we die in one life. We crumble, break and tear apart until the layers of illusions are burned away and that is left, is the truth of who and what we really are."

-Teal Scott

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Adeline

"I'm glad you're up, I didn't want to have to come up there and get you."

I roll my eyes, as I sit opposite of my dad who sits on the dining room table, his face buried in today's newspaper. I watch as his eyebrows furrow in frustration, he always finds something to dislike in the paper. Honestly, I think he willingly sought it out just so he could complain about it all day.

His graying dark brown hair stood out in every direction, I must look like a saint compared to his bed head.

I stayed up all last night, going to bed early seemed out of the question, seeing as I felt like utter crap. I knew something had to be wrong but it didn't feel as though I had the flu or a cold, I just felt off. I couldn't explain it if I tried, not even to James. He wanted to stay up all night with me but I had insisted he go to bed; he took school and grades more seriously than me anyway.

I'm about to tell my dad that I was going to walk to school today but he stops me, with a quick shake of the head.

"No, stop right there. I'm driving you, I don't feel like talking with your dean again this week. She is very persistent on the whole threatening to suspend you bit." He doesn't even look up from his newspaper as he speaks.

He wasn't, in, fact lying about the whole dean thing, she really had it out for me this school year. Then again, I kind of ask for it. My teachers used to leave me alone, maybe because they felt sorry for me, I didn't really care. But now they seem to all want to attack me, part of my teachers simply feel that I have my whole life to mourn. The other half think I should most likely move on and think of the future. I haven't decided which one of the two is more wrong or right. Or maybe they are both wrong and I really just hate school; I sometimes forget.

I laugh, finding his dislike for the manly woman equality the same as my own, "Are you sure dad, I think she likes you." I hide my smile behind my hand as he glares at me from the top of his newspaper.

"Don't even go there Addie, Ms. Whatever her name is, scares me." This time, I can't help the loud laughter that echoes through our small dining room.

Gripping my bag, I shoulder it before standing, "Hey, I thought we were going to be late," I asked, still stifling a laugh.

"Oh right, come on kiddo." Rushing up from his chair he grabs his keys and wallet off the dining room table, heading to the front door.

I ignore his use of the word kiddo and follow him to the front door only to beat him to it. I open it, quickly walking to the passenger side of our black Nissan.

My dad is an insurance agent; he is paid pretty well. After being with the company for several years they bump him every now and then. He needed a career, not a job to keep his mind busy, it was good for him.

I wait for my dad to unlock the door and casually stride to the driver's side. For someone who is so worried about me being late, he sure took his time.

Sighing, I open the door when he clicks the button that unlocked it automatically.

My dad insisted on driving me to school which was only a short distance, barely a quarter of a mile. I used to walk but I would be late so he insisted on taking me but what he doesn't know is that I intended to be late. Being late meant you didn't have to bump into people as they rushed to their class. There was no sucking on each other's faces couples or the freshmen who insisted on acting like four-year-olds. Nothing bothered me more than people.

After about five minutes, we arrived at the renowned J. Edgar High school of this very quiet and pristine neighborhood. Which is filled with nothing but hypocrites, bullies, and the occasional floozy.

I couldn't help but feel glum staring at the red brick buildings. It was an open campus, the halls and lockers were outside, classes were visible through the large door windows and the staircases stuck out like a sore thumb. It was a complex layout but in the end, you get used to it. When I first started here, I got lost like every day, it was not only embarrassing but tedious.