Kris sat against the wall on the edge of her bed. No matter what position she tried, she couldn�t get to sleep. Ultimately she just said �fuck it� and turned on some music. It was towards morning and she�d have to go to school in an hour or so. Cynthia�s alarm clock was set to go off in twenty minutes, so she could turn up the music then. Right now it was just barely audible, but there enough to help pass the time.
She�d walked to the mirror and looked at herself in it. She had a large bruise on her right cheek and a small cut, but otherwise she looked alright on the outside. Her leg stopped hurting enough so her limp wasn�t noticeable, but it still hurt. He�d busted another rib, she knew it. He had to. It�d only hurt this bad when she was in the accident. Her bones were still rather brittle, so the kick the previous evening had done it enough to make it snap. She was lucky she finished all her physical education requirements already. She didn�t have to worry about any strenuous tasks on her body.
When her mother�s alarm clock went off and she heard the shower running, she turned up the music so she could hear it clearly. Her alarm went off in the middle of the next song, so she climbed over and winced before shutting it off and resetting it for the next day. Why her mother let her stay out so late the night before and expect her to wake up at six in the morning was beyond her. Well, she didn�t sleep so she didn�t have to worry about it.
The shower went off and Kris got up. She walked over to the shower, pain shooting through her leg and in her chest. The warm water against her skin didn�t make it hurt any less. If anything it made her hurt more. She showered quickly, trying to get as clean as she could without hurting herself.
She brushed her teeth and washed her face before looking at herself. Shit, she thought. Where her rib was hurting lay a huge bruise. It was the same thing that happened when she broke them, so it must be just as bad as she thought. Sighing, she decided against looking extra pretty that day, and just threw on her robe without blow-drying her hair of putting on any make up.
Kris stood in front of her closet, looking for something to wear. The pain of going to public school�deciding what to wear. The majority of her clothes were violations of the dress code, mostly because she had better things to do than spend money on clothes she could wear to school. It made her look rather poor that she wore pretty much the same thing all the time, but anyone who�d been to her house knew better than that.
After debating in her head, she just gave up and picked out an outfit. It didn�t matter if it was a violation or not, she�d stopped caring already. She threw on her clothes and slipped on shoes before going downstairs. Her mother was down there making coffee, and was rather surprised when Kris walked into the room.
�I didn�t think you�d wake up. What time did you get in last night?�
�Two thirty.�
�Well at least you were early. I was going to let you skip today but if you�re so insistent that you�re ready to go, I don�t mind.� Kris rolled her eyes. Cynthia said that all the time. Kris opened the pantry and grabbed a breakfast bar. She turned around and walked to the garbage can to throw away the wrapper. �Oh my God what happened to you?�
�What?� Kris asked, looking up at her mother.
�Your face! Where�d you get that bruise?� Cynthia walked closer and inspected it.
�I ran into the door last night. That�s what you get for letting me stay out so late, I nearly fell asleep on the way upstairs!� Cynthia gave her a look.
�Fine then, you have to come home once you get tired now.� Kris shrugged and took a bit out of her breakfast bar. Instant pain came to her and she spit it out in the garbage.
�Ow!�
�Let me guess, the door hit a tooth too,� Cynthia said. �You must of smacked yourself good. Open up.� Kris opened her mouth, revealing a space in the back of her mouth where a tooth should be. �You lost a tooth.�
�Crap.�
�I�ll set up an appointment with the dentist so you can get a crown. You�re lucky it�s in the back of your mouth where no one will notice.� Kris shrugged. �Stick to liquids for a little while.�
�Well there goes my breakfast.� She threw the bar away and walked out of the room. She didn�t have to leave for another ten minutes, and she really didn�t feel like going early. She sat in front of the TV and flipped through the channels.
�Hanson are filming their next video in Chicago this week�� She nearly switched the station when Taylor suddenly appeared on the screen.
�The video takes place in a night club downtown, Milani.� Kris gasped. �I was there a few months ago and I thought the place was so great that we got a permit to film there.� She shut of the TV and grabbed her keys. Maybe she could be early today.
�I�m leaving.�
�Did I hear Taylor�s voice in there?� Cynthia asked.
�Yeah, he was on TV. Apparently they�re filming their new video down at Milani.� Cynthia looked up.
�Isn�t that the club you guys went to when you got into the accident?�
�Yes. I don�t understand why he would want to go there. I�d be happy if I never heard of that club again in my life, and he�s going to film there.�
�Maybe he�s just trying to remember you.�
�Yeah whatever. But I�m leaving now. See you later.� She walked out of the house and into her car. The drive to school was short, but still being in a car gave her chills. Ever since the accident she�d avoided being in a car as much as possible, but of course she couldn�t walk to school. She chose to drive herself because the only other person she trusted in a car was Brian, but she was completely out of his way. And since the stunt he pulled the night before, she didn�t want to be anywhere near him.
It was funny how many friends she got after the school found out she�d dated Taylor Hanson. It seemed that since she was worthy enough of some celebrity�s love, she was worthy of their friendship. She knew when she parked into her space that at least a few people would say hi to her in the trek from the parking lot to homeroom.
�Hey Kristina,� some odd person said. She knew it wasn�t a friend because he called her Kristina. No one called her that unless they didn�t know her. She smiled and waved back. She wished in the back of her mind that he�d just go away, but he persisted. �Hey, what happened to your face?�
�Do I know you?� she asked, stopping. She�d forgotten about the bruise on her face.
�I sit behind you in Chemistry.�
�Then I don�t know you.� She walked off, ignoring him. These people really got on her nerves after a while. The boys heard the rumor that Taylor knocked her up in the bathroom at Milani (which was actually true, but she denied it) and figured her an easy catch. The girls admired her for �snagging a rock star� even though Hanson was still pop in her eyes. A lot of them even went as far as giving her names, such as Easy K. It derived from when someone heard Brian call her Special K, and then decided to switch it. Someone even once called her �S. S. Carter where everyone gets a ride.� Where they pulled that one from was beyond her.
Brian got out of his car in front of her, and turned around just in time to see her. �Hey Kris.�
�Hi Brian,� she said, as casually as possible. �Aren�t you going to inquire about my cheek?�
�I know what happened.�
�Yeah but your admiring public doesn�t.�
�Where�d you pull that from?�
�Well you�re the only guy so far that�s gone out with the girl that fucked Taylor Hanson.�
�I told them that we screwed enough times to make up for it.�
�Bastard.�
�Slut.� Brian noticed Guy walking to his building. �Hey Guy!�
�Hey Brian, where�ve you been lately? Haven�t seen you in Anatomy lately.�
�You take Anatomy?� Kris asked. �Since when?�
�I dropped the class, I�m taking pottery now.�
�Ooh, fun!� Guy said, laughing. He looked at Kris. �Kris, what happened to you? You look like you had a fight with a door and the door won.�
�Yeah, you can say that,� Kris said. �I was a bit out of it last night and I never did agree with doors.�
�Well I gotta talk to you guys later. Ms. Jowanna wants to see me and I think it�s over the test yesterday.�
�Chemistry�s a killer,� Kris said. �And Jowanna is a bitch. See you.�
�Bye guys.� He walked off. Kris looked around to see if anyone else was around.
�Brian, I�m going to the hospital after school.�
�Why?�
�I think you broke one of my ribs.�
�What�s your story?�
�I fell down the stairs.�
�How?�
�Sleepwalking.�
�Like they�re going to believe that.� She took a breath, her chest hurting as she did so. �Try something else.�
�I could always say my boyfriend beat the shit out of me.� He put his hand over her mouth and looked around to make sure that no one else heard her.
�Listen to me, Kris. I didn�t do anything to you and you know that. I didn�t do anything to you that you didn�t deserve, at least. Now you�re going to keep quiet about this or you won�t live to see the doctor.� He took his hand off her mouth.
�Fine.�
�I love you. I�m just doing this to help you.�
�I love you too, Brian.� He kissed her before walking off. As she watched him walk away, she flicked him off and made a face. �I hate you.� She turned around and walked to her homeroom.
She went into her room five minutes before the first bell rang, and found it rather interesting that there was people in there. Those in there were the people she never talked to. The room was silent, everyone doing their own thing. Her homeroom teacher, Mr. Siracusa, was sitting as his desk doodling. He never ceased to amuse her. Whether it was something stupid as doodling or attacking the other teachers in the school. He always had something to say, always had a nice remark to give when he sensed someone was a bit down. That�s why she waited for him to say something to her.
She knew he�d ask about the bruise on her cheek. It only made it worse cause her locker was right next to his desk, and his desk was on the side so he could see her bruise right away.
�So, did Brian hit you?�
The comment caught her off-guard. That was the last thing she expected him to say.
�Funny.�
�What happened?�
�I ran into a door last night,� she said, then immediately stuck her head in her locker. She wasn�t one to lie to anyone, and Mr. Siracusa had to be the hardest person for her to lie to. He was just so honest and he was a really good friends with her mother; that made it harder. Well he claimed to just be �really good friends� but Kris knew there were the hottest couple in Chicago.
�I don�t believe you, but I won�t pry. It must be serious if you have to lie to me.�
�I just don�t want to talk about it.� Mr. Siracusa was a certified psychiatrist, and she had a feeling he knew exactly what was going on. She glanced around to the other people. They were in their own little worlds; they wouldn�t hear her. They never paid attention anyway. �I tripped out of the car last night. My leg hurts.�
�You just shouldn�t move; you could kill yourself.�
�Exactly.�
�Cynthia and I are going out this weekend. Just thought I�d let you know.�
�When?�
�Saturday.�
�I�ll be out all day with Brian.� She grabbed a few books and looked at the schedule on the board. �We�ve planned a supposed �romantic getaway� for my birthday.�
�Yeah, that�s tomorrow. I forgot.�
�Well we just spent all weekend together last week for our anniversary�and now I have six classes with him cause he transferred into my pottery class. I think I�m having a Brian overload.�
�It�s a good thing he�s not in my Psychology class. It�d be hell to watch the two of you together.�
�You�ll only end up seeing us fight. As much as we may love each other, we fight like there�s no tomorrow.�
�At least you can vent.�
�Yeah, but after a while I get sick of fighting. When we went out before we couldn�t stay in the same room for five minutes without starting an all-out brawl. We did that a few times in Chemistry and Ms. Jowanna got pissed that she sent us to the guidance counselor and told us not to come back until we solved all our problems.�
�Is that what caused you to break up the first time?�
�That and I started dating Taylor.�
�What ever happened to that? You disappear from school for three weeks then suddenly you�re single again.�
�We went out and ended up getting into a car accident. I told you about that. We had a big tiff and I broke it off.�
�Why?�
�Cause I was upset.� She lowered her voice. �I�m completely regretting it now. I still have a lot of feelings for him.�
�They�re in town this week.�
�It just makes everything worse. I talked to Zac last night on the phone for a little while, but I have no intent on talking to Taylor.�
�Cause it�ll just jeopardize your relationship with Brian.�
�Yup.� She zipped up her bookbag and closed her locker. �So where are you taking my mother? Best be someplace fancy.�
�You know we�re just friends.�
�Yeah, and the pope�s a disturbed transsexual.�
�Where did you pull that one from?�
�I don�t know.� The bell rang. People began to walk into the room.
�Sit down or I�ll mark you absent.� She walked over to her seat and sat carefully down in it, placing her bookbag in front of her chair. Mike Wilder walked into the room last, grabbed a few books and then sat down next to her. She insisted on sitting in the front row, for no apparent reason other than not having to stare at the back of someone�s head.
�What happened to you?� Mike asked.
�I ran into a door.�
�Yeah, right.�
�Fine, I fell down the stairs.�
�What really happened?�
�I don�t want to talk about it,� Kris said, then sat back in her chair. It instantly sent a pain through her back, so she sat straight up.
�I hope it wasn�t serious or anything��
�No, you just don�t believe that I ran into a door. I bet you don�t believe I fell out of the car either.�
�That I believe, cause I�ve seen you do that before. I�ll believe you running into a wall cause you have a confusing house, but I don�t see you running into a door.�
�It happened, Mike.�
�What�s up your ass?�
�A probe.�
�Really?�
�Yeah. The aliens left it there after they abducted me the other day. It�s really uncomfortable.�
�I think it would be. So were these aliens nice or were they mean, heartless and cruel? Cause the thing with aliens is that they just don�t know when to stop.� Kris started laughing. �So what really happened, Kris?�
�I ran into a door. Believe it or not, I�m that stupid.�
�Okay, if you say so. It just seems like such a bad excuse that I figured you were lying. Just as long as you say so, I�ll believe you.�
�Thanks, Mike.�
�So when did you fall out of the car?�