At Any Cost
Lying in my plastic bed
Thinking how things weren�t so
Cool to me
My baby likes to shoot pool
I like lying naked in my bedroom... (Sublime - �Pool Shark�)
CHAPTER 2
�Whoah! Sorry... did I startle you? What�s wrong?� she heard a voice say distantly, but she was in the past now....
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Lyssa had been playing basketball with her friends out in the back. She was laughing and talking with her friend Reeci as she glanced at the front door. She heard Reeci gasp and saw her point. Kyra, her identical twin was standing on the back step, covered from head to toe in dark red blood. Lyssa cried out and darted to Kyra, gently grabbing her as she fell and placing her head in her lap. She heard gurgling sounds.
�Lys.... Lyssaaa....� heavy breathing, as if it hurt to talk, then �Lyssa, help me. I think I�m dying. I�m so scared,� her twin sister said. Lyssa saw the pained, frightened look on her twin�s face, like a rabbit being chased. She held her hand.
�Shhhh... it�s going to be ok. It�s gonna be ok now. I promise, I haven�t lied to you yet, have I?� Lyssa said softly to her now dying twin. She could hear Reeci talking hysterically on the phone: �Yes, the address is 4750 Great Oaks Drive. My friend�s sister has been shot, I think. We were playing basketball and....� her voice trailed off as though she walked away.
Reeci ran back with towels, breaking Lyssa from her reverie. �The operator guy said to try and stop the bleeding. They�re on their way,� she said. They gently swabbed most of the blood off of Kyra, finding out that the source of the gushing blood was from the jugular vein in her neck. Lyssa kept a towel pressed to her neck while Reeci wiped as much of the blood up as possible, as the sirens in the distance wailed on and on....
**************
�Hey Lyssa! Lyssa, yoohoo! We�re walking past Chemistry. You sure you�re ok?� Jacob said, waving his hand in front of her face. She shook her head quickly, as though startled.
�Yeah. Yeah, I�m all right, just thinking. Sorry about that.� Jacob looked at her strangely, but didn�t say anything. They walked into Chemistry together, causing many eyes to look up, the guys torn in admiration for her and envy that Jacob was walking with her, the girls� green with envy. She never realized how beautiful she was. She smiled at Jacob, which caused him to grin impishly, and then went to find a seat.
She found one 3 seats up from Jacob and 2 rows over. Unfortunately, Lory Morrison sat behind her. She sat down and began getting her notebooks out when a folded piece of paper landed on her desk. She frowned and looked around briefly, then opened it. These scrawled words greeted her eyes:
Bitch,
Don�t walk with my boyfriend again, or I�ll be very upset. And you don�t want to see me upset. ....
Lyssa crumpled the paper in her fist and spoke loudly.
�Whoever has the balls to pass me a note in class had better have the balls to tell me this to my face,� she said, loud enough for the whole class to hear. She stood up and turned to face the class. She laughed, an ugly little laugh.
�You know, where I come from, if you can�t get the nerve to say what you gotta say to someone to his or her face you�re considered a coward. I guess that�s what we�ve got here,� she said, waving the now crumpled note and looking directly at Lory. She tossed the crumpled ball in the trash and sat down again. She looked at Mr. LeRoux, the chemistry teacher.
�I�m sorry sir. I come from a school where I spoke my mind, and I don�t think it will stop here. I won�t do it again,� she said softly to the teacher. He nodded.
�OK Ms. Johnson, but just this once. Now, back to the lesson. Anyway, as I was saying, perovskites are a type of mineral structure that...� Just then the bell rang. �Ok, ok. Stay right where you are. I want you to read pages 156 - 176. And there will be a quiz tomorrow,� Mr. LeRoux finished saying as the class groaned. �Yes, yes I know. Now you may leave. And Ms. Johnson, stay back for a moment, would you?�
