"Maya! Come down for breakfast!" my uncle calls from downstairs in an unusually cheerful voice that is really annoying.

I roll my eyes and don't reply. Instead, I look at my mirror and examine what I'm wearing. Another school day means another outfit that says I don't really care. I'm wearing my usual t-shirt and jeans. I put a little effort into the outfit by rolling up the bottom of the jeans to match the fad that was going on, and I am wearing my gray polka dot converse.

I sigh unhappily at my reflection and grab my backpack, sliding my laptop inside, before heading downstairs. When I get to the bottom of the stairs, I'm greeted with an unpleasant smell. I walk into the kitchen and see my uncle sitting at the kitchen island.

I roll my eyes and sit down as far away from him as possible. Instead of taking the hint, he gets up and plops down next to me with a plate of something that looks and smells extremely disgusting.

"What the heck is that?" I ask him.

He chuckles. "What, it doesn't look good?"

"You're kidding, right?"

"Yeah, I am."

I roll my eyes and stand up. "Well, I got to go. See you later."

"You sure you don't want to eat?" he asks as though he's begging for me to stay and eat with him.

"I'm sure," I reply as I walk out the door.

I hurry down the path and into town. I ignore the stares some people send me. I walk up to my favorite coffee shop and enter through the back like I usually do. As I step inside, the smell of freshly baked pastries and freshly brewed coffee greets me. It's a much better smell than the house.

"I'm here," I call out.

Mrs. Caldwell, the sweet middle-aged lady who owns the shop, comes around a corner when I call out. She smiles when she sees me. She's the only one who is receptive towards me.

"Your usual, Maya?" she asks kindly.

"Yes, please," I say before she walks off to get my usual morning breakfast.

She's back quickly, holding a small brown paper sack and a cup of hot chocolate. I grab some money out of my bag before I take the food.

"Thank you," I say as I walk out.

"Have a great day, Maya!" she calls.

I sigh. If only she knew how badly I wanted a good day. I can't remember the last time when I actually had a good day. I continue to think as I eat my food and hurry to school. I throw my empty cup and sack in a trash can near the entrance of the school.

I'm about to pull my hood up when someone shoves me, making me fall down. I don't have to turn around to see who it is because she starts giggling her usual annoying giggle.

"Loving the ground? You should stay down there. After all, that's probably your rank in today's society," Cassandra taunts.

I bite my lip and wait for her to leave before I get up. If that incident was any indication of what today was going to be like, I better watch my back.

~•••••~

The lunch bell rings, and I hurry out of the classroom and to my favorite spot outside. I get my journal out and write while I eat.

When I hear a familiar giggle, I quickly stuff the notebook inside my backpack and pretend to just eat. Cassandra walks up with her clique and stands in front of me.

"You're just like your parents. You'll never be one of us, so why are you still here? Go to where you belong. You'll never belong here," she taunts.

I fight the urge to slap her and just listen to the horrible giggles of each and every one of the girls in her clique. They enjoy making people's lives miserable, but I've had to realize that I have to act like I don't care because I can't let them be satisfied with making me feel horrible.

"Let's see what is in that notebook of yours," Cassandra says mischievously.

Before I can stop her, she grabs my backpack and yanks my notebook out of my backpack, making all of my things in my backpack fly everywhere. She starts flipping through the notebook while laughing the whole time. I rise from my spot on the ground and give her one of my death glares,  while I try to take my notebook out of her hands.

"Stop," a soft voice commands from behind me.

I don't look behind me to see who it is, but they immediately stop. Cassandra's mouth goes wide as she drops the notebook and slowly backs away. Her group of girls follow her back inside the school.

I scowl and bend down to pick up my things. Someone comes and squats next to me and helps me pick my books up. I look at who it is. It's a strawberry blonde haired girl with brown eyes and "nerd" glasses. Her lips have a small frown on them, and she seems irritated.

"Those jerks," she mutters.

I ignore her words and finish picking my things up. She doesn't speak to me again until we finished and I was about to leave.

"I'm Allison, but you can call me Alli," she says with a smile.

I look at her suspiciously before waking away. I ignore her as she calls after me. No girl my age has ever been this nice to me, so why would she be any different?

I continue to wonder at the kindness of the girl all throughout the day and why Cassandra hurried off when she saw the girl. I go through the rest of my classes before hurrying out of the school and down to the beach. Most people, on Friday, would be going with friends, but I don't have any friends.

I walk to a far side of the small beach and sit down on a large, smooth rock. I listen to the soothing sound of the waves softly coming to the shore. This is probably the only thing I like about Clearwater Bay.

I get my notebook out and look over what I have written before coming up with an idea. I quickly write it down so I won't forget. The waves continue to softly come back to shore and back out as I write. Time flies, and before I realize it, it's already past five o'clock. I put my notebook back inside my backpack and hesitate to leave. I shouldn't have hesitated.

"The loser's here," a familiar voice mocks.

I turn to face Cassandra and see her wearing an insanely skimpy hot pink bikini. She's wearing expensive sunglasses and has her hands on her slim hips. Her lips are slightly upturned into a sarcastic smile.

"Where's your nerdy friend? She already abandoned you, huh?" Cassandra taunts.

I bite my lip and get up. Cassandra forcefully pushes me back down on the rock, causing me to feel pain in my rear end.

"Not so fast. You don't leave until I say so," she says with a smirk. "I don't think it should be legal to have a criminal like you walking around in Clearwater Bay. You don't belong here. You belong in a jail cell. Actually, an even better thing would be if you were never born. You're so ugly. Nobody likes you and nobody will."

I can't take any more, so I stand up and manage to knock her down. She scowls. I just give her one of my dark glares before pulling my hood up and walking away. I ignore her useless threats and begin to jog toward my uncle's house.

On my way down the path, I manage to trip and fall flat on my face. I grimace and wipe the dirt and rocks off my face. I feel a stinging sensation in my knee and ankle and see blood beginning to ooze out of my knee.

"Hey, you okay?" a deep yet soft voice asks me.

I turn around and see a guy with dark brown hair standing behind me. He has sunglasses and a baseball cap on, concealing his face. He looks to be a little older than I, but I can't really tell.

While I was having my useless thoughts, he was kneeling down beside me and is now looking at my knee and ankle.

"You're ankle isn't sprained, but it looks like it hurts. Do you need help getting home?" he asks.

I shake my head and stand up slowly. I almost fall over, but he steadies me.

"Please get your hand off me," I snap.

He ignores me, making me even more irritated. I try to get out of his gentle but strong grasp. His grip tightens slightly.

"I'm not sure you can get home alone," he says worriedly.

I roll my eyes. "My house is just down this path, and my ankle isn't hurting that much. Plus, I don't need a stranger to help me."

"If it's just down the path, that means we're neighbors. It wouldn't make sense to walk separately after running into each other," he states.

I roll my eyes. "I don't make sense, so it doesn't really matter. Now, please let go of me so I can get home."

He raises an eyebrow and lets go of me. "You win."

I roll my eyes and walk away from him. I hear footsteps behind me. I slowly turn around and see him behind me. He stops when I turn around. I sigh and continue walking. The footsteps don't stop.

I finally turn around and say something to him. "You were serious when you said we were neighbors."

He quickly catches up with me and stands across from me. "Yeah. I don't lie."

I smirk. "Ever been teased about that?"

He laughs. "Not until now. Most people I know don't make fun of me."

"Why is that? You're that special?" I say sarcastically.

He sighs. "You're a tough one, aren't you?"

I give a bitter laugh. "That's not the first time I've been told that."

"Well, it's the truth. You should be proud. Nobody would dare to mess with a tough person like you," he says.

I usually get angry at someone who makes that statement because people always say it like it's a bad thing. The way he says it, though, makes it sound like it's an actual compliment. I haven't been complimented for who knows how long.

"You obviously have no idea who I am," I tell him.

He smiles and starts walking. "Why don't you tell me while we walk to our houses."

I walk beside him and smirk. "You do realize you're walking with the town outcast that nobody likes?"

His smile falls. I smirk again. I knew that he would dislike me the minute he learned who I was. Everyone dislikes me when they find out. At this point, he's annoying the crap out of me, so I had to find a way to make him stop bothering me. Plus, I can know what he really thinks by his reaction.

"What liars tell you that?" he asks.

I roll my eyes and then realize what he had said. "What?"

"If people honestly see you like that, then I don't agree with them. Nobody should feel the way you do," he states adamantly.

I stop, and he stops. He stands across from me and stares at me expectantly. I pause so I can think of something to say.

"People honestly look at me with disgust. I guess you'll have to be disagreeing with everyone in this town," I finally reply.

He smiles at me and says, "I have no problem with disagreeing with everyone, especially when they're wrong."

I raise my eyebrow. "Why?"

"Why what?"

"Why are you being so nice? Nobody is ever nice to me."

He smirks. "I'm just a nice guy."

I roll my eyes. "Truth."

He sighs and runs his fingers through his hair. "I saw you earlier at the beach."

"So, you followed me," I say.

He shakes his head. "I left before you did. People were talking about a girl, and I couldn't stand to listen to them. From how quickly you hurried to the path, I can assume it was you. I can also assume it's you because you just told me that the town dislikes you for an unknown reason."

I raise my eyebrow again in surprise. "You have very good observations. All that information you just told me, means that you've heard all the things people have said about me."

He hesitates. "Um, yeah."

"It still doesn't make you feel any disgust toward me?" I ask a little nervously.

He shakes his head. "From what I can tell, their contempt towards you has no basis. Plus, I don't know you that well so I can't exactly judge you just on this conversation."

"Well, this conversation really peaked my interest, but I have to get going," I say as I begin walking again.

He walks with me for a few minutes before saying, "Is that it?"

I look up slightly and sigh at the sight of my uncle's house. "Yep."

He smiles and starts walking towards the house that is a little further down the path from my house. "I'll see you around."

I roll my eyes and hurry up to the front door.