Misanthropy

The first week of school wasn’t too awful, I suppose. It had gotten around that I was a bitch, so students kept their distance. The teachers had heard the rumor as well, which is why they’re already surprised that I do my work as told and keep straight A’s. It was pretty ironic, I have to admit. Most people with my type of attitude and reputation don’t care about grades. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t care much for grades either. I just want to graduate and get my education done and over with. I can’t do that if I get low grades all of the time.

Because of my high grades and reputation, the teachers allow me to do all work that’s supposed to be “group work” on my own. I’ve proved that I am not a team player in the slightest in the short time I have been here. I think it was a new record. When I think about it, all the shit I’ve accomplished in the first week was a new record. People already steer clear of me, and teachers already steer clear of me. It would all be perfect if not for one enigma. Mr. Alexander Gaskarth himself.

He makes obvious signs that he dislikes me, but he always approaches me. If a class I am in is doing group or partner work, he always asks to work with me, even though the teachers tell me I can work on my own if I choose to do so. And each time he did so, I would insult him and move on with my life. Despite all of this, he still goes out of his way to ask me. He was a puzzling human being.

Probably the most confusing thing about him was his aura. He radiated annoyance every time I was an asshole to him, but before I open my mouth to crush his spirit, he seems almost genuine. I couldn’t quite put my finger on what he was trying to achieve.

It was a new day at this school and a new week. I hadn’t gotten a call from Jared, which made me slightly suspicious, but I knew I could handle him, so I didn’t put much thought into it. I decided to put some actual effort into my appearance, wearing a white tank top with a leather jacket over it, jet black skinny jeans and black heeled boots. I put on makeup as well. Nothing special, just did my eyebrows, some winged eyeliner, and contour.

When I entered school, there was something strange in the air. There was something different. People were looking at me, which wasn’t unusual, but it was the way they were looking at me. Instead of distaste or even slight fear, there was amusement as they murmured to their friends. I rose an eyebrow at the abnormality but didn’t dwell on it. It was probably some bullshit rumor that would pass soon.

As I approached my locker, I noticed a girl leaning against it. I stood in front of her, crossing my arms over my chest, “Move.”

She didn’t move as I requested, but instead smirked, “Haven’t you ever heard of please?”

I recognized this person. She was one of the girls from the cafeteria on my first day. The brunette. “Is this supposed to be some sort of payback for last week?” I snicker. “If so, then you suck at revenge schemes. Keep to something you’re actually good at.”

She didn’t look insulted like I expected her to. In a way, it actually offended me. When I insult someone, they usually show some form of reaction. Instead, she continued to stand there, smirking. I wanted to slap the smirk right off of her face. “Your insults won’t get you anywhere this time, sweetie,” she cooed. “Everyone knows you’re all talk and no bite.”

I scoff, “If that’s what you believe, more power to you. It just holds true to the fact that you’re an absolute moron.”

She finally pushed herself away from my locker, but that smirk on her face never died, “Keep it coming, you’ll soon get what you deserve.”

With that, she walked-more like strutted- away, leaving me pissed off. So, people think that they’re going to be able to fuck with me and the worst I’ll do is snap at them? These people are more idiotic than I thought. As I put my bag in my locker, an announcement comes over the intercom, “Hazel Adler, please report to Mrs. Carol’s office.”

What the hell did I do this time? I haven’t gotten into a fight yet, my grades are in line and I haven’t made anyone cry yet. What did the principal want with me? I reluctantly made my way to the front office, where the cranky secretary from the first day directed me to the principal’s office. I opened the door, seeing the principal sitting at her desk and someone sitting in the chair facing it. I couldn’t see their face well, so I didn’t know who it was. “Ah, Hazel,” the older woman smiled softly. “Please sit down.”

The figure in the chair turned, allowing me to see who it was. When I saw them, I groaned, “Jared? What the hell?”

“Language, Hazel,” Mrs. Carol insisted. “Please sit down.”

“I don’t feel like it,” I turn to Jared. “What the fuck are you doing here?”

“Your uncle is worried about you,” she pleaded, motioning to the chair. “He knew you wouldn’t let him in if he came to your house on his own, so he asked me to mediate this. Just listen to what he has to say.”

I sigh, doing as I was asked, sitting down next to the lanky man. I scoot the chair over as far away from him as possible, the back of it against the wall so I was facing him. “Well, Uncle Jared,” I sneer. “Spit it out. What do you want?”

I could see the gears turning in his mind as he thought about what to say. “I’m worried about you-“

I cut him off, “I think we’ve already covered that. Get to the point.”

He grits his teeth, obviously frustrated by my attitude, “I understand after everything you’ve gone through that you want to be alone, but not having anyone hurts you mentally.”

I rolled my eyes, “Too late for that.”

“Hazel, please,” he pleaded, leaning towards me. “Have you at least made an effort in making a friend?”

“Nope. I’ve already told you that I don’t need a fucking friend.”

That seemed to be the final straw. His face gets red and he started snapping at me, “I am at the end of my rope, Hazel! The condition of you living on your own was to make at least one friend! You promised!”

I shrugged, “I crossed my fingers.”

He sighs harshly, rubbing his face with his hand. “One day.” He growls. “One more day. If you don’t have a friend by the time you get home tonight, I am moving here to live with you.”

I open my mouth to protest, but he interrupts me, “And yes, I can do that. I am a journalist, remember? I can do my job anywhere. You do not have a say in this. I am sick of you thinking that you can do everything on your own. You are only seventeen years old!”

“Fuck off!” I snarl, rushing out of the room, leaving the principal calling after me halfheartedly and Jared stopping her from doing so.

As I left the office, I punch a locker with all the force I could muster, causing a deep dent to form and a shooting pain from my knuckles to my shoulder. I let out a string of curses as I see my hand start to swell immediately. As I make my way to class, my mind is racing. I can’t have someone living with me again. That is out of the question. Absolutely not. That meant I had to make a friend. Jared was serious this time. But who the fuck would want to be my friend?

As soon as I thought the question, I knew the answer.

Notes