Kaci happily hopped into the passenger’s seat of her best friend’s car. He smiled at her, and they quickly exchanged hellos.
Skylar Caldarelli had secretly had a crush on her since they were kids. He loved her outspokenness and feistiness. He found it quite attractive. The first time he ever laid eyes on her was on the playground in second grade. His class was playing kick ball with hers and she was the first up to kick. From the moment that he laid eyes on her, he was blown away by her beauty. Those cute brown eyes and pouty lips held his attention. Lost in thought, he didn’t hear any of his teammates yelling at him to catch the ball. As a consequence, he was hit in the head with the ball and received a black eye while she made a homerun.
He glanced at her out the corner of his eye. She was no longer the little girl who caused him to be ridiculed by his friends when he was hit by the ball. She was now an intelligent young woman who he had feelings for. Every time he thought about her, he felt all mushy inside.
Although he was sixteen years old, he had never kissed a girl but he dreamed about kissing Kaci every day. He was saving those lips just for her. A part of him wanted to tell her how he felt, but he was scared of rejection. He cared a great deal about Kaci, but he wasn’t sure if he should risk telling her his true feelings. What if she only saw him as nothing more than just a friend?
Although Skylar cared about her, a part of him envied her because she had a sibling. Growing up as an only child, he usually found himself playing alone. There were many children that played together in the neighborhood but he was shy and couldn’t bring himself to join them. One day his mother took him to a nearby park and made him play with the other children. That day he made some new friends and found that many of the kids, with the exception of a few, were friendly.
Seeing him getting along so well with the other children made her happy. His mother knew that her son had wanted a little brother or sister, but she had fertility issues. She had miscarried twice before giving birth to him. Although she and her husband had tried to conceive another child, they had been unsuccessful which made them more appreciative for their miracle child, Skylar.
Kaci wondered what could be on his mind. He hadn’t said much to her when they had arrived at the fast food restaurant. She had asked him if he was okay and he told her that he was. She thought she saw a blush on his cheeks but she wasn’t sure.
They ate their cheeseburgers and fries in silence for several minutes until Kaci spoke. She told Skylar that she was going to be an aunt. He had heard a rumor that Cami was pregnant but didn’t mention it to her. He was just glad that Kaci wasn’t pregnant by someone else. Now that would have broken his heart. Then, she went on to babble about how much she despised River. As he listened to her speak about River, it was very obvious to him that she didn’t like anyone who hurt her sister. She despised River and blamed him for getting Cami pregnant although she played a part in the conception as well.
After returning to school from their lunch break, Kaci went to her third class of the day which happened to be child development. Today was one of those days that she really did not want to be in class because they were starting the reproduction chapter.
Although she was brave and wasn’t one to show her emotions, she secretly dreaded attending class every day. Someone (usually Kelly Davidson) would usually say something mean and hurtful about Cami, and she would always defend her no matter what because she was her sister. But she was getting tired of putting people in their place every time she came to class. She wanted to attend at least one class where she wouldn’t have to hear anything bad about her sister but with someone like Kelly around, she didn’t believe that was possible.
“Class, please open your textbooks to page one hundred forty-two. Kaci, please read the first page,” Ms. Thompson said.
“Yeah, she should know a lot about this,” Kelly said with a laugh. Some of the students giggled.
Kaci sighed. She knew something like this would happen. She didn’t even bother to turn around to face Kelly because she had a temper and she was trying to avoid losing it in the classroom.
“Kelly, don’t interrupt,” Ms. Thompson said. She was a very short woman—four foot eleven to be exact. In fact, she was the shortest person in the classroom, but she wasn’t scared to voice her opinion. She was kind but she hated it when people would speak out of term in her class.
“Did you wish that Cami would shut up when River was doing her?” Kelly inquired, ignoring the older woman as if she hadn’t said a single word to her.
More giggles erupted.
The forty-three-year-old teacher shook her head. It was no use trying to explain anything to Kelly because she never listened. She always did whatever she wanted to do despite what she was told.
Kaci got up, walked over to Kelly’s desk, and stood directly in front of her. This move worried Ms. Thompson because Kaci was always a well-mannered student who never left her seat during class.
“Why are you standing in front of me?” Kelly asked in a mocking tone.
Ms. Thompson then walked over to Kelly’s desk and said to Kaci, “Please take your seat.”
“Keep my sister’s name out of your mouth,” she said to Kelly between clenched teeth while completely ignoring her teacher.
Kelly stood up. “And what will you do if I don’t?”
“I guess I must be invisible,” Ms. Thompson said, as she walked towards the door. She would report Kelly to the principal, Ms. Lovett, on a regular basis, but whenever she did, Kelly would merely be given a warning—as if that would solve anything. After sending her to the principal’s office for the third time, Ms. Thompson was told by another teacher that Mr. Davidson donated huge sums of money to the school.
Kelly could see her out the corner of her eye and she knew where the woman was headed but it didn’t matter. The principal would only give her a warning. Besides, Ms. Lovett receives a nice second salary from her mother for doing her job and her father donates. Her family practically owned this school which meant that she was untouchable, and there was nothing that anyone could about it.
Ms. Thompson kept the door open and ran as fast as she could to the principal’s office. Although she knew that reporting Kelly wouldn’t help, she had to do something. She couldn’t wait for this school year to be over with. Then she wouldn’t have to see Kelly Davidson again—at least not in her classroom.
She just hoped that a fight didn’t break out in the room while she was gone. She didn’t want anyone innocent to get hurt, and as a mother of three, she herself didn’t want to get hurt. That’s where the principal comes in. She’s supposed to fix things and make them better instead of letting them go on. The more she thought about it, the more she realized that Ms. Lovett wasn’t going to help the situation get any better. Maybe something else should be done about this instead.
Davidson or not, Kaci was not going to let anyone disrespect her sister for a second especially when she was around. “You don’t want to know and I won’t tell you. You see, I’m not Tammy. I’m not scared of you, but if you want to keep pushing my buttons, go ahead.” She walked one step closer to Kelly and whispered, “And I will put you exactly where Tammy is.” For a moment, a look of fear settled onto Kelly’s face. Tammy was still in the hospital recovering from the car accident, and to receive a threat like this from Kaci Alderson was the last thing that she’d expected to happen.
Then after regaining her composure, she sat down in her desk and frowned the entire time.