Once Upon a Steamy Night

"Holy crap! I'm up! Shut the fuck up!" Claire yelled as she knocked her alarm clock off her nightstand.

"That alarm is innocent."

"Shit! Mom, you scared me!" Claire exclaimed as she met her mother's gaze from across her room standing by her doorway. "Good morning to you too, Claire." Her mom smiled.

"Good morning, Mom." Claire sighed, running a hand over her tangled black hair.

"Wrong side of the bed?"

"Can't I just skip final year and be homeschooled?"

Claire gave her mom a pleading look, and her mom chuckled.

"We've had this conversation since last month, and I told you no to homeschooling," her mom replied.

"Alright, gimme a minute, and I'll be down for breakfast," Claire said reluctantly.

"No way, young lady. I'm dressing you for school today."

Claire's brown eyes widened to the size of saucers.

"Mom, you sure you're okay?"

"Baby, this is your final year in high school. You've gotta start acting like it. You'll turn eighteen in a couple of months, and yet, you're still a loner." "It's not my fault the kids in school hate me," Claire mumbled.

"They don't hate you; they just haven't gotten to know you," her mom stated.

"I'm not having this conversation with you again, Mom."

"You don't have a choice. I'm picking out an outfit for you."

"Dad! Mom is bullying me again!"

"Bullying? What is wrong with this kid?" Her mom slapped a hand on her forehead.

"Honey, leave Claire alone. She is a big girl, and she can take care of herself!" her dad hollered from downstairs.

"Thanks, Dad!" Claire hollered back, chuckling.

"Honey, you can't allow our kid to walk out this door looking like..."

Claire tuned out her mother as she went downstairs to argue with her father. Her mom may be a pain in the ass most times, but she still loved her.

She loved her family, which consisted of only herself, her mom, and her dad. There was no one else, and they didn't need anyone.

Her parents weren't rich or poor people. They were in average, and she loved it. She had a roof over her head and amazing parents who loved her what more could she ask for? Her life was perfect.

Except for one tiny little thing.

Her life at home was perfect, but her life at school was a disaster.

She hated Mondays, but what she hated most was the beginning of a new year, especially this year, her final year.

She hated the fact that she hadn't made a mark in her school yet academically and socially. She was an average student, not a nerd, but still a loner.

Whenever she tried to talk to people, they just walked away from her like she didn't exist, or she was invisible. After a while, she gave up trying and lived her life in solitude, apart from when she was home.

It wasn't so hard going to a high school and never talking to anyone except when it was necessary. Eventually, she got the hang of it and went to school then straight back home.

Claire sighed as she stared at herself in the mirror. She was dressed in black skinny jeans and a blue tank top which she paired with her black boots and jacket.

She put on her bracelet, wristwatch, and earrings, and then she pulled her hair into a ponytail. Her mom was gonna flip when she saw her wearing any color other than black and going to school without a hoodie. "Finally! My baby is learning!"

Claire grumbled under her breath as she picked up the car keys.

"I'm going to school now. Bye, guys."

"Have fun!" her mom screamed after her.

"Yeah, right. Fun? Like that's ever going to happen," she thought with a grimace as she got into her Toyota Corolla and drove off.

She couldn't have been more grateful that her parents got her a car so she didn't have to use the bus where she would meet other kids.

She pulled into the school parking lot and stepped out of her car. She gazed at her school and sighed. She was finally going to be done with Chadwick High School without anyone knowing her name. Too bad, but she could live with this.

She stepped into the hallway that was lively and bustling with activities of different students and headed straight to her locker only to bump into someone. "Sorry," she mumbled.

The girl barely glanced at her; she just walked away ignoring her. That was the fun of being invisible in her high school. No one noticed her, so no one got to bully her.

The bell rang, and she grabbed her history textbook and ran off for class. She didn't want to be late for her first class of the year.

Ha! As if she cares.

****

Twenty minutes later, and she was trying her best not to fall asleep by playing Candy Crush under her desk.

"The Battle of the Willow Creeks happened in what year?" the history teacher, Mr. Davis asked.

Claire sat up straighter in her chair and met his blue gaze as he scanned the class for a hand raised.

Nobody raised their hands.

"Anyone?" he prompted.

When he saw that nobody answered his question, he launched into a different topic of how sad it was that in their final year, they still didn't know anything about history. It was at this point Claire tuned him out again and went back to her virtual life, playing as a Queen of Cordonia. Her gaming life was so much more fun than real life.

She was very much engrossed in her game that she didn't hear the repeated mention of her name till she felt a gentle tap on her shoulders.

She looked up and saw deep green eyes staring at her.

"1745," he said to her.

She didn't understand him till...

"Ms. Ryes, care to answer the question?" her history teacher asked.

"1745," she replied immediately.

"Correct!" he exclaimed happily that someone had finally answered a question in his class.

"Nerd," the students whispered, chuckling.

Claire ignored them and turned towards the boy who had helped her. She hadn't been able to get a full look at him properly except his eyes.

"Hey, thanks for..."

The words caught in her throat when she realized she was sitting all alone. No green-eyed boy was sitting beside her, and now that she thought about it, she could vividly recall that she had been sitting alone.

It couldn't have been a figment of her imagination because those eyes had been so real and alive. She had been happy that someone was talking to her in high school.

She scanned the classroom but couldn't see anyone bearing a similar resemblance to him.

Finally, the bell rang, and she was the first one out of the class. She needed some time to clear her mind, so what better place other than the restroom? Unfortunately, luck wasn't on her side today because she walked in on the star football player having sex with a cheerleader.

Muttering profanities under her breath, Claire went to the library. This was where she found solace sometimes except she felt the library lady was creepy.

She was always creeping up on students and asking them questions on the book they were reading. She knew the answers to almost all the books in the library, but Claire thought that was impossible because there were a lot of books. "Aren't you Claire?" the librarian asked.

She frowned and nodded. "Yeah, why?"

"The principal is looking for you in his office," the woman answered.

Claire frowned. "The principal doesn't even know me."

"Yeah, but the cops do," the woman replied smirking. "Looks like you've been a bad girl, Claire."

Claire's heartbeat accelerated as she tried to think of any possible reason why the cops wanted to see her.

When she couldn't think of any, she headed to the principal's office.