CHAPTER 3

                                    

                                          
  I sit in my first period, science, pretending to listen to the teacher. Joseph taps my shoulder. I turn to him. "Are you okay?," he asks me.
                          
  "Yeah, fine," I say, rubbing my temples. He looks unconvinced, but turns away. I feel eyes boring into my back. I turn around to see Joseph's twin brother Anthony glaring at me.
                          
  I hear Joseph snort. "Ignore him," he says to me, "he's just following along with Jeremy." 
                          
  Jeremy. I've hated that kid for years, and vice versa. I look at Joseph.
                          
  "You guys are friends with him," I ask.
                          
  "Yeah," says Joseph. "He talks bad about you a lot, but Anthony's the only one that pays attention." I see many of Jeremy's friends giving me the same look.

                          
  "I don't think he's the only one," I say, looking around. Joseph looks around too and shakes his head, telling me not to worry about it.

                          
  At the end of class, I grab my things and walk out the classroom, when someone shoves me to the ground. I look up to see Daniel, one of Jeremy's friends, standing over me, laughing. I feel my face flush with heat. I grab my things off the floor and get up and run. Daniel tries to push me down again, but I grab his arm and push him back. As I run, I hear him shout, "I'll get you for that."