Chapter 4: Is There Something You Want?

When I make it back up to the house, I go in the squeaky door, putting my foot down and deciding it should be safe enough to walk on my grandmother’s floor without getting too much dirt on my foot. Then again, it doesn’t look like she does much cleaning or anything of the sort around here. That is so ridiculous, by the way.

“What are you doing back up here?” The devil herself demands from the armchair in the living room.

“I’m gonna go get ready for school.” I mutter, walking down the corridor.

“And you already fed and milked Daisy and Betsy?” My grandmother asks incredulously.

“Spencer’s doing it.” I call, walking into my room.

“Well, you’re supposed to be doing it. Spencer is supposed to feed and milk Raven and Barbara. Not Raven, Barbara, Betsy and Daisy.” She scowls, following me down the hall and standing in the doorway with a scowl.

“Grandma, you need to chill out. They’re just stupid cows.”

“Maybe to you, but to me they’re family, and family takes care of family. So you get your little self out there and do it.” She demands.

I cross my room, kicking my other Tom off in the process. Grabbing the doorknob to my door, I say, “You really want it done? You do it. This is your stupid farm or whatever, not mine.” Then I close the door, pushing the little button on it in. I’m thinking that locks the door.

“Never in my life have I met such a spoiled brat.” She says through the door.

“Hey, well you know what they say; there’s a first time for everything.” I reply, going over to where I left my carry-on near the bed.

I sit down on the creaky bed, picking the carry-on up and rifling through it for something to wear to school. Since it’s just Tennessee, where I know no one at all, I don’t have to put in too much effort into what I wear. Most of my extravagant clothes are still being shipped anyway. I only have like skinny jeans and t-shirts in the carry-on. Smart, Stef, real smart. Not. There’s only one actual blouse I bought with me. What was wrong with me a few days ago when I was packing? Must have not been able to see straight through the millions of tears that were falling from my eyes every second. I take out the baby blue blouse and lie it on the bed, looking through the carry-on for a pair of jeans or something. Man, this is a pretty big carry-on. Either that or I just stuffed a lot of crap inside of it. I find a pair of black True Religion skinny jeans and my suede black platform booties, lying them with the shirt. Standing up from the bed, I drop the bag on the floor and leave the room, heading to the tiny bathroom.

When I get to the bathroom, I close and lock the door behind me before taking pulling my hoodie and shirt over my head, dropping them to the floor. I take the rest of my clothes off and then pull back the ugly yellow shower curtain, getting in and turning the water on. The problem with this shower is that the shower head is molded onto the wall. Like, I can’t take it off or anything. Back in California, the shower head could be removed and I could use it to spray with all these cool different settings like massage, vibrations, stream, all of that. Here, there’s only two settings; on and off.

I stay in the shower for a while and then get out, brush my teeth, wrap a towel around me, collecting my clothes and going back to my room. I throw my dirty clothes to the other side of the room where the others are. I really should get a clothes hamper for this stuff. I’m kinda OCD, so I can’t stand all this disorganization stuff. Well, I’m not really OCD, but I kinda self-diagnosed it.

I go back into my room and get dressed quickly, seeing that it’s already 7:30. My grandmother says I need to be leaving around 8, I think, which gives me enough time to get ready, I suppose. Looking down at my blue key-hole shirt, I smother out a few of the wrinkles, and then sit down on the bed, putting on my shoes. I grab my suitcase where some of my accessories are and pull out my owl pendant necklace, slipping it over my head and push in my Blue Nile Diamond earrings. My parents tried to get me to give them back to the retailor, but I wasn’t going down without a fight. These are my all-time favorite earrings. Sam gave them to me on my birthday a few months ago. And besides, they’re real diamonds, I wasn’t just gonna give them up. After I’m dressed I grab my brown fringe shoulder bag from the suitcase and load into it anything I may need at this school, pencils, pens, lip glosses, lip sticks, lip balms, and other stuff. Lastly I toss my phone in and zip the bag up. I grab all of my make-up and hair accessories - well, all that I can carry in two hands and make my way back to the bathroom.

I don’t wear a crap load of make-up or anything, but it takes forever and a day to line my eyes up correctly with the eye liner. I dab on some mascara to elongate my lashes, rub on some foundation and then start working on the eye liner. Surprisingly, I get it even enough the first time, without having to rub it all off and retry. Inspecting myself in the mirror, I decide that I look gorgeous, as always - except for this morning when I was sweating buckets - and go back into my room. There’s not even a damn TV in here. How do my parents and grandmother expect me to happily live here? Sighing, I take my iPad out along with my ear buds and curl up on the bed, going to Netflix.

✈✈✈✈

About twenty minutes later, at 7:50, I exit off of Netflix, desperately wishing I didn’t have to go to school so I could keep watching my newest obsession, Gossip Girl. I’m only on Season one, because I just started watching the show not too long ago, but I fully intend on catching up. I turn my iPad off and lie it down on my bed, standing up from the bed with a sigh. Grabbing my fringe purse, I swing it over my shoulder, take out one of my fourteen different lip glosses, dab some in and then walk out of the room, turning the light out on the way.

I peek into Spencer’s room, and see that he’s lying on top of his cover, holding his phone above his head, texting on it. I swear, he and Julia are like that couple you see or hear about everywhere. They seriously cannot go even a few hours without talking. Not that that’s not good, I mean, I’m glad my brother has a girlfriend he really loves who, in turn really loves him too.

“Spencer, I’m leaving.” I say, walking by his door.

“Have fun at school!” He calls back.

“Yeah, right.” I mutter under my breath walking into the living room. I see my mother and father sitting together on the couch while my grandmother sits in the arm chair, reading the daily newspaper. “I’m ready.” I announce.

My mom picks up the coffee mug in front of her and takes a sip from it, then says, “Ready for what?”

“To go to school.”

“Oh, just go outside in front of the house. The bus time is 8:05.” My grandmother intervenes.

“Excuse me?” I say, raising an eyebrow. “I don’t think I heard you correctly.”

“I said go outside. The bus will be here at 8:05.” She repeats, still reading her newspaper.

“What bus? I thought one of you guys was gonna take me.” I say, looking at my parents with a pointed look.

“No, the school is too far away and the bus is really much more convenient.”

I cross my arms over my chest, “B-but I can’t ride a school bus!”

“Sure you can.” My dad says.

“I’ve never even ridden one before.” I remind them.

“Well,” My grandma says, “You know what they say; there’s a first time for everything.” She says, mocking me from earlier.

“This has to a joke. Guys, please, come on. Mom, can’t you just drive me?”

“I am not going to drive you. This is our life now, and this will help you adjust faster.”

“I don’t wanna adjust to this! It sucks here. I would give anything to go back to California.”

“And you think we wouldn’t? Steffy, we don’t have anything, remember? So please don’t be difficult. Just ride the bus, honey. I did it when I was your age, and it was just fine. And please try to have a good day, okay?”

I sigh, but nod, “Okay, I guess. Bye.” I murmur, walking out of the house, purposely slamming the door behind me.

I walk down the few steps and stand directly in front of the house awkwardly, waiting for the school bus. I can’t believe I’m actually about to ride a school bus. For the first time ever. I’ve watched TV; I know what kinda stuff goes on on school buses. My phone pings in my purse and I unzip it, pulling it out. I see that I have another text from Sam.

Good luck at your new school today, Princess. Call me after and tell me about it? I love you.

Smiling to myself, I reply to it with: Thanks, I think I’ll need it. I’ll call you later then. I love you too. <3

Suddenly I hear a loud rumbling sound, causing me to jump and look up from my phone. Traveling down the old dirt road, I see a big yellow school bus coming towards me. I drop my phone in my pocket, and nervously twist a lock of my long ponytail around my finger as I wait for it to reach me. When it does, it rolls to a stop and the two doors open.

“Going to East Elm?” The old man in the driver’s seat asks me. I nod wordlessly, standing there idly. So it’s East Elm, not Elm East. I guess that doesn’t sound quite as stupid. “Well, then get on, I got a schedule to keep, you know.” He says.

I step towards the bus, walking up the three little stairs and standing in the aisle as my eyes scan over the seats. I see that nearly each seat is filled, except for one way in the back. Sighing, I begin to make my way back there, trying not to touch any of the disgusting looking brown battered seats. The bus driver pulls off, nearly making  me lose my balance and fall. A few of the people on the bus giggle and I feel my face go a little red. People laughing at my expense, great. I reach the back seat just as the bus flies over a speed bump, again causing me to nearly fall. But luckily, I fall into the seat and not on my face. That’d be very, very bad.

I slide across the seat, sitting as close to the window as I possibly can. I put my purse in my lap and then cross my left leg over my right as the bus cruises on. Reaching down into my purse, I pull my phone and ear buds out, deciding to just listen to some music to block out the terrible sound of this busses’ breaks and the nonsensically loud students riding it. I go to my music and hit the shuffle button, and look out of the window.

Oh, I just wanna take you anyway that you like

We can go out any day, any night

Baby I’ll take you there, take you there

Baby I’ll take you there, there

I quietly hum along to my current favorite song, Kiss You by One Direction. Next week it’ll be something different though, most likely. Not long after, the bus pulls to another stop and I continue to look out of the window as kids file on to the bus. After the talking gets louder, I push the up button on the side of my iPhone, turning the music up as loud as it can go, which is pretty damn loud.

Suddenly I feel a tapping on my shoulder, and almost recoil, but remember that I’m on a school bus full of public school kids, and recoiling may make them think that I think I’m like, better than them or something. Which I am, but still, they don’t have to know that I know that. I push the pause button on the song now playing, Whatever by Hot Chelle Rae and turn my head, finding myself looking up at a familiar looking boy.

“The guy who can’t run a credit card, we meet again.” I say, remembering him from the stupid restaurant. The blond haired one, that is. The other one had brown hair.

“Well, hello to you too.” He replies still standing in the aisle as the bus driver proceeds on.

I ignore him, letting my music play again and go back to looking out of the window. I can feel him watching me though, and I hate it when people watch me. Unless, of course, I want them too. Irritated, I hit the pause button again and look back over at him.

“Is there something you want?”

“Mind if I sit here?” He wonders.

“Yeah, actually I do mind. All of these seats on this disgusting bus, and you want to sit here? No way, pal.”

“You’re mean.” The boy notes, shifting his backpack to his other shoulder.

“And you’re annoying, so go away.”

“Are you mad because you think I can’t run a credit card? I can. Yours was just declined.”

“Yeah, whatever.”

“Besides, I even got another of the ladies back there to try it with a paper bag and everything. It didn’t work.”

“It really doesn’t even matter. Just go away, I’m trying to listen to music.”

“Whatcha listening to?” He wonders, ignoring my request and sitting down beside me anyway.

“Music.” I deadpan.

“Well, duh, but what kinda music?”

“If I tell you will you leave me alone?”

“No, but I won’t keep asking.” He replies cheekily.

“Whatever.” I tell him.

“Whatever?”

“Yeah, Whatever. By Hot Chelle Rae.”

“That’s a band?” The blond wonders.

I scoff, “No, it’s a guy who uses all three names. Yes, it’s a band.”

“I’ve never heard of them.” He defends.

“Shocker. Okay, so I told you what I’m listening to, so please leave me alone. I’m not in the mood.”

“Sorry sweet cheeks, can’t go away. This is my seat.”

“What? No it isn’t.”

He nods, “Yeah, it is. I sit here every day.”

“That doesn’t make it your seat.”

“Yeah, it kinda does.”

“I don’t see your name on it anywhere.” I point out.

“You don’t even know my name. For all you know,” He pauses, and points at the back of the seat at a crude word scratched across it in what looks to be black Sharpie. “That could be my name.”

“Your name is Dick?” I ask skeptically, reading the word.

“No, but you didn’t know that until just now.”

“So then what is your name?”

“Conrad.”

“Like Conrad Hughes Hilton III?”

“Who?” He asks with a confused look.

I gasp, “You don’t know who Conrad Hughes Hilton III is?”

“Should I?”

“Everyone should.”

“Well, then who is he?”

“He’s Paris Hilton’s younger brother.” I explain to him with a sigh. Peasants.

“Oh.” He replies. “Well, yeah, like that, I guess.”

✈✈✈✈

The stupid school bus ride lasts about twenty more minutes after that and there are about ten more kids who get on the bus. We’re now pulling up to the school. My school in California looked about eight thousand times better than this one does. Besides the aesthetic part of it, you can just drive up to this school. Like, anyone. At my private school in L.A., they were really strict about that kinda stuff. To even get on the school parking lot, you had to show I.D. - school or state issued. There was a gate and a man who guarded the gate at all times, and everything. It was safe, and it kept out people who didn’t belong there. This school, on the other hand, is submersible to anything, really.

The bus comes to a stop and the doors open. All the students stand up, including Conrad, so I stuff my phone into my purse, zip it up and copy the rest of them, standing up. We all file off of the bus - me being one of the last since Conrad wanted to be chivalrous or whatever and let everyone else go before us. As soon as I step off of the bus it pulls off. Literally as soon as the heel of my platform booty touched the terrible looking concrete. It’s all broken up and everything; someone should definitely do something about that. I reach down into my purse, grabbing my billfold and opening it. I take out an Abe - yes, I call my money by the face on it, not what it represents - and hand it to Conrad.

“What’s this?”

“It’s obviously money.” I tell him, rolling my eyes and putting my billfold back into my bag.

“No, I mean, I know that, but why?”

“It’s payback for the restaurant.”

“It was only five dollars, no big deal. Keep it.” Conrad replies, shrugging.

“No, I’m paying you back. You keep it.”

“I told you it was fine...” He says, letting his voice trail off.

“Steffy.”

“Steffy. I really don’t mind.”

“Well, I do, so just keep it, okay?” I say.

“Whatever you say.” Conrad replies, pushing the money down in his pocket. 

Author's Note: So he's got a name; Conrad. What do you guys think of him so far? Notice the song and picture, please! Thoughts on the chapter? Thoughts for the next chapter? Let me know what you thought! Hope you liked this chapter! So, technically this IS her first day of schol, just not a full day; sorry! The next chapter is though, I promise! Don't forget to comment and vote, please! ♥