"Coles! Eye on the ball!"

I don't think gym coaches truly understand the fact that when one of their students gets hit with a volleyball, they don't really give a damn what could have been done to prevent it. Then again, one would think I would know by now; I've been hit with that stupid ball six times this week.

I rubbed the spot on my forehead, silently praying that I wouldn't have a bruise there to match the others on my legs, arms, etc. Mr. McClanahan glared at me from the sidelines and motioned for me to move to the bench. Thank you, God, I thought as I sat down as far away from him as I could.

Although accidents followed me wherever I went on the court, others were a bit luckier. I picked at the end of my standard issue gym shorts as Troy Havens, football jock, served a perfect volley. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying I'm jealous because I wouldn't want any talent dealing with sports; I think they're stupid and tacky. However, I do somewhat wish I could be slightly more coordinated.

"Alright!" McClanahan yelled. "Hit the showers!"

I got up from the bench and trudged down towards the locker room. I was almost to the top of the steps when a hand slammed me in the back. I tripped, barely catching myself on the railing. My feet weren't so lucky and smacked into the concrete steps.

"God, watch where you're going!" Amber Rose screeched, sounding like a banshee. A few of her little minions laughed behind her, while others just ignored what happened and continued to walk on by.

Finally making it to my locker, I put in the combination and began pulling out my clothes.

"So, Amethyst...."

Oh, crap, here we go...

"For Heaven's sake, let the girl alone!"

The voice that filled the air belonged to Eliza Fisher, and I would be lying if I told you I wasn't shocked that she was sticking up for me. Honestly, it sort of smelled a little fishy, and not just because the entire cheerleading team was in the area.

"Eliza, have you lost your mind?" Amber asked, leaning against her locker. Of course, she hadn't bothered to make herself decent; I guess she just assumed that we all wanted to see her bright pink thong? Ugh.

"Of course not, Amber, but that doesn't mean we should pick on those who have." I would imagine that Eliza's smile was similar to that of Satan's when he gets a new soul in hell. "Poor Amethyst here, she must be going even crazier, especially since the fire. We should take pity, not make fun." 

Our eyes met, but I remained silent. "Come on, Amethyst!" Amber exclaimed, pounding a tiny fist into a locker. "When are we ever going to hear you speak?"

Eliza laughed. "Maybe she went mute too."

I punched her. The thought occured so fast that I didn't have time to hold it back. The impact had clearly done some damage, knocking her down and causing blood to flow from her surgically-perfected nose.

The locker room was silent, but I just went back to what I had been doing. I changed out of my gym clothes and pulled on a pair of skinny jeans and an faded, black sweater. I quickly ran a brush through my hair, then chanced a glance back at Eliza.

Her nose was definitely broken, yet I couldn't feel any sympathy. Wonder why, I thought sarcastically.

I inhaled deeply and did something I had never dreamed of doing. I walked right up to Eliza and simply smiled.

There were a few gasps around the room, and my smile grew wider, causing a tiny laugh to escape.

Eliza looked terrified, and her fear grew as I crouched down next to her. "How tough are you now?" I whispered so only she could hear. She said nothing. "Maybe I'm not mute after all, huh?" I got up and made my way to the door. I put my hand on the door knob and turned it, then looked back. "You know, Eliza, I thought you and I were similar, strong. Now I know that all you are is some little girl who is still acting out to get everyone's attention." Then the final card. "Especially Daddy's."

*********************************************************************************************************

"You're joking!" Robert exclaimed, looking like he was about to piss himself.

"Not at all. And here's the wierd part, they didn't even turn me in. At least, not yet, anyway." I took a bite out of my peanutbutter sandwhich and smiled at him. Robert had been my best friend since I had transfered to Scarsdale after the fire that killed my family. My grandparents had agreed to take me in, but they were rarely home. My parents had kept me rather distant from them -for reasons unknown- and they would simply leave me at the house for weeks while they went on some exotic adventure, usually only bothering to leave a note or give a random call. Whatever, it meant I practically lived alone, so I wasn't complaining.

"Well, honey, let's hope you didn't complete kill that girl's nose or you may have the wrath of all plastic surgeons on your ass," Robert said, smiling, but looking down into his salad.

I turned to see why he was looking down, and I couldn't help but feel bad for Rob. It had to be hard being gay in a high school, especially being out of the closet like him. He had only had one major crush ever, and that crush had actually been the one to out him. Alexander Davis, captain of the basketball team, was probably the prettiest boy on the planet. I'm not saying this because I'm attracted to him, I'm saying it because there is no way on earth that the kid is straight.

Nowadays, guys who straighten their hair and all aren't all that uncommon, but Alex? That boy has got fashion down to a freakin' art! He won't wear any pants under the price of one hundred dollars, he looks like a walking advertisement with all of his Abercrombie, Hollister, and American Eagle junk, and I've never seen the guy without a hint of mascara. No, I'm not kidding. Since he has black hair and long lashes, he can simply say they're natural, but I know Covergirl makeup when I see it.

"Just ignore him, Rob," I pleaded, not wanting him to get hurt.

Rob smiled sadly but replied, "Amethyst, I know how to handle guys now. It was a shock at first, but now I know that I just have to wait for the right guy to appear."

"And he will. I promise."

"So," Rober said, clearly wanting to change the subject, "what did you say to our resident Queen Bitch? After breaking her nose, of course."

"Just told her that she was only acting out to get everyone's attention, especially her Dad's." I knew I shouldn't have stooped to the girl's level, but the words had just kind of slipped.

"Ouch." Even Rob looked surprised.

Eliza's Dad was the governor, so he wasn't exactly home a lot, and rumor had it that he had actually started cheating on her mother with one of his secretaries. I could see now that the rumor was probably true.

The door to the cafeteria opened and everyone fell silent. I turned to see Eliza and the rest of the girls from gym class file into the lunch line and act completely normal. Some chanced sideways glances at me, but they always looked away before I could react. Eliza was sporting two little gauze wraps -one in each nostril- and a strip over her nose. The bruise had visibly spread to her cheek as well, but she didn't even look my way. She simply acted like nothing was wrong.

As she reached the front of the line, a boy with black hair and pale skin came up to her. The two looked like they were having a rather intense conversation, but I couldn't figure out exactly what was being said. My guess was he was her boyfriend and wanted to know who to send the calvary after, but all Eliza did was shake her head. Eventually, the boy gave up and walked away.

"What is up with her?"

"What do you mean?" Rob asked with a mouth full salad.

"She won't turn me in. I don't get it."

"Maybe she saw the light and realized that she really deserved a good knock in the nose."

I raised an eyebrow. "I doubt it."

The rest of lunch passed by uneventfully, and I was rather bored by the time fourth period came by. I would be out of school in an hour and a half, and I couldn't wait to be free of the hell hole.

Mr. Donovan, my science teacher, started off with telling us that we would be working in partners for the majority of the period, and I groaned inwardly. Other than Rob, I could hardly stand anyone else in this school.

"Coles and Fisher," Donovan said, pointing to a desk in the back. I nearly shouted a protest, then remembered that Eliza wasn't in my class. "Mr. Donovan, are you-"

"Miss Coles, please go take your seat."

I frowned, picking up my books and heading to the back table. Surprisingly, the boy that had been talking to Eliza was in the seat next to the one that would be mine. He looked up and I saw no trace of the serious face he had worn earlier. Actually, he smiled and said, "Not who you were expecting, huh?"

I had to smile slightly. "Ah, no. I didn't know we had-"

"Two Fishers? Well, here's an even bigger shocker. We're siblings."

I stood there for a moment, not really knowing if I should run or explain my reasoning for punching his sister. Are you going to sit down?" he asked, motioning to the seat next to him.

I watched him as I settled down into my seat. His eyes were the same blue as Eliza's, but her hair was blonde, where his was an astonishing black. It was almost so black that it looked like it might have had blue in it.

"She's not a natural blonde," he replied, obviously noticing me staring at his head.

"Not many are."

He laughed. I mean, actually laughed. How could those two possibly be related? "Yeah, you're right."

Donovan assigned our project and began handing out the test tubes, along with some other miscilanious items such as bunsen burners, etc. I began pouring some water into one of the test tubes when Mr.Fisher properly introduced himself.

"I'm Xavier, by the way."

"Amethyst." I realized that it may not have been a very good idea, throwing my name out there. I mean, surely Eliza had told him who had punched her in the nose.

Instead, he just smiled. "Nice name."

"You too."

The rest of the project passed by in a comfortable silence, but I couldn't help but wonder why the guy hadn't come completely unhinged when I told him who I was.

The final bell rang, signalling the end of school, and I hurried to pick up my books. In my rush, I knocked over one of the test tubes, causing glass to fly everywhere. "Shit," I muttered, bending down to pick up some of the stray pieces.

Mr.Donovan came towards us with a broom and a dust pan, then sent us to work. I was restless, wanting nothing more than to go home, and that feeling increased when Eliza walked into the room.

"Xavier? I-"

She stopped midsentence after seeing me, and if looks could kill, I would have died right there.

Xavier didn't seem to notice and just continued sweeping up shards of glass. I awkwardly picked up a piece and threw it into a nearby trash can just as Xavier was finishing up.

"I'm really sorry about this," I said to him.

He simply laughed. "Don't be. I've had to deal with worse."

I smiled back, then became aware, again, of Eliza's presence.

"Xavier? Hello?" Eliza asked, snapping her fingers.

"Huh? Oh, hey." The smile that had been on his face seemed to dissapear once he noticed his sister.

"I'm guessing she knocked it over? You know, Xavier, you should really get a new partner. She's a real klutz. I mean, look at what she did to my nose."

There it was; now he knew. I waited for him to unload on me, but he didn't say anything to me. "Eliza, let's go."

She followed him out, tossing a look of victory back in my direction.