Chapter 12

"Alex!"

A loud round of thunderous thumping against my bedroom door stirred me from sleep. This was the third time Heath had come knocking and yelling for me to wake up.

"Alex, Get up!" He shouted, then went quiet as he listened out for a reply. When I failed to answer with anything more than a sleepy groan, my brother sighed heavily. "Right, if you don't get a move on in the next three seconds than I'll come in there with a bucket of ice cold water." He threatened. "One... Two... Thr-"

My eyes shot wide open. I rolled out of bed so quickly that I fell onto the floor and took all my bedsheets with me. The blankets were wrapped around my legs so I had to wriggle out of the tangled quilts, as I called out to my brother.

"Okay, alright, I'm up!" I shouted hastily, knowing that Heath would undoubtedly carry out his promise if he was given the chance. I'd grown to understand how his mind worked well enough to beware his warnings.

I heard Heath chuckling from behind my bedroom door. "Good. Now get ready for school and get out here. Remember; if you're late, then so is Darcy. And if that happens - I will not be happy."

"Yeah, righto." I yawned, getting to my feet and tidying up the bed.

After swiftly hopping into the shower, I towel-dried my long blonde hair and let it fall around my shoulders in waves and big curls as I applied a light touch of makeup to my face; highlighting my cheekbones, blushing them with rosiness and making my blue-green eyes smoky with mascara.

Once I was done beautifying myself, it was time to put on the school uniform that I had been avoiding for the past two years. It was strange sliding into the short purple, red, blue and white checked dress that I'd seen Darcy in so many times before. I discovered early on that it really didn't suite me at all. I looked so much younger than I did when I was in my own clothes - so much so that I hardly recognised myself. I appeared so out of place and uncomfortable. I kept scratching at the collar, feeling as though it was too tight around my neck, like some kind of noose. Not just that but the dress was pretty short for a school uniform, so it seemed as though I would have to keep continually pulling it down.

Feeling stupid, I finally plucked up enough courage to wander through to the kitchen, where the rest of my family were gathered around the table having breakfast. Upon my entrance, the room fell into silence as all eyes settled on me.

Heath was the first to break it.

"Nice dress, sis." He grinned annoyingly as he sat back in his chair and held in his laughter.

I grabbed a cushion off the sofa and lobbed it at him. It bounced harmlessly off his arms as he threw them up to protect his face. He was sniggering.

"Heath, if you don't shut up, I'll ram it down your throat." I replied coldly, before looking desperately at Bianca and Ricky. "It doesn't look that bad, right?"

"Of course not, Alex. You look fine, honestly. You'll fit in with no problem." Bianca insisted encouragingly, smiling kindly as she steered me towards one of the seats and poured me a bowl of cereal. On her way passed, she clubbed Heath over the head and threw him daggers.

From where he was leant against the counter, I saw Kyle raise his eyebrows uncertainly as Phoebe hid a grimace behind a glass of orange juice. That was all the encouragement I needed to know that I looked undeniably ridiculous in the school outfit that I'd been forced into. Biting down on my tongue, I held back the dire urge to rip the dress off me, throw it into a crumpled heap on the floor and trample it into nonexistence. What I wouldn't give to set the damn thing alight and dodge school altogether...

"Hey, don't worry about today, Alex." Ricky told me, giving my hand a gentle squeeze. My concern must have been written all over my face, because I obviously hadn't hidden it very well. "It's going to be great. You'll see."

"Yeah, don't be a sook, Lex. It's just school. If I survived it then so will you." Heath shrugged easily. "It'll be over before you even know it."

I got the feeling that his words of wisdom were supposed to boost my confidence. Surprisingly they only made me feel ten times worse.

"Great advice, Heath." Kyle said sarcastically,  rolling his eyes at our brother. "I'm sure that's really made her feel better."

"Alright, Kylie. No need to get your knickers in a twist. I was just trying to help our sister out by hardening her up." Heath retorted, before pointing accusingly at Kyle. "Which, by the way, is more than your doing."

Kyle narrowed his brown eyes at Heath. "How is hardening her up going to help her. Alex needs encouragement, not tough love."

Heath frowned defensively. "Well, if you know so much then why don't you try giving her a pep talk, ya wombat!"

"Guys, I love you both." I interrupted harshly. "But could you please do me a favor and shut up. I don't need to be mollycoddled by either of you."

My brothers quieted as they sheepishly looked at me. Just then, my little cousin's voice carried over the room.

"Alex, you look amazing!" Darcy gushed as she came through the door with her backpack slung over her shoulder and her hair in pigtails. "We look like twins now!"

"I know, right?" I replied with a forced smile as my little cousin ran to me and threw her arms around my neck in a hug. "We look like the dream team, huh?"

"This is going to be so cool!" Darcy enthused, beaming. Her eyes, which were an exact replica of mine and Brax's, glittered like the sun's reflection off the sea's surface. "We're going to see each other in school all the time and we can even hang out at break time and at lunch. You can meet all of my friends! There's Sarah, Bethany, Chloe..."

A wave of nausea washed over me as my little cousin babbled on about all of her friends and about how she would introduce me to them. I felt just about ready to keel over at the thought of going back to school let alone tagging along with kids way younger than me. An imagine rolled into my mind of me sitting at a table full of Darcy's thirteen-year-old friends at lunchtime, and the thought honestly made me want to spew. Hanging around with my baby cousin and her buddies was not going to help me to blend in at school. I needed to socialise with people my own age. The only problem was sussing out how to break that news nicely to Darcy.

By the time Brax had come through the door, dressed in surfer shorts and a checked shirt that matched my school uniform, I was on my way out. Without even so much as a 'hello', I ran for the garden and pushed passed him, desperate to get away from my family in the kitchen who were all falsely promising me that everything was going to be okay. I felt as if I'd run out of oxygen to breathe.

"Oi, Alex, are you alright?" I heard my oldest brother ask, as I sprinted into the garden and leaned back against one of the trees, where I closed my eyes and drew in deep lungfuls of the fresh air to try and clam myself down. All around me, the air was filled with the sweet chatter of morning birdsong. I wished the sound would drown out the grim thoughts of school that were crammed into my head.

After a couple of seconds, Brax followed me out into the garden. Once he'd spotted me propped up against a tree, he came over to check that I was okay. I lied and told him that I was but from the look he was giving me I could tell that he clearly hadn't fallen for it.

"Look, its okay to be scared, Alex. No one's going to judge you for it." He said. "I realize what this means to you - how hard it is for you to go back. And I think you're a seriously brave kid for facing it. But you don't have to do it alone. Me, Heath, Kyle, Ricky, Bianca, Phoebe... we've all got your back."

"Can I ask you for a favor then?" I queried, trying not to let him see the way that my hands were shaking due to my ever climbing anxiety levels.

"Yeah. Anything."

"Can you come with us to the school? I get that I'm not going to look particularly great being led there by my brothers, but if I'm just with Heath the entire way than I'll go insane."

Brax nodded. "Who wouldn't?" He joked, before clapping me on the shoulder. "Come on. We'd better get a move on then."

*

Brax and Heath left me and Darcy at the school gates. As soon as we reached them, Darcy was swept away by a gaggle of her friends who all complimented my hair and twittered on and on about it, like a flock of lively birds before they finally flounced away.

I glimpsed back at my brothers with desperate, piteous eyes as I was directed towards Summer Bay High by Bianca, the Head mistress of the school. Brax gave me a reassuring nod as Heath flashed me a thumbs up. Despite their optimism, I had a sinking sensation deep in my gut that today was not going to end well for me.

Reluctantly turning away, I ambled up the steps and was guided in through the double front doors. Olivia, who'd promised to meet me there, was lent up against a radiator wearing the same outfit as me. She offered me a friendly smile when she saw me come in.

"Hey Lexie," She sang before looking me over. "Wow, you actually make this school uniform look good."

"If that's an attempt at sarcasm, I'm really not in the mood, Ollie." I replied flatly, crossing my arms.

"I'm being serious." Olivia laughed, nudging me playfully in the shoulder.

"Oh, Olivia, would you mind taking Alexis to the reception office to pick up her timetable?" Bianca requested, switching from her casual and informal voice to a more serious and authoritative one. I guessed that this was what Bianca the Head Mistress was like.

"Yes, of course, Mrs Scott."

"Thank you." My sister-in-law turned to me with a small, reassuring smile. "You'll be fine, Alex. If there's anything you need then don't hesitate to come by my office or ask another member of staff. I'd recommend Zac or Leah. Be good, alright?"

"No promises." I murmured edgily with a wobbly smile.

I was trying to come across as my usual spirited self, but all my vigor and coolness had deserted me and left me feeling vulnerable and insecure. This frame of mind was almost completely foreign to me. I was so used to being assertive, buoyant and calm in the face of new challenges. My own strength was what had enabled me to live through the last few tough years of my life, fending not only for myself but my mother as well. From the age of thirteen - even younger than that - I'd put up with miserly managers and stingy landlords and an array of cruel step-dads. I'd had bullies back in my old school and teachers with hearts of stone. Still, I'd always been able to handle it. Never had I let any of them make me feel as gut-wrenchingly weak as I did now.

My hands were in fists - my nails biting into the soft skin of my sweating palms and a headache like no other was brewing in my temples. About a thousand times a second I thought about throwing up or considered running from the school as fast as my legs could carry me.

"Well, you'd better try." Bianca advised, before trotting away down the corridor with a stack of paperwork in her arms, her high heels clip-clopping like horses hooves' down the hallway. Once she'd vanished around the corner, Olivia turned to me with a big grin.

"Right, let's go get your timetable and then we'll head to our first lesson." She said cheerfully. "Sound good?"

My tongue felt as dry as sandpaper in my mouth. "Great."

The sour-faced old hag behind the reception desk handed me a load of credentials and documents from through the office window when I told her my name. In with it was a letter I was to give each of my teachers to read along with a map of the school, a calendar diary, a locker key, a schedule for all of my lessons for a week, and a pass that enabled me to go and see Leah Paterson, the student counselor, whenever it suited me if I wanted to 'talk'. I doubted that I would ever use that pass.

"Right, first lesson for you is Physics with Mrs Finch with the year below, in Classroom B6." Olivia announced, scanning my timetable. Suddenly, a deep frown took hold of her features.

Bianca had reluctantly agreed to let me start from year 9 instead of year 8, so long as I promised to work hard with extra tutorials and admit it if the workload was getting to be too much for me. I was far happier with the idea of being sent back only one year rather than two, even if it did mean a pile up of work. However, when I saw the pained expression on Olivia's face, something told me that I wasn't about to like what I was going to hear.

"What?" I asked, knowing from the way she was chewing her lips that something must be wrong.

"Erm, Alex? Physics with Mrs Finch in room B6... Well, that class - the one that you've been put in for most subjects - that's the resit class. It's full of the kids who didn't pass the first time round."

"So?"

"So, it's got all of the delinquents of our year in there."

"And...?" I hummed.

"Brody Ace Johnston didn't pass science last year because he wagged all of his classes. So did half of the other River Boys. And Gaz and Anya, The Hodges Twins... they're in that class too."

Groaning, I brushed a frustrated hand through my hair and held back a curse. Facing the ceiling, I muttered."You have got to be kidding me..."

"I wish I was, but..." Olivia shook her head and pressed her lips together. She came to a slow as the both of us neared the classroom that I had my first lesson in. It was just down the hall from the lockers. I stared at the classroom door in disdain. I couldn't believe that I'd be stuck in there with the Chatworth Gang and the River Boys. I'd never even liked science to begin with. Why was my luck always so bad?

Just then, the warning bell rang for the start of class and I jumped at the high pitched sound. Olivia sighed as she handed me back all of my documents.

"This is where I love you and leave you I'm afraid." She winced. "I've got English first and I don't want Mr Maguire to see me getting in late. Remember,  everything will be fine. You've got this, Lexie. Just make sure you hand this note to every one of your teachers, okay? It's important."

I nodded. "Sure. So I'll see you at break?"

"You bet." Olivia smiled before she left me alone in the corridor with only my harassing thoughts as company.

Sighing, I strolled down the hallway to find my locker so that I could shove all the paperwork in there. I really couldn't be bothered carrying it around and looking like the idiot new girl who was lost. However, before I got anywhere near my locker, a big, muscular body blocked my way. It belonged to none other than Anya Hodges; the school bully.

"Well if it isn't my favorite Fruit Loop, little Miss Alexis Braxton." She sneered, prodding me hard in the shoulder with a  big, pudgy finger. Her eyes landed on the timetable in my hands and her wicked smirk widened. "Oh, this is just rich!" She snorted. "Turns out we're classroom buddies. How about that? Maybe if you're lucky I'll help you settle in, newbie. I'll show you the dunny if you want. Maybe give your pretty, long hair a wash in the toilet bowl."

"Get lost Anya." I growled, not at all in the mood for her jests as I tried to pass around her. She shifted her squared body so that I couldn't walk around.

"Why? What will you do if I don't?" She dared, stepping nearer with a smug leer.

"If you don't back off, then I'll make you." I snapped back curtly, my patience running out and my annoyance catching up with me.

"Wow, big words for a Braxton half-breed." Anya provoked smarmily. "Then again, I suppose you're whole self-righteous family is renowned for being full of pig-headed dogs that think they own the world. They get it from hanging around with those dimwit River Boys."

It took me less than two seconds to realize that everyone by the lockers had quieted so that they could turn their gazes on me and Anya, who were squared up to each other in the center of the corridor. We had successfully caught the attention of the entire hallway of students. Whatever I did now, however I replied, would decide what my reputation would be in Summer Bay High. Cowardly or heroic? Brave or idiotic? Daring or spineless?

"Anya, I doubt you can even spell 'Self-righteous', let alone know what it means." I answered finally, with as much poise as I could muster. "Now, I get that you need the whole corridor to lug around all the extra weight, but I'd really appreciate it if you got out of my way. So move."

As I went to shove passed her, Anya spun to grab something out of the nearest bin and then jerked her hand so that whatever it was fell onto me. The first thing that hit me was the sickeningly sweet smell of the sticky, gloppy strawberry milkshake as it splattered over the front of my dress and splashed down my arms, legs and my face. The milky, pink slime dripped down my neck and ran down the skin of my bare back like icy fingers. For half a second, I was frozen with shock, and then slowly, I came back to my senses, just as Anya and her intimidating entourage of bullies filled the corridor with howling laughter. To me, they sounded like crows cawing.

Before I could retaliate in any way, a teacher came around the corner and shouted at us all to get to our lessons. The crowds that had been watching quickly dispersed, and Anya hung around just long enough to throw me a nasty smirk.

"See you in science, Ratbag." She tormented, before ramming passed. She slammed into my shoulder hard on her way, so I dropped all of my documents. Then her and her cronies swanned away, snickering hysterically to themselves until they were out of sight.

I closed my eyes and drew in a deep breath, trying to gather whatever inner strength I had left. Maybe - just maybe - if I held it together, I would still be able to make it through the day. After all, it hadn't been that bad. It was just one little blip - a run in with Anya. That was nothing compared to what I'd faced in the past. It was still well within my power to salvage what was left of the day and my dignity. All I had to do was get a grip and remain resilient. I couldn't let Anya get to me.

"Hey, you need some help?"

When I opened my eyes, I came face to face with a stunning girl who was around my own age, probably not much more than a year younger. She had grey misty eyes that raged like a hurricane and long dark hair. She gestured to all of my documents that were scattered over the hallway. "Cause it kind of looks like you need some help."

"Nah, I've got it." I lied adamantly, unable to bear the fact that I needed assistance from someone else. Now there was just another person who I felt like I owed something.

The girl rolled her eyes disbelievingly. "Yeah. Sure."

Stooping over, she helped gather all my papers together into a pile and then handed them back to me. Her eyes lingered over the splashes of strawberry milkshake that streaked my body and she grimaced. "Do you want help cleaning that up? I reckon if we're lucky and we wash it out right away then it might not tangle up your hair and make it all sticky and stuck together."

I narrowed my eyes at her. "You know,  you don't have to help me."

She just laughed. "Are you always this friendly to the people who offer you assistance?"

"Pretty much, yeah." I confessed honestly.

"There's a surprise; A stubborn Braxton with trust issues. Who'd have thought." She joked sarcastically, before scanning me with her pretty, stormy grey eyes. "Is it true what they say about you? That you're the newest Braxton in town?"

I shrugged, deciding to take a chance and trust the girl. "Kind of. I'm a half sister to Brax, Heath and Kyle Braxton. I've come to live with them. Why? Does the Braxton name mean much to you?"

"Yup, you betcha." The girl smiled before shaking my hand. We both started walking slowly down the corridor, towards the girls toilets. "My name's Amy Clayton. I'm from Mangrove River and so are all my mates.We grew up hearing loads of stories about the Braxtons."

"So you're a River Girl, then?"

"Through and through." Amy grinned. "Not just that but my mum is an old mate of Cheryl's. I remember being taken to the house when I was quite a few years younger when my mum went over for a drink with Mrs Braxton."

I raised my brows. "Really? What's she like? Cheryl, I mean."

Amy's eyebrows knitted together as she pushed open the door to the girl's toilets and let me in first. "You haven't met her yet?"

"Nope. Still have that hurdle to jump." I admitted. "If I'm honest, I think my brothers have been purposely hiding the news from her so that she wouldn't come round."

"Shocker." Amy laughed sarcastically. "Well you're in for a treat. Cheryl's one quirky character that you don't forget in a hurry. Especially when it comes to family crossovers." She became silent for a moment as she beheld me with something close to awe or respect. "I saw the way you stood up to Anya. My friends and I... we thought it was pretty cool. The Hodges twins and their gang from Chatworth have a real problem with everyone who has anything to do with the River Boys. Us kids from Mangrove River have been baring the brunt of Anya. She's been Harassing me and my girls for a while now."

"Really?"I reached for a handful of paper towels and ran them under the tap so that they were wet before using them to clean the milkshake off of my uniform.

"Yeah. But if there's one thing I've sussed out about that girl, it's that she finds it harder to get at us when we're together in a group. The River girls have got each other's backs when it counts. I just thought I'd let you know that if you or your friend - Olivia - ever needed to for any reason, you could come and join our crowd.

"Wow, that's pretty nice of you. Thanks. I'll keep it in mind." I replied softly, giving Amy a smile.

She waved it off like it was no big deal. "We'd be happy to look out for you considering you're a Braxton and everything. It basically makes us family." She clarified. "Besides, I reckon you've got guts. Any girl with as much fire in her belly as you have in yours is more than welcome into our crowd."

I grinned. "Cheers. "

"Also, I couldn't help overhearing that you're in the resit class? The same one as Anya?" She more like asked it than stated it.

"Yeah. I am." I answered.

"Me too" Amy told me beaming happily, before checking the time on her phone. A shadow passed over her face. "Oh. Talking of which, we're gonna be late - and trust me when I say that you don't want to get on the wrong side of Mrs Finch. That woman's a total Fruit Loop. C'mon. Let's go."

*

When I entered the science labs with Amy everyone in the room turned to stare at us. Most of them I recognized from the corridor and knew had witnessed mine and Anya's exchange. Not all of the milkshake had washed off of my uniform. Pink stains streaked the front of the checkered dress and my hair was a little bit damp from the water I'd used to wash the milkshake out. I probably looked like I lived in a dumpster.

Anya, Gaz and the rest of the Chatworth gang were sat in a crowd at the back of the class, on the two lab benches that were furthest away. I had to walk past them to follow Amy to where she and her friends were seated. I realized that someone had suspiciously dragged a spare chair out ready for me and wondered if Amy had told her friends beforehand that she planned on recruiting me.

Right next to where Amy and her friends were sat were the River Boys, who were all leaned back on their seats, their feet rested up on the benched, dossing about and taking none of the lesson seriously. Half of them weren't even wearing the right school uniform or had swapped it for their own casual clothes - hoodies, jeans, t-shirts and surfing shorts. I spotted Brody Ace Johnson immediately. He was in the  middle of the group, wearing worn jeans. His school shirt was open, so I could see his toned torso and abs. God only knew what had happened to his tie, which was nowhere to be seen. Brody had been throwing his balled up worksheet at one of his friends when he noticed me walking in. As soon as our eyes met, I saw him sit up full of interest, completely transfixed on me. Obviously no one had told him that I was attending Summer Bay High.

"Can anyone else smell strawberries?" Gaz called out loudly as I made me way towards my designated seat, causing his entire gang to burst out into jeering laughter.

"All I can smell is wet, half breed mongrel." Anya hollered, to which even more teasing sniggers bubbled up around the classroom.

Feeling all their eyes on me, I tensed up like I would if I was preparing for a fight. My insides knotted and I clenched my hands into angry fists. I was sick and tired of the Chatworth gang and this was only the second meeting I'd ever had with them. Determined not to let them get to me, I forced a grin and turned back to stare them down.

"Really?" I said confidently. "Because all I can smell is Chatworth scum."

As soon as the words had left my lips, the science lab exploded into pandemonium. The Chatworth gang reared onto their feet, protesting angrily and jeering at me. The Mangrove River lot hooted and cheered and whistled as loudly as they could as they applauded me.

"You tell them, Braxton Girl!" One of Brody's mates laughed.

Amy turned to her friends with a smirk. "See what I mean? I told you she was a River Girl at heart."

Before anyone could say or do anything else, the science teacher, who had been watching with narrowed beady eyes and a stony expression cut through the ruckus with her sharp, ringing voice.

"Enough!" She exploded. "Everyone get back in your seats and calm down. As for you." Her steely eyes fixed on me. "What nerve have you to come in here late and start throwing around insults, causing chaos in my classroom."

"Erm..."

"I take it you're the new student I was warned about." Mrs Finch stated snappishly, rolling her eyes and tutting as if my slowness really bothered her. "What's your name, girl?"

"Alex."

The science teacher sighed irritably. "Your full name."

I resisted the temptation to reply with a sarky comment. With gritted teeth, I murmured. "Alexis Braxton."

"Well, I suggest you take your seat Miss Braxton and keep from interrupting my class again. I'll have no mischief in here, whether you mean to cause it or not. Understood?"

I shrugged and sat down next to Amy, knowing that the next hour spent in the science lab listening to Mrs Finch's pointless drivel was going to be the longest one of my life.

*

Halfway through the lesson, my head was a mess. I understood nothing of what the teacher was squawking on about and the worksheets that had been handed out to me might as well have been written in a foreign language, because I couldn't decipher a word of what any of it meant. Something to do with momentum, mass, velocity and units... something down that line. The fact of the matter was: I didn't know and I didn't care. I'd never in my lifetime even seen these kinds of equations before. Staring at the clock disparagingly, I  willed time to go faster.

No longer able to stand the fact that none of the questions on my sheet had been answered and I'd been glaring blankly at them for twenty minutes solid, I glanced over at Amy and decided to risk another tongue-lashing from Mrs Finch, who I'd quickly decided I hated with a passion.

"Hey, Amy," I whispered urgently, trying to get her attention without the teacher noticing. 

Mrs Finch had already caught me talking to Amy and her friends, Stella and Jade, twice now. Both times she'd hit the roof and threatened that the next time I was seen chitchatting I'd be explaining myself to the headmistress. The idea of going to see as friendly a face as Bianca's was almost appealing, but then I thought about how saddened my sister-in-law would be that I hadn't even managed to get through my first class without getting into trouble. I wasn't sure if that was something I wanted to have to face up to.

Dazedly, Amy looked up from her worksheet. "Hey, what's up, Alex?"

"Any chance you could explain this to me?" I asked desperately, signalling to my work. "I literally don't even know what we're supposed to be doing."

"I know the feeling." Amy grinned before pulling a face. "You've never done these equations before?"

"Never even seen them." I answered honestly. 

"How come?"

I shrugged uneasily. "Let's just say I've missed quite a lot of school."

" Enough said." Amy brushed it off. "Of course I'll help you. All you have to do here is remember that mass (kg) times velocity (m/s) equals momentum which is p. That equation will basically always give you-"

"Girls! Seriously!" Mrs Finch bellowed, glowering starkly at us from where she was perched like a raven on her desk. "How many times do I have to tell you to stop talking? If you're this insistent on being heard, than why don't you share what you have to say with the rest of the class?"

"No, thanks. I'd rather not." I answered stiffly. 

Personally, I didn't see what was wrong with my response, but Mrs Finch seemed to believe that I was being rude, arrogant and disrespectful towards her. It seemed that in the last two years I had completely forgotten how to address and speak with teachers in the correct, polite and mannerly way.

Bristling like a hedgehog, she countered sternly."Right then, Miss Braxon. If you're feeling sassy enough to gossip with Amy and to quibble with me, than I assume you've already filled out all the questions on the test. If that's the case, than can you please give the class the answer to the first question: A bicycle has a momentum of 24 kg m/s. What momentum would the bicycle have if it had three times the mass and was moving with twice the speed?"

I looked down at my blank page and shrugged. "I didn't fill that one in."

"Right. The second question then. Determine the momentum of an electron (m= 9.1 x 10-31 kg) moving at 2.18 x 106 m/s as if it were in a Bohr orbit in the H atom."

I could feel everyone's eyes boring into me. Feeling put on the spot, I nervously tapped my nails on the lab bench. 

"Erm... I didn't really do that one either."

Mrs Finch's eyebrows seemed to grow into one as she scowled at me. "Did you bother to do any of them at all?"

"Uh..." I cleared my throat. "Not really, no..."

Mrs Finch looked so outraged that I'd have bet all of my money on her having a heart attack. 

"You mean to tell me you haven't done any of the work?" She thundered. "So what have you been doing for the past half hour besides disrupting the rest of your classmates? Nothing?"

It was my turn to frown. I was sick to death of being made to feel stupid or belittled. If it was a fight that the science teacher wanted, than it was a fight she was about to get. I drew in a breath, gearing myself up ready to argue with her.

"Well if you'd bothered to help me out rather than have a go at me every five minutes, then maybe I'd have learnt something, you delusional nutcase." I fired back at her, my anger getting the better of me. All round me, the other students were enthralled by the fact that I was defending myself. "It's not my fault you're terrible teacher."

The whole room descended into quiet as the teacher and I glared at each other from across the room. I could hear the other students holding their breaths, or gasping with surprise at my outburst. No one dared say a word. When Mrs Finch finally did speak, her voice was dangerously calm and heavy - each syllable fell into the silence like a tonne of bricks.

"Get. Out. Of. My. Classroom."

"I was beginning to think you'd never ask." I growled back, swinging my bag over my shoulder and leaping to my feet. 

Without hesitation, I made for the door, completely intent on leaving Summer Bay High and never stepping foot in it ever again. At least not if i could help it.

*

The first place my feet carried me was to the beach, where I could forget all of the morning's disastrous events with one look at the glittering ocean and one breath of the refreshing sea air.

The waves were wild horses, rearing up and throwing their heads back before crashing down onto the beach, pounding the soft sand with their white foam hooves. It was one of those balmy, temperate mornings when a warm salty sea mist clung to the rocky cliff that jutted out into the ocean on the edge of the crescent-shaped Bay. I could just about make out the shape of the lighthouse stood atop the lump of stony land flecked with bursts of green plantation.

I buried my toes in the toasty, sun-baked sand and watched the rising globe in the sky flood the Bay with light. It tainted the sky with a vivid egg yolk yellow that bled into the inky blue cloudless void.Seagulls wheeled overhead, carried by the calm ocean breeze.

After what must have been about half an hour, my phone started going off repeatedly in my pocket. When I checked it, my heart sunk. It was Brax. And Bianca. And Ricky. And Heath. And Kyle. Obviously, word had got out about my escape from school and now my family were on the search for me.

Choosing to ignore the crater of guilt, resentment and worry that was opening up in my chest, I switched off my phone and threw it aside, unable to bare the very thought of answering it.

"Avoiding someone?" A voice asked from behind me, startling me into jumping.

When I peered over my shoulder, I realised that it was Brody Ace Johnston, the River Boy leader, who had followed me out onto the beach.

"Not someone. Everyone." I corrected, trying to make it obvious that I didn't want any company.

Brody winced as he parked himself on the sand next to me, completely missing or chosing to blatantly ignore the hint.

"I hope that doesn't include me." He said.

It took me a moment to realise that the River Boy was holding something in his hand. When he saw me looking, he shrugged and smirked.

"I went to the Diner and got us some strawberry milkshakes." He clarified, offering me one of the takeaway cups.

"Is that supposed to be some kind of sick, twisted joke?" I grumbled, unable to fight the way that the corners of my mouth were twitching up into a reluctant smile.

"Kinda." Brody replied playfully, his cobalt blue eyes agleam with amusement. "You have to admit I've got a cute sense of humor, right?"

"You're certainly something else, Johnston, but cute isn't it." I smiled, grudgingly accepting one of the milkshakes. It smelt and looked exactly like the milkshake that I'd had thrown at me by Anya. Same pink tinge and overpoweringly sweet aroma. "Don't you have a class to go to or something?"

"I could ask you the same question, Braxton." Brody laughed, before surveying me with his luminous, electric eyes. "Yeah, I'm supposed to have a lesson, but I decided that I'd be more use keeping you company whilst you winded down." He paused for a milisecond, a thought seeming to suddenly occur to him. "I wasn't expecting you to go off at Finch like that.  Don't get me wrong — she definitely deserved it — but I just didn't realize how... fierce you were."

"Yeah, well... I guess you just pick it up when you've been through what I've been through." I said quietly, staring out over the stretch of turquoise ocean, fringed in white lace patterns. My mind was wandering back to when I lived in the city and the amount of horrid people I'd had to face on a daily basis there. How many times had I been threatened or harassed late at night by thugs on the streets or badgered by the men I rented off, or pushed around like a chess piece on a board game by my many step-dads? More times than I could count. I still carried the scars that proved that.

"Something tells me that you've got a pretty fascinating background, Alex." Brody told me as he made himself comfy on the sand. "I'd do anything to hear it."

I snorted. "It's going to cost you more than a lousy milkshake to coax that story out of me."

Brody grinned. "Name your price."

"My life story isn't for sale." I told him, smiling. "Maybe instead you could tell me why you freaked out when you found out I was a Braxton?"

"Ah. Now that's a secret." Brody warned,  flashing me a cheeky wink. "Maybe when you're older I'll explain it to you."

"Give over, Brody." I laughed, shoving him playfully in the shoulder.

Brody gasped theatrically, before breaking into a genuine smile. "Am I imagining it or did I just manage to make the angry surfer chick laugh?"

I rolled my eyes. "I'm not always angry you know."

"You usually are whenever I'm around." He disagreed, grinning teasingly. "All the times I've seen you, you've had this'carrying-the-weight-of-the-world-on-your-shoulders' look about you."

Brody squinted into the sunlight which streamed through his messy, dark hair which stuck up in every direction. There was something about the warming sparkle in his tantalising ocean blue eyes that made it hard for me to look away. When he spoke next, his voice was the softest that I'd ever heard it.

"I prefer the smiley, care-free Alex that I just saw. She looks like a lot more fun."

"I guess she is." I admitted, before jokingly pulling a face and wincing. "But she can get pretty crazy. I don't know if you could keep up with her."

Brody chuckled and took a sip of his milkshake, his eyes still on me.

"I think I'll take my chances."

Peering out of the corner of my eye at Brody, I decided that maybe the River Boy wasn't the worst company in the world to have. He was laid back on the sand, milkshake in hand, completely at ease. His relaxation seemed to rub off on me, successfully calming my nerves and distracting my thoughts. I just hoped that the escape from reality wouldn't be too short lived, and tried not to think about how much trouble I was in when finally did decide to rejoin the rest of the world.

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Hey guys. Hope you liked the long chapter. Please let me know your thoughts: Do you like the whole River vs Chatworth thing? How do you feel about Brody?  Are there any characters you want to see more of?  please tell me in the comments if you've got anything particular that you want to/not to happen. keep the votes coming ;) Thanks a million for reading!x