Bronwen   I sit in the back yard of our dilapidated house, staring at the chipping paint and sagging porch. The house had the bones to be beautiful, a real classic like all the other Victorian-style homes lining the streets. But what those pretty houses had that this one lacked, was someone to put in the effort to maintain its charm. All this house had was a mean drunk who would rather punch holes in the wall than reinforce the warped floorboards. The wind blows hard, rattling the small structure that I am hiding in. This is what is left of an old treehouse my dad built for us years

After the last bell of the day rings, I go to my locker to drop off my textbooks before I go to meet my new friend, Morana. My last three classes of the day have the guy from the library in them. Today must be the first day that he has been in attendance because trust me, I would have noticed if he had been there any of the other days. Today in class, I tried my hardest to keep from staring at him. Thankfully, he never even seemed to notice. Maci and her friends kept grappling for his attention like the desperate leeches that they are, so I doubt he even got a chance to look around the room. Not that he would notice me even if he had gotten the chance.

Bronwen   What he is really asking me is why don't I have any self-respect. I ask myself this each time I let Noah touch me. Yeah, I feel shame each time that Noah kisses me. He treats me like shit all of the time and worst of all, he has a girlfriend that he is cheating on. A girlfriend that I am helping him to cheat on. I am like a high school version of a homewrecker. “When I was thirteen, I asked him if he would be my first kiss. He flat-out rejected me. I know that he probably thought he was being gentle about it or maybe he knew he wasn't, I don't know but it was kind of harsh.

The three of us walked through the mall with me tucked in between the two of them. Every store that Morana wants to go in, Andras says no. That it is not my style. I can see the frustration literally building up inside of her. Finally, he walks over to a store that has a more diverse selection of clothes. Every store that Morana went to was filled with mostly pink clothes. This one that Andras lead us to has some really cute outfits in darker colors. It is more of a grunge-type store. "This is the store you should be shopping at for Bronwen." “I do like this store,” I tell her, trying to keep the peace. It's different from the other stores, that if I'm being honest, were a bit too, um, preppy for my taste.

Bronwen   The next day is Friday and Alec gave me a ride to school this morning, just as he picked me up from school yesterday afternoon, because of Morana and Andras's 'family thing'. Last night I spent the whole night hiding in my temporary room, avoiding Noah and to a lesser degree Alec. He had used the opportunity of having me stuck in the car yesterday to interrogate me about Andras, our relationship, and the clothes. He wanted to know what I had given Andras in return for the clothes. The prostitution insinuations are really starting to piss me off. Big time.