LIFE WITH STEF
Published by Writers Exchange E-Publishing, Smashwords Edition
http://www.writers-exchange.com
Copyright 2006 Susette Williams
Writers Exchange E-Publishing
PO Box 372
ATHERTON QLD 4883
Cover Art by: Laura Shinn
ISBN 1 920972 73 0
All characters in this book have no existence outside the imagination of the author and have no relation to anyone bearing the same name or names. Any resemblance to individuals known or unknown to the author are purely coincidental.
DEDICATION
Thanks to my husband and to my children, Delilah, Eric, Melissa, Gabrielle, Nehemiah and Nathaniel, for allowing me to dedicate time to writing. I love you all.
Book 1
The 'In' Crowd
Chapter One
I'm Stephanie Pixley. I'm twelve years old, practically an adult. There is only a week left until school starts and I still haven't gone shopping for school clothes. Not because I haven't wanted to either, no one has taken me. "Mom. Everyone else is ready for school. When are we going shopping?" I asked.
"Maybe tonight after dinner," Mom replied. "If we have time."
There goes that 'if' again. Well, 'if' I have to wear the same clothes I wore last year, I'll just die. "Robin's mom took her out to buy new clothes three weeks ago," I pleaded.
It was as if I could hear the clock in my head. Tick...tick...tick... I knew time was running out. I had to convince Mom how serious this situation was. "None of my jeans fit," I told her. Well, some of them didn't fit. It wasn't exactly a lie. "I think I grew at least an inch this summer."
"Yeah, around the waist," my younger brother, Dwight chimed in.
"You, dweeb," I responded to his snide remark. Brothers can be such a pain.
"The two of you need to behave yourselves. You're not making it any easier to get dinner ready. Now, set the table and stop fighting," Mom instructed us.
I knew I was losing this battle. So I went ahead and set the table in total silence. Maybe Mom could see my disappointment. "Perhaps," Mom began, "tomorrow we could go after I get home from work."
Then came the hitch. There always was one. "If you have your chores done. Be ready to leave when I get home."
Yes. Finally. Now I can look forward to going back to school. Clothes make a definite statement about you. The last thing I want people to call me is 'uncool'.
After dinner, I couldn't wait to call my best friends. With three-way calling, I could talk to both Robin and Darla at the same time. I dialed Robin's number first. Her dad answered, "Hello."
"Hello. May I speak to Robin please?" I asked politely. Parents seem to like that sort of thing.
"Just a minute," he replied and began hollering her name. I twirled a strand of my sandy-blonde hair between my fingers while I waited for Robin to come to the telephone.
"Hello," Robin answered.
"It's me. Hold on while I call Darla," I told her. In a few minutes, Darla was on the line too.
"Guess what?" I asked.
"What?" asked Robin and Darla.
"I'm finally going shopping tomorrow. I can't wait," I told them.
"Wow," Robin said.
"How did you finally talk your mom into taking you?" Darla asked.
"I told her I had outgrown all my stuff from last year. She finally agreed to take me," I said proudly.
They told me all about their new school clothes and asked me what I was going to buy. I told them what all I wanted. I wasn't quite sure Mom would let me have the new jeans that are in style. I especially like them because they don't make you look fat. Yuck. I don't want to look fat. However, the pants are definitely 'in'. Robin got a pair three months ago. Darla's mom bought her two pairs already.
Over the phone, I could hear Darla's mom hollering. "I have to go. I still haven't finished my chores," Darla informed us.
"Bye," Robin and I said at the same time.
"Bye. I'll call you tomorrow Stef," Darla said before hanging up the phone.
"What a bummer. I hate doing chores. I'm glad I don't have as many as you two have. My mom does most of the housework. Sometimes I have to help cook, but that's about it. Like I really need to learn," Robin said. "I'm going to marry a guy who can cook. That or he better plan on eating out all the time."
"A guy cook. Yeah, right. My dad can cook, but my brother won't learn how. He says he isn't going to do girl's work. Mom always tells him it's okay. He doesn't have to learn. It's not fair," I told her.
"I thought you liked to cook," Robin said.
"Well. Yeah. Sometimes, if I'm in the mood. But not when I have to, it isn't any fun when they make you help," I told her. You would think even she knew that. Parents always take something fun and make it work.
"Stephanie, it's time to get off the phone," Mom said.
"I gotta go. I don't want to make her mad or she won't take me tomorrow. Bye. I'll call you after I go shopping," I promised.
"You better," Robin threatened. "I want to hear about all your new stuff."
After I got off the phone with Robin, I got ready for bed. It was hard to sleep. All I could think about was going shopping. By the time I finally fell asleep, it was late.
Chapter Two
I was still so tired in the morning that I didn't even hear Mrs. Severs, from next door, arrive. She comes to keep an eye on us while Mom and Dad are at work. She doesn't really keep an eye on me. I'm older. My sister Wendy and my brother Dwight are the ones who need a babysitter. If it weren't for them, Mrs. Severs wouldn't have to come over at all.
By late afternoon, I was sure Dwight was trying to sabotage our shopping plans. He wouldn't help with any of the chores. "Clean your room Dwight," I hollered.
"Why should I?" he challenged.
"If you don't, we won't get to go shopping and get new clothes," I reminded him.
"Who cares. You want new clothes, you clean my room," he said.
Mrs. Severs came into his room to see why we were hollering. "What's going on children?"
"He won't pick up his mess. Mom said she wants the house cleaned before she takes us shopping for school clothes tonight and he won't pick up his room," I told her, holding my hands on both of my hips. He was gonna get it now. Serves him right.
"Now Dwight, this is your room," she told him.
"Yeah, I know," he said. He knew he was in trouble because he wouldn't even look at her.
"Do you think it's fair to ask someone else to pick up the toys you played with?" she reasoned with him.
"She's the one who wants to go shopping. Not me," he said.
"I want to go shopping too," Wendy hollered as she hurried up the hallway towards Dwight's room. "He's going to mess it up for both of us."
"So," he said, sticking his tongue out at her.
"Now children. Wendy, you go back and finish cleaning your room. Stephanie, you go finish putting the dishes away," Mrs. Severs told us.
"Yes ma'am," Wendy and I said before we went to do what she told us to do.
Mrs. Severs sat down on Dwight's bed. "Would you like me to clean your room for you?" she asked.
His eyes lit up, and then his shoulders slumped. "No. I'd get in trouble if you cleaned my room," he said.
"Do you think you should have to clean your room?" Mrs. Severs asked him.
"I guess so. It's just that I don't think I should have to do it so they can go shopping," he told her.
"Won't you be getting new things too?" Mrs. Severs asked.
"I guess," he said.
"Well then, I guess you'll have to clean up and make room for your new things won't you?" Mrs. Severs said.
"All right," he said, then got up off the floor where he was kneeling and began picking up his mess.
Mom made it home from work a little earlier than usual. A whole fifteen minutes earlier. After Mrs. Severs left, we headed for the mall. Mom let Dwight sit in the front seat. I didn't care. I was just happy to go shopping. The mall was crowded. We were getting closer to Designs, a really neat store with all the latest fashions. All the popular kids got clothes from there. "Mom. Can we go into Designs?" I asked hopefully.
"I guess it wouldn't hurt to look. We'll see what they have," Mom said.
"Yes," I said, under my breath. I couldn't believe she was actually going to let us look around Designs. When we walked inside, I was so surprised. This store is so neat, I can hardly believe I'm in here. I picked up a blue and green striped T-shirt that matched the colors in my eyes. When I looked at the price tag, I could have had a heart attack. If Mom sees how much they want for some of these cool clothes, she is never gonna let me have them.
"Are you going to get that shirt?" Someone behind me asked rudely.
I turned around to see who was behind me. Great. There stood Jamie Holdmeyer, Heather Lancaster, and Rachael Cassidy. They were a few of the rich snobs from school. Rachael was wearing a shirt just like the one I was holding, except it was in a different color.
"You're not going to buy that shirt are you?" Heather said in disgust.
"I was thinking about it," I told her.
"Hi dear, are these your friends from school?" Mom asked. Of all the times, my mother had to make a scene, why did it have to be now. She came over at the worst possible time and behind her trailed my younger brother and sister.
Are these my friends from school? How could she even ask such a question? As if I would actually want to be friends with them, not that I wouldn't want to, but sometimes they were just plain mean. Turning my head, I rolled my eyes, wishing that I could be anywhere other than here this moment.
They always acted as if they were better than everyone else was because their parents bought them all the latest styles of clothes. Heather even had a charge card that her parents gave her to use when she went shopping. Since she got it, she made a point of letting everyone know that she wasn't like the other immature brats at school.
"We all go to the same school," I told Mom, knowing I would get in trouble if I dare make a comment about them also being snobs.
"What are you looking at honey?" Mom asked. She took the T-shirt from me that I was still holding in my hands. After taking it from me, she held it up. Then she had to go and look at the price tag, right in front of Jamie, Heather, and Rachael.
"My, that's awful expensive for a T-shirt," Mom said as she refolded the shirt before laying it back on the pile that was on display.
My hopes deflated. To make it even worse, Heather had a smug look on her face. "We'll let you get back to shopping with your mommy," Heather said. Then the three of them stuck their noses in the air as they turned and walked away.
I just wanted to shrivel up and hide. How much more embarrassing could shopping in the mall get than shopping with your mother, not to mention being seen in public with my little sister and brother.
***
When we got home, I went in my room and called Robin and Darla. "My life is ruined. I'll never be able to show my face in school again," I told them.
"What happened?" Robin asked while Darla made a moaning sound.
After I told them about running into Jamie, Heather, and Rachael, they understood my dread. "You've got to be kidding?" Darla said in disbelief. "Your mother actually came over and told you there was no way she was going to buy you that shirt in front of them? How could she?"
"That must have been awful," Robin agreed.
It was so nice having friends that understood, I just wish my mother did. When we eventually hung up, I was feeling a little better. However, my outlook on the upcoming school year was not a positive one.
Chapter Three
I was so nervous walking into my first class. I hadn't seen most of my friends all summer. In my 'cool' new jeans that I had managed to talk Mom into buying, I knew I looked good. I even spent part of my allowance to buy the striped shirt I had on and some cute pencils with little puppies on them. Maybe I didn't buy my shirt from Designs, but it still looked like one of the kinds of shirts they carried.
Making my way across the room, I took a seat near the windows so I could look outside whenever I would get bored. Which I was sure would happen quite often in my language class. Mrs. Gable had a way of making things drag on forever. Her voice had a shrill sound that reminded me of someone scraping their fingers across the blackboard.
Across the row from me, a cute boy sat down. He was wearing faded jeans and his hair was short, but very stylish. He looked like he spent a lot of time swimming this summer because he had a dark tan. I don't know what made me do it, but I smiled at him. My heart dropped into the pit of my stomach when Heather sat down in front of him. After giving me one of her usual dirty looks, she turned towards him with a smile that showed all of her shiny white teeth. She really laid the charm on thick. I knew I didn't stand a chance.
"Hi. I'm Heather," she told him, smiling even wider than she had before and batting her eyelashes at him.
"Todd," he said, nodding his head to greet her. Then he turned to look at me. I couldn't believe it; my eyes lit up as wide as baseballs. He was looking at me as if he expected me to say something.
"I'm Stephanie," I stammered. Great, now I sounded like an idiot.
"Hi, Stef," he said, before he turned back towards Heather.
Wow. He really wanted to know my name. A tap on my shoulder caught my attention. "Yeah," I said, turning around to see who was interrupting my moment of excitement.
"Do you know him?" Robin asked, pointing over at Todd.
"Yeah, that's Todd," I told her, as if he and I were long time friends.
"He sure is cute. Why don't you introduce me?" Robin asked.
I was about to tell her no way, when Mrs. Gable asked everyone to find a seat and be quiet. Heather continued to give me sour looks all through class. Not that I really cared what kind of looks she gave me, because Todd had talked to me too. I think that is what made her mad. He wasn't like the other kids who dressed really nice. He was friendly and not just to those who came from families that had money. Who couldn't help but like him? I knew I did, for more than just his good looks.
When the bell rang, I stood up and picked up my books. "What class do you have next?" I asked Robin.
"Math with Ms. Daugherty. What class do you have?" Robin asked.
"Hey, we have another class together," I told her as we were walking out of the room. It would really be something if Darla, Robin, and I all had a couple classes together. Robin and I compared schedules as we made our way through the halls. We found out the only two classes we had together were first and second hour. We didn't even have the same lunch period. I was hoping Darla would be in math with us too, but as luck would have it, it didn't work out that way.
Ms. Daugherty's class was just down the hall, along with all the other math classes. "Everyone says she doesn't give homework on the weekends, ever. That is so cool. I know I'm going to like her a lot," I told Robin.
"Now if we could just get her to forget giving us any homework the rest of the week, that would really be great," Robin chuckled.
We were both laughing as we entered our classroom. Heather and Jamie were already sitting next to each other in the back row. They were talking, if my guess was right it was about me. Heather nodded towards us as we came into the room, then said something to Jamie, who sat turned around in her seat, facing Heather. Jamie turned and gave us a sour look.
"I guess they have nothing better to talk about besides other people. Sometimes I wish they would just get a life," I told Robin.
"Yeah, I know what you mean," Robin said.
We took a seat closer to the front of the classroom. Ms. Daughterty dressed casually in nice slacks and a blouse. She wasn't as old as most of the teachers at Vancouver Middle School. Rumors went around when she first came here. Everyone wondered about her because old Mrs. Fletcher just quit teaching. Mrs. Fletcher used to be Ms. Daugherty's math teacher when she was younger.
It was somewhat strange to think that one day, one of us might be replacing Ms. Daugherty. I guess I never really thought about where teachers came from. I guess it wouldn't be too bad teaching math. At least you wouldn't have to take the test yourself.
"Today, after we pass out text books, we are going to play a game," Ms. Daugherty said. "Who would like to help pass out our books?"
Several of us raised our hands. She asked Mike and Keith to help her because they were big strong boys. Although I'm not a boy, I know I would have been strong enough to help. Relief came over me because Ms. Daugherty had not picked Jamie or Heather either.
After Mike and Keith sat back down in their seats, Ms. Daugherty explained to us how to play a game called Around The World. Whoever made it from their seat, all around the other seats and back to their own seat again without answering any math questions wrong would be the winner.
I was standing only two seats away from my own seat when she asked another multiplication problem. "What is nine times eight?"
"Sixty-three," I blurted out too quickly, not giving myself enough time to think.
"I'm sorry. Do you know the answer James?" Ms. Daugherty asked the boy standing next to me.
"Seventy-two," he said.
"Correct. I'm sorry Stephanie. You almost made it completely Around The World. Maybe next time," she said, trying to comfort me in my disappointment. She was so nice, but I still felt disappointed. Reluctantly, I took my seat.
After math was over, I had Health and then Home Economics. Neither Robin nor Darla was in either of those classes with me. I knew other kids in both classes. Some were friends I rarely called.
Robin, Darla, and I were best friends. We talked to each other just about every day. Then there were school friends. School friends were the people you talked to only at school. Normally you wouldn't hang out with them outside of school. Then there were my church friends. They were friends you talked to at church. Darla, Robin, and I all go to church. We just don't go to the same church.
When the bell sounded for lunch, I was starving. The cafeteria line was long and unfortunately, I was standing closer to the end of the line. By the time I had moved further up in line, near the food, my stomach was growling. I chose chicken nuggets, french-fries, and corn.
Darla was already sitting down eating her lunch. She saved a seat for both Robin and me. "Where's Robin?" Darla asked, looking around.
"She has a different lunch shift," I told Darla. "Hi Peggy," I said to the red head sitting next to Darla.
We were comparing our schedules when Todd walked by our table. He nodded his head when passing by, I think that was his way of saying hi. Leaning across the table, Darla whispered, "Who was that? He sure is cute."
"That was Todd. We're both in Mrs. Gable's class. I can't believe he remembers me still," I said in surprise, turning to see whom he was going to sit with. He was sitting with Josh, a boy I knew from Children's Church.
"Where's he from?" Peggy asked.
"I don't know, but he sure has a good tan," I commented.
During the rest of our lunch period, we chatted about who our teachers were and who was in our classes. Darla and I discovered that we had lunch and Social Studies together. At least we would have one class together. Then we could help each other with homework.
I had study hall after lunch. Guess who was in there with me? Heather. To top it off, Mr. Cleaver gave us assigned seats and of course, you can guess who he had to sit me next to. Actually she sat behind me, I could sense that she was making faces at me behind my head.
"Where did you get that shirt?" Heather asked sweetly. I turned around to look at her. Across the row, Mandy and Katlin were watching intently.
"Did you get it from Designs?" she continued. "Oh, that's right. You couldn't afford the shirt at Designs. Your mommy made you put it back. I'm sorry, I forgot." She acted as if it was an innocent mistake, covering her hand over her mouth, as if she had accidentally said something she shouldn't have.
"Not all of us are made of money," I told her before I turned back around in my seat. I couldn't think of anything else to say to her. I felt like a dweeb. The only thing I could think to say was what my father always told us when we wanted something that cost too much money. He always told us he has to work hard for the money he earns and we can't just buy some things because they carry a certain logo on them. Inside, I knew he was right, but it didn't make it any easier.
I was feeling down in the dumps after my encounter with Heather. Why did rich kids have to make others feel bad because they couldn't afford to wear all the latest fashions? My clothes were clean and looked good. There really wasn't anything wrong with them. They just weren't 'in', if you didn't have the 'in' style clothes, you were out.
I didn't have any trouble finishing my homework in study hall. It beat listening to Heather chatter away behind me about all her new school clothes. "Of course I had to buy new shoes to match every outfit. You just can't wear the same shoes with everything," Heather went on telling everyone sitting around her that would listen. This appeared to be almost everyone, except for me because I was trying hard not to listen. I couldn't help but hear what she was saying because I was sitting in front of her.
Gym wasn't too bad; it was my next class after study hall. Rachael was in class with me in gym. I didn't care. I have always been good in sports and the boys prefer a girl who is good at playing basketball instead of one who is worried about breaking a nail. I wish Todd had been in this class with me, I bet he's good in sports.
Ms. Jansen had us practice on free throws and dribbling throughout most of the class, then she made us do a couple laps around the gym. She passed out information at the end of class if anyone was interested in joining the basketball team. I wouldn't mind joining, but I doubted Mom would let me. I guess it wouldn't hurt to ask her. I went ahead and took the papers she offered. I would make a point of asking Mom during dinner.
There was only one class left until my first day would be over, I couldn't wait. Thankfully, Darla would be in this class with me. Darla and I met at our locker; we were sharing a locker together, along with Robin. It was a little crowded, but at least we could meet sometimes during the day and talk between classes, if there was time.
"Come on, we have to hurry," Darla said as she slammed the locker shut.
We were walking briskly down the hall towards class, when someone asked, "Are you going to join basketball? Will mommy be able to buy you a uniform?"
I turned to see who it was. Rachael and Heather were standing at their locker snickering. Rachael was doing the instigating this time. "Nice shoes Darla. Did you get them at a garage sale?" They continued laughing as they walked up the hall in the other direction.
"It's
okay. They're not worth it, don't worry. They can't help being mean.
I don't think anyone taught them any better," I said, trying to
comfort Darla. It wouldn't hurt for someone to teach them a little
manners, I kept thinking to myself. However, I don't think I had a
very positive idea in mind.
Chapter Four
While we said prayer in Mrs. Merriweather's Sunday school class, I couldn't help but be thankful to have gotten through the first week of school. All things considered, it was a good week. The best part about it was my parents agreed to let me try out for basketball. After we finished praying, Mrs. Merriweather began this week's lesson.
"I have a short story to share with you," she said before she began to read from our lesson. "Kathy and Margaret were always the best of friends. One day they had a disagreement and Kathy became mad at Margaret. She said some mean things about Margaret to another friend.
"When Margaret heard about the things Kathy said about her behind her back, her feelings were hurt. Later Kathy felt guilty for saying things that weren't very nice about her friend. She decided to go and ask Margaret to forgive her.
"After sharing their feelings, Margaret forgave Kathy for talking badly about her and Kathy forgave Margaret for their disagreement." Mrs. Merriweather looked up from her book and asked us, "Would you forgive someone for saying mean things about you?"
I felt like she was looking directly at me. Shrinking down in my seat, I automatically thought about Heather, Rachael, and Jamie. Denise, who was sitting next to me, piped up with an answer without even raising her hand. "They're your friend. Of course you should forgive them," Denise said.
"What if they're not your friend?" Michelle asked.
She took the words right out of my mouth. That was exactly what I was thinking. Heather, Rachael, and Jamie were not my friends. Should I forgive them? After all, they never did ask for forgiveness. So how could I forgive them?
"Does anyone remember Saul?" Mrs. Merriweather asked, looking around the room for one of us to respond. A couple people shrugged their shoulders.
"Saul persecuted Christians and even had some put to death. Many considered him to be a very bad man, but when he became a Christian, he changed. So did his name. People began to call him Paul. Does anyone know how many times God says we are to forgive others?" Mrs. Merriweath asked.
"Seventy times seven," Amanda answered.
"Very good Amanda. It says we are to forgive others seventy times seven. That means we shouldn't keep count. We should continually forgive others, just as God forgives us. If God can forgive us, even after we crucified His son on a cross, I think we can forgive others," Mrs. Merriweather said softly.
When she put it that way, saying mean things didn't stack up against killing an innocent person. I promised myself that I would try to forgive them and not retaliate angrily when they said things about me.
After church, the Mudd's came to our house for dinner. They live right behind us, so they really didn't have far to go when they came over. Timothy is ten and his sister Kelly is nine. She and my little sister always play together. Mom said I couldn't have a girlfriend come over because we were already having company.
Walking in the door, after getting home from church, I headed for my room to change clothes. "Put your Bible away and hurry back into the kitchen to help," Mom said.
Letting out a sigh, I did what Mom told me to do. Once in my room, I put my things down on my bed before I returned to the kitchen. I had to get the drinks ready for everyone while Wendy and their daughter Kelly set the table.
Wendy and Kelly are in fourth grade. I don't know why it took two of them to set the table, but it did. "Can you help put the drinks on the table?" I asked Wendy and Kelly.
"Sure," said Kelly.
"I guess," Wendy said, putting her last fork down on its napkin.
The kids all sat in the kitchen to eat lunch while our parents ate in the living room. Tim sat at one end of the table and I sat at the other end. Tim is four years older than Dwight, not that Dwight cares about the age difference. He wants to do everything that Tim does.
One time Tim told me, "When Dwight follows me around all the time, I feel like I have a shadow."
I know how he feels. When Wendy doesn't have anyone to play with, she is constantly bugging me. Let's play school. Do you want to play with Barbie's? I don't really like toys anymore. Once in awhile I'll play with Barbie's with her or play a board game. After lunch, we all agreed to play a game of Monopoly.
"I'll load the dishwasher while you boys clean off the table and wipe it off. Wendy, you and Kelly can dry dishes and then put the left-over spaghetti away," I told them as I carried my plate to the sink.
The boys began scraping all the scraps onto one plate. "I'm going to take this out to Jinx," Dwight said, picking up the plate of leftover scraps and headed out the back door to feed our dog.
When Tim finished clearing off the table and wiping it off, Dwight still hadn't come back in from feeding Jinx. "I'll go see what's taking him so long," Tim said.
Opening the door, Tim told us, "I know what's taking him so long. He's shooting hoops."
I walked over to look out the door. Sure enough, Dwight was playing basketball in the driveway. "I thought you wanted to play Monopoly?" I hollered.
"I do," Dwight said, shooting one more hoop. It bounced off the rim and landed in the back yard. Jinx began to chase it, barking ferociously. We laughed at Jinx as he tried to sink his teeth into the ball that was too big for his mouth.
While Tim, Kelly, and Wendy sat the game of Monopoly up, Dwight washed his hands. I opened a bag of potato chips and poured them into two bowls for us to share. I placed one bowl near the boys and the other one near the rest of us.
"I want to be the dog," I said, reaching for the tiny metal game piece.
"I want to be the shoe," Kelly said.
"I wanted to be the shoe," Dwight complained.
"Here, why don't you be the ship. That way you can run over the shoe," Tim said as he picked the ship up and trampled over the shoe. He made the sound of a ship blowing its whistle as he toppled the shoe, knocking it over on the board.
"Cut it out Tim," Kelly hollered, pushing his arm away from her game piece. "Leave my shoe alone."
"Who's going to be banker?" Wendy asked.
"I will. I don't trust Tim. He thinks he's supposed to earn interest when he's the banker," I complained.
There
had to be some reason he always had a pile of money when he was the
banker. This time we finally stood a chance, or at least I thought we
did. It took us a little longer than two hours to play our game of
Monopoly. Tim won, as usual. He always won, or at least it felt that
way.
Chapter Five
Monday morning, I sat quietly in Mrs. Gable's language class. Heather walked into the classroom with a sour expression on her face. I looked up at her; she had her books clinched tightly in her arms. "What are you looking at?" Heather stormed.
"Nothing," I said, before turning to look straight towards the front of the class.