Once Bullied, Now Wanted- Dreame best-chosen series

Book 1 Chapter One

I woke up to the sound of bacon sizzling and pots and pans banging when they collided together. I softly smile, which I rarely do, before walking over to the dresser that my mom and I shared. I pulled open the top drawer that had all my clothes and pulled out a black sweatshirt along with a pair of black skinny jeans that had holes on each knee and a dark navy blue flannel. I tie the flannel around my waist before tying my blond hair into a loose messy bun, which didn't come out like the ones that you see on Tumblr to my dismay.

I don't apply makeup, nor do I ever do. I didn't like the way it felt on my face and how it made me look. Every time I did have it on, I felt like a different person and I didn't like that one bit. I don't understand why girls cake their faces with so much beauty products. It hides away their freckles and wrinkles, but it doesn't hide the fake person they truly are, so why go through all that trouble and pretend to be something you're not?

Shaking my head, I turn off the light and close the sliding door to the room. I don't have to walk far to get to my mom and the kitchen because as soon as I walk out of the cupboard, I'm right in the kitchen. Sometimes I feel like I am Harry Potter, living under the stairs, except I don't have a horrible aunt and uncle and horrible cousin. Instead, I have a loveable caring mother who works her ass off just to get me into school and a roof over my head, even if it's a trailer.

"Morning mom," I say smiling as I kiss her cheek and take a seat at the small table in the middle of the kitchen. "It smells really good."

"Morning sweetie. Sleep well?" She asks not looking at me as she flips the bacon.

I smile and nod my head. A red envelope sits under a bunch of unopened white envelopes in the middle of the table. I look over at my mom who yet hasn't turned to face me and grab the red envelope.

RENT DUE!

I sigh and look over at my mom who was humming a song along with the small 80's radio that came with the trailer and shake my head.

"Mom this is the third month we've missed paying rent. If we don't pay this month we'll lose everything." I say making her stop humming and tense up in position.

"Aaliyah, I've got it under control. You don't have to worry about it."

"Mom, do you need help with the money? I can give you some really. It's not that much. You don't have to even pay me back. It could be like an early Christmas and birthday present." I say smiling softly as my mom's face hardens.

"Aaliyah I have it all under control. You go on and save your money for college." She says shaking her head. "You don't need to be wasting your money on your mama when you could be off buying some clothes." She says setting a plate in front of me.

"Mom seriously it's no big de-"

"That's enough Aaliyah!" She yells making me flinch. Her eyes soften and she wipes her hands on her baby blue diner uniform from her job and places her hand over mine. "I'm sorry Aaliyah I didn't mean to raise my voice. Just please drop the subject."

I let out a sigh and nod my head. I knew my mom wasn't being honest. She's never lied to me and never will. She was the one who's been completely honest with me since she found out she was pregnant. She always put my needs before hers which I was truly grateful. Though she never had the money to buy me expensive clothing like most kids my age, she still bought me clothes to put on my back, even if they were from the DI.

"I have to go to school, will you be working tonight?" I ask standing up and setting my now empty plate in the sink and kiss my mom on the cheek.

"Yes, but I might be off before midnight. It just all depends on when the last customer leaves or enters." She says letting out a sigh.

I softly smile and give her one last hug before walking out of the trailer. The sun was bright and shining in my face, the dead grass that I call my lawn, crunch under my shoes as I walk on it to get over the railroad and to the sidewalk. For some reason, the poor side of our little town was on the other side of the train tracks, south to the border and west of the beach. You could basically tell which side of town one person lives on by the look of clothing on their bodies or by the way they walk.

I lived in a small town in California, close to the Mexican border. We had a train that came by every day caring loads and loads of equipment and food from all over the world, which also separated the poor people from the rich people. If one of us poor folks wanted to go into town, we had to cross over the tracks in hopes to not get hit by the train that had no schedule what so ever.

It's been best of my luck that I've yet to been hit.

~*~

"The square root of twenty-five is," Mr. Bush says in a bored voice as he jolts down random math equations on the board. "Is five."

I sigh and look up at the clock above Mr, Bush's head. I've only been in math class for five minutes, and he already has me confused and lost. I just don't understand how he can do that.

"Pst. Trailer girl." I hear someone whisper-shout at me.

I tense, already knowing who called my name. Tyson Bradford. The schools richest and golden boy, also known as my belly. I could feel his eyes boring into mine making my body shiver and my spine to crawl. I slowly turn around to face Tyson, only to have a wet piece of paper to hit me square on the face right between my eyes.

"Bullseye!" Tyson cheers along with his friends as the wet piece of paper falls off my face and into the crook of my lap, clinging onto my jeans like it's life depended on it. I roll my eyes and turn back around as Mr. Bush finishes writing the equations on the board before finally turning around and meeting everyone's gaze.

"Alright, when your name is heard, please stand up and walk to the assigned table, where you will sit and be assigned a project with your assigned partner." Mr. Bush says as he walks in front of his desk and crosses his arms and rests them on his pot belly that is visible through his dark green stripped school soccer shirt.

I let out a mental groan in my head as I looked around the room. Almost everyone in this class was friends except for me. I wasn't friends with any of them. Yes I knew them, but I was either being bullied by them to have them even realize how "amazing and funny" I am to notice, or just simply because I was a nobody or the girl who lived in a trailer park with her teen mother who had me at age sixteen and has worked at the same dinner for nearly sixteen years.

"Aaliyah Fox and Tyson Bradford. You guys get the medical field. Take this paper and go sit at one of the empty tables available and discuss the agreements." Mr. Bush says jumping me out of my thoughts.

I freeze and register everything that Mr. Bush just said. Tyson?

Tyson f*****g Bradford is my partner? My bully? What the hell.

I could feel multiple eyes on me as I take everything in. I could hear snickers coming from other people, making me blush and quickly gather my things.

"Look at the trailer park." One guy snickers. "She looks like she's going to pee her pants."

I flush even redder if that's even possible. With my head kept down, I don't meet anyone's gaze as I snatch the paper from Mr. Bush before quickly running to an empty table in the back far from everyone else.

Something slaps down on the table right next to me, making me squeal and jump out of fright. Everyone in the class laughs and points at me as Tyson takes the seat across from me and gives me a disgusted look.

"Don't want to catch chlamydia from you." He says glaring at me making me look down with a frown as everyone brust out into another fit of laughter.

I hear Mr. Bush clear his throat, and I look up hoping that he would get mad or angry at what Tyson said to me, but he doesn't. No one does. Not even the teachers. Sighing, I look over at Tyson who is looking down at his phone, playing some game.

Shaking my head, I look down at the paper in my hand. "It says we have to make a poster outside of class about the medical field. Whether it be doctors or scientists and discuss how they use math and now much financially they make each year."

I look up as beeping sounds come from Tyson's phone as he continues on playing the game. I let out a sigh and repeat what I said but he continues on ignoring me.

I frown and read the rest of the paper silently.

"Just because I didn't reply to you doesn't mean I wasn't listening to you."

I stop reading and look up at Tyson who is now looking up from his phone and looking up at me for once. I nod my head not saying anything which causes him to roll his eyes.

I don't reply as I look back down at the paper. I start to read it out loud again, but I have a hard time reading the paper due to my dyslexia and look up and start watching other kids in the room reading along with their partners with no problem. I envy those kids. They don't know the struggle of wanting to sit down with a nice novel in hand and read the book with any help from others. They don't have to suffer from the pain of taking a special class on the down-low to help with their reading just so that no one finds out and makes fun of them more than they already are.

"Are you okay? You're f*****g stare at everyone while biting your lip. Are you plotting to kill us with your STD's? I'm sorry Fox but no one is that desperate to sleep with you, not even the really depressed kids who want to actually die" Tyson says snapping me out of my thoughts.

I nod my head and look down at the paper. "Y-Yes. I just thought I heard my name."

Tyson lets out a laugh and shakes his head as he brings his finger up to his face and wipes under his eye with a flick, drawing an invisible fake tear in the process.

"You're funny Aaliyah. Trust me you didn't hear s**t because no one wants to, or needs to talk to you."

I blink as his words hit me like a bunch of stones. I could feel the tears in my eyes well up from the pain of his words, but I blink them away. There is no need to cry and show him my weakness when all he was doing was telling me the truth. You can never blame anyone for the truth no matter how bad it hurts.

"S-Sorry. I-I'll start to read again." I stutter out and begin to read the paper.

As I read out loud, I could hear the game on Tyson's phone go off again, making me fidget in my seat as I hear blood-curdling screams from both male and female along with the sound of a chainsaw going off as Tyson plays his game with a smirk.

I shake my head and turn the paper over and my eyes widen at the due date on the bottom of the paper in bold letters.

January 12th, 2017.

I look back up at Tyson and watch as his smirk turns into a smile as he completes the level he was on his game and fist bumps the air. I almost smile at his happiness, but shake it off knowing what he would say or do if he caught me smiling or staring at him. So instead of smiling, I clear my throat which catches his attention and his brown eyes to bore into mine like an eagle to his prey.

"Um.. the project is due next time. Do y-you just want to do h-half?" My voice shaking in the process.

Tyson rolls his eyes and shakes his head. "Just because I'm hot and popular, doesn't mean I don't do my work myself, Fox." He says putting his phone down on the table with its screen facing up and flashing game characters being slaughtered by a serial killer that looks like Jason but fatter.

"W-Well I-I just thought y-you wouldn't w-want to b-be seen w-with m-me."

"We'll go over to my house today after school. I don't want to catch a disease from your trailer park that's incurable." He says shaking his head again. "Besides, no one will see you by my car because we'll leave after the parking lot is deserted and no one can see you get in my car, only God knows how many girls would never f**k me in my car again if they saw you enter my house or car."

"B-But I can't go today. I have w-work right after." I stutter pushing back his harsh words and replace them with my job at the same diner my mom works at.

Tyson glares at me.

"Fox this is your only time to come over. Now you better meet me at my car after school or your ass is failing."

I shut my mouth and nod my head. God, Josie is going to kill me for not showing up. Tyson smirks and pats my cheek a little too hard than a normal pat.

"See it wasn't hard to change your plans."

I don't reply and Tyson stands up and stretches his arms over his chest, his grey hoodie rising in the process, showing his v-line and six-pack. I blush and look away as Tyson smirks and pats my cheek again.

"Good. You'll finally be able to play doctor and patient slut." He says before grabbing his stuff and walks out of the room just as the bell rings dismissing class.