Every year there's a dance on the first night for Year Nine students only because school administrators think it's the best way for students to meet one another. 563Please respect copyright.PENANAAamLgqWVQE
I didn't go to my Year Nine dance. Instead, I found a crabapple tree outside and huddled under it, hugging my legs to my chest and burying my face in my knees. I needed no more proof that Dad and The Stepmother really didn't care about me.563Please respect copyright.PENANAEjBPFo5lAc
I could faintly hear an older Janet Jackson song playing from the direction of the dance. I imagined my batchmates shyly and awkwardly introducing themselves. They would all probably be fast friends by the time this night was over, and I would be an outcast again--just like I was at my old school and even within my family.563Please respect copyright.PENANAudoJbE69Nx
"It isn't so bad here," a male voice said from above me.563Please respect copyright.PENANAUYS2GWQ1kR
I shifted my head slightly to see who was talking. A guy stood there, his legs slightly apart, hands clasped behind his back. I turned my face into my knees.563Please respect copyright.PENANAuK12qhN7cg
"Sorry, but can you leave me alone?" I said, my voice coming out muffled.563Please respect copyright.PENANA3FqdzbooHF
The grass hardly rustled as he sat down beside me, despite what I'd just said. I didn't want to give him the satisfaction of riling me, so I kept quiet. Still, I tilted my head just enough to the right so I could see who this guy was.563Please respect copyright.PENANA5W6yLI9bkJ
He looked to be around my age. His dark hair was slicked to the side, as if he'd just washed up. Perhaps he had. He whistled softly, leaning back on his hands with his face turned up to the sky. It definitely wasn't his cutting cheekbones or hazel eyes that made me decide not to punish him because my dad had abandoned me here.563Please respect copyright.PENANAwWYtMcXUqi
"How long have you been here?" I asked.563Please respect copyright.PENANAUs9XeTZNfw
"A year," he said, his gaze still on the darkening sky. So he was a Year Ten student, then.563Please respect copyright.PENANA03fqvTSjWC
"I'm Cami," I said.563Please respect copyright.PENANAI8z87wBk2g
"That's an odd name."563Please respect copyright.PENANAkn44Ojmzst
I fought the urge to scowl. "It's short for Camellia."563Please respect copyright.PENANAC5khtPM1Te
I cringed, thinking about the name my mum gave me as a baby before abandoning me to Dad and The Stepmother.563Please respect copyright.PENANAqNgtXPcmYo
"I'm William," he said.563Please respect copyright.PENANAplQpTwFSUY
"William," I repeated. "That sounds so stiff and formal. How about just Will?"563Please respect copyright.PENANA6NVGZqTlcn
He smiled. "All right. Just Will."563Please respect copyright.PENANAdcf3idUtj9