Second Chances
an excerpt

When Alisha awoke, sickness first took over and she struggled to keep vomit down. No sound came from the surrounding rooms which meant that her father probably stepped out for the rest of the day. Slowly, she lifted her body off the cold floor and winced when her side burned. Another wave of nausea washed over but managed to not throw up again. Her head pounded, making it impossible to think straight. The memory of last night seemed jumbled. Without even glancing at the time, Alisha stood up and headed towards the pile of clean laundry she washed yesterday after work. She took the nearest clothes and went to the bathroom the change. After spending five minutes getting ready, Alisha gathered the scattered contents of her backpack and headed out the door.
The alley seemed to be moving as Alisha walked down the familiar place. Garbage cluttered the path but she paid no mind the disgusting amounts in front of her. Soon she turned the corner and walked towards the school. The school drew closer and Alisha struggled to stay standing.

I must go to school, we are supposed to be working on our group projects today. I can’t let my group down so I need to get there and figure out what I need to do. Two shadows in front of Alisha made her stop suddenly. She looked up and found two girls standing in front of her.

“Where are you going so early, Creepy ‘lisha?” the taller one asked. The face of the taller one reminded Alisha of her father’s features. The second one stood four inches shorter than the first and looked seriously annoyed.

“To school, where else would I be going?” Alisha countered.

“Don’t you dare try to take a smart attitude with us,” the first said. She shoved Alisha.

“Why are you even stopping me?”

“We saw you yesterday,” the second chimed.

“So, what is your point?”

“Our point is that we saw you with Jake,” the first growled. Alisha gave a quizzical look. “Listen, you better stay away from him because he is going to be Shelly’s boyfriend soon.”

“Oh really, did he say that himself or are you making assumptions?” Alisha asked. She wanted to walk away but the girls stood directly in her way. The sound of a fist meeting something hard sounded through the air. Alisha clutched her cheek but did not make any other moves.

“What is your problem? Are you just stupid or retarded?” Shelly squealed. Alisha did not even respond.

“Answer her, you idiot!” the first demanded. A new pain came when the second girl kicked Alisha’s left leg with heels. Silence met their actions.