I'd studied my butt off last night and information about Renaissance was still fresh in my mind. Mrs. Brown shot me a small smile as I handed her my exam. I nodded in response, smiling was an impossible thing to do these days. Holding my new leather jacket in one hand, I opened the door to leave. Unlike most teachers, Mrs. Brown was kind enough to let the students go as soon as they finished their test. But of course, this wasn't a midterm evaluation; these were over before the Christmas vacation. Opening my report card last week, I’d received no surprise. I was still a straight A student. That was one of the things that hadn’t changed. Heading towards my locker, I earned some stares, but that was nothing new. The only thing that may have differed was that a few girls sent me flirty stares, which I replied to with a stony hard glare. I stuffed the books I would need in my bag and slammed my locker. I put my jacket on and went out of the school. Frankly, this place felt unwelcoming and all I could do was stay silent to the not-so-secret whispers, that hadn’t stopped ever since Christmas break.
