Just eight more hours until freedom

Valencia High School was a decent enough place to graduate. The teachers did their job well and the principal knew how to keep everyone in line. The downside? The students.

The students that went to Valencia were, for lack of a better term, assholes. The cliques were the usual; popular, cheerleaders, nerds, jocks, etc. Unfortunately for Rachel, she fit in with none of them. She was a loner for the most part. She had two really good friends but even they had a clique that they fit in with. And since Rachel didn't have one, nobody really liked her.

Thankfully, Rachel made it to school a few minutes before classes started so she went to meet up with her friends. The school was huge; four stories, long corridors and many stairs. But Rachel made her way to the back corner of the building, by the set of stairs almost no one uses. There, her two friends were waiting for her.

Samantha had known Rachel since Elementary. She was much taller than Rachel, almost six foot, with a bit of an athletic build since she was on the track team. She had jet black hair tied back in a ponytail and usually wore some type of workout clothes. Today was a hoodie and jogging pants but the hoodie was tight against her skin and designed so that her belly showed, revealing her flat abs and accentuating her B cup chest. She was sitting on the bottom stair, stretching her arms out to touch her running shoes.

Her other friend was Alex, a boy who was barely any taller than herself. He looked like a rockstar, with his long, blonde hair and darker clothes. But that was where the comparison stopped. He had a bit of a feminine appearance and wasn't very strong. Which, of course, led to him being bullied. Rachel became friends with him a year after she met Samantha and Sam had been the tough one of the group, trying to always protect them even before she worked out.

Alex was leaning against the wall, watching Sam stretch when he noticed Rachel walk up. "Finally. I was worried you got lost. What took so long?"

Rachel waved off his comment as she sat next to Samantha. "Neighbor wanted to talk to me. Nothing special." She pulled out an energy drink and gave it to Sam. "There. Now I don't owe you anything. Last time I make a bet with you."

Sam chuckled and took it, putting it in her bag. "Hey, not my fault you doubt my physique. Seriously, you should come to the gym with me. I promise I can get you some muscles within six weeks."

Alex laughed at her, sitting on the floor next to them. "Six weeks!? Might as well get plastic surgery and get fake ones."

Sam nudged him with her shoe, scolding him. "Exercise takes time and effort but the reward is great. Some have to work harder than others. It took me about a month to get this when I started really working out."

Alex shook his head as the bell rang. "No, thanks. I'm not gonna put in all that effort just to see that my arms haven't gotten any bigger." He stood up, looking at Rachel, his face getting serious. "Hey, sorry I can't make it. My family wouldn't let me stay home. As much fun as the lake sounds, I'd rather go to your party."

Sam looked over with a sad expression, putting her hand on Rachel's shoulder. "Yeah and my mom is very particular about work. If I'm not with her at that job event this weekend, I'd hear about it for at least half the year."

Rachel just smiled at her friends and shrugged, grabbing her bag and standing up. "It's whatever. You two enjoy your weekends. I promise I'm not mad. I'll see you both on Monday."

With that, Rachel made her way upstairs to her first class.