Mallory's Return

The ringing echoes filled every fiber of Mallory as she groggily slapped her palm on the nightstand in hopes of shutting the nose off. After several attempts the palm found its target on the clock with a disgruntled grunt.

"Fucking finally! If only you weren't so cute clocky I would have tossed you out the window."

With every muscle in opposition Mallory eventually found herself sitting at the edge of her disheveled bed wiping her eyes in a vain attempt to remove the haze which surrounded her mind. Her sapphire irises scanning through the haze to gather up her giant round nerdy glasses.

"Alrighty! Seems like my vacation from hell is over but you know at the very least it is necessary hell."

With a purr like moan of a yawn Mallory dragged her feet and sore body into the waiting embrace of a hot shower. The strands of straight ebony black hair caressing her face as the water eroded the sleepiness of the night before. With renewed vigor and a gentle slap on the cheeks Mallory got dressed in her usual ensemble of a long sleeved black hoodie over a white tee and thorn black jeans to match.

Her hair was given a simple brush to make sure that it was slightly more presentable than her bed hair before slapping a cap on to keep it all in place. Despite the various multitude of elegant and vastly colored makeup on her vanity set not a single bit made it onto her face leaving the dark circles around her eyes for all to see.

After a hastily put together breakfast of scrambled eggs and toast was consumed with another serving left on the counter with a twenty dollar bill slipped under the plate Mallory scrambled out the door to find her trusty steed, a bike that has as much chips in it's paint job as its owner jeans. With the orange hues of the sun just cresting over the horizon Mallory and her steed made their way to the Emberiazian Academy.

Emberiazian Academy was prestigious in many ways and its students were expected to be the cream of the crop however Mallory was anything but perfection. This by no means meant she wasn't smart or talented as she was a solid A student anywhere else but in comparison to the rest of the student body she was unforgettable.

The factor that made everything worse was the fact that she had no other talents deemed worthy to the school. She was by no means a star athlete despite a willingness to throw some punches in a street fight. Music was only something to be admired as her singing and dancing would be closer to a comedy act rather than a soulful performance.

Well at least her looks were decent. She was so painfully ordinary that she found herself as a solid seven on most people's scales. Her slender body was accompanied by no true curves or at least none that could be seen under her oversized clothing. Mallory probably would attract some idle gazes in more normal circumstances but in a school with literal models and princesses Mallory faded into the sidelines yet again.

Mallory however reveled in that space of anonymity as she was able to keep her head down from the sharks of college life for she didn't want any more unwanted accidents. Furthermore if she never stood out then there would be none of that awkward social interaction because who needs friends. After a few years she would probably never see any of these absolute losers ever again and they would be nothing more than faded memories.

Despite her way of thinking Mallory lack of social interaction was also helped by the rumors which surrounded her. For on the last day of the first week of the semester she slapped a guy across his face in the middle of the main courtyard of the academy.

He unfortunately had made the mistake of claiming that he would protect and support her if she devoted herself to him. Mallory despite her well worn clothing and battered appearance was extremely prideful in herself and her independence. His persistence and claims that he could easily make her into the sapphire she was meant to be had struck the wrong chord with her.

Mallory was a fighter by nature and had been happily struggling to fight her way through life for as long as she could remember. That slap however landed her in some unwanted hot water which resulted in her suspension from the academy for two weeks but at the very least it wasn't officially marked as a demeanor on her record. This exclusion however didn't mean if she had a repeat instance that she would not be expelled.

The rumor mill however happily spun during the time Mallory was gone to paint the image of an unkempt brute of a girl that was accepted as a pity case by the academy. Where the rumors were started had been lost to the wind but the whole school at this point had known about Mallory even if they had never seen or met her before.

Despite all the rumors, Mallory's first day back was peaceful as no soul was willing to invite the unwanted trouble interacting with Mallory would bring upon them. Mallory was just bad luck as prophesied by her parents upon deciding their daughter's name. With her first of many more hell filled days accomplished Mallory returned home exhausted and fulfilled.