Picture Perfect
Chapter One
Written by Crystal

"Miss Summers, has it ever occurred to you that your behavior in our school is simply unacceptable?" Casey looked at Principal Stockton with a bored gaze. She was always stuck in the principal's office for one deed or another. She knew his speeches by heart now.

"Young lady, your attitude is unacceptable as well. Do you not have any respect for authority?" His gaze was hard and frigid, but Casey didn't care. She was going to act however she wanted to act and no principal was going to tell her otherwise.

"Consider this your last warning Miss Summers. One more school violation and I will have no choice but to expel you from this school district. Now what would your mother think of that?"

Casey rolled her eyes and shook her head. "My mom would be so proud of me. Really, I'd be the jewel in her motherly crown."

Principal Stockton straightened his posture and pointed to the door. "Get back to class and don't show your face in my office again. You will start respecting your teachers, classmates and me or you will be on your way out. Have I made myself perfectly clear Casey?"

"Clear as crystal." She stood up and walked out of the office. It was the same scene every week. She would say something in her usual smart ass way and Principal Stockton would kick her out.

Casey headed for her locker, hastily threw her books inside and bolted from the school, but not before being spotted by the prissy class president, Jocelyn Mitchell.

"Do you have a pass for being out of class?" she asked in her usual snotty tone. Casey kept on walking. "Yeah, here's my pass." Casey flashed her the finger, then got in her car and noisily drove off.

Later that night…

Casey arrived home some time after eleven and saw her mom patiently waiting for her in the living room. She looked up at her, obviously concerned and spoke to her troublesome daughter.

"Casey where have you been? I have been sick waiting for you."

"Well it was a huge waste of your time mom."

"Principal Stockton called earlier."

"Oh, did he tell you the good news?" Casey ran up the stairs to her bedroom. Her mom followed her right in. Every time her mother simply glimpsed inside of Casey's room she grimaced. It was always messy and had disgusting posters of hideous rock bands on the walls.

"You've been expelled from school Casey." Casey looked up at her mom and rolled her eyes.

"Gee, and Stocky said I had one more shot left. Wow, I guess driving my car out of the parking lot was enough to do it for me."

"No. But it probably had something to do with you flipping off your class president."

Casey laughed. "That bitch can handle one measly finger telling her how good she is."

Her mother simply gawked at her. "What happened to you Casey? You used to be so pleasant, so beautiful… so clean. Now you're moody, disrespectful, grungy and unclean."

"It's called puberty mom. It happens to everyone eventually. Besides, what do you care about how I live my life? It is my life."

"Because I am your mother. It's my responsibility to take care of you."

"Whatever Mom."

"Well, what are you going to do now Casey? You flipped off your education out the window."

"Good. More time to get fucked up and stoned."

Her mom gasped and left the room. Casey smirked and locked the door shut. After a few minutes of strumming on her bass she picked up the phone to call her boyfriend, David.

"I just don't know what to do with her anymore! She's so violent and disrespectful. What am I going to do with her?"

Casey hung up the phone, irritated that her mom would be talking to an outsider about her. She grabbed her bag and headed out the window to get away.