Anything But: The Musings of an Outcast, Me, Razberry Sweet Read online

  Anything But

  The Musings of an Outcast, Me, Razberry Sweet (Razberry Sweet #1)

  Megan Linski

  Copyright © 2017 Gryfyn Publishing

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the publisher, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  The reproduction or utilization of this work in part of in whole including xerography, recording, and photocopying is strictly forbidden without the written permission of the publisher.

  BISAC Category: YA Contemporary

  This is a work of fiction. All names, characters, places and incidents are a product of the author’s imagination and are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events or locales is entirely coincidental.

  Distributed in the USA by Gryfyn Publishing

  For information about custom editions, special sales, ARCs, and premium and corporate purchases, please contact Gryfyn Publishing at [email protected]

  Manufactured in the United States of America

  Previously published as Anything But in 2011 (First Edition)

  Contents

  Other Books by Megan Linski

  Introduction

  Prologue - How It All Started

  Chapter 1 - New School, New Name

  Chapter 2 - I Have a Most Awesome Idea

  Chapter 3 - The Beginning of a Midsummer’s Nightmare

  Chapter 4 - Mood Swings

  Chapter 5 - I Can’t Forget Everything. I Wish I Could

  Chapter 6 - That Couldn’t Have Hit Me Harder if it Had a Hammer

  Chapter 7 - A Major Mistake

  Chapter 8 - Puppy Knows

  Chapter 9 - Shocked

  Chapter 10 - Me, Razberry Sweet

  Save Me: Yours Truly, Razberry Sweet

  Acknowledgments

  The Witch’s Curse

  About the Author

  Other Books by Megan Linski

  Alora

  These Starcrossed Lives of Ours

  The Kingdom Saga

  Kingdom From Ashes

  Fallen From Ashes

  Redemption From Ashes

  Prince of Fire

  The Rhodi Saga

  Rhodi’s Light

  Rhodi Rising

  Rhodi’s Lullaby

  Creatures of the Lands Series (co-written with Krisen Lison)

  Kiatana’s Journey by Natalie Erin

  Vera’s Song by Natalie Erin

  Wyntier’s Rise by Natalie Erin

  Vixen’s Fate by Natalie Erin

  Midnightstar by Natalie Erin

  Angel’s Rebellion by Natalie Erin

  The Shifter Prophecy

  Court of Vampires

  Den of Wolves

  War of Witches

  Heir to Russia

  To Sam;

  who loves Razberry Sweet

  more than anyone will ever know.

  ANYTHING BUT - FINAL SCRIPT

  NOT FOR REVISION.

  Directed by

  MEGAN LINSKI

  Starring

  RAZBERRY SWEET

  Based slightly on a true story.

  THIS SCRIPT IS THE PROPERTY OF MAYHEM PICTURES, HOLLYWOOD, CALIFORNIA (2017).

  Prologue - How It All Started

  June 12, 2009

  Tinyork, Connecticut

  Just one more day, I think to myself. I keep my head down and dodge all the seniors in their letter jerseys, the cheerleaders hanging on their arms, not looking at the band geeks or the goths or the nerds milling about in the cafeteria. Just one more day, and I have a whole summer away from this hellhole.

  I don’t want to be here. I would rather douse myself in lava then spend one more freaking lunch hour in the Tinyork High School cafeteria, but I have no choice. I try to remain as invisible as possible while heading toward my usual empty table in the back, which is thankfully tucked into a corner that no one seems to notice.

  It’s so embarrassing sitting by yourself alone everyday. I consider eating lunch in the bathroom again, but rule that idea out immediately. I can only do that so many times before one of the jocks will catch me, and then I really won’t hear the end of it.

  I can’t imagine wasting two more years here, at a place where I learn nothing and am treated worse than.

  Just keep your eyes forward, I think. Don’t look at anyone and don’t talk to anyone. Just one more day.

  “Hey, Moldy!” a voice cries out. “What’s the hurry?”

  I hold back a groan. Of course. Why not? This is their last day to pick on me for the year and they aren’t going to let me get away without making sure I’m completely miserable.

  “Moldy! I’m talking to you!” the voice says again. The biggest asshole of the school, Cayman Markie, steps in front of me and blocks the path to my table. His trained apes surround me and the cafeteria goes quiet. Even though Cayman torments me everyday, apparently it only gets more and more entertaining because the whole school always stops to watch.

  I partly blame myself. It’s too easy to pick on me. I have no friends. Honestly, who would want to be friends with someone who listens to show tunes on the bus and memorizes Broadway plays on Saturday nights instead of getting drunk like the rest of them? My biggest dream is to be an actor. I tried so hard to conceal that secret throughout the year.

  But Cayman could smell people who were different, and he’d made sure everyone knew what a freak I was for wanting to memorize lines instead of throw a ball around.

  Like he’s doing right now.

  I glance upward. “What do you want, Cayman?”

  “I just wanted to say goodbye.” He smiles, and his friends laugh. “Summer starts tomorrow. I want to make sure you remember me.”

  “I could never forget you, Cayman,” I say bluntly. “Personally, I’m surprised you’re graduating this year. I thought for sure they’d have to hold you back.”

  The crowd gasps. Cayman’s smile falls. I can’t help it. If he’s going to bully me on the last day, I might as well go out with a bang.

  I’m really tired of never sticking up for myself. Time to fight back.

  Cayman takes a step forward. “Did you really say that, Mildfreud?”

  Inwardly, I wince. Why did my parents have to choose such a shitty name for me?

  “It’s old world and traditional,” my mother sniffs inside my head.

  Right. Like that helps me now.

  I look down at my tray and say, “I just want to eat lunch. Give me some peace.”

  “Give you a piece?” Cayman says, laughing. He grabs the slice of raspberry cake I have on my tray and says, “Sure, if that’s what you want.”

  He shoves it in my face. The icing smears all over the side of my cheek and falls limply to the floor with a splat.

  Cayman lets out a loud laugh and says, “Huh? You like that? You like that, Razberry Sweet?”

  “How cute, Cayman. A pun on my last name,” I say dully. Maybe if I pretended I was a robot and didn’t have any freaking feelings he’d leave me alone. It was unlikely.

  “I don’t think he heard me!” Cayman says. He spreads his arms out wide and turns in a circle. He picks up another piece of cake off some guy’s plate and smashes it on my forehead. “Let’s hear it for Razberry Sweet!”

  The jocks in the circle start throwing their food at me, grunting and hooting. Cayman pushes me into a collection of chairs and I slam against the floor, trying to cover my head. Soon the en
tire cafeteria has me surrounded in a circle. They’re pelting me with cake. The frosting is coating my clothes, my hair, everything. They’re chanting, “Razberry Sweet, Razberry Sweet!”

  I don’t know why, but I can’t think of anything except how awful it is they’re wasting so much food.

  Then… someone else speaks up.

  “I know this is a marvel idea for you, Cayman, but why don’t you pick on someone whose brain is the same size as yours?”

  At the voice, I dare to look up. Bethany Cade. She lives with her grandparents on the other side of town, the wrong side of town, and anyone can tell you she’s trouble. She spends more time in the principal’s office than she does in class.

  She has stark blonde hair covered in a black skater’s cap, and is wearing those black baggy pants with the chains on them. There are about a million rubber bracelets on her arms. She’s only fifteen, but she already has a lip piercing and a nose ring. She’s a sophomore, like me.

  Even I know enough to stay away from her. So why is she challenging Cayman?

  The cafeteria freezes. The name calling stops and Bethany pushes her way past the jocks and kneels by me.

  “Oh, that’s right,” Bethany says, glaring up at Cayman. “You can’t pick on someone with the same size brain because finding another moron like you would be completely impossible.”

  “Stay out of this. It’s not your business,” Cayman says.

  “It damn well is my business when you’re turning the cafeteria into a fucking zoo,” she shoots back.

  She helps me to my feet and whispers, “Are you okay?”

  “I’m fine,” I mumble back. I’m so embarrassed.

  Cayman points a finger at me and says, “You need girls to stick up for you now? What a loser.”

  Bethany raises an eyebrow. “I’m pretty sure me and my ovaries could kick your ass any day.”

  “You’re asking for it,” Cayman says, and he cracks his knuckles.

  “Who’s gonna hurt me? You and your frat boy clone army?” she asks, and she lets out a loud laugh.

  Cayman starts toward her, raising a fist. Unflinching, Bethany pulls a switchblade from her pocket.

  Cayman leaps back. The jocks cower against each other as the blade glints in the light. Nobody makes a move.

  “That’s what I thought,” she says. She pockets the knife, turns on her heels arrogantly and walks away. “They’re always little bitches once you actually stand up to them.”

  “You aren’t going to get away with this, Cade,” Cayman threatens. “You can’t have a knife on school grounds. I’ll tell the principal and you’ll be expelled the second he sees you.”

  “Oh boo hoo. Being banned from this place forever? That’s such a punishment,” Bethany says, rolling her eyes. She jerks her head at me. “Come on. Let’s go.”

  Even though I have no connection to Bethany whatsoever, I follow her. All eyes are on us as we leave the cafeteria. Bethany kicks her locker and falls against it with a sigh.

  “What a jerk,” she says, shaking her head. “I knew he wasn’t going to do anything to me. He doesn’t have the nerve.”

  She looks at me. “I don’t actually know you. I’ve never heard of you before, until now. I usually skip lunch.”

  “Don’t feel bad. Nobody knows me,” I say, and I shrug.

  “Well that’s the problem,” she says. “You don’t have a reputation. You need to make a name for yourself. That way they can’t hurt you.”

  “I’m just trying to blend in,” I say meekly. “Being invisible is the only way to stay safe.”

  She glances at me, biting a nail. “You need to be somebody, even if it’s a lie. Don’t give a damn who they are. That way, they can’t hurt you.”

  She holds out her hand. “I’m Bethany, by the way.”

  I stare at her outstretched hand before an idea pops into my head. “Razberry Sweet, at your service,” I say. I grab her hand and shake it with a smile.

  “You don’t have to call yourself that. Those guys were assholes,” Bethany says quickly.

  “No,” I insist. “As weird as it sounds, I kinda like it. Sorta... gives me power over them, I guess. Taking an insult they used against me and wearing it as armor.”

  She gives me a look that suggests I’m slightly insane. “You can’t really expect me to call you Razberry,” she says.

  “Just call me Raz,” I say, liking how quickly the name clicks in my brain. Anything’s better than Mildfreud.

  Bethany smiles. “Well, Razberry Sweet,” she says, and she spreads her arms out wide. “Welcome to the best summer of your life!”

  Chapter 1 - New School, New Name

  September 7, 2009

  Limesville, Connecticut

  “Raz! Razzie, get up!”

  I flinch and pull away quickly as somebody shakes me. My eleven year old cousin Mitzy hits me across the shoulder in a pointless attempt to get me out of bed.

  I moan and pull the covers farther over my head. Needless to say, I’m not a morning person.

  “Wake up Raz!” she shouts again. She starts jumping on the bed. “It’s the first day of school!”

  “Go away, you little menace. Go get your gang and terrorize somebody else,” I grumble.

  “If you don’t move it your butt’s gonna miss the bus. And since we all know you can’t drive yet…”

  “All right, all right, I’m up!” I shout. My family’s never going to let me live it down. In the darkness of my dreams, I’d forgotten everything. Of course my permit is suspended. Could I ever forget why?

  Mitzy smiles. She’s a little terror, a pigtailed brunette with large, pale-blue eyes. She looks sort of like a kitten, but her disposition is one of a saber toothed tiger.

  Once she’s gone I slam my door and go back to bed. I don’t want to get up. I don’t want to get out of bed ever.

  I just want to lie here until I turn to stone or die. Either is acceptable.

  I’m so damn numb.

  It’s not long before Aunt Sara comes barging in.

  “Razberry Sweet! You’ve got a half an hour before the bus gets here! What exactly are you doing in that bed?”

  “Sleeping,” I mumble.

  “Up!” she demands. When I don’t move, she sighs and yanks off the covers. Without a second’s hesitation I sit up and pull the covers back.

  “Get up Raz,” she says, yanking the blankets.

  “No way!” I say, and yank them back just as hard. She lets go. I fall backwards and smack my head against the wall.

  I groan and rub the back of my head while she stands there with a triumphant smile. “Great, you’re up. Now get moving. You now have twenty five minutes.”

  Groggily, I finally roll out of bed. I stumble to my dresser as my aunt leaves the room, scanning the piles of clothes on the carpet for something to wear.

  The first day of school. Great. Just what I’d been looking forward to. After the previous incident back in Tinyork over the summer with Bethany Cade, my mortified parents had shipped me off to live with my aunt and uncle in a place called Limesville, Connecticut.

  Limesville. What a stupid name. Even worse, now I have to go into my junior year of high school knowing absolutely no one.

  Wait…

  That’s perfect, isn’t it? I can start completely over. Nobody knows my name, or my past. I can totally recreate myself and nobody will know the difference.

  The only question is, who do I want to become?

  Being invisible hadn’t helped before, and becoming the tough guy with Bethany over the summer had only resulted in disaster. I go through the various high school stereotypes in my head. I can act out all of them, I’m sure. But will anyone believe me?

  It doesn’t matter. I’ll pretend to be anybody, so long as I don’t get picked on again. I’m a good enough actor. I can fool anyone.

  I start pacing around my room. Bethany’s words pop into my head. Be somebody, even if it’s a lie.

  A smile spreads across my face. I
don’t have to be someone average, someone boring that’ll blend in with whatever group I manage to cling to. I’ll be completely unique.

  That way, nobody can touch me.

  I look in the mirror and ruffle my blonde hair. Razberry Sweet, I think. Of course.

  I know exactly who I’ll be. The cool guy with the weird name who doesn’t give a damn about what anybody thinks.

  Just like Bethany said.

  It’s a drastic measure. But I’ve tried everything else. I don’t have any more ideas. Go big or go home. I bend down and start ruffling through the clothes on my floor, searching for something.

  I find a bright pink shirt, sunshine yellow pants and a dark blue jacket. I nearly gag when I put them on and try not to laugh.

  I slip on some black and white zigzagged tennis shoes that I got at a garage sale for a dollar. I nearly trip while walking across the room and pick up my foot, looking at the soles. There are holes starting to wear on the bottom.

  Whatever. It’s a total hipster thing to do, right?

  One last thing. I grab my sunglasses off the side of my old nightstand, the ones I… got with Bethany. I never go anywhere without them. I shove them over my blue eyes and beam into the mirror, shaking my head and laughing.

  I look completely ridiculous, and that’s the plan. I can’t wait to see their faces. I’ll be the most flamboyant person at Limesville High. Everyone will know my name by the end of the day. If I can’t blend in or fit in, I’ll stand out.

  The ancient steps creak as I head down them. This house is old… it’s survived three fires, two twisters and a windstorm in the one hundred and fifty years it’s been here. Everything’s made of wood, and the wallpaper’s peeling off the sides. Our house is stuffed with ragged furniture from ten years ago and sculptures that Aunt Sara liked to make on her time off. I passed a lot of things that needed repairs… a leaky sink, a broken banister.