Page 3 of Charger

“Get used to it, sis.”

After struggling with my lock, like I do every year, I finally get it to open. There, hanging on the inside, are a pair of lace thong panties. A wave of nausea washes through me and humiliation burns my face.

“Oh my God.”

“What?” Garrett asks, without taking his attention away from his porn stars.

“Remember how I asked you guys if they forgot about my incident last year?”

“Yeah, why?”

“They didn’t forget.”

Garrett turns to witness the laced-up joke hanging inside, and laughter erupts from behind us. Josh, along with his two buddies, points in my direction.

Right before the end of junior year, I slipped on someone’s spilled drink in the hallway. Not only did I fall, but I split my pants open, showcasing the lovely granny panties I was wearing that day. It was not my fault that it was between washes and I had no other choice. My guess, the reason for the lace thong was to tell me to go buy some sexy underwear. I, in fact, do not wear granny panties. But now half the school thinks I do, and of course, Josh was in the hallway at that exact moment when it happened. Nothing else was worth talking about? They had to resort to my humiliation as entertainment.

I hate high school.

“Douchebag. Just ignore him, Jules.” Garrett scowls at Josh with a look that says, “Mess with my sister again and I’ll kill you.” I’m trying to act like it doesn’t bother me, but unfortunately, all I want to do is crawl inside my locker, hoping it swallows me whole.

I groan at the same time a tall, shadowed silhouette appears behind me.

“What’s going on?” Zach’s body is like having a barrier standing between me and the enemy. It’s safe, reassuring, and makes me feel invincible. Unstoppable.

“Nothing,” I’m quick to deny. “Josh is just being an asshole.”

“Was that him?” Turning my body enough to see Zach point to the thong, I try to think of an excuse. When I don’t answer, he aggressively rips the underwear from my locker and stalks over to Josh with his circle of friends.

“Oh fuck,” Garrett says out loud exactly what I am thinking. He’s pissed and we both see it.

Zach shoves the underwear into Josh’s chest, sending him flying back into the lockers behind him. At the sound of clanking metal, students stop what they’re doing.

“Think this is funny, asshole?” Zach stands over him by at least a foot. The vein in his temple is pulsating and his breathing is deep, heavy.

“Dude, chill out. It was just a joke.” Josh raises his hands up in defense.

“Do something like that again and I’ll punch your fucking teeth out.”

The hallway is dead silent as students gather around, watching the scene unfold. Sam is standing with her arms crossed at her chest, glaring at me. Obviously, she’s bitter because her boyfriend just showed up like a knight in shining armor and came to my rescue. I didn’t need him to come to my rescue. If it’s not my brother, it’s him saving me. I could have handled it on my own. I don’t need saving. But I have to admit, seeing Zach run to my defense doesn’t exactly suck.

He finally backs off from Josh, connecting eyes with me just before walking away with Sam under his arm. I remember when we were ten and some sixth-grade boy pushed me, typical of course. Zach chased him down and kicked him in his shin. My lips curve up into a smile at the memory. But it fades when I glare at Josh, who’s fixing his shirt. It looks like he wants to say something to me, but he doesn’t. I avert my attention to my locker and Garrett goes back to rearranging his porn stars.

“Okay, what the hell was that?” Lisa jogs over to me while hugging her books to her chest. “Oh, hey, Garrett, nice pictures,” she teases and he slams his locker shut.

“Don’t be jealous, Lisa. I’d be glad to hang pictures of you inside my locker if you wanna pose for me.”

“Um, hello. I’m standing right here.” I wave my hand in the air, completely grossed out. Garrett throws Lisa a playful smile and walks to his first class. Her eyes follow him down the hallway until he turns the corner. “Can you please stop ogling my brother in front of me? It’s weird.”

“Sorry, but it absolutely cannot be helped. Not when your brother’s that hot.” I flick her arm. “I just came over to make sure you were okay. Josh can be a real asshole sometimes.”

Lisa is my other best friend and I probably wouldn’t have been able to survive high school without her. Sure, hanging out with Zach and Garrett is great, but a girl needs her girlfriends.

“Yeah, I’m fine, except for the permanent humiliation that is forever scarred into me.”

“Well, I think Zach took care of that for you.” She smiles. “Speaking of, did you see the way Sam has been peeing on him everywhere? Bitch looks like a worried hooker in church.” We bust out laughing, walking to first period together.

When we get home, Zach and Garrett are already down the street throwing the football, and my mother’s in the kitchen tossing the salad for dinner. I wrap my arms around her waist and rest my cheek on her back, startling her from the sneak attack.

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