Page 24 of Sour Lollipops and Sweet Nightmares
“I’m talking to you.” If the distinct anger in Sandy Hair’s voice wasn’t enough to make me snap my attention back up to their faces, then the fingers snapping in front of me sure were.
Clearly, his feelings towards me didn’t improve any overnight. He really didn’t like me. Anyone could tell that just by looking at him. Hate was written all over his face. Given our interaction last night, I wasn’t surprised by his animosity.
“You said hello. The proper response is to say it back.” The explanation was unneeded, but what else was I going to say? I didn’t ask to talk to you? Go away? Fuck off? Somehow, I didn’t think any of those would alter that look on his face. Although I did confuse him, and he wasn’t the only one.
Man bun also lifted a brow. “Is she getting smart with us?”
Great, now my palms were sweaty again. Why did people insist on talking to me today? Was there some cosmic being up there making fun of my self-made promise? One thing was for sure. I was never going to tell myself to talk to someone again.
“It’s called being polite.” I sneered at Man Bun.
Sandy hair thrust his finger out at me, “Don’t try to get out of this by being cute.”
How was that cute?
“I told you this wasn’t over, Peaches.”
Peaches? I guess originality wasn’t one of his skills. There were only a few things that people could use to make fun of a name like Georgia. One of which was the classic Georgia peach, the other was a ‘hello Georgie’ in reference to a clown that lived in the sewer. Neither of which I found insulting.
“You walked into the wrong room.”
I walked into the wrong room? “The next time you want to do something nefarious, you might want to try locking the door. It only takes a second.”
A simple click would’ve solved all his problems.
“You barged in on us.”
“No,” I shook my head. “I opened a door that you could’ve easily locked.”
When the four of them all looked down at me with the same dark glint in their eye, a slow clap began to echo in the back of my head.
Way to go, Georgia. Instead of defusing the situation, you poked the bear.
It couldn’t be that bad, could it?
The way Sandy Hair narrowed his eyes said otherwise. “That’s right, you opened a door. Then you took a fucking picture.”
That’s when the reality of my situation started to set in. They were all pissed, and I was largely outmatched, in both numbers and size. The shortest one of them was at least a foot taller than me. And here I was, pointing out the mistakes they made.
The smartest thing I could do would be to keep my mouth shut or apologize. But that would give them power. And oncepeople like them thought they had influence over someone, they would never stop. One had to stand strong in the face of bullies.
So, I lifted my chin, rolled my shoulders back, and firmly stated, “You don’t intimidate me.”
That was a lie. The conversation alone intimidated me, but they didn’t need to know that.
“Oh, I think we do,” Sandy Hair growled in a tone so deep I could feel it in my racing pulse.
Damnit. So much for standing firm.
My eyes darted over to Rachel, who was too busy making out to be phased by this. Obviously, she wasn’t going to help, and I didn’t see Kash anywhere. As much as I wanted to avoid him and his sex appointments, having someone on my side would make me feel better. But there was no one. I was alone.
“Hey!” Sandy Hair’s hand slammed down on the table, causing me to jerk in my chair while my forgotten tray clattered. “I’m talking to you.”
I could hear that. Anyone within earshot could. A couple of people even looked our way, but did any of them come to help? No.
“Maybe I should go?” Running away seemed like my best option, but Sandy Hair wasn’t letting me go anywhere.
When I stood, he grabbed my shoulder and pushed me back down into the chair so hard that it screeched on the floor, and my butt ached.
