Page 19 of Love Notes

Chapter 9

MIA

Iflippedthevisormirror back up and turned to Ethan. “Okay, so my eye still isn’t great despite my epic concealer blending skills and the translucent powder I used.”

Ethan raised a brow. “I don’t know what you just said, but it’s not that bad. There’s just a little bruising. Don’t be so self-conscious.”

“Easy for you to say,” I grumbled, because when you grew up with hair the color of sun-ripened peaches and skin as white as snow, you kind of had a complex about your looks.

“No one will even say anything about it. It’s old news. Remember that time Kent and Brian got in that fight last year over Lori? It was over the next day.”

I exhaled. “You’re right.” I nodded and chewed on my lower lip before getting out of the car and following Ethan inside.

What was I so afraid of, anyway? It was no secret Carson and I were rivals. Who cared if people heard I finally snapped and went after him? It shouldn’t be a surprise. If anything, I deserved an award for putting up with his torment all these years. I was practically a saint.

Ethan said goodbye and headed for his locker shortly after we walked through the door, leaving me alone.

I received a couple raised brows. Or maybe I was just paranoid.

When I got to my locker, I quickly entered the combination, popped the lock, and put my things inside.

I grabbed the books I needed for the first couple classes, then slammed the door shut and spun around, but not before Carl Macky stopped across from me and put his hands up by his face and flinched. “No. Don’t hurt me. Please.” He fake-cowered.

Confused, I glanced around, but the only kids nearby were his friends and a couple random spectators. And then it clicked.

He moved his hands in front of his throat and told the guy next to him. “Protect yourself. Randalls is lethal.”

They were making fun of me. Great. Even though I had expected this to happen, it still made my stomach clench and my palms sweat. I laughed like I actually thought he was funny instead of the total jerk he was and rolled my eyes, playing it off. “Good one.”

Carl chuckled and high-fived his friends like he accomplished something worth celebrating then sauntered off.

I guess ten seconds was enough to get his kicks.

I lifted my hair up into a ponytail with my hands, wondering if it was a waste of time to curl it into soft waves if all people were going to do was focus on my face, then I let it drop and fall over my shoulders. “It’ll be okay, Mia,” I murmured to myself. “Just get through the day.”

With a sigh, I pushed off my locker, then headed to class, where I had trouble following along. Instead of discussing the relevance ofA Tale Of Two Citiesin today’s modern world, I was silently dreading the rest of the day and the weekend because Sunday meant spending more time with Carson.

After this week, there was only one week of school left before we’d be out for winter break. One week left to find a date to the dance. With a swollen eye and my newfound reputation for strangling my classmates.

Unlike Katniss Everdeen from The Hunger Games, the odds were not in my favor. There was no way I was coming out of the gauntlet with a date now, which was disappointing. I’d promised Ella, and focusing on that promise helped distract me from the chaos at home. Not to mention, in only four months, I’d graduate, which meant preparing to leave for college. I had wanted one final year of making as many memories as I could with my friends—with Ethan—since I’d slacked in the socialization department the last few years.

By the time I entered my fifth-period chemistry class, I had thought I was in the clear. Other than Macky in the hall this morning, no one said much about my feud with Carson. Unfortunately, he was in my chemistry class, so there was no avoiding him.

When I entered the room, I took my seat at the large lab table next to my partner, Sarah, while avoiding eye-contact with the table next to ours where I knew Carson would be seated. A ripple of excitement swept through the room as a substitute entered. Once we were given our lab assignment, each table got to work collecting beakers, PH test strips, scales, and everything else we required for the experiment. After making sure I had everything, I returned to my lab table with the last of our things, and Sarah yawned, then said, “Oh my gosh. I got no sleep last night. I’m just spent.”

I said nothing, knowing where this was going because if there was one way in which I could rely on Sarah as a partner, it was for her to be epically lazy. More often than not, she copied my notes and homework. Rarely did she actually help me with any of the labs or experiments, and the fact that we had a sub made it exponentially easier for her to slack off.

“Do you think you could handle this one? Maybe I could just watch and take notes,” she said, though we both knew her idea of taking notes was napping behind her bookbag.

I sighed. For once, I wanted to say no. I wanted to tell her I was sick of pulling her weight.

Movement from a table over caught my eye, and when I looked, I saw Carson arch a brow, nodding toward Sarah. Then he pulled a face and made a slashing movement across his throat as if to tell me not to do it.

Turning back to her, I opened my mouth to tell her no, but what came out was, “Whatever.”

Out of the corner of my eye, Carson shook his head, disappointed, which annoyed me. It’s not like it was him doing the extra work. What did he care?

Before I could even shoot him a dirty look, he was raising his hand and asking, “Uh, my partner’s out sick today. Do you care if I pair up with another group?” The substitute waved him off and nodded, more interested in his magazine than anything happening in the classroom, and before I could protest, Carson was brushing Sarah aside and bumping into me.

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