Page 18 of Bullied By The Bad Boy

My phone resumes ringing almost immediately. Maria is at it again. I place the phone face down inside my locker and work on finding my ticket. I’m sure I left it here. Or did I forget it at home? My stomach knots tightly in hunger, and one hand slips under my shirt to massage my belly.

The only thing I ate for breakfast was an apple. We always have a big bowl of them on our dining table because Dad believes it keeps the doctor away. If everyone takes their health as seriously as Dad thinks they should, all doctors will be out of jobs, including him. But I am glad I have an excuse to eat as many apples as I want without my mom giving me the stink eyes.

I take a step back to assess my blue locker. My hands lower to my waist, and I drum my foot on the floor. It should be here. It is always here. I empty my bag inside the locker, shake my books, and flip through the pages, yet I find nothing. Another sigh escapes me when I realize my wallet is also missing. I bury my face in my palms and let out a silent scream.

Can today get any worse?

Hunger pangs claw the insides of my belly violently. I take a deep breath to ease the pain. My eyes flicker to the next locker, and a switch flips in my head. I grab my phone. I remember Maria’s locker combination, but I need to be sure her ticket is inside. I wait for her to respond. My eyes scan the empty hallway as my fingers rap impatiently against the door. I have less than ten minutes until lunch break is over. I am famished. There is no way I will attend the next class without eating.

The longer she takes to respond, the deeper my teeth sink into my lip. I shut my eyes and breathe through my mouth. This is not the time for my best friend to take revenge. Fine, I was ignoring her, but this is urgent.

Something crawls up my arm. My eyes flutter open, and everything slows at the sight of the tiny-legged creature on my hand. How? A scream tears out from my lips. I clench my eyes shut, willing the giant spider to disappear. My legs tremble so badly I have to lean on the locker for support.

Someone, please get this monster off me.

I hate spiders and all crawling insects.

Maria knows that.

So does Olivia.

I remain frozen until the spider crawls away. There is no way this is a coincidence. I sanitize my hands but still feel dirty. My fist pounds the locker, and I wince. With a determined scowl, I snatch the forgotten tube out of my locker and slam the door, storming off in the direction of the witch.

This ends today.

The cafeteria quietens once I step in. Avoiding eye contact with everyone, I shove people out of my way. I keep my gaze on Olivia, her minions, and the soccer team at their table in the center.

Attention whores.

Anger spurs me on. I push forward and slap the tube of glitter from their last prank on their table. I found it in my textbook. They must have forgotten to move it. Who else is dumb enough to leave the evidence at the crime scene except for Olivia? Recognition flashes briefly in Olivia’s eyes. She twirls a strand of her blond hair and smiles at me, batting her fake eyelashes like she’s about to have a seizure.

Ben is unfazed by my presence. I still have a score to pick with the handsome jerk. I haven’t found the necklace. Noah digs into his burger without another glance my way. Olivia’s girls flank her on each side of the bench like they are protecting their queen. My blood boils as they pick at their salad and mumble among themselves like I am invisible. No worries, I can fix that.

“Someone thought putting a spider in my locker would be funny,” I say. Olivia shares a look with her crew, and they double over with laughter. Still seething, my hand works faster than my brain. I retrieve the tube from the table and unscrew the cap. “I also found this in my locker yesterday.”

They erupt in full-blown laughter. Without a thought, I empty the content of the tube on Olivia’s head. Her laughter dies down, and my lips quirk. I eye the colorful mess before me, the salad tray with too much glitter. I don’t need to turn to know the entire school population is gaping at me.

Olivia’s shock lasts a while longer than I expect. Her mouth opens and closes. Her bewildered gaze alternates between me and her crop top covered in glitter. She rises to her feet slowly and climbs on the table. Excitement flows through my veins. I take a step back to create space in the cafeteria so I can beat the shit out of her. Ben throws me a warning glare, but I ignore it. The scumbag should be more concerned about his cheating girlfriend because I am about to beat her to a pulp.

“You,” Olivia screams and charges at me.

We roll on the floor, and she manages to get the upper hand. A cheer erupts. People surround us as we fight. Olivia claws at me, her acrylic nails out to tear the skin off my face. I spend the next minute avoiding her hands. The first chance I get, I switch our positions and straddle her. I flash her a smile before I land the first hit—a hot slap to her cheek, which instantly burns red. My palm connects to her cheek again. I’m about to slap her for the third time when I’m pulled away.

“Let go of me,” I yell at no one in particular while kicking the air. I’m not done with her. The familiar scent of the person tickles my nose. I don’t have time to identify the owner because Olivia gets up and spits blood. I ram my elbows into the sides of my captor, but he doesn’t release me. “Let me go.”

“You bitch!” Olivia charges at me for the second time today, but I cannot defend myself.

A stinging slap on my cheek shuts me up completely. My head snaps to the side, and my hair curtains my face. Olivia slaps me again, my ears ring, and my vision becomes blurry. The crowd cheers her on, the grip on my waist slacks, and I slide to the ground. I whimper as a figure comes into view. Ben. He let his girlfriend hit me. I blink once, twice, and finally, give into the darkness.

Thirteen

I am wearingmakeup today because the witch scratched my cheeks. First, her boyfriend bruised my face, and his girlfriend did the same almost three weeks later. They make an incredible duo.

I can’t forgive Ben. I will never forgive him, even if he was the one who carried me to the nurse after I blacked out. He should never have interfered. It was a fair fight between a fellow girl and me. I pound my fists against my thighs, determined to ignore the boy in my peripheral view.

Mr. Sam scribbles some Calculus jargon on the board and follows it up with a short explanation. They say you understand the lyrics of a song when you are sad, but in truth, you only appreciate Calculus better when you are unhappy. I am saddened that I have to sit through this class with Ben and partner with him in Ms. Eva’s literature class. Mr. Sam throws a question to the class.

I surprise myself by raising my hand. His hesitation to call on me stings a little. Abigail snickers as I head to the front of the class. She twirls her hair around her pencil and offers me a fake smile. If she wasn’t such a bitch, I would have swapped seats with her so she could get a chance with her boy crush. I don’t enjoy sitting beside Ben, but he won’t sit elsewhere just to spite me.

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