Thalia

Chapter 22: She's Gone

Chapter 22: She's Gone

I hate Ms. Pollock. She gave me a stupid B- in her silly science class. Which is one point closer to a C, which is one point closer to being the pizza shop owner in three years, max. To a lot of bad children here, a B- is something they'd get Newspaper Articles, VIP tickets and a week vacation in Cancun for. But for me? I get a back slap from Zoey, face-jab from Mindy, a body-slam from Cora and a weird nature talk from my mom and Junchi. Ryan? He'd just pep talk me into buying a pair of shoes to make me feel better. 

And I would.

All day, people have been giving me the evil eye, bumping into me on purpose and basically shunning me. If you were to ask me what I did wrong, I can't answer that. Because I have no idea. Even Mr. B was quieter and more normal today for first period, constantly eyeing me every fifteen seconds. I mean, I'm not the Mona Lisa or the Blue Boy so everyone can quit staring holes through my body like I can't see them.

"Rose, have you noticed more. . . stares today?" Ryan whispers from next to me at lunch. We're eating puke on a plate and spit in a carton.

"Yeah, but I don't know what's going on. It's probably some dumb rumor or something again." Or maybe someone just found out about my stash of food I hide under my bed and how much is eaten on a daily basis which is a nightmare to think about. Zoey practically runs over to our table with Zack in tow and sits down so fast, her hair isn't relaxed for two full seconds. 

"Guys," Her tone is low. "I found out what everybody is foaming out of their mouths for."

"You haven't even told me yet. All you've been doing is making weird, jaguar faces and trying to find Rose," Zack says after letting go of her hand and placing it on the table. Poor child. He's been through so many bank accounts more than likely buying Zoey some food she doesn't need to eat. And then more food to feed her later. She needs some type of sign that says, "Must be fed by the second."

Zoey gives him the hand. "Well, Zack I'm telling you now. Rose; Misty went missing. Nobody knows where the heck she is or anything. All they keep saying is that you were the last person to be seen with her and that you had a fight while you were together. She never even made it home." My airways clog up and I suddenly feel woozy. Oh, gosh. Oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh. They didn't do this. They couldn't have.

They said they'd take care of her for me and me being the under-thinker I am, thought they just meant to scare her up a little bit and keep her mouth shut. Not kidnap her and make it look like I'm the worst person alive in Virginia. This isn't going to be cute on my permanent record. Zoey's face partially relaxes and she let's out a heavy sigh. "Rose. Don't tell me you did something stupid."

I freeze up and gulp. Nothing is worse than someone being in my shoes right now. Not to mention that I actually look guilty to something I definitely didn't do. "No." Well, that was a fail. I completely croaked that word. No hunch there, right? "No, I really didn't. But I'm being blamed and it's freaking me out." Big time. Now that I think more and more about it, I'm starting to think that maybe this is my fault. 

Sure, I hate the she-devil, but for her to go missing because of me not being smart about decisions is completely my fault. I told them that I didn't care. When now, I do care. I care a lot. I never thought that I would actually miss Misty. Ryan's arm snakes around my waist. "Rose, if it's not your fault then you're fine. Don't panic. If the cops come to you for an investigation, they'll see that there's no proof besides you two got into a fight." 

Those are some inspiring words, but it's not that easy. They have proof. They have all the proof they need and it's on the school security cameras for sure. "I've gotta go." I stand up from the lunch table and out into the hallway. My life is crumbling before my eyes and I can't do anything to stop it. Mean-Butt Misty threatened that she'd get me but I'm positive she wasn't thinking it'd take her harm to get me into the socially inept pit she wanted me in to begin with.