The Brooder - Andrew Clark

Chapter Five

A/N:

Wooo! Look who's back! LOL so sorry for the long wait for an update. My computer had to be updated and well life happened.

THIS CHAPTER IS NOT EDITED.  I did my best to keep it free from errors and I will be going back through it soon to edit it, but editing sites are expensive and money is tight. I used word to edit it, but there still may be errors so please forgive the typos.  Anway, I wanted to give you an extra long chapter, so this chapter is 3,505 words! I'll be updating more regularly, so enjoy!

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Kayla sat back down next to Brian and began to eat her lunch, wanting to finish before Vernon barged back in and told them that their time to eat was over. She slyly glanced over at Bender and saw that he was eating the sandwich, causing her to smile softly to herself. She tries to savor the sandwich that her father had given her, knowing it would be a salad for dinner. Her mother had handed a bag of carrot sticks before she'd gone to work, saying that should be plenty. Kayla knew she wasn't overweight if anything she needed to gain a little. Her mother was never satisfied with her though. Her hair was too flat, her grades weren't perfect, her skin too pale, her face too round. The onslaught of how her mother tried to turn her into the perfect barbie doll took a huge toll on the girl. She'd been really energetic and open when she'd arrived in her freshman year. It was probably why Andy had been so nice to her at first. Kayla's parents were well off, her father being a doctor at a prestigious private practice. He was home by six every night and home every weekend, unlike her mother. He made time for Kayla; he was the best dad she could have asked for. Her mother was a lawyer and was gone most of the time. Either at work or out of town in meetings. She knew her mother was most likely boinking one of the men at her job, her dad knew as well, but they all pretended to be the perfect family. She'd been best friends with Hannah Dawson in middle school, they had been inseparable. Hannah had then met Claire and their other minion, Judy, and had decided they didn't want to be friends with her anymore. Kayla's mother was very strict and wouldn't let her go to parties or do certain activities that the other kids got to do. Hannah, wanting to be popular, ditched Kayla and took up tormenting her and a few other kids.

Kayla and Allison had met in the third week of school. It was another reason the mean girls had started picking on her. Allison was funny and she made Kayla laugh and forget about her home life while she was at school. Kayla's mother also loathed Allison, but her dad was like her and found the girl hilarious. She'd met Brian a few months later. He'd been cornered by Andy and his friends, and she was contemplating how to intervene, but Hannah had walked up to her and slapped her books out of her hands, calling her a loser. She'd been busy trying to pick up her papers when Brian had knelt down and began helping her. They'd become fast friends and thus the dysfunctional three musketeers had been born. She'd been lost in her thoughts when she felt a nudge on her elbow. She looked over and saw that Brian was looking at her with a raised eyebrow. She furrowed her own and said, "What?" he grinned and shook his head. "I knew you weren't listening to me." He said with a laugh. Kayla's cheeks flooded with her embarrassment, realizing that she'd zoned out. "Sorry, Bri, I was just trying to savor my lunch for as long as possible." Brian's face fell at her words and pursed his lips. "She's still going on about your weight?" Kayla looked down at her hands and nodded. "She's convinced that if I lose weight that I'll become normal," she began sadly. "She doesn't understand that I don't want to be a cheerleader and hang out with those fake diva bitches. She treats me like I'm a doll for her to dress up and play with. You know she handed me the carrots and told me that was my lunch? My dad made me this sandwich and told me she'd be going out of town next week for who knows how long. I love it when it's just me and my dad."