The Runaway Princess

3. Stay Away From Him

"What's gotten into you?" Hazel asks me, when I sit down at our usual lunch table. I don't even need to look at her to be able to tell she's smirking.
"She bumped into the new guy this morning and her face has been stuck like that since," Piper teased jokingly. "Oh shut up!" I finally reply as I punch her arm playfully. Hazel lets out a small laugh. "Annie's got a crush on the new guy!" She sang with a sing-song voice. I felt my face go red, so I covered it with my hands.
"Do not!" I protest.
"DO TOO!" They yell at the same time.

We all burst into laughter, but stop when someone stands at the head of our table. "Well if it isn't the little misfits!" The person says coldly. "What do you want Stephanie?" Piper asks, rolling her eyes. Stephanie sneers and looks at me. 'Dammit! Why me?!' I mentally wonder as Stephanie's cold, ice blue eyes bore into my soul.
"I came to speak to Annie" she says sweetly, but her eyes say otherwise. "Alone." She adds. I roll my eyes and stand up. This is going to end horribly. "Nice knowing you," Hazel whispers as I follow Stephanie out of the cafeteria.

Reluctantly, I slowly follow Stephanie into the girls change room. She glances around, as if making sure we were completely alone. "Ok," she started. "We're alone. Now can you please just say what you need to say so I can get back to my lunch?" I ask, crossing my arms. Stephanie laughs. Not a nice laugh, but a cruel, snide laugh. "I wouldn't act so strong Annie. Everyone knows your a pushover," she taunts. Anger fills my body but I fight it back. Punching her in the face isn't going to do anything but get me into serious trouble.
"Just tell me what you want to say," I say through gritted teeth. "Feisty, feisty. But if you truly insist," she says, and claps her hands together twice.
Suddenly about 5 other girls come out from within the stalls. I recognize them all as girls from Stephanie's group of Barbie dolls.

I turn to reach for the door but two of the girls grab me by shoulders and pin me to the wall. Another girl blocks the door. I try to push the girls off, but unfortunately their cheerleadering does help them gain muscle.
I decide to try even harder, when Stephanie comes up and puts her face so it's right up in mine. Hasn't this girl ever heard of personal space?!

"If I ever catch you with Percy again I will do much worse than this," she whispers in my ear cruelly. "Much worse than what?" I asked.
I regretted asking the question the minute I saw her open up my locker and pull out a picture of my dad, the only picture that Susan let me keep of my him. Then I watched in horror and rage as she ripped the photo into tiny pieces and tossed them into the trash. "NO! STOP! PLEASE STOP IT! STOP!" I screamed and yelled and kicked, even though I knew no one would be able to hear me, as the classrooms were on the other side of the school.

When she was finished, Stephanie turned back to me and said "Stay away from him." Then she and her Barbie dolls left, but not before one of them kicked me in the stomach. Hard. "I don't even like him," I croak as Stephanie turns to exit. She stops for a moment in the doorway and toward my with a sly smirk. "Of course you do, but just so you know he'll never ever love you."

And so, there I sat for the rest of lunch, curled up on the floor of the girls change room crying and hugging my stomach. Not over her threat about Percy, as I was being entirely honest when I said that I didn't even like him, but over the fact that she just tore away what little I had left of my dad. The image of Stephanie ripping up my dad's picture, I was sure, would stay burned into my mind for as long as I lived.