The Kissing Game

Chapter 7

   I marched to my locker, noticing there was a sheet of paper taped onto it. Written on it in big, red, bold letters was beware. It was written in capitals and I stared at it, wondering if my peers were getting desperate enough to threaten me. Upon hearing a bunch of guys laugh loudly, I ripped the paper off my locker, crumpled it up, and threw it into the garbage bin nearby. Annoyance flooded into me, but I told myself to stay calm.

   Opening my locker, I grabbed the books I needed for my afternoon classes. Lunch had just started, so I eagerly packed as I thought of Hannah. There was so much I wanted to tell her.

   Once packed, I shut my locker and turned around, ready to go to the cafeteria. But once I was facing the packed hallway, I noticed all eyes were on me. These eyes belonged to my glowering peers and I blinked, wondering what they wanted.

    Deciding to ignore them, I began to walk forward. The second I did I heard sneers and scoffs, and quite a few unpleasant words. Many muttered prude under their breath and I took a deep breath in, telling myself not to show them how I felt.

But suddenly, everyone was screaming at me. As they stood at the sides of the hallway, they booed and screamed ugly names. Their eyes were cold on me and I found my hands curling into fists. Breathe, I pleaded to myself.

"You suck!" I heard a guy roar. "You're a bitch!"

I glared at the guy and watched him smirk at me. Anger boiled within me and I knew that I would snap. But knowing that was what they wanted, I began to storm away from everyone and I went outside, needing to breathe. I needed to calm down before I went back inside, so that I wouldn't give anyone a reaction.

Outside the weather was beautiful. The sun was warm and the sky was clear. A cool breeze passed by me, giving me pleasant chills, but I still felt stressed. I felt like I was suffocating with everything that had been happening lately.

By now I figured that telling them I would be keeping the kiss was a bad idea. It had only led to people hating me and if I had thought they would leave me alone, I had been incredibly wrong. I had more attention now and it was definitely not the good kind.

Closing my eyes, I stood by the school doors. I told myself that I would only have to endure this for six months, but still my gut twisted. It was tight and I knew with nerves. These people were crazy about this game and thinking about the beware sign, I wondered about how far they would go.

"Zoey," I heard someone say.

My eyes flew open and I saw that Axel was standing in front of me. He stood close and his eyes were gentle as they stared at me, surprising me. The fact that my heart was fluttering then sickened me, so I looked away.

"What do you want?" I asked flatly, staring at the ground.

"Are you okay?" Axel asked.

I wanted to snap, but the truth was Axel actually sounded worried. It was shocking and I wondered if it was an act, but right now I was too tired to argue. All I wanted to do was lie down and forget, so I slid to the ground. Pulling my knees to my chest, I pressed my back against the door.

"I'm fine," I said, propping my chin on my knees.

Axel surprised me once again by also sitting down. He moved to my side and suddenly, we were sitting next to each other. Our shoulders were brushing and I watched as Axel stretched out his legs.