I Spun the Bottle

I Spun the Bottle: Chapter Twenty-Four

     Never before had I actually yelled at my brother like that. Yes, we’ve had arguments here and then, but I’ve never talked to him like that. If I wasn’t so pissed at that moment, I knew I would’ve felt very guilty and ashamed. The car became silent after that. I kept my eyes leveled with objects outside of the car, and Landon kept his on the road.

     After a few minutes, my school appeared. A multitude of cars were coming in and out of the parking entrances, creating a lot of traffic. It appeared to be just a normal school day.

    When Landon dropped me off, I heard him mumble something to me, but I was too irritated to listen. So instead, I did the alternative. In a childlike manner, I hopped out of the car with my belongings, and slammed the door behind me, not bothering to look back at him. He deserved it. He treated me more and more like a kid every single day. And I wasn’t going to let him do it any longer.

     I knew that in about a couple of hours I’d regret my actions, but for now, I was too pissed off and crabby to even think about apologizing to him.

     I stomped to the entrance doors, pretty much pushing passed anyone in my way. This was the start of another terrible day. I could already feel the ominous forces pulsing through my veins. Once I entered the school, I kept my eyes forward. A grim expression shadowed my features as I continued towards my locker.

     There was only one way this morning could get any worse, and of course, it had to happen.

     “Ah, there’s my favorite nerd!” An obnoxious, high pitched voice echoed through my eardrums.

     I closed my eyes as soon as I heard Taylor’s voice. I realized that I froze in the middle of the hallway, and quickly tried to recover from my reaction. Slowly, I started moving again, hoping that she thought I couldn’t hear her.

     Not even ten steps later, Taylor called out to me again—this time by name.

     “Lyn, don’t even try to ignore me,” she accused. Taylor sounded closer than before—not to mention sassier.

     Without thinking, I turned on the heel of my foot to face her. She was with Stacy, the girl that went shopping with us, well technically only Taylor, a couple of weeks ago. Stacy was examining me. The corner of her lip curled up viciously in disgust.

     I drew my eyes away from Stacy to look up Taylor. She was only a few inches taller than me, but looking up at her made me feel significantly shorter. “What do you want Taylor?” I asked through gritted teeth. “If you’re here to embarrass again, then let me tell you that I’m not in the mood,” I said bitterly.

     I knew what I was saying was risky. I was pretty much asking her to publish my picture in the school’s paper.

     Taylor smirked at me, and dark amusement sparkled within her catlike eyes. “Someone’s a little cranky this morning.”

     You wouldn’t know.

     “Taylor,” Stacy whined, interrupting our conversation—or argument, whatever it was.  “First period is starting in like ten minutes, and I don’t to waste my time on this nerd.” She flicked her eyes towards me momentarily before looking back at Taylor.

     “Then leave. No one’s keeping you here,” I muttered.

     Stacy either didn’t hear me, or she chose to purposely ignore me because she looked at Taylor without sparing me another look.

     Taylor batted her lashes, and glanced at Stacy. “Give me a minute.”  

     Stacy heaved a sigh in response, but did not object.