Tales from the Darkside (Currently Being Rewritten)

19

My eyes narrowed on the butterfly I’d just doodled, trying to cut through the blurry haze that had obscured my vision, a numb sort of pain had started in my head only seconds ago, slowly increasing its levels of annoyance. I tried to focus on something…anything; Gym class before lunch, History and Socials Studies after lunch ... .but thoughts of Liam kept popping into my head. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d seen so little of him during a school day, even if he wasn’t physically in class, I knew he was around or at least Ben, Sam, Jake or Abby were. 
“Puis-je être excusé?” I raised my hand, calling out across the classroom towards Ms St Pierre. “Je ne me sens pas bien.” 
She didn’t reply and I took her silence as permission to grab my bag and leave, Paige glanced at me, eyebrows furrowed in concern as I tried to convey that I was fine, there was no need to worry. 

There were a few people at their lockers as I exited the girls bathroom, the pain in my head still there but bearable as an insistent buzz came from my pocket. I stopped near a set of lockers, about to grab my phone out and see who was texting or trying to call me when….
“What the hell?” My back slammed into the lockers behind me, before I was pulled forwards by a hand gripping my elbow, one that was soon holding my arms behind my back, keeping me hostage. SLAP. My head snapped to the side and back again, my gaze landing on Valentina and two of her cheerleader cronies; Ginger and Yasmin. Valentina was standing directly in front of me, her hand raised as if she'd just slapped me….bitch. 
“You think you're better than everyone else, don't you, you slut.” Valentina hissed, a far cry from the girl about to wet herself out of fear almost an hour and a half ago. SLAP. “All everyone talks about is you!” Valentina paused, an ugly sort of gleam shining in her dark eyes. “He must really pity you. I mean, why not? You're a pathetic waste of space. It's the only reason they hang out with you isn't it?” 
Whoever was standing behind me tightened their grip on my arms as Ginger and Yasmin laughed at what Valentina had said as if it was the funniest joke in the universe. 
“You’re right, Val.” Yasmin sneered, flicking her wavy black hair over her shoulder. “How much do they pay you?” I stared, not believing the stupidity of what I was hearing.
“They probably don't.” Ginger piped up, almost gleefully. 
“She's pathetic enough that she'd sleep with them for free.” The person behind me scoffed as the others started laughing again. No one else in the corridor moved a muscle to try and help, all were standing frozen, trying to pretend that nothing was happening. 
“What the hell do you want?” I wondered, speaking for the first time since I was slammed into the lockers. I was seriously getting sick of these cheerleaders. 
“I want attention!” Valentina suddenly shrieked like a petulant tantrum-throwing child. “They'd sleep with me, if it wasn't for you and that bitch, Abby. He'd sleep with me!"
I stared, my mind trying to process what she said…"You're attacking me because Liam won't have sex with you?” The idea was almost laughable. 
"Yes! It's your fault!" Valentina was starting to sound more deranged by the minute. She stepped closer until we were face to face and the smell of her toxic perfume began to burn my nostrils. "Why don't you go back to where you came from?"
"12 years and you're still singing that tune?" Valentina and Lola had been the best of friends and both had immediately decided they hated my guts when I moved to town. "It's not my fault Liam thinks your a bitch." The words were out of my mouth before I could stop them, and part of me didn't want to because I knew it was true.
"You whore!" Valentina shrieked, slapping me for a third time as her cronies let out gasps of outrage at my statement. I still didn't know who had been holding me back all this time, but I was quickly becoming sick of it. Sick of cheerleaders. Sick of being slapped.
I acted on instinct, some half-forgotten memory of a self-defence class my parents had made me take rising to the forefront of my mind as I kicked Valentina in the leg, earning more outraged noises from her cronies. My captor stepped closer to me than before, likely intent on trying to make me pay for kicking Valentina. I twisted, pain spiking through my right arm and up to my shoulder as I came face to face with a jock I didn't know the name of, but was likely Valentina's flavour of the week. His hands were gripping my wrists but his eyes weren't completely focused on me, instead he was looking at Valentina as my knee shot up hitting him in the balls as I yanked myself as hard as possible out of his grip.
"Y-you...." Valentina began, her eyes darting between me and the jock doubling over in pain behind me with a nervous expression on her face.
I punched her. Knocking her to the ground, there was no sign of Ginger or Yasmin anywhere, but I didn't care anymore as I punched Valentina some more, who was lying on the ground.
"That's enough." A deep voice exclaimed behind me sternly as I was pulled off of Valentina. Whoever pulled me off her let go immediately as I spun around angrily coming face to face with a 40 something year old man with dark blonde hair, blue-grey eyes and a beard. "Go." He pointed down the corridor where Paige and Erica were standing with wide eyes. "Before you do something you'll regret."