PANIC ROOM • KENJI KON

I. Dinosaurs Are The Reason We Can't Have Aliens

"What up, girl?"

The sound of skin on skin contact echoed through the hallway. Eva bent over, chuckling. Her eyes stung with tears as her knees collided with the linoleum floor.

"Wow, not how I saw my Tuesday going."

A hand gripped her shirt's collar. "You fucking bitch," Jayla snarled.

"Alright, hon, I'm gonna give you three seconds to fuck off—"

Jayla pushed her further into the ground as her fist once again collided with Eva's nose. She blinked away the pain as another fist hit her.

"I don't know what's going on, but can't we talk this—"

Smack.

Eva forced her eyes open in time to see Jayla's bloody knuckles coming for her again. Eva caught the fist with ease, surprising the upperclassman. In a flurry of panicked limbs, her hand wrapped around Jayla's other wrist, too.

Twisting her leg under the brunette's body, she reeled her foot back before kicking Jayla between the legs.

Jayla groaned, falling off of Eva.

Eva sighed in relief. Above her, the fluorescent lighting swam circles in her vision.

"What's— what's happening?" A voice boomed from down the hallway.

Her eyes fell on the crowd around them, noting one of the boys in front, Danny Little, Jayla's boyfriend.

Oh.

Things fell into place in Eva's mind— her most recent lab partner was Jayla's boyfriend, and as most girls had learned months earlier involving an accident with Ella Flores, Jayla was very territorial about things that were hers. It was like she had peed on him to claim him as her own, and would tear into any girl that stepped too close to him. Ella was lucky to have escaped with only a broken wrist.

A man dressed in slacks and a grey button down appeared at the front of their little fight circle. Eva dropped her head onto the floor and sighed.

The man, Mr. Morrow, was the vice principal of Rutherford. He had a pot belly and peppered grey and black hair that was always slicked back. To Eva, he looked like Snape if he only ate MacDonald's and was about thirty years older.

Mr. Morrow helped Jayla to her feet, whilst shooting a look of disapproval at Eva.

Of course, her brain screamed. Of course it would be her fault. It always was. After the incident, he hated Eva. Any chance he got to get her into further trouble, he took it. Something about being a stain on Rutherford's legacy, she had overheard him say once.

She sat up and quickly gathered her purse and books.

"Miss Rocker," Mr. Morrow addressed.

Eva turned her head so fast her neck cracked.

Mr. Morrow's eyes trailed over her bloody neckline and gushing nose. "Go to the nurse's office... We'll talk after."

She refrained from rolling her eyes in front of him— something he wouldn't take lightly— and broke through the crowd. Eyes followed her as she left the earth sciences hallway. Most of the kids were in class by now, but that didn't stop the stragglers from staring her down as she went.

She took the stairs to the first floor, where nearly no one was. Sighing, she pushed the door of the nurse's office open.

"Miss Rocker," Ms. Pugh greeted over the edge of her computer screen. She glanced down before looking back up, taking in Eva's appearance.