Rumor Has It

Ch. 9 ~Blow Up

Lizzy's POV

I opened my mouth, but nothing came out. I'm not ready to tell anybody what happened. I just met them today, and I realized that there was a small crowd gathered around me.

"Yeah, Lizzy, what happened? Why aren't you living with your parents?" Stella pressed.

"It's okay Lizzy, you don't have to tell us, we understand," Roo rushed to say.

"No, Roo, we want to know. Why. Don't. You. Live. With. Your. Parents?" Stella said, pausing after each word.

"Stella, back off," Alexis said.

"Okay, I will, I mean, I don't want to embarrass Lizzy because her parents kicked her out of their family, and made her go work for her aunt and uncle on their ranch," Stella said.

That's it.

"That is not true," I said shakily. I was almost in tears, but I can't let that happen. I can't let Stella know that she's getting to me.

"Yes, it is," Stella said. "Remember our little chat at the barn the other day?" she said. "Remember how when I asked you the same question, you just ran away. Well, Lizzy, looks like you can't run away this time," Stella said, then laughed. Then she stood up on a chair.

"Listen up everyone," Stella started. The whole cafeteria was dead silent. "Lizzy Bakstone, the new arrival to Rocky Side Middle School, has a secret. She lives with her aunt and uncle, but why not her parents? Well, her parents kicked her out. They didn't want her anymore. And now, she works for her aunt and uncle at their ranch. But who could blame her parents? Look at her, she's so...." Stella went on and on and on. With each thing she said, it was like a kick to the face. I looked over at Gigi. Her eyes were wide and her face was pale.

"..........and also, she's-" Stella went on, but I had had enough.

"That's enough!" I screeched. I couldn't hold it back anymore. "You know nothing! You want to know why I live with my aunt and uncle instead of my parents? My parents are dead. They got in a car accident, and they both died. I was forced to go live with my aunt and uncle, and I don't work for them! Now back off!" I yelled, then wiped my teary eyes, and stormed off to the bathroom.

I locked myself in a stall, and the tears poured out of my eyes. I heard a knock. "Lizzy? Are you alright?" a voice asked. I could tell it was Alexis.

"Just leave me alone," I snapped, then immediately regretted being so harsh. "Look, I'm sorry," I said, and opened the stall door. "I'm just, just, oh, I hate that Stella!" I said, fired up.

"We all do. She shouldn't have pushed you like that, but it's our fault. We shouldn't have asked you, or if we wanted to know, we should've asked you in a more private place. We are so sorry Lizzy! I can't even imagine what that would be like. And I just want to let you know, that you can trust us. If you ever need to talk, you can talk to us," Roo said.

I looked at both of them, and they both looked really genuine. I grabbed both of them into a hug, and started crying. They grabbed me back, and we stood there until I finished crying. "I'm sorry about that," I said.

"It's fine! That's what friends are for!" Alexis said, and then we all laughed.

"Thanks guys," I said, then looked in the mirror, and saw that I was a wreck! "Geez, I need to fix myself up a little bit!" I said, then laughed. "I need to run to my locker," I said.

"Okay, but hurry! Lunch is almost over," Alexis warned.

"Okay, I'll be fast," I said, then ran out to my locker.

I opened my locker, and grabbed my make up wipes, mascara, and hairbrush. If I've learned anything, it's always keep makeup wipes, mascara, and a hairbrush in your locker. You never know when you're going to need it.

I ran back to the bathroom, and fixed myself up. I brushed my hair, wiped the old mascara off, and then put mascara back on. Perfect! There was no trace of any crying from me. I walked out of the bathroom, regaining my composure, and grabbed my Social Studies stuff, my homework binder, and my new sketchbook for art! I love art.

***

I walked down the steps to the bottom floor, where the art rooms were. I walked into room 231, and looked around. There was a big white board at the front of the room, and shelves filled with art supplies and How To Draw... books. It had 6 big tables in the middle, and they all had their own 'color' label. I looked around at who was here. Phew, no Stella! We had been in the same Study Hall group (gag), but otherwise, no other classes. Lucky for me, though, Alexis and Roo had been in my Study Hall group, too, so I had two allies. It was strange, though. When Stella looked at me, she almost looked sympathetic. Almost. But not quite. A lot of people had said that they were sorry to me, and everyone had been super nice to me. Stella definitely knew she had gone too far, and she had been paying for it by getting plenty of glares from people. I was quite enjoying seeing her squirm throughout the day, but I am not happy having to say the truth. But what else could I have done? Stella was right about one thing, I couldn't have run away from that.

***

I sat down at the purple table, and waited hopefully for somebody I knew to walk in. Unfortunately, neither Roo or Alexis were in this class, but I was chatting with a nice girl named Ellie. She likes art a lot, too, so I think we will get along just fine!

The art teacher, Mrs. Phil, had everybody else work on a zentangle cube, which looked really cool, but I came too late to do that project, so she told me to just draw a picture to the best of my abilities, and turn it in.

I decided to draw a horse, since that's what I'm best at. I sketched the body, and when the bell rang, I had a semi decent horse drawn. I popped the page out of my sketchbook, and turned it in to Mrs. Phil.

***

I stepped off of the bus with Gigi, and we looked at each other. No words necessary. I dropped my bag inside, and ran out to the barn. I got to Crackers' stall, only to realize that she's out in her field. Sigh. I ran out to her field, and opened the gate, and let myself in. "Crackers!" I called, and I heard the thundering of Crackers' hooves on the hard ground. Then she appeared, and I ran up to her, and hugged her. I buried my face in her neck, and cried. And cried. And cried. The tears were coming out like they had the day I heard that my parents were gone.

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A/N: hi everyone! I need to make this short since I'm supposed to go to bed. So thanks for all of the views! Let's keep em coming! Have u checked out Rainyawesome , maddyprince721 , sophiamadeleine , Sunny757 , and kaythehappyplum 's books? Go. Check. Them. Out. Right now! Random question: which one do u like better? Breakfast, lunch, or dinner? BREAKFAST!!! I love me a good pancake😋 ok goodnight guys!!!!