The Thief is Not Okay

Chapter 10: Relax.

He said yes. Probationary or not, he said yes. I already planned how I'll go about it. Lunchtime, I'll sit with them at their table with a lot of eyes present. That way, the news spreads quicker and I don't have to make too much of an effort. Easy. He doesn't even have to hold my hand or anything fancy, he just has let me sit with him.

Just to let them know.

Kez is mine.

I place a hand on my chest to calm myself. I don't suffer from anxiety but lately I've found myself overcome by it. When Kelly or I call ourselves, I cry. I can't help it. She says I should tell mum and dad, and that Mayfair isn't worth it. Of course she'll say that, she's my sister and she's worried about me. No brainer. I tried to hold it in every time but once she starts talking, I let it all out. I told her about the notes and the condoms. I told her about how weird people keep texting me even though I block them every time. I don't know how they get my number. We talked about me changing my phone number and I plan on getting a new one this Saturday. I breath and try to remember what life was like before now, before I transferred to Mayfair.

I was in a public school. Sure, bullying was a common thread but not to this extent. Morbid. People respected each other. There were boundaries. We didn't have a parking lot for teachers, talk more of students. We weren't even allowed to drive to school, we took public transport back home. One time, we filled an entire bus. The driver was amazed. But not here.

Everyone here's a blood sucking vampire. Some aren't even much to look at. What? I'm angry. And what's the purpose of the word 'ugly' if we aren't allowed to use it?

My eyes are closed, my breathing steadies and I open them.

Okay.

I get up and make my way to the cafeteria. I feel my stomach turning, I don't think I can eat anything. But I don't need to eat anything, I just need to give them something to talk about and leave.

My phone vibrates.

Syd: Let's have lunch together, I want to tell you something.

Me: Okay.

The cafeteria hall is next to the music room. East of the school building. It has polished round tables scattered across the room with five chairs fixed to each stem. So no one can move them. There's an area, north of the hall that was reserved for seniors alone. There's a demarcation so you can't deny you weren't aware. It makes zero sense cause they almost never get breaks. They're too busy studying to have time to chitchat. So why can't we use it? They're tables and chairs are different, black, separated and clean. Having the best view, on looking the school's greenhouse. I think the new kid, Chidera, had the same thoughts as I did. Which was why he sat at one of the black empty tables. Fortunately for the seniors, they had a break and came to eat with us. They filed in smelling of precedence. They were mostly tall and looked irritated. As if eating amongst us was an act of punishment.

We're sorry.

They met him and acted like nothing happened. Even laughed at his jokes, and were super friendly. I don't know what happened after that, I just know Chidera freaks upon hearing the word 'seniors'. They turned him into their errand boy, it was hard to watch. I occasionally caught him running up flights of stairs, terrified, in order to get whatever they asked him to get for them on time.

I grab a black lunch tray and grab something light, a banana. It's for the part, I can't sit with them for lunch without lunch. Let's say I'm watching my weight. I breath in with every step and out with the same.

Their table is next to the window, beside the seniors corner. Next to the vent. They don't let anyone sit with them. Not even Chima's girlfriend sits with them. Granted, she's a senior, that's the actual reason. Yes, Chima's dating a senior. No one's surprised, his Asian genes is favored among the ladies. You'd think people will hate her for dating below her class, not leaving our boys to us. No, unfortunately Isabella's not as involved in terrorizing the rest of us with her seniority. She's sweet and not very good at being mean to others. Chima's the youngest the three. He's seventeen, turning eighteen next month. She's nineteen. She's like a goodness. Small but only in height. I imagine her in a golden gown, with a crown sitting on her head.

Black beauty.

When I get to their table, I sit next to Kez, who's busying with his food. Doesn't acknowledge me in anyway.

"Hey." I say to his friends; who exchange looks.

"What you do you think you're doing?" Paul Frances asks.

'Is she mad?' I hear someone say.

'Maybe.' Another responses.

"I'm having lunch with you guys." I answer, smiling. As if it was normal for me to sit with them for lunch. Duh.

I think Chima catches on, he chuckles and goes back to eating his meal. Paul Frances is still staring at me. He isn't buying it.

"That doesn't explain anything." He looks pissed.

I gulp.

Chima tries to take half of Kez's sandwich but Kez knocks his hand off. "Oww." Whispers Chima but he smiles anyways.

My finger tips find Kez's thigh under the table and I tap him. Should he not say something? Paul Frances' eyes are scaring me. Fair, the attention I wanted, I got. So much so, I catch Caleb staring intently. He has a confused look on his face, him and his girlfriend. Grace can't seem to take her eyes off us. I feel my new friend anxiety kicking in. My heart starts racing again. Why isn't he saying anything? Was he joking when he said yes? I mean, we talked and he agreed. So why is he quiet? I don't have any other reason to be sitting at their table besides him. I start to imagine the many faces in front of us laughing at me and talking about me for the worst of reasons.

The humiliation will be too much to bear. Who cares if I get expelled anymore?

I hand my hand under the table to calm myself. It's not working.

"What you still doing here?" Paul Frances asks. He doesn't have to be so rude, I get it! He wants me gone. Jeez.

"Guy, leave her alone." Chima steps in, bless his heart, "Do you like chicken?"

I nod. 

That's all I can do right now.

"Great." He passing me a plate half full with pepper chicken, "Ella likes to feed me too much. I can't finish that." He's not wrong, the half remnant is big enough to feed two of me.

Before I can collect it, Paul Frances snatched it from him and sets it down. "Leave." His words explodes at my chest.

'Oh this is going to be great.' Someone says. They're not wrong. It will be a spectacle. This will be even better, much more than pictures you can easily find online.

I try to keep it in, I try to make do with my mistake of trusting Kez. Of believing him. I'm such a fool. What do I do now? If I get up, I'll fall. My legs feel numb and that's not something I want to happen. But if I sit here any longer, Paul Frances might do something. Maybe not hit me but embarrass me more. He looked furious. My heart doesn't stop. It keeps running, is it trying to win a medal? I spot Caleb, he has a smirk on. I'm such an idiot. What was I thinking? Why do I do this to myself? I think to grab my tray and leave, let it be unto me a curse.

Kelly's right, Mayfair isn't worth it.

Before I act on my thought, I feel a hand on mine and a familiar warmth leaning towards me, then I hear a whisper.

"Relax."

That was all it took to calm the storm roaring within me.

I turn to him. He's staring at his friend. I watch him say, "Frances, please stop bothering my girl." And goes back to his meal.