Skinny • Book 1 In The Reality Series

Calum

In books and movies, the girl in a coma always wakes up before the guy leaves. But, in movies the girl never has a tube crammed down her throat either. There's always hope in movies, tense moments that pass quickly after a few minutes of screen time. But in real life, every waking second is plagued by worry and wonder and the thought that maybe it's over.

I'd returned home.

Dad had work, Anna needed help with the fish, she'd managed to off two of them, and as much as I was dreading it I had no choice but to return to school.

It didn't make since to me why I had to since my grades were already in the toilet, however, as changed a man as my Dad was, he still had a strict no giving up policy.

It wasn't as bad as I originally thought, going back. Almost all of my teachers were really understanding and were letting me submit any missing assignments over Christmas break, the principal and Mrs. Kitt let my blow of two exams, and three teachers had randomly hugged me. But they were adults.

The student body, as much as I'd hoped they would have, had not changed in my absence. Instead, their morals only seemed to have decreased, leaving me wondering if they were all simply psychopaths since their didn't seem to be a shared whisper empathy between them.

It was the expected stuff, whispers, stares and snide comments all through first, second and third period,however things took a turn for the worst as I started to lunch.

I'll set the scene.

There I was at my locker, minding my own business, when I heard an all too familiar voice behind me.

"Hey look Calum's back!"

Glancing up from my locker, I frowned finding Justin and several of his minions stood around me.

"What?" I demanded.

"You're back." Justin repeated.

Slowly, I nodded before cramming my science book in my locker and closing it.

"I'm relieved to see you came back alone." Justin continued as I started to walk away, "For a minute there I was scared you'd bring what's her face with you... It's been so refreshing not having her here, so much more hallway space."

My blood boiling, I forced myself to keep walking.

"I heard she's dead." Lexi's bone grating voice spoke up, "Crashed a car right?"

I kept walking.

"Wasn't it a car crash that killed Luke?" Justin questioned, "Who's next Michael? Or will it be his retard sister affected by the Calum curse."

Stopping dead in my tracks, I took a deep breath before turning on my heel.

"Don't." I warned, "Fucking talk about anyone I care about ever again. Got it?"

"Or what?" one of Justin's goons laughed, "You'll starve us to death."

"Knock it off." I said, my knuckles turning white as my grip on my backpack straps tightened.

"I heard the crash was worse because she was too fat for a seat belt." the kid, Ross, continued.

"I heard she was driving with her gut." Justin laughed.

"I heard she saw a McDonald's and swerved across a four lane highway to get a Big Mac." Lexi laughed.

"I heard she was too fat for the ambulance." someone else piped up, "They had to strap a siren on a extra wide flat bed truck."

"I hear...."

"I heard your Mom crying because she spent seventeen years raising a fucking idiot."

Startled, my head snapped to where Bethany stood, looking livid.

"What?" Lexi laughed.

"Lexi, the only reason your Mom didn't abort you is because she was scared of going to hell." Bethany informed her, before turning to the others, "Justin. I heard you the girl you took to homecoming was your step sister... And Ross, I don't even know who the fuck you are... No one does, literally no one besides your Mom cares what you did or that yo even exist, so shut up."

Stunned, I reached up and rubbed my eyes which I hadn't even noticed were threatening to leak.

"You're all idiots." Bethany continued, "Making fun of someone else isn't going to hide that zit on your cheek Justin, anymore then the pound of wrong color foundation you stole from your Mom to try and cover it. It's not going to help yo get accepted into college. It's not going to make your parents pay yo any more attention. It's not going to make you happier. It's going to keep you up at night, hating yourself, when you grow the fuck up and realize that you're not shit. That non of us are. In the grand scheme of things, the only difference in importance between you and a dung beetle is that dung beetles serve a purpose."

Justin was burned into submission for exactly three seconds before he rolled his eyes, a smirk tugging at the corners of his mouth, "Wow Calum, how much did you have to pay the school slut to stick up for you... Faggot."

I opened my mouth, having every intention of telling Justin where to go, however before I could, he was lying on the ground, clutching his crotch, tears leaving his eyes and agonized gasps leaving his mouth.

"Don't you ever." Bethany spat, looking down at him, "Call anyone else that disgusting word, ever again, you ignorant piece of trash."

"Bethany?" Lexi squealed, "What are you doing?"

"We're done Lex." Bethany replied, "Don't piss me off or I'll your Mom and tell her you're dating Khalil."

Feeling my eyes widen, I looked between the self professed Jesus fanatic and the kid I'd blocked on Facebook after he'd posted a picture of himself holding up two guns and threatening to 'Pop a cap in da asses of dez hoe ass bitches'.

"You're nuts." Ross informed her, crouching down beside Justin.

"Stop talking to you before I kick yours too." she laughed.

Tossing her hair over her shoulder, she then turned on her heel and grabbing me by the arm, dragged me down the hallway and around the corner.

"What was that?" I demanded, once we were alone.

"Your welcome." she laughed.

"Thank you." I amended, "But since when are you... why... wha...."

"Now we're even okay?" she said slowly.

Nodding stupidly, I watched as she turned and started back down the hallway.

Stunned, I watched after her.