October 6th

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Spent my time before first period started explaining yet another scene of Hamlet to Joel while Kevin watched. I think you should find him a tutor, Ms. Wright. Or some kind of Shakespearean to Modern dictionary. He really struggles with the plays.

Leah closed her diary and tossed it into her locker, shutting it and leaning back against it. Kevin watched her closely. She sighed and closed her eyes. “You’re doing it again.”

“What?”

“Staring at me. It’s creepy.”

He frowned. “Does it bother you?”

She shook her head, not bothering to open her eyes. “No, but it’ll freak out other people so it’s best you learn to stop. If you’re bored I think I have a book you haven’t read in my locker somewhere.”

“I see. There is still much for me to learn,” Kevin replied, still staring.

She chuckled. “So much more. You’ve managed to rise from freaky space creature to weird earth creature. Like Big Foot or something. You still have a long way to go before you’ll be able to pass as a normal human being.”

He cocked his head to one side. “What is Big Foot?”

She sighed. “A myth. It’s a mythical hairy humanoid creature that’s supposed to live in the deep woods. People go searching for them sometimes, and every once in a while someone will show up with an out of focus, grainy picture that’s supposedly Big Foot. It’s nothing but a myth so you don’t have to worry about it.”

            He leaned back against the locker beside her, frowning and tapping his leg as he thought. Leah ignored him, wondering if any teachers would be mad if she took a nap in the hall. She heard someone cough, sending her thoughts to worrying about getting a cold. The second cough made her sigh again. “Kevin, you’d better not be getting sick again.”

            “It was not me,” he replied, eyes moving back to her.

            Leah opened her eyes and yet another sigh escaped her lips. Standing in front of her were four of her least favourite people. Carly, her curly hair a nimbus around her head, Aleisha, who looked to Leah like a deformed monkey, Liz, who was in yet another low-cut top, the only type she seemed to own, and Sarah, who’s nose never seemed to lower form its haughty height. “To what do I owe this honour?”

            “What the hell are you planning, Leah?” Aleisha said, taking a step forward.

            She leaned forward, propping her chin in her hand. “It would help if you told me exactly what you’re talking about.”

            The shorter girl glared. “I don’t give a shit about that freak of a boyfriend of yours there, you’re the only one who’d be willing to be seen with him, but now you’re trying for Joel! It’s bad enough you’re always hovering about Sam.”

            Leah slid her face down so her cheek was now resting in her palm. “You make it sound like I actively seek them out. I don’t. Joel comes here for help with his homework. As for Sam, he and I are old friends. Everyone knows that. And Kevin’s not my boyfriend.”

            Sarah snorted. “You, the school’s biggest loner, are spending all her time with one guy and you’re not dating? That’s bullshit.”

            She shrugged. “Believe what you want. I know the truth. Now, if you are finished, I have a book I would like to start.”

            “I’m not finished yet,” Aleisha hissed, taking another step forward so she loomed over Leah. “I’m warning you, stay away from the boys. You can have the freak, but the rest are so far above you that worms have a better shot with them.”

            A spark of anger slipped past Leah’s wall, stinging her tongue into action. “Or else what?”

            The other girl froze then glared. “Or else I’ll make you suffer.”

            Behind her, Liz shifted and looked around, her discomfort obvious. Of the four, she was the nicest. Her only problem being that she was easily led around, Leah remembered from their first years of high school. She turned her attention back to the girl staring down at her. “How precisely are you going to make me suffer? As you’ve pointed out already, I’m a loner, so it’s not like you can sabotage my friendships. And everyone in school knows that I’ll win in a fight. So how exactly are you planning on backing up your threat if you don’t mind me asking?”

            Aleisha’s mouth worked for several moments before she finally snapped “My mom’s a lawyer. I’ll sue you.”

            Leah tilted her head back upright and leaned forward slightly. “For what?”

            The other girl flushed, her hands balling up into fists at her sides. “I’m sure I can come up with plenty of things.”

            “Alright then. If you’re finished, I have things to do,” she said, pulling her legs in.

            “Don’t think you scare me. I’ve heard about you, all those rumours. I doubt they’re true, and even if they are, they just make you look like the deranged freak you are,” she snapped.

            Leah shrugged. “That’s fine. Oh, you might be interested to know, Joel already has a girlfriend. Since I assume your next order of business would be to pull a similar stunt to this one, may I just make a suggestion?” she said quietly, holding the other girl’s blue eyes with her grey ones. “I like her. She’s sweet. So I’ll take it very much amiss if you were to bother her. So very much amiss that I might be tempted to backslide and to hell with being suspended.”

            As Aleisha backed away, she stood. She laid a gentle hand on her shoulder and continued. “And just so you know, since I’ve heard most of the rumours, most of them are true. Now, do you want to find out right now which ones are?”

            She backed up further, running into her friends. Leah swept the four of them with her gaze, keeping a tight grip on her emotions. She didn’t want to actually backslide. Just the hint of it had the other girls pale. “Now, the bell is going to ring soon and I believe you’ll probably want to get your books. I know I have to change out my backpack. So, why don’t we agree to all go our separate ways and not bother one another again, okay?”

            Liz and Carly nodded immediately, backing away then hurrying down the stairs. Sarah lasted longer, before she dropped her gaze, grabbing Aleisha’s elbow and towing her behind as she left. The last girl held Leah’s eyes until the end, despite her flinches every time someone made a sudden movement nearby. Leah shrugged when they were gone, sitting back down. She thought she might have a month before they got brave again. She dropped back down with a sigh.

            She caught Kevin’s stare and shook her head. “Do girls where you’re from not fight over boys?”

            He nodded. “Yes but they do so in formal duels. I was not aware humans fought with words.”

            That made her laugh. “I suppose we do.”

            The bell ringing overhead cut off the rest of their conversation.

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