Sunshine and Dynamite | Wattys 2017

#02

And mom did too. She loved it a lot.

There's a line of people queuing up for the prescribed meds, so I sigh under my breath and get in line.

I'm waiting impatiently when someone taps me on my shoulder. I turn around and gasp in surprise.

It's Not-James.

"Hi. Um... Sun, right?" He recalls with a uncomfortable smile. I return one right back. "I want to say sorry for yesterday."

"Oh, don't be," I just say tersely. "I was being... unnecessarily rude. I shouldn't have interrupted your evening."

"Still," Not-James says. "I want to thank you for paying for us. You didn't have to." He reaches for the wallet in his pocket.

"No, please, don't," I insist. Before he can offer the money to me, there's a holler from the other side of the pharmacy and I look up at the terribly familiar voice.

Someone crows. "Aw man, look, it's the prude!"

Shit.

A group of students from school are pointing and snickering. My shoulders slump, knowing what's going to come. I see Not-James looking confused and I wince. Crap. He'll have to see this.

"What are you getting? Some antipsychotics like your momma? Cos, you know, you're both psychos!"

A roar of laughter. What? That's not even funny.

"Hey, you should be getting this," A bottle of lube comes rolling over. I cringe. "Cos you obviously can't get wet anyway."

"Hey," A muscular voice says beside me that quiets down the laughter into curious mumbles. I look up at Not-James. "Watch what you say." He kicks the bottle back to them and my eyes widen. He's... standing up for me? "I think the issue is that you can't get anyone wet."

Silence. Sputtering.

"What's going on?" A feminine voice sounds and Kate appears with John in tow. "Are you guys making fun of Sun again?" She says disapprovingly. "I'm sorry, Sun. These boys are immature and a bunch of douches. Don't care about them."

I give her an awkward set of thumb-ups and look over to John, who seems coolly disinterested, holding a box of condoms.

A box of condoms.

I look away immediately, breath caught in my throat. I'm overthinking so much that I don't realize it's my turn. "Hi there, Sunny," Mary-Jane smiles at me from behind the counter. "Your usual?"

"Yes," I tug out my prescription even though I don't need to anyway. Mary-Jane has been working here for years, and I've been taking these pills for years too. She gives me the bottle and I breathe slightly better.

"Hey, Sunny." She stops me when I'm about to turn and leave. "The pretty blonde is right. Don't care about 'em dicks."

I chuckle. "Thanks, Mary-Jane. I'll keep that in mind," I say, sighing. I'm too embarrassed to spare a glance at Not-James when I dash out, head down.

As I sit and wait for a bus, I take out a book from my bag and read, hoping the kids from before won't find me here. I don't notice the figure that's rounding the bus stop until he sits beside me and I jolt.

"Sun," He says, uncharacteristically quiet and gentle.

"Hmm?"

"Are you," He starts, "Are you being bullied at school?"

I blink in surprise before I digest his words and look away, grumbling. "'M not bullied. They just make fun of me. They don't hit me or anything."

Not-James says nothing for a moment. "That's still verbal abuse, Sun."