Out of the Loop

Chapter Twenty

A bus pulled up to Creek High School, creaking to a stop.  Its door opened.  Students rushed out, Derek being one of them.  He plodded through the front doors, heading towards his locker.  He was lost in thought, not really paying attention to his surroundings, which was why he didn’t notice the looming shapes around him until it was too late.  

He bounced off of what felt like a brick wall, and looked up, startled.  A hand the size of a dinner plate grabbed his head and shoved him backwards a few inches, letting go without steadying him.  

Derek apprehensively stared into Shawn Ethan’s face, who didn’t look too pleased with the sight in front of him.  Glancing from side to side, Derek noticed three or four hulking athletes closing in, trapping him.  

“New kid.”

Shawn towered over Derek, something he wasn’t used to.  The other thugs drew closer.  

This can’t end well.  Maybe Shannon and Shawn were in the “off again” part or their relationship, and he’s glad to see me?

“Listen, freak, you and your little girlfriend had better cut the crap.  You got rid of Shannon and Lili.  Don’t expect to lose the rest of us that easily,” Shawn rumbled, and nodded to two of the jocks, who grabbed Derek’s arms.  “You’d better watch your back.”  

Derek had just enough time to process this last sentence before a fist the size of a meteor came rocketing towards him.  He didn’t even have time to duck, even if he had been able to.  A starburst of pain exploded behind his eyes, and the goons dropped him to the ground.  He felt a kick in the side as Shawn passed by, his lackeys following suit.  

Gradually, the throbbing in Derek’s head faded to a dull ache, and he sat up.  Apparently, no one had been in the hallway, or Shawn had scared them off.  He put a hand up to his face.  His nose hurt like hell, but he didn’t think it was broken.  He’d probably have a black eye later, but he hoped that he could come up with some kind of excuse for the teachers.

It sounded stupid even to him, but Derek wanted to talk to someone not charmed by the school’s elite before attempting to turn in Shawn.  Squaring his shoulders, he headed to Geometry.  

Hopefully this is the last class I have alone, he thought.  I don’t know how she put up with this crap for years.  This is shaping to be one hell of a long day.  Entering the classroom, he slumped into a chair and proceeded to not take in a single word a teacher said for the next four hours.  

Eventually, Derek found himself pushing the door to the courtyard open.  The weather was starting to get chilly, and he realized he had remembered to grab his coat, if only to put on the ground.  

The space under the tree near the picnic table seemed emptier than usual as Derek sprawled onto the ground, his back once again to the dilapidated old table.  Reaching into his backpack, he pulled out his sketchpad, pencil and an apple that looked only slightly bruised. He doodled as he ate; no real picture in mind other than quickly sketched cartoons of his surroundings.

Behind him, the door to the cafeteria opened with a bang.  Derek sat up and turned around at the noise, wondering who would be coming out here.

Through the windows of the building, Derek could see several members of the school royalty snickering and glaring at Kelli as she held the door open, ushering out a small red-headed freshman with what looked like Jell-O in his hair.

Kelli had a fistful of paper towels gripped in her hand, holding the door and a lunch tray balanced on one the opposite hip as she shut the door, grabbed the boy’s hand, and pulled him towards Derek.  The boy wrestled his way out of her grip and stumbled towards the table, his head ducked down.

“Gabe, we need to get that out of your hair,” Kelli admonished, running up behind him.  The boy sat down, leaned against a tree, and ignored Kelli.  He was wearing a black hoodie and grey cargo shorts, making his already pale skin look lighter.  Grey-blue eyes glared out from a shock of copper hair as Kelli gently brushed the green Jell-O out of his hair.

“There you go, Gabe!” Kelli sat back and smiled.  “I think it’s all out.”

Gabe still seemed unhappy. “This wouldn’t have happened if you hadn’t pissed off the bimbo squad in there,” the boy grumbled, and crossed his arms.

“Will you please watch your language? It wouldn’t kill you,” Kelli sighed, then turned to her friend.  “Hi, Derek, it’s okay to sit here, right? Oh and this is my cousin Gabe. Gabe, this is –“

“Yeah, yeah, whatever,” the boy mumbled angrily in return.

“Hey, man, she’s just trying to help you.  Cut her some slack,” Derek shot back.

“Look, the cheer squad from hell is mad-“ Gabe stressed the word with a purposeful look at Kelli- “-at my cousin, so apparently family is fair game.  According to them, you two and that creepy loner girl got Shannon kicked out, so we’re all dead meat.”

Derek shot to his feet.  “First off, Maz is not ‘creepy,’ nimrod.  I’ll bet you’ve never even talked to her. Second, would you be happier if Shannon was here?”  He stood over the younger boy with a reproachful stare.  Gabe squirmed and attempted to back up, but what halted him was the tree behind him.

“Okay, dude, chill.  She’s not creepy, I got it.  And, jeez, who the hell wants Shannon around? Even her boyfriend hates her half the time.  I just liked it better when I was left alone.”  Gabe glanced up at Derek’s face.  “Judging by your eye, you’d like that better too.”

Kelli looked up at Derek as well, startled and concerned.  “Wait, your eye?  What happened to you?”

Derek sat back down, but not before shooting Gabe another glare.  “If anyone asked, I just walked into something.”

Kelli raised an eyebrow, eerily reminiscent of Maz. “And that something was Shawn’s fist?”

Now it was Derek’s turn to squirm, much to Gabe’s amusement. “Possibly. Reporting it won’t help, though.  There were no witnesses, so it’d be my word against his. This time, it would be harder to pin them down.”

“Them!” Kelli exclaimed, and then shook her head. “Jeez, Derek.”

“Hey, I have a plan. You just take it like the rest of us, and quit whining,” Gabe interjected sullenly.

“And then our hair will go from red to green from all the Jell-O looming in your future,” Derek responded, frustrated with the pessimistic ginger.  Gabe’s eyes went wide as he pondered this outcome, and he stopped talking. Derek smirked.

“Are you going to see Maz after school?” Kelli smiled nervously, changing the subject.  “I think you told me she gets out today.”

Derek leaned back and looked up with a hint of a smile. “She said she’d call me when she gets home- which should be around three. I’m sure she won’t have any problems getting home.” He grinned suddenly. “I wonder if she figured out the card . . . .”