Rage

Chapter Seven

I sighed, twiddling my thumbs in boredom. Ryo was all the way in the front of the class, while Julio and I say closer to the back. I didn't have anyone to talk to.

My stomach rumbled, almost too loudly, and I looked around, mortified. Had anyone heard that? I blushed, focusing my gaze on my table. It rumbled again but, although it was loud, it wasn't as bad as the last time.

My stomach continued to make weird noises for the rest of the period and I was grateful for the fact that, even if someone heard, they didn't acknowledge it.

When the bell rang and the substitute teacher jerked in his seat and almost fell over, I gathered up the books that I'd been pretending to look at and shoved them into my bag.

A quick glance to my left showed that Julio, while he was usually the first to leave class, was still standing there and watching me, a glint in his eyes.

I tucked a stray strand of hair behind my ear, self-consciously before raising an eyebrow, as if asking him what he wanted.

"Here." He said, pulling something out of his bag and handing it to me. It was an apple. "I could hear your stomach all the way from my seat." He explained, seeming slightly uncomfortable at my awed expression.

I was, embarrassingly, staring at the apple. "God!" Julio growled, sounding awkward and slightly defensive. "It's just an apple. Stop acting like I bought you diamonds or some shit."

I nodded, snapping out of it. "Sorry," I apologized sheepishly, getting over my previous shock.

"Whatever." He said, slinging his backpack over his shoulder. The substitute had gone back to sleep, but people were beginning to file into class, their period being next.

A quick glance at my phone told me that I had a little over one minute before the late bell rang.

"We're almost late!" I informed Julio and he shrugged, looking indifferent.

"So?" He asked and I shot him a dirty look. Stupid rebel.

"I don't want a detention." I informed him, haughtily crossing my arms across my chest.

"Then, princess, you better leave now because the late bell's going to ring in about thirty seconds." He said, smirking down at his wristwatch as he spoke.

"Bye!" I shouted, racing to the door, knocking into a more than a few people and apologizing multiple times.

I couldn't even eat the apple.

***
Ryo and I were perched on the couch in my mother's pristine, white living room after school watching, of all things, reruns of The Bachelor.

I couldn't help it, though! When we'd been flipping through channels and I'd made a comment about one particularly bitchy girl and Ryo had said he'd never seen the show, I had to fill him in on all the drama and make him watch the rest with me.

They probably had nothing else to show or something because, for the past three hours, since we got to my place, they'd been playing season 20. I wasn't complaining, though, because it was Ben's season and I loved Ben.

"Wait," Ryo said, his eyebrows raised. "So this Leah girl just lied about Lauren B to Ben and now she's telling the other girls that it wasn't her? This bitch!" I giggled at his outraged expression; he'd complained so much at first but he was getting into it now. He secretly loved it, I was sure.

"Yup, we hate Leah." I informed him, before shoving some popcorn into my mouth, and licking my fingers clean of butter.

"I mean, yeah, she's a bitch." Ryo said, not even bothering to look at me, riveted by what was happening onscreen.