Controlling My Elements

2 - Mae Meets Her Match

**EXPLICIT LANGUAGE**

Dante and I headed down to the cafeteria, side by side. It was nice finally having someone to sit with at lunch. I used to be the freak that sat by myself everyday. Having a friend to sit next to that I actually trust is a wonderful feeling. We sat down at a table all by ourselves. I was a little bit nervous to start a conversation with him. I'm not good at social interaction, let alone starting it!

"So... uh... where did you move from?" I asked quietly.

"Hm?" Dante responded. I cleared my throat and asked it again, louder. "Oh. I moved here from San Antonio, Texas." He answered.

"Wow. That's a long way away." I said, a bit shocked. He nodded.

"Yeah. My parents divorced, and so my mom and I moved here, while my dad and little brother, Eric, stayed in Texas. It's pretty hard being so far apart from them, but I think I'll manage. Especially now that I have a friend." Dante explained, smiling at me. I then noticed his dark blue braces.

"When are you getting those off?" I questioned. "I had braces too, but I got them off a week ago."

"In about two or three days." He replied. I suddenly heard ear piercing laughter coming from behind me. I looked quickly to see Mae and her posse of three other girls laughing about something. I honestly didn't want to know. "She seems really nice." Dante said, rolling his eyes. I laughed.

"I'm assuming you mean the girl in pink." I whispered. He nodded in return. "Yeah. That's Mae Roberts, the 'popular' girl. She and her group torment almost everyone in the school." I informed him. 'Including me...' I thought to myself.

"Not hard to believe. There were girls like that in my school with all their drama. I had a friend who was a girl named Classondra. She was one of those girls who hated drama like that, and always hung out with guys. Sadly, she moved before I did." Dante confessed.

"Where did she move?" I asked, curious. He shrugged.

"No idea." He responded. At that moment, Mae got up from her table, a smirk on her face. The other girls followed her. She swooped down on a girl about our age with strawberry blonde hair down to her butt. Her icy blue eyes were filled with fear. She dropped the huge book she was holding. I noticed it was the last Harry Potter book. Good taste in reading material.

"You're done!" Mae screamed. I didn't know what to do. But Dante sure as hell did.

"No, bitch! You're done!" He yelled, grabbing her by the hair, and pulling her away from the girl.

"How dare you, you asshat!" She screeched so loudly, I had to cover my ears.

"How dare I?! How dare you! Attacking a girl that did nothing to you at all! You're the kind of person that makes me lose my faith in humanity!" Dante exploded. I was actually kind of scared of him for a moment. Then, I remembered it was Mae he was talking to. That made me feel a whole lot better.

"Woah, there, feisty pants! Just because you're an asshole doesn't mean you can boss me around!" Mae retorted.

"Listen, bitch! Your name isn't Google, so don't act like you know everything!" The girl with the book screamed. Mae whirled around to face her.

"Excuse me?" She growled.

"I said, 'your name isn't Google, so don't act like you know everything!'" She repeated slowly.

"Are you calling me dumb?!" Mae exclaimed.

"I'm not calling you smart, but if I did, I'd be lying!" The book girl shot back. The cafeteria filled with "oohs" from everyone, including me. Mae made this weird screaming noise, and stalked out of the cafeteria. As Dante helped the book girl up, everyone started clapping and cheering. I ran over to Dante and the girl.

"Thanks for that." She said to Dante in a whispery voice that reminded me of my own.

"No problem! I'm Dante Pacer, and this is Gwynn Rodgers." He introduced. The girl's eyes went wide.

"Classondra. Classondra Peterson." She replied, a wide grin on her face.