CODED

Chapter Four

Chapter Four

Abby rubbed her shoulder briskly, quickening her pace as the breeze started to pick up. The leaves around her had begun to swirl in a whirlwind motion and the trees above her creaked and rustled softly, as if an invisible hand was weighing them down. The wind threatened to escape under Abby's skirt and billow underneath it, blowing it out like an over inflated balloon, and her short sleeved shirt didn't keep the cold out as much as she wished it would. Can't believe I'm even going, Abby thought, wiping her nose with the back of her hand as she held herself tighter. She could feel goose bumps rising all along her body.

A thick strand of her short hair fell away from where it was pinned back, and started to play near her eyes and in front of her vision. Brushing it angrily away from her face, Abby started to walk faster towards her destination. The Fall Festival. Everyone from school would be there. The teachers. The students. The bullies. The idiots. Everyone Abby despised for despising her. Not everyone's like that, Abby told herself, desperately trying to keep her hate down. I can't let my anger... get the best of me.

She finally arrived at her dreaded target. The whole front of the school building was decorated with fake, plastic, yellow and orange leaves, scattered all over the top of the entrances and doors. A handmade sign painted with fall looking colors above the door read: FALL FESTIVAL. Many kids of all different ages were milling outside, waiting for a friend or just talking with other schoolmates. But more were inside, and that was just what Abby was dreading. Going inside. She would've gladly stayed outside in the wind, all alone, miserably being left out, if it just meant not facing the other kids. But she had to. Always face your fears, Jadon was always telling her, and you might just find they're not as bad as you first thought them to be.

Taking a deep breath in, Abby straightened herself and pulled her shoulders back so she would stand to her full height. I can do this. Just... just ignore them. Don't look at them. Look straight ahead. Be confident. Walking with her focus ahead, trying to block out the sniggers and whispers that she heard as she passed other students, Abby put on a confident expression and pushed through the doors. As she went through the doors, it took all of the strength inside her to not turn around and run back home. But there would be nothing but rebuke at home, and she didn't want to be made fun of the next school day. She would probably be labeled the school coward.

As she walked in, the smell of apple cider and cinnamon reached her nose, and the sound of laughter and too many people talking at once carried through the hall and to Abby's ears. She kept her eyes ahead and her head erect so as not to look at other people's response to her new haircut. People already made fun of her, and she knew if she gave them a reason to talk to her, they would just taunt her and jeer at her. I won't give them a reason. I won't look at them.

Abby was suddenly and abruptly stopped by a tall boy, about the same age as her, with shockingly red hair and bright green eyes. His lanky form blocked any means of escape for Abby, making it impossible to avoid him. Raising her eyes to his freckled, sneering face, Abby sighed and squeezed her hands tightly.

"Blackburn," he smiled mockingly, whipping his head to the side to probably keep his long, curly hair out of his face. As his hair moved away from his cheek, she could see the bruise that she had given him the day before, still fresh-looking and purple.

Abby licked her lips, not wanting to start trouble again. "Grant," she mumbled, dropping her eyes to the ground and staring at her black flats. She moved aside, hoping to avoid any controversy with the hot tempered redhead, but it seemed as if he was in the mood to pick a fight.