Beautiful Curse

Chapter Twenty

Convincing Dad to take a trip to the zoo that weekend turned out to be even easier than I'd hoped. He was trying so hard to make up for the nights he had spent at the bar that he would have agreed to anything I asked, and I waited for Saturday to come, slogging through school in a haze.

The only class I paid any attention to that week was art, where I began work on a large wooden carving. Taking Ms. Amboulia's advice, I stopped trying to capture my fleeting memory of Ross and instead started crafting a strange figure from my imagination. I started with the feet, which grew into lion's paws as I worked. I had no idea what I was carving, but it was a good distraction.

After surviving a brutal test in Mrs. Stillwater's class, I raced out of the classroom on Friday afternoon. I was almost to the door of the school when something hard struck my shin and I went flying to the floor. My hands didn't come up in time to break my fall, and the twang of impact reverberated through my skull as I landed hard on my face.

I lay there for a minute, stunned, and gradually the ringing in my ears gave way to the sound of laughter. Prying myself off the floor, I touched my lips gingerly. They were sticky, and when I looked at my hand, blood was streaked across my fingers.

"Aw, what's the matter, Psyche?" Lydia's voice became discernible over the chorus of laughter. "Did you hurt yourself?"

Rachel's voice rang through the hallway. "That's what happens to girls who do all their work on their backs. She probably can't walk straight anymore."

"Slut," someone in the crowd hissed.

Rage bubbled up in my chest and suddenly, I couldn't stand it anymore. How dare these people treat me like this? I clenched my fists and got to my feet slowly, lifting my chin to meet Rachel's gaze. "What did I ever do to you?" I hissed, staring first at Rachel before looking around at the crowd. Deliberately, I forced myself to meet everyone's gaze without dropping my eyes or flinching. I spotted Elaina in the crowd, but after a moment, she shook her head and started to walk away. My heart was pounding, and I wanted to run away and hide, but I was tired of hiding.

Rachel tossed her brown hair over her shoulder and laughed. "You didn't do anything to me, thank God. I bet I'm the only person here that you didn't do!" She raised her voice, turning to the assembled crowd. "Anyone think she looks better like this?"

Ragged applause scattered through the crowd, but the students seemed nervous. Maybe I should have stood my ground sooner? I clenched my fists, and Lydia backed away from Rachel, slipping into the group of students surrounding us. I glanced into the crowd for support, but Elaina hadn't come back, and no one else met my eyes. Everyone froze as if they were waiting for something to happen. For a moment, nothing did.

Then I launched myself at Rachel.

Flailing blindly, I gripped her hair and yanked sharply, not even letting go when she made a strangled sound of surprise.

"Cat fight!" someone called and I felt the group close around us in a tight circle. I didn't care who was watching. I tried to punch Rachel, but she kept dodging despite the grip I had on her hair. God, I was so mad!

Rachel didn't fight back, and in a second, I understood why. A pair of large hands wrapped around my arms and yanked me back, pulling me away from Rachel. The other girl had a triumphant look on her face even as another teacher grabbed her hands, pulling them behind her back.

"What is going on here?" Mrs. Stillwater's sharp voice cracked like a whip and instantly the crowd dispersed, leaving me and Rachel alone with the teachers who had broken up the fight. Mr. Farkner let go of me and put a hand on my shoulder.