There's only one class left for the day. I stand against my locker while Henry and the boys drabble on about something unremarkable. I look over his shoulder at Greta on the opposite side of the hallway.
She whispers something to another girl and sneers at me. All the girls look at me with the same uniform smirk. A ball of anger grows in the pit of my stomach. My nails dig into my palms. My breathing grows shaky. I can feel myself losing control, about to do something I don't want to do.
With every second that passes, the fire in my stomach grows hotter, harder to contain. She looks at me again. I clench my jaw, glaring at her with a meaness I didn't know I had.
"...What about you, Lorraine?" Victor asks from the other side of me. I don't answer, far too focused on Greta's motormouth. The boys all turn to see what's caught my attention. She sees us all staring at her now and a snicker escapes her lips.
The boys barely have time to react. I push past Henry so fast and stomp to Greta. She looks ready to swing. And she does.
She punches me in the mouth so hard I feel my teeth rattle. Not ready for it, I fall back into Henry's arms. He quickly stands me up and lets me at her again. She grips my hair and yanks it with such a fervor, my ears start ringing. With my senses clouded, I quickly grab for her throat.
It's all pretty muddy after that. We end up on the floor, switching places every now and then in terms of who has the upper hand. I hear Belch hollering for Henry to do something, quickly drowned out by everyone's whoops and hollers. Finally, I find myself on top of the girl. Beating my fists down, sometimes striking, sometimes missing. She gets a few hits in too. I taste my own blood, my ears ring. She screams profanities at me and I scream them right back.
I get one last hit in before I hear a man holler, "What is going on here?!"
Henry swears and quickly pulls me off of Greta. She gets up and crosses her arms, her hair a mess, her blue eyeshadow smeared. I imagine I can't look any better. By the time the crowd lets the principal in, Henry's got me against his chest with an arm around my waist and the other hand running fingers through my hair.
The principal looks at both Greta and me. "You two come with me,"
-
I sit in a faded green chair, remembering not too long ago retrieving my schedule in this office. Greta comes out with the principal, glaring at me.
"Alright young lady, stay out of trouble," he ushers her out and turns to me. "Okay, you're next."
In his office, the lighting is dim. He sits in front of me, rubbing his temples. "Look, Lorraine," I cross my arms and try to ignore the bloody taste on my tongue. "I know that you're going through a stressful time with your sister and all-"
"This isn't about my sister,"
"Okay," He sits forward in his seat. "Well then why don't you tell me what this is about,"
"I was just with Henry and then I-"
"Ah, Henry Bowers. I should have guessed," He remarks. "You're a smart girl, why are hanging out with a boy like that, Lorraine?"
I laugh in spite of myself. "I won't fight anymore. Can I go now?"
With a sigh, he releases me.
I curse when I see all the buses are gone. Then I hear a rumbling noise and turn to see the car halt to a stop in front of the school. The boys stand up in the car and lean on the roof.
Henry gets out and walks up to me. He softly knocks a fist against my jaw and smirks. "What's the damage, baby?" He puts a thumb to my cut lip. I wince. He wipes blood from my cheekbone and shows me his finger. Then he points to his own cut from Charlie's ring.
