Fatal Attractions

Chapter Four: Vanilla Coca-Cola

When the lunch bell rang, Juliet tore out of Waylord. She had a plan to cheer up Bryce. The vacant cave in his eyes bothered her, and she wanted to bring him back to life. In less than a minute, her car was bumping out of Waylord's long driveway past rows of cedars. Two scrappy windshield wipers raked to and fro, doing their best to rid the onslaught of rain.

Most schools sat proudly in the middle of town, showcasing their grandeur for all to see. Waylord High School was different. It was tucked behind miles of teeming Oregon woods, veiled from the eyes of the mundane. Civilization was far. With their hour long lunch break, students could only dine at a rundown Chinese restaurant down the street.

When Juliet opened the door, she was met with the mouthwatering smell of marinating Mongolian beef. Much to her irritation, Chase and a few boys -including Hank Mathews- were in a booth, gathered around a tower of fortune cookies. When the boys saw her they nudged each other knowingly, laughing.

Out of the entire group, Chase was the only one who didn't laugh. He seemed indifferent, focused on shoveling forkfuls of noodles into his mouth rather than sparing Juliet a glance. It was as if their skirmish this morning hadn't happened. Earlier he had ruined someone's life, and already he had pushed it from his mind like a hen rolling a bad egg from her nest. Seeing him like that made her angry. He deserved to be miserable. Hank noticed her glower.

"Hey, wanna hear your fortune?" he called out to her, grinning.

"Sure," she said, practically snarling. Juliet sauntered over, dark eyes glinting like a tiger. Still, Chase ignored her. It took all her power not to punch him in the face.

Hank Mathews, always about the performance, cleared his throat dramatically. Snickers came from his friends, making Hank smile. Approval was what he lived for. Hank scooped up a fortune cookie and cracked it. He studied the paper inside.

"It says Bryce's freak babies are in your future!" chortled Hank, spewing soggy rice from his mouth. The other two boys around the table howled with laughter. Chase took a deep breath, but didn't join in. Juliet only smiled in response.

"At least it wouldn't be your baby. I wouldn't want to raise someone as stupid and ugly as you," she said. Out of the corner of her eye, she looked at Chase. He looked mad, but for some reason, Juliet didn't think he was mad at her.

The boys' laughter stopped. That hadn't been the reaction they had wanted from her.

Suddenly, Chase slammed his hands down on the table, cracking the silence in two. A drink fell on its side, but Hank and his friends were so surprised that they didn't react, just watched as the iced tea dripped onto their laps

"What the fuck is your problem, Hank?" demanded Chase, glaring down at the stocky boy. "You don't talk to girls like that." He wiggled the car keys in front of Hank's face. "Have fun walking back to school," he said, snatching a piece of Hank's orange chicken while he shimmied out of the booth.

"Dude, c'mon it was a joke!" Hank called to him.

"Was holding her arms pinned to her side in the courtyard a joke? You should go to jail for that kind of shit." Chase said disgustedly. Juliet's eyebrows shot up in surprise. No one had ever defended her like that. Usually, she was a freak. No one helped her. Either something in Chase had changed, and he truly felt bad, or he was trying to trick her. She was going to find out.

"Will you at least still drive me home from practice later?" Hank whined pathetically after Chase.

As the door closed, Juliet watched a lighter hug a cigarette. In a puff of smoke, Chase was gone. The deserted boys glanced at each other in disbelief. Juliet had to stifle her laughter, though strongly it came. School was five miles away.