Girls That Sting

ONE - NEWCOMER

The meeting was in an old building downtown, hidden behind a row of trendy shops and cafes. To get to the back entrance—there was no front entrance—you had to take a narrow alley filled with trash, stray cats, and the occasional homeless person. It looked like the type of place where a horrific assault might occur—an ironic meeting spot for our group. I supposed the rent was cheap and the isolated location offered the anonymity they were shooting for.

It's hard to believe I didn't run away screaming when I first laid eyes on the place twelve months ago. Guess that goes to show just how desperate I truly was at the time. Cringing at the memory of my former self, I trudged through the drizzling rain and mud. I paused to pull out my phone and check the time. 6:50 PM. Right on time for the 7 o'clock meeting.

Outside there was a handful of members gathered around the door, all the usual faces I'd expect. The chain-smokers and gossipers. They huddled under the small awning trying to escape the rain, packed together like wet, smoked sardines. I nodded politely and held my breath as I passed, praying that the smoke didn't cling to my clothes. The last thing I needed was my mother interrogating me when I got home.

Inside, the smell of fresh coffee hit me, warming my insides. I shook off the rain and hung my coat up next to a table of literature on display. Pamphlets on violence against women, flyers for sexual assault advocacy, and numbers for crisis hotlines littered the table in annoyingly bright colors. As if that might somehow distract from the dark subject matter inside. As per one of the signs on the wall, I took out my phone and put it on silent.

The main room had thirty-or-so chairs arranged in a large circle, many of them already filled. On the right sat a table with refreshments—coffee and water, doughnuts, and some other box from a local bakery. At the far end was a wooden podium and next to it, a tv on a rolling cart. One of our meeting leaders, Shelly, stood in the center handing out flyers and greeting people as they arrived.

Shelly was tall and sturdy, with rosy cheeks and frizzy golden hair. The other meeting leader was Candace. She was Shelly's opposite as far as looks and at least a decade younger... small and slight with dark hair down to her waist and narrow, Asian features. They were an odd pair that somehow worked well together, like peanut butter and jelly.

Shelly greeted me with a gentle hug and warm smile that filled the room.  I took up my usual chair next to the refreshment table and waited for the rest of the group to file in.

That's when I noticed the girl seated across from me, sitting alone, soaking wet coat clutched in her arms.

She was new. That I was sure of. I knew every single one of the regulars by name. Not that I needed to to tell she was a newcomer. Her total lack of eye contact and fidgety demeanor said it all. But her newcomer status isn't what caught my attention.

I'd seen before. This morning, in fact.

She was a fellow student at Freemont High.

I couldn't remember her name. To be honest, I wasn't sure I'd ever known it. But the dour demeanor was unmistakable... the way she sunk her shoulders like she was extremely bored all the time. I recognized it from the many times I passed her in the halls. Not that I was purposely looking for her. It was a habit I developed after the incident... always scanning the halls, the faces... praying that I didn't run into him.

A sense of panic started to flood me.

I'd never run into someone from school here before. Hell, no one in my real life even knew I was a member. Even my own mother was fooled, believing I was at a friend's house studying, never once picking up on the fact that I left the house on the same day, at the exact same time each week.