Prom- Trixya

Chapter 3

He shrugs. "I don't know but it got you to turn around didn't it?"

I whip to face the front. He doesn't say anything for a while. "What new girl did you fuck last night?" I ignore him. "You know I knew another fag once, not sure where he went. Pretty sure he got beaten or something for it. Bet that fixed him."

I know what he's saying isn't true and I know it doesn't make sense but in a way that makes it worse. He's not recalling a story, he's threatening me. He wants me beat up. He wants to see me punished.

My eyes go a little blurry and I look down at my paper. I feel my phone buzz in my pocket. When Mr. Cornel isn't looking I check it. A text from Katya. It's a gif of Wednesday Adams slicing across her throat. I can't help but laugh a bit. Even if she isn't going to actually hurt Jason (which I don't want her to), it's nice that she has my back. I send her a heart emoji back and focus on the rest of English class.

*******

The week passes faster than it has in a long time. Katya eats lunch with me every day and she waves at me in the hall when she sees me. I'm glad to have her there. Luckily, after a few days the taunting has died down a bit. Sometimes I get slurs said at me but nobody has pulled my hair in the last 2 days so I suppose that's a step in the right direction.

I see Katya at lunch, she talks to me, all excited about some new routine she's doing in gymnastics this weekend, so I'm surprised when I don't see her in English. I double check my phone but she hasn't sent anything. Maybe she went home sick?

I'm relieved that class goes smoothly and when the bell rings I've made my first day with no major taunting since the incident. It feels great. That feeling is soon hindered. I've nearly reached the door to leave when I hear some girls behind me whispering. When I turn it isn't what I expected. They aren't pointing at me, they're pointing into the principals office. Goddamn it. They're pointing at Katya. What did she do to land herself in there? And for the entirety of English and held after school it probably isn't anything super minor either. I sigh. As much as I'd like to just leave school I want to make sure she's okay and I know that when she leaves there's bound to be students left in the building. And like we all know, high school is brutal. I finally have a friend, I'm not going to leave her alone.

It takes a half hour for her to finally be let out of the office. Her fists are clenched at her sides and her face is unmoving, cold as ice. "Katya!" I say, getting to her before anyone else can notice she's been let out from her long session of scolding.

Her face softens slightly when she sees me. "You didn't have to wait dummy."

"Yeah but I wanted to." I reply. "You alright?"

She nods. "It was my fault, I guess this isn't anything like my old school."

"More strict?" I question.

Katya confirms. "I'll tell you when we get outside. If you want to talk."

"Yeah. There's a park in my neighborhood that we could walk to if you want."

"Perfect." She replies with a light smile. "Lead the way."

I start down the path. It's pretty much a straight shot to my neighborhood from the school and we make it to the park in a few minutes. On the way I fill her in on the class she missed. When we arrive we set our bags down on the picnic table benches and sit across from each other. Katya fumbles around her words for a minute. "You aren't going to like why I was in there."

I shrug. "How bad can it be?"

"I got caught with a cigarette in my bag. I don't smoke all that often, but I kinda. I don't have to but I also do you know?"

I don't really know but I nod anyway. With our school, I'm surprised she didn't get expelled on the spot. "How'd they even find it?" I ask.

"They fell out of the side as I happened to be walking past one of the security guards on the way to English. It's my fault I know. I just didn't want to spend my afternoon like that." She chuckles. "I hate everything about this."

I smile at her. "I mean it could be worse. Wanna go play around on the equipment before all the dumb little kids get out of school?"

A grin spreads across her face. "Ugh yes, I have so much energy after sitting all day." Katya gets up and runs to the rope tower before I can even think of following her. She does have a lot of energy, but I don't mind it at all. It's kind of fun actually.

We climb to the top together and she pretends that she's going to leap off the edge. I know she's joking but her confidence in not falling makes me a little afraid every time she play jumps. She laughs at my worried expression. "Lighten up Trixie, I'm not that uncoordinated."

My nose scrunches at her and we climb down just as a few elementary schoolers arrive. Katya rolls her eyes. "I hate kids, always ruining the fun."

I nod in agreement. We run to get our things. "My house is just up the way if you wanted to work on homework or something." I say.

Katya smiles at the invitation. "I told my parents I'd be home before 5. Plus, I have to tell them I got caught with cigarettes before the principal calls tonight. Otherwise, I'd come."

I very lightly punch her arm. "See you on Monday. Text me!"

Katya nods, already walking back to the parking lot of the school to grab her car. To be fair, it is already 4:30. "I'll tell you how my mom takes it." She says, her eyes going wide. "That's going to be fun."

"Oh I'm sure." I reply.

She laughs. "Bye Trixie!"

"Bye!" I shout back as she's already half way up the hill.

When I turn away to face my street my heart races a bit in my chest. Katya is the best news that's ever showed up at school, I don't know what everyone else was going on about.