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Mature content warning for this chapter:
Mild Language, mentions of bullying, racism, and discrimination
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A month of high school had passed and somehow Cate was certain that something felt... off. She wasn't sure if she was getting sick or something was incredibly wrong, but something in her gut tried to warn her of something awful. Nevertheless, she shoved the thought away and continued to school as normal.
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The lunch table was lively as ever with Jason and Cate exchanging manga and the rest of the group making fun of their dorky behaviors.
Cate had grown rather fond of the friend group. Although some of them could be a bit more quirky than she could handle, she enjoyed their company. Nevertheless, something about Jack still seemed different than when she first met him.
"Soo, party at Jack's house this Saturday?" Jayson offered.
"Why's it always have to be my house?!" Jack attempted to object.
"Because you offered once, and now we always go there." Blake winked.
"You'll come too this time, won't you Cate?" Jayson turned to her with a sincere smile.
Cate thought for a moment about how much safer it was at home. She reflected on what Tabbi had told her and how much fun she could have when she pushed herself outside of her comfort zone. She took a deep breath and couldn't believe herself as she attempted to answer. "Sure-"
"She's not invited." Jack stood from the table with his tray and hand, before turning to go to class.
"That's not cool-" Jayson stood to defend his friend but to no use.
"Then host it at your house." With that, Jack turned a cold shoulder and left.
The table was speechless.
"It's okay." Cate stood up, ready to see herself out. She knew when she wasn't wanted.
"No, it's not okay!" Jayson insisted. "He can't just exclude you like tha-"
"It's okay." Cate had already accepted the answer and was ready to move on from the conflict. There were only so many interactions she could handle and she was already meeting her limit for the day. "I'll talk to you guys tomorrow." She forced a smile before leaving them.
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"What happened?"
Cate had the same bored and distant expression she always seemed to casually wear, yet somehow Tabbi knew something was up.
"Wai-what?" Cate snapped out of a daydream to turn to her friend, who was now sitting next to her on the bus.
"You walked to your seat without looking for me. Something's wrong. What is it?" Tabbi pressed.
"Sorry, I was just daydreaming." Cate admitted honestly.
"Nah, not buying it, hun."
Cate turned away from Tabbi, uninterested in the conversation. She felt drained and overwhelmed from everything around her and was ready to go home and recharge. "I don't know what to tell you... I guess I'm just tired..." She leaned against the bus window and stared out, sleepily.
Tabbi observed this gesture of Cate's. Although this behavior was completely in character for Cate, Tabbi could somehow tell that something was bothering her. Nevertheless, Tabbi could read the situation. She knew there was a time and place to push for answers, but for right now, Cate needed to get home and rest.
"Gotcha." Tabbi pretended to accept I'm just tired as a perfectly reasonable answer to her queries. "Oh, hey! By the way, I got some real juicy gossip for ya today!" She wanted to change the topic in hopes to bring her friend back into a lighter mood. "Supposedly, a pretty decent student suddenly dropped out of school recently."
Cate slowly turned her gaze from the window to Tabbi, intrigued why someone would leave the school after only a month.
"Yeah! Few buddies of mine told me they used to know her! This girl was a sophomore, so she's a grade ahead of us and about a week ago she stopped showing up. Teacher announced she transferred." As if this was a suspicious mystery in a horror novel, Tabbi let that last piece of information sink in. "Seems pretty suspicious to me!"
Now interested in what Cate would refer to as "the lore behind social drama," Cate posed a question. "What do you think happened?"
Tabbi smiled like a story teller about to reveal the plot twist that would shock everyone. "Some say she died."
Cate's expression dropped to unamused and she turned back to the window.
"Wait! Wait!" Tabbi frantically reassured that she would take things seriously from then on. "People actually don't know. When my buds asked the teacher, he just repeated the same vague answer he gave the class. However, there are some interesting theories going around."
Cate raised an irritated eyebrow, not wanting anymore tomfoolery from Tabbi.
"Some say her parents were in a tight spot and are getting divorced. Her dad is moving away and she has to go live with him. But I aint convinced!" Tabbi crossed her arms, as if she was facing the very person who told her this rumor. "There's another rumor going around that I think fits the job quite nicely, but proof just ceases to exist!" She slouched in her seat, upset that her digging got her nowhere.
Cate pulled away from the window and turned to face her friend completely. When Tabbi waved her closer, Cate leaned in.
"Charlotte bullied her into switching schools."
The words left Tabbi's lips and sent a chill down Cate's spine. Something about that statement seemed more believable than any other solution that could be given and Cate didn't even know the details.
"Apparently, Charlotte's been 'teasing' her for a while now. Some students will confirm this for ya, but if you ask any faculty, they'll tell ya that Charlie's a saint!"
"Charlie?" Cate interrupted.
"Gotta find some way to make her name seem less intimidatin'. Have ya met the woman?" Tabbi shook in purely staged fear. "She gives me the heebie jeebies! She's the type that runs the school! When you look at her friends, they don't really act like friends."
"What do you mean?" Cate thought back to the girls that Charlotte hung out with and thought they seemed rather loyal to her.
"They seem scared of her."
Cate hadn't even considered this to be a possibility. "You mean, she might not have any real friends?"
"Don't go spreadin' that around, 'less you want your head on a silver platter, delivered with the highest speeds by the sexiest of delivery men to Miss High and Tight herself!" Tabbi shrugged. "To be clear, I have no evidence of her not having true friends. I'm just speculating here."
"That's... That'd be so sad."
"Woah! Don't you be pitying her! She got money like I got none! She could buy herself a friend if she wanted to!" Tabbi joked for a moment then grew a bit more serious. "In all seriousness, she could have real friends if she tried. She's just gotta let go of always being on top."
"How do you know so much about her?" Cate wondered aloud.
"Girl in my class got held back last year. She used to be friends with Charlotte, but since their lunch hours don't line up this year, Charlotte dissed her."
"That's cold." Cate thought for a moment. "Why don't you take this to the principal? Especially with all of the alibis-"
"'Cause who they gonna believe, Cate?" Tabbi's expression grew solemn. "The rich blonde chick or the poor black girl?"
Cate looked at her friend, practically speechless. She never was truly able to comprehend why skin color was a 'credible' factor in any case. "But, you have evidence..."
Tabbi sighed. "Alibis aren't evidence. We have rumors and one girl's voice from last year. Are they gonna listen to the girl who got held back a year, or the girl with straight A's?"
"Charlotte has straight A's?" The more Cate learned about Charlotte, the more the blonde girl seemed to intimidate her.
"Ha, yeah..." Tabbi was as impressed as Cate. "And for the sake of clarity, I've been told that someone tried to stand up to her before..."
"What happened?"
"She transferred this week."