AS I ENTERED THE HALLWAY, it felt like I was invisible, with no one even glancing in my direction. Clutching my bag tightly, I made my way to my first class of the day.
The teacher was already in the room as I entered. I took the only available seat, near a girl with light natural blonde hair. Betty waved at me and smiled. She scribbled something on a small piece of paper and tossed it my way. I caught it and unfolded it.
"Girl, I miss you so much. I'm happy you're back."
I tossed the paper aside and met Betty's smile with a nod of acknowledgment.
"Okay, that's it for today. I hope you're all prepared for the test tomorrow. Best of luck to everyone," Mr. Collen announced before heading out. "Miss Holloway, I need to see you in my office. We have a lot to discuss."
"Ugh, of course. Zoey's been absent for two weeks. That's a sure failure. F queen!" Brian joked as soon as Mr. Collen left, eliciting laughter from the rest of the class.
"I'm sure Mr. Collen wants to pity her pathetic status and give her a passing grade," Shane chimed in.
"Failure is Zoey's middle name," Daphne added, joining in the ridicule.
"Oh you all shut the crap, I'm suffocating from your bad breaths," I snapped, rising from my seat in frustration. "If you want to waste your lives gossiping about me, go right ahead. I have better things to do than listen to frogs croaks."."
Grabbing my bag, I stormed out of the classroom, with Betty and Caroline quickly following behind. We linked arms as we entered the cafeteria, seeking solace in each other's company.
"It's great to have you back, bestie," Caroline exclaimed as we collected our food and found a table to sit.
"I missed you so much, and I have some juicy gossip to share!" Betty announced eagerly. "You're going to love it."
I began eating slowly, feeling less enthusiastic about Betty's news. She chuckled and dug into her meal, while Caroline poured me some more orange juice and started eating as well.
Watching my friends enjoy their food brought me a sense of relief, but I couldn't shake off the feeling that I was the source of their happiness. Downing the rest of my orange juice, I tried to push those thoughts aside.
As I was about to leave, Gemma walked in, and Betty unexpectedly pulled me back into my seat. I frowned and swatted her hand away, but when I saw the seriousness in her expression, I reluctantly stayed seated.
"What's going on? I have to see Mr. Collen," I reminded her impatiently.
"It's big news!" Betty whispered. "Josh broke up with Madison."
My jaw dropped in disbelief, and I rolled my eyes before slowly getting up. "And why should I care? I'm completely over Josh, and his relationships are none of my business anymore."
Turning to leave, I headed towards the door, but as I stepped out of the cafeteria, I collided with Josh and stumbled, falling on top of him. For a moment, I thought it was a figment of my imagination, but when I opened my eyes, I found myself inches away from him, our lips almost touching, and I could feel his breath on my skin.
He was breathing heavily, mirroring my own rapid breaths. I hastily jumped to my feet and turned to leave, but I felt someone's hand grasp mine. Whirling around, I saw Josh holding my hand. Angrily, I slapped his hand away and eyed him furiously.
"What's the meaning of this drama?" I blurted out without thinking.
He pulled me closer to himself, and I glanced over his shoulder to see Gemma, her face pale as she looked down at her food.
Jerking myself away from Josh, I slapped him hard across the cheek. He staggered back, his eyes wide with shock.
"Stop this silly joke, and do you think I'm so cheap to fall for this?" I snapped before storming off towards Mr. Collen's office.
Knocking on the door, I pushed it open to find Mr. Collen sitting behind his desk, typing away on his laptop.
"Miss Hughes, please, take a seat. We have a lot to discuss," he said calmly.
I sat down slowly, intertwining my fingers as I wondered what he had to say.
"Your dad told me about what happened," he began gently. "I'm so sorry. I can only imagine how difficult this must be for you. I'd like to offer you some time. You can take tomorrow's test next week."
Pushing a small book across the desk, he continued, "This contains our previous topic assessments. I want you to go through it. You have one week."
"Thank you, Mr. Collen," I replied quietly. "Thank you for your understanding."
"You'll take another test after that week, and I wish you the best," he said with a reassuring smile.
Standing up, I made my way to the door, then turned back to him. "Thanks once again."
As I walked down the hallway, clutching the small book, someone snatched it from my hand. Turning, I saw Trina and her friends, their faces twisted into smug grins. Suppressing my irritation, I tried to reason with Trina.
"Trina, I'm not in the mood to fight. Please, give me back my book," I pleaded politely.
"Mr. Collen thinks he can help you, but he can't help a lost cause like you," Trina mocked, her laughter echoing down the hallway.
"Give me my book, Trina. I won't fight you," I insisted firmly.
"Oh, I heard your mother is a slut. She goes around sleeping with men, especially Mexican guys," Trina taunted. "Your mom must have good taste in men."
Enraged, I raised my hand to slap her, but Tori intercepted and pushed me away. Anger boiling inside me, I faced Trina, determined to stand my ground.
"I've had enough of your nonsense," I declared, pushing Tori aside. "What did you say about my mother?"
With a sinister smile, Trina repeated her words, goading me further. Unable to control my rage, I swung my fist at her, but she dodged, and my hand connected with someone else's face.
Looking up, I met the gaze of a tall guy with striking gray eyes and jet-black hair. He had been caught in the crossfire of my anger. As he fell to the ground, I froze, overcome with a mix of guilt and shock. Before I could react, Trina darted away, cackling triumphantly. I pushed through the crowd, intent on catching her, but then I came face to face with Mr. Collen.
"Miss Hughes, why are you still here?" Mr. Collen asked, his brow furrowed in concern.
"I'm on my way to my next class," I replied, avoiding mentioning the incident with the book.
Turning around, I scanned the area to see if the guy I had inadvertently pushed was still there, but he had disappeared. After school, I worked out with my best friends, feeling both exhausted and anxious.
"I can't believe Trina said such a thing. How could she?" Betty exclaimed, clearly upset.
"If it wasn't for that guy getting in the way, I would have given her a piece of my mind. She'll never try something like that again," I seethed, biting my lip. "I need to get my book back from her. I need it to study."
"I know where Trina is. Come with me," Caroline suggested.
Following her lead, we headed to the school field, where Trina was sitting on the bleachers with her cronies, watching baseball. As soon as she spotted us, a malicious grin spread across her face, and she strutted over to confront us.
"Well, look who's here, the failure," she taunted, rolling her eyes.
"Why are you acting like this, Trina? You used to be a good person," Betty questioned.
"Yeah, what happened to you? This isn't like you," Caroline added.
Trina laughed scornfully. "Someone said she's better than me, and now I'll show her who's really better."
I chuckled and stepped closer to her. "Trina, is this what being the best is all about? Give me my book!"
"Give her the book, Trina. Let's not escalate things," Tori urged.
"Shut up!" Trina snapped at her. "I want to teach this punk a lesson."
"I won't be a part of this. I'm leaving," Tori declared, turning to walk away. But Trina grabbed her hand and squeezed it tightly.
"What's wrong with you, Tori? If you leave, don't ever speak to me again. And I promise I'll make sure the whole school sees that video."
Tori lowered her head slowly. "Zoey. You're going down," she grinned.
I rolled my eyes. "You morons, give me my book!" I demanded.
Trina looked me in the eye and smiled. "Okay, you can have your stupid book. But you won't pass the test anyway."
She collected the book from Charlotte and stretched it forward toward me. As I moved to take it, she slapped my hands, threw the book on the floor, and quickly grabbed a plastic bottle of water from Tori. With swift movements, she emptied its contents onto the book and stomped on it.
"Now you can have your book," she laughed. "Zoey... Hughes."
Betty picked up the book from the floor. It was soaked, with each page covered in freshly cut grass and mud.
I groaned wildly. "What the hell did you just do?" Trina started running down the field, and I ran after her, maneuvering through some students. I ran until I became tired, feeling like she wanted me to chase her. She kept running in circles, and my feet hurt. I stopped, panting nervously.
"You can't catch me, Zoey. So just give up," she shouted as she turned to leave. "See you next week."
I removed my shoe and threw it at her, but she dodged it, and the shoe hit someone behind her. She walked off toward the basketball court. I turned to Betty and Caroline, who were talking to Tori.
I walked toward the spot where my shoe had fallen, but it was no longer there. I looked around for it but couldn't find it. I asked two girls standing nearby if they had seen it, and they said someone had picked it up, but they didn't know who.
"Is this what you're looking for?" a thick voice said.
Thanks for reading this novel, though it's not edited yet.
Mi Amor