「 T W E N T Y T H R E E 」
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Opening the doors into our school was like walking into the living version of sorry excuse of a chick flick film. Everything about it screamed fake or cringe worthy.
The cliche cliques swarming the halls judging every person in sight. Although walking through the schools doors and being swarmed by young adolescents like myself was almost comforting today, knowing that I merged into the crowd and became just another passing face brought a sort of relief to my body. But one must never let their guard down. Expect the unexpected.
Even if they did come for me they'd have trouble finding me in the crowd.
Battling through the swarms of hormones towards my locker is a routine I'm used to, but today it felt almost impossible to avoid people's lingering stares. As if people where deliberately looking for me. As if they all knew.
Slamming my locker shut, I felt the wander eyes glance in my direction. Maybe I just slammed my locker to hard? Stupid paranoia taunting the puppeteer strings of my conscious into tricking my mind.
Shaking off the thought I headed straight towards my homeroom, bag slung over my shoulders, folders and books in hand. Cutting the fragile strings of my head from my own puppeteering mind.
Pushing my way towards my usual spot in the classroom, furthest across from the door, closest towards the window. Dropping my bag down on the desk before letting my body collapse into the chair sliding it back , slumped over the desk like a blanket on a bed.
The shrilling ring of the schools bell burning my eardrum as the over flow of students bean to fill the room. A lie in audible groan escaping my chapped lips.
As my mind and body began to settle it was short lived.
" Look what the cat dragged in."
Go away Kat...
" You cleaned up very nicely--but that nasty little cut there says otherwise buttercup." Kat purred leaning back into the chair beside me, devious smirk on her face.
" Kat--shut up." I groaned slouching further into my seat, the dull symphony of a headache slowly beginning to emerge. More like that headache being non other thank Katerina Kyle herself.
" My lips are sealed" she chuckled, mockingly drawing her fingers across her shut lips symbolising the locking of her lips as she pretended to throw away a key.
My groans futile as the door to our homeroom slammed open, hitting the white brick wall with a loud thwack! capturing everyone's attention.
" Excuse me, may I help you?" our stand in teacher asked groggily as she clearly wasn't in the mood for stroppy hormonal teenagers.
" You are excused ma'am, and no I do not need your help. I believe this is my homeroom."
Hold on a fricking minute.
That better not be who it sounds like..
Slowly readjusting myself in my seat I rose from my desk. My eyes slightly foggy from being blanketed in the darkness of my sleeve that id forced my face into.
Kat's eyes turned as wide as mine, except hers where filled with distaste, a frosty glare in her eyes. She looked like someone had shit in her cereal. But then again I would pull the exact same face if someone I utterly detested walked through the door with the formidable cocky arrogance looming around their soul.
" You've got to be shittin' me." I muttered under my breathe
There he stood--
Jerome-Fucking-Valeska.
Why the little shitbir-
" Hello-Yes, my names Jerome. I'm new here--"
My head already began to burn a factory of insults and curses towards that auburn haired nut job.
If Jerome was here that only meant one thing.
I'm fucked.
Dead.
" What in seven-bloody-hells is Jerome doing in our homeroom?" Kat growled in disbelief, a unsettling feeling of fear tittering its way into my bloodstream.
" I have no idea." I uttered, my eyes locked on him, unable to pull away. " I don't like it."
Jerome wild eyes locked deeply on mine, unphased as he spoke confidently in front of the class. That egotistical smirk growing at the corners of his thin lips.
I can't help but admire at how normal the guy looks. How has he managed to sustain his crazy manic of an ego. Better yet what in Gods name is he doing here.
Jerome smile widening as he began to stalk his way towards us both. A low growl left Kats lips as he sent a subtle wink in her direction, taunting her to cause a scene. The frosty glare in her eyes turning into a full blown blizzard of ravenous hell fire.
A clear disliking being noted between the duo.
Jerome came to a halt at the empty desk in front of us, swiftly yanking the chair out before seating himself down carelessly. The sickeningly toxic aroma of men's cologne wafted under my nose. The smell would of sent any other female with a pulse into overdrive.
A exaggerated sigh leaving my lips as I let out a strangled breathe. Trying my hardest not to look at the boy before me. A smirk plastered across his lips as he watched carefully out the corner of his eyes as Kat tried to fight of his aroma waving her text book before herself.
For the rest of the morning I had to sit by and watch as girls began to throw themselves at Jerome, his sickeningly toxic aroma snagging near enough every girl attention.
There is a difference between having Jerome trail me like a lost puppy all day and having Jerome and a litter of hormonal teenage girls calling out, blowing kisses and all other sorts of crap towards him.
God how I want to drive a pencil in his eye socket right now.
You'd think I'd want to thank the guy who helped in my escape from Jokers menacing warehouse full of parkour tricks but he was also the reason why I was taken there. He witnessed my aunts death and stood by and laughed. He locked me up. He held me prisoner. He—
"Scarlett"
"Scarlett"
"SCARLETT!"
"—Sorry. What where you saying?"
My dazed eyes flickered towards Kat. My mind barely processing where I was. The audible wave of laughing and other students talking hit me like a tidal wave, my hearing startling me as I zoned back into the now.
"I was asking if you're okay?" She asked curiously showing little concern in regarding my feelings.
"Yeah. Why'd you ask?" I said innocently trying to focus on my surroundings.
Cafeteria—Lunch.
"Your grip tightened holding your fork causing you to slam it down, your hand forming a fist."she said chastity barely bothering to look up from stabbing her tuna pasta continuously with a clear plastic fork.
"Oh—." I quickly unclenches my fists busying myself with the napkin at my side. " I was just thinking—I guess." I shrugged trying to avoid answering the question, turning my eyes else where.
The first wrong decision I made was avoiding Kats stare. I should have just faced her head on. Instead I made the second wrong decision.
By avoiding Kat I was reminded of my dearest Jake. Jake himself say across the way, right in my eye line.
The pit in my stomach growing as I burned a hole into his back. There he sat carelessly, wrapping his arm around Sydney as if she was the only light in his life. As if she was the only thing that mattered as he surrounded himself with people who made him laugh, made him happy. People he considered more than family. Safe.
I couldn't help but feel a wave of envy wash over me. The sickeningly sweet feeling of jealous taunting my innocence—any innocence that remained in my cursed blood that is.
The more I looked the more I felt uneasy. I knew my emotionless mask I'd been wearing was cracking, faltering.
Before I knew it I couldn't bare it. The sickening pit in my stomach began to twist and contort, anxiety battling with jealous began to brew a sickening curse through my bones as I leapt to my feet, rushing towards the cafeteria doors, a hand brushing my lips as I felt the acidic taste in my throat. My heart practically leaping up my throat pulsating agonisingly quickly.
The clatter of my heavy footsteps stumbling through the bathroom door echoed off the shiny white tiles of the girls bathroom.
Stumbling drunkly towards the toilet I shoved open the lavatory door not even bothering to close it behind me. The contents of my stomach erupting up my throat at uncontrollable-speed like word vomit as my head was stuck in the toilet.
The sickening wretch gagging up my throat as I struggled to catch my breathe. My hands struggling to grip into the sides of the toilet, hands shaking as I tried to keep the lid open as I let my stomach reject its contents. The acidic taste of bile coating my tongue and lips as I continue to wretch, heaven and struggle for breathe.
Black spots appearing in my vision as my head hit the side of the cubicle, my chest heaving up and down, up and down. My heart pumping faster, I felt myself suffocating inside myself as I began to panic. Everything was closing in, my throat closing up as I clawed at my throat my bottom lip stinging causing my already watery glass eyes to trickle with salt tears. But just like that it stopped.My shaking hands stopped ,my raving chest began to soothed as the burn in my throat began to settle.
Slowly lifting my head from in the toilet I wiped the strong gloopy drool from my bottom lip, wincing as the liquid stung at my now open cut lip. Coughing,the burn in my throat increased like a spit fire, the blood from my lip straying my hands with little splattered dots of crimson wine coloured blood.
I slouched back into heap against the cubicle walls, exhaustion coating my face like a thin layer of cold sweat. My head beginning to pound as the aching throb began to make its sickening presence known. Letting out a strangled sigh I used my hands against the cubicle walls to pull myself up, gripping the toilet for support, quickly flushing away the acidic contents of vomit.
Every muscle in my body aching, stretching, hissing as I stood on the balls of my two feet, trying not to fall back down with the growing dizziness washed over me.
Shuffling my way forwards I opened the cubicle door, wincing with every step I took, my hands reaching out towards the pristine white basin, sloppily grasping a hold of the silver polished taps twisting them until the spit of cold water trickled, scooping the icy liquid into my hands before submerging my face in a soft layer of Icelandic freeze. My fingers dragging down my face as My eyes caught my reflection in the mirror. My once hazel brown eyes now coated with the subtle hint of redness bleeding through the corners, my cheeks a blistering pink with my chin a mixture of smudged crimson and flushed pink, my bottom lip beginning to swell.
Sighing in defeat I scrubbed my face trying my best to stop the blood from flowing from my now open cuts. My knuckles burning against the coldness of the icy water, the tips turning a brutish pink against my palling skin.
Gathering my bearing I stumbled my way from the girls bathroom. My head still raging from blustering blurs to the aching throb of my skull.
Turning out of the girls bathroom I felt my ankle twist, my eyes beginning to close as exhaustion beckoned my aching bones. My clouded state making me stumble like a drunk against the locker imprinted walls.
Trying my best not to stumble anymore, each thwack into the walls felt like every piece of air was being stolen from my lungs, suffocating me. My closing wounds ripped open as I stumbled round another hall falling round the twisted shark edge into a muscular wall.
My body falling limp as my footing disappears and my body collapses into a cold hackless heap against the battered flooring of our school.
"Scarlett—Scarlett—."
Someone called feeling their calloused fingers touch my face attempting to shake me from my haze.
"Scarlett hey—."
"Scarlett."
The ringing of my name in my ears foreign to me.
"Scarlet-."
"Scarle-scarl-."
Each letter fading out into a blistering white noise causing me let a wince escape my lips.
My eyes clamping shut locking my conscious away behind its impenetrable vault like walls. The hands now shaking my body as the voice guided them, aiding them to wake me.
But I didn't want waking.