"I love the way I am whenever I am with you. Happy. Goofy. Illogical..."
– Nautica
❀❀❀
~ D O R O T H Y ~
October 1997
"Remember that the gradient of this graph represents the acceleration..."
I listen attentively while Mr. Philips teaches in front of the classroom. Physics is interesting, but not as interesting as biology. If it were not for biology, I guess I would have decided to study physics at university.
Something flashes in my peripheral vision and I look to my right. Damien is looking at me with a smirk. He points his index finger towards my table. I look down and notice a folded piece of paper.
A note.
I smile sweetly at Damien, picking up his note. His smile widens, buying my pretence. Then, I chuck it behind me and shoot a glare at him before I give my full attention to our physics teacher.
After what happened yesterday, does he really expect me to listen to him?
Sadly, he does not give up. Picking up his black marker, he begins to scribble something in his notebook. Discreet, he rips the paper, folds it and tosses it to my table. Annoyed, I flick his folded note to a table of a girl who is sitting in front of him. Damien's blue eyes widen and he mouths, 'no no no'.
Well too late, boy!
Curious, the girl in front of him picks the note up and unfolds it to read what it says. Because it is written in thick, black letters, I am able to discern it from my seat.
I've been wondering, do your lips taste as good as they look?
Oh, what have my poor, poor eyes just read? But what horrifies me more is the fact that Damien is acting completely inappropriate towards me. Should I be worried? I mean, I barely know the creep and I am not sure of what he is capable of.
The girl turns around to face Damien and smirks.
"How about you find out for yourself after class, pretty boy?" she purrs lowly, biting her lower lip.
Damien grimaces once she turns to face the front. He glances at me and I keep a straight face, trying to focus on Mr. Philips. Unexpectedly, he smiles in amusement and leans back against his chair, crossing his arms and shaking his head slowly. I try my best to ignore him for the rest of the class.
When class ends, I rush out to avoid any chance of him talking to me.
***
I have not seen Reece yet today. I guess he has not come in to recover from what happened last night.
I buy a cereal bar and a milk carton for lunch before I make my way towards the table where my friends are sitting around. Monica appears from out of nowhere and bumps into me, making sure that all the food she has on her tray rubs against my shirt. I feel the wetness of the food seep onto my skin through my shirt.
"Ugh," I groan, grimacing.
"Oops," she says. "I didn't see you there."
She bats her long eyelashes, acting all innocent. Oh, how I have this huge urge to rip them off and stuff them up her nose. I wonder how she manages to keep her eyes open with all that bright pink eyeshadow and thick eyelashes. Her blonde hair has new pink highlights and her face is, like yesterday, covered in a thick layer of foundation.
I clench my jaw, glaring at her mocking pout.
Of course she did this on purpose.
"Very amusing," I tell her dryly.
She smirks at me. But, before she can walk away in victory, I rip open my milk carton and drizzle the content on top of her head. She freezes and begins to screech, summoning her minions.
"What the hell, you whore!" she booms.
Her make-up becomes runny and smudged. I squeeze the remaining content of the small carton onto her head. Her two minions approach her, one on each side of her, and they just stand there like idiots instead of being useful and helping out their humiliated friend.
"Oh sweetie," I begin with a sweet smile, looking at her eyes with all the confidence and hatred I can muster. "Out of the two of us, it's actually you who looks like one."
And with that, I slam the empty milk carton on her tray and walk away. That should teach her a lesson.
"You will regret this, you brat!" she huffs.
I sigh. I guess not.
Ugh, I cannot stand her.
I wonder why Reece is interested in her? Like, what does he even see in her? I seriously want to be enlightened.
Monica stomps out of the cafeteria with her two puppets following her like lost puppies. When I reach my table, I notice how all of my friends are looking at me as if they have seen a ghost.
"What happened to you guys?" I ask them, looking at Jenny first, then at Harris, Leo and finally Luna.
I sit next to Leo.
"It's like the gods have listened to our prayers," Leo whispers with wide eyes. "We nerds and geeks now have the long-awaited Christ to fight against the Antichrist to restore peace and equality into our school!"
I roll my eyes.
"I appreciate the analogy," I say sarcastically, ripping the wrapper of my cereal bar.
"All hail the Christ!" he begins to cheer, and then my other three accomplices join him, compelling me to laugh at their ebullience.
"Ok, stop. I get it," I say, amused.
"Dorothy, you have guts. I respect that," Leo says.
"No one ever dares to mess with Monica. I don't think we told you, but her mum is a member of the board of directors of Hampton. Since she's the only child, her parents spoil her too much," Jenny says. "She breaks a lot of rule and she bullies a lot. But, she can get away with everything because of her mum."
"That is unfair," I say.
"Yes. But that's just how it is," she sighs. "Also, I have a spare blouse in my locker. I can help you clean up."
I smile warmly at her.
"If it is not too much of a hassle, then that would be lovely, thanks. We can go after I eat," I say, taking out my cheese sandwich and my tub of grapes from my bag.
"Also, guys," she begins. "There's a new café that just opened a few days ago. It's called Escape, and its theme is music. We should go!"
"Oooooh, I'm in," Leo says.
Luna, Harris and I agree too.
"Perfect! We can go this Friday," she says.
***
I have grown quite close to my new accomplices, although it has only been a few days. It feels really strange to be a part of a group of friends. I wasn't exactly popular back at St. Anne's.
Leo is absolutely amazing and funny. He loves Biology and his dream is to become a 'sexy nurse'. Luna is into fashion and loves to daydream about hot guys, especially Reece. Luna is older than Leo by two minutes and fifty-three seconds. Jenny loves music; she can play the guitar. Harris is the quiet one in the group. He told me that he wishes to take over his father's business after he graduates from university.
It's Friday. Jenny and I are looking at a very attractive sign outside of Escape.
Help Wanted!
It turns out Escape needs a guitarist, and Jenny is more than willing to apply for this job.
"It would be so cool if I get the job," she says.
"I heard you play, JJ. If they don't give you the job, then they are complete idiots," I say.
Jenny smiles at me widely, pushing her glasses up her nose.
"Thanks Dorothy."
When the rest of the group arrive, we enter the cafe together. The interior design of this new cafe surprises us. Posters of notable celebrities like Michael Jackson, Whitney Houston, The Beetles and Elvis Presley are plastered on the walls of the café. There are tables that have lyrics of famous songs on them. There is a stage with a microphone stand and a drum set right opposite to the entrance of the cafe. The place is dimly lit with different colours of neons splashed everywhere.
"This. Is. Heaven," Jenny gasps. "Oh my god, they even have Prince and Pink Floyd!"
This place is actually running very well since almost all of the tables are taken. I'm surprised to see many students of Hampton here as well. We see a staircase and go downstairs to the spacious basement. There are three billiard tables.
"Awesome!" Leo says, poking one of the three billiard tables.
There are booths placed against the walls. There is a room connected to the billiard room and it has comfortable couches that surround a large table. Leo jumps on one of the couches and lies down on it. "Let's eat here."
We sit down on the two empty adjacent couches. I sit between Luna and Leo on one couch while Harris and Jenny sit together on the other couch. A waitress walks towards us after Harris summons her. Greeting us, she hands us the menus. We laugh when we realise that the menu contains puns.
"Guys, guys guys, look at the side dishes, Salt-N-Peppa fries, Korn, Phish fingers," Leo adds. "They're puns!"
"Oh my god, this one's good; Meat Loaf with Red Hot Chili Peppers," says Harris.
"Look at the dessert section; Vanilla Fudge," Leo says.
"Banana Splits. Wow, I never tried this before," exclaims Luna, reading through the dessert section with Leo.
"Ice-T, Hot Chocolate, Beasts of Bourbon... Oh my god this is the best menu I have ever read," whispers Jenny, mesmerized.
I don't really understand most of the puns written in the menu as I am really behind in the music industry. But the fact that the menu has puns is really innovative. After we decide, the waitress comes back to take our order, and then she leaves after taking our menus.
"I swear this place is heaven," says Jenny. We agree with her. Jenny is obsessed with music, so I understand why she absolutely loves this place.
Suddenly, there is a lot of noise coming from the billiard room. I turn my head and notice a bunch of guys and girls are surrounding the billiard tables. They look familiar, and after looking at them for a while I realise they are Hampton's students.
"Oi sis, your boyfriend is cheating on you right over there," says Leo, gesturing to the corner of the basement and grinning mischievously.
I look at the corner of the billiard room while Luna glares at her brother. I raise my eyebrows when I see Reece making out with Monica. I watch how his lips connect with hers and how they move in synch. He bites her lower lip and she moans. I cringe.
Gross gross gross!
I snap my head to face my friends, feeling sick at what I just saw.
"Don't ruin my mood, Leo," Luna whispers harshly, compelling her brother to chuckle.
"I seriously want to work here," says Jenny, ignoring the twins. "I mean, look at this place. It's fate, I tell you. This place is meant to be my working place!"
She really is dexterous in playing the guitar, and I really do believe that she will get the job.
"I will go speak with the manager right now. I need details. I'll be back in a while," she informs us before she gets up from the couch and leaves the room.
While the twins are arguing pointlessly with each other, Harris and I turn to each other.
"So Harris," I begin.
"Yes Dorothy?" he replies, his brown eyes boring into mine.
"Do you play sports?" I ask.
"I love to play tennis."
"Cool."
We ask basic questions to each other. I learn that he loves to play tennis, swim and eat cheesecake. He loves to read and the person he mostly admires is his father. I've noticed that he is a quiet person, but maybe that's because he loves to listen and observe rather than talk. After a while, Jenny comes back, giddy.
"Guys, guys, guys, guess who has a job interview tomorrow night?"
"That's amazing!" exclaims Luna.
"Thanks!" says Jenny. "I have to bring my guitar and play it in front of him."
All of us express our happiness for her. I high-five her.
The waitress comes into the room with our food. I begin to eat my burger with my friends, and oh my gosh, the burger tastes heavenly. My friends and I moan as we chew on our food, except for Leo.
"Oh my, you guys are making this place sound like a porno," Leo comments, shaking his head.
I nearly choke as I begin to laugh at his crude comment.
"Oh are we turning Leo junior on?" Jenny says, taking a bite of her onion ring and emitting a moan on purpose.
"Oh please, Leo junior has standards," Leo replies.
"Oh what standards–" Luna begins but she is interrupted by Harris.
"Guys, I would appreciate it if we could change the topic," he says.
"Party pooper," Leo says, grinning at Harris.
I still need to get myself accustomed to their way of talking so freely with one another. I mean, I have been in an all girls school for seven years, so I never really joined a conversation similar to this, and it isn't like I was offended or anything. They are simply messing around and I find it highly amusing.
Half an hour later, we finish eating our main course.
"Dessert time, guys. What do you want?" asks Leo, reading the dessert section of the menu after we asked the waitress to bring us the menu again.
"Banana Split!" Jenny, Harris and Luna say simultaneously.
"Vanilla Fudge," I say.
The waitress comes and takes our orders. After ten minutes, our desserts arrive and all of us begin to eat again.
"Hey Dorothy, do you want to have some banana split?" Jenny offers. I look at her dessert. It looks really delicious but I smile at her and shake my head.
"I'd love to, but I'm allergic to nuts," I tell her politely.
"Oh," she says.
"Are you guys allergic to anything?" I ask them. They all shake their heads.
Well, at least I don't have to worry about killing them accidentally when I give them food.
***
All of us disperse when we exit Escape. I receive a text from mother; she is coming in ten minutes to pick me up. While I wait, I decide to walk around Escape's property. I admire the beautiful roses in the small garden until someone pushes me from my back. Losing my balance, I fall forward and my hands and the left side of my face collide with the hard concrete ground.
I wince at the sharp pain on my palms and the left side of my face, particularly my upper cheek. Managing to stand up, I hear nasty laughs. I look at my palms, groaning when I see that my skin is scraped. I look at my abuser, not surprised that it's Monica and her friends.
"Enjoying the pain, bitch?" Monica asks.
Feeling my blood boil, I grit my teeth.
"Give me one reason why I shouldn't rip all of your hair out of your head right now?" I growl.
She feigns her fear.
"Oh no! Girls, save me from this whore," she says dramatically, causing her two friends to chuckle.
"I swear I will make you regret this!"
She rolls her eyes at my words. Oh, but I am not bluffing. Certainly not. I step closer to her, and that's when she stills in caution.
"Don't come any closer. My boyfriend is watching. If you do anything to me, you will have to answer to him–"
"Does it look like I care? I can just..."
I stop speaking when I see Reece walk towards us. I forget for a moment that Monica's boyfriend is actually Reece.
Would Reece do something to me if I do something to Monica?
I honestly don't know.
Reece catches Monica's attention when he wraps his arm around her waist. He looks at me for a while, and for a moment I thought he showed concern for me, but I guess I'm wrong since his expression morphs into one filled with indifference.
"Baby!" Monica squeals, kissing his cheek.
"What are you doing here?" he asks her.
"Oh nothing. I was just teaching this brat here a lesson. She needs to know that she can't mess with me."
Reece doesn't look interested at all.
"Why are you wasting your time on her? We're getting late. You can torture her another time," he says.
Going against my character, I stand still, speechless. I want to argue and fight back, but alas, my lips refuse to move an inch and my feet are glued to the ground. My eyes sting, and I don't know if it's because of Reece's harsh words or the growing pain on my palms and face.
"Alright! Come on girls. We're leaving," she says.
Before she turns around, she smirks at me in victory.
"I'm not done with you," she says before she and the rest of her group leave me alone.
Did Reece just support Monica to bully me?
Something wet and warm drips down the left side of my face. I touch it and my eyes widen when I see patches of crimson on my finger tips. I quickly make my way to the toilets in the café to clean up my wound. When I'm just about to enter the building, I see Reece open the car door for his girlfriend.
He glances at me before his eyes glue to my face. I assume that he is looking at my injury as it would be impossible for him to miss it. He then shrugs it off, slipping into the car with no hints of remorse or sympathy.
The little Dorothy within me is hurt, weeping endlessly. She finds it impossible to believe that the boy who promised to protect her is intentionally causing her pain.
The very boy who told her that she meant the whole world to him.
*~*~*~*~*
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