The air smelled of hot asphalt and the sound of students talking was like the buzzing of a fly in Haley's ear. The sun had burned away the clouds, leaving no defense against its heat. Haley didn't seem to be present enough to notice how her skin tingled as it turned pink. She squinted against the harsh light, her focus lost on the auburn-haired girl across the way. Standing with a group of friends, dressed in her gym uniform, she was smiling and talking.
To Haley, there was something in that smile that spoke of a smugness. She could only imagine the girl was talking about her time with Jace the day before. The longer Haley stared at the girl the more she couldn't understand. Why do it? Was it really worth the heartbreak? Didn't the chance of getting pregnant outweigh a few minutes of...that?
Haley didn't think so. She also didn't like seeing herself naked so she didn't understand why she would let someone else. To her, nothing good could ever come out of a relationship like that. A person would get as close to someone else as they could be only to see it all disappear. Even without that kind of relationship, Haley was seeing things disappear. Lettie was just one example of that. One day Haley had had a best friend and it felt like the next she didn't. One day her parents were happy and together and the next...she was eating pizza alone.
Eventually, Haley dragged her gaze away, knowing it would be weird if the girl looked over and saw her staring. Besides there was no changing what the girl did, why should Haley even dwell on it? Though part of her knew this logic, she still found her thoughts spinning back to the girl. None of it was ever worth it, why didn't everyone see that?
She was distracted from her whirring mind by the appearance of their teacher.
"Alright class, let's huddle up," Mr. Swanson said.
Reluctantly, Haley pushed herself up and she wandered over to the tall, tan-faced man. Around her, her fellow peers clustered together, still sticking to their chosen packs. Even dressed in the same outfit the dividing lines between the students were clear.
There were the girls with their hair up, faces touched with just the perfect amount of makeup and wearing the uniforms like they were designer. In their vicinity were the sports players that filled out the gym clothes better than anyone else. There were the kids just trying to get by and looked out of place no matter where they were. Band kids happy when among their own kind. The socially awkward and the athletically impaired.
When they looked at her, Haley wondered which box they dropped her into. Though on the thinner side, she didn't wear makeup so she wasn't able to fit in with the popular girls, but she wasn't athletic either. Was she the socially awkward kid? The weird loner? She didn't feel like any of these labels would fit her. But then why did they fit everyone else?
As Haley moved forward she found herself bumping elbows with Ty, though the girl didn't notice, whispering to Josie. She shifted away, not that excited with having to hear another conversation about people she didn't know and didn't care about. She was saved from that fate when Mr. Swanson started talking.
"Okay, today we will be doing our weekly mile run. I will be recording times so try to finish under twenty minutes. Alright, get to it."
He blew his whistle, the sound shrill and piercing. Everyone turned and trudged to the track. Some of the more physically inclined students jogged ahead of the group. Once she hit the red turf, Haley started jogging. It was a half jog, half quick walk. As paces were set, the group slowly scattered. Though not that fast, Haley still slowly broke away from the congested crowd, trailing along with more a few others.
"Did you see the picture of Johnny and Georgina Burns?" a voice said behind Haley.
Without looking back, she knew who it was. It could only ever be one of two people.
"Yes," Josie said. "It just proves you were right all along. Georgina Burns is the producer George Brigs."
"Once you know that everything makes sense. Their names are so similar. It explains why Georgina was on tour with so many different musicians. Besides she always struck me as too smart to be a dumb socialite."
Haley found herself shaking her head. Did they actually listen to themselves? Did they ever realize what they were saying sounded so stupid? Wanting to be free of the tiresome tirade, she picked up her speed. Even as she gained distance she could hear their conversation.
"But how do you explain her connection with Nate?" Josie asked.
"It was all a publicity stunt. They needed a reason for Georgina being on tour with Late Nights Back Home. Besides if you check the photos, Nate has been on and off again with Rosie Mulligan for the past three years."
Though Haley was not much of a runner, she pushed herself to go faster, wanting to be anywhere but near those two. As she ran she planned out how she was going to escape working with them that afternoon. She could not last a couple of hours of that. If she had to she feared her IQ would drop a few points.
**********
Hours later, Haley sat on the bleachers, chin in hand glaring at the ground. In her mind, she turned over every excuse she could think of. The cool air chilled her bare arms and she relished the sensation. When her brain couldn't produce anything better than 'she was allergic to stupidity', she stood realizing she was just going to have to wing it.
Half the normal group was already working when Haley stepped out of the gym. The music hadn't been started up, but the rhythm of voices was a melody on its own. Rachel was sitting in the shade of the building, looking down at the clipboard. For once her smile was nowhere to be seen. To Haley, she looked human. But when Rachel heard Haley approached, she looked up and the smile was once again on display.
So much for being human.
"Hey, Haley," she said.
For some reason, Rachel being so familiar with Haley's name felt strange. Weren't people with her looks, friends, and status suppose to barely notice the lower class people? Yes, they had been working together but still, whenever she said it, it felt like she was breaking the status quo. And you didn't mess with that, no, no, no.
Rachel stood, so they were on eye level. "What can I help you with?"
"You have me working with Ty and Josie..." An excuse for why Rachel should change this didn't pop into her mind. Hearing the pause, Rachel spoke up.
"I do," she said, "they are really close to being done, so with your help, the booth should be completed by the end of today."
"Right...done today."
Rachel nodded, her smile encouraging. Still grasping at some reason Haley should be saved, she remained planted to the spot. Nick jogged up to Rachel, his good looking face frowning.
"Hey, babe," he said, looking at his girlfriend. "Bad news, Austin and Tanner had to bail."
The smile slipped from Rachel's face. Taking a deep breath, she nodded slowly, as her brain processed the new information and all the effect it would have. In that one moment, it was like Haley could see a mountain of tasks laying on her shoulder. The moment vanished almost as quickly as it had come. Pulling up her smile once again, Rachel focused on Nick.
"It's all fine, we'll figure it out."
Nick kissed her cheek. "Let me know what you need to me do."
"Take Austin's spot. I'll help Tanner's group for today."
"Okay."
Nick left and Rachel turned to Haley as if realizing she was still there.
"Was there something else you needed?" she asked.
Though she looked at Haley, Haley felt she wasn't really seeing her. In her eyes, she could see the thousands of thoughts spinning around. Haley opened to her mouth to make an excuse but closed it, suddenly not bothering to find one.
"I'll get to work," she said.
"Thanks."
As Rachel went to join the group in need, Haley looked for hers. Ty and Josie were on the center of the lawn, sections of their booth strew about them. Fighting back her annoyance, Haley made her way over. On her way there she noticed Isaac working with Bryce and a couple other people.
Despite herself, she watched him, wanting him to look up and give her that stupid smile of his. Without knowing it, her steps slowed just to draw out the time she was in his line of sight.
But he didn't look up. He didn't smile at her.
On his usually calm face was the hint of a frown. Hating herself for her want, Haley hurried to her doom. When she stopped in front of the girls, they paused in their work and conversation to look at her.
"I'm supposed to help you finish," she said.
"Excellent!" Josie said. "You can start on sections G2 and F4, they need to be hammered together. Let us know if you need a hand."
She pointed to the specified pieces. Haley dumped her backpack and distanced herself from the two girls. As she worked she equally tried to block out their words as well as tried to not glance over at Isaac too often.
Neither plan worked.
Once, Isaac did look in her direction, but no smile was given. Even focused on her, it was like she wasn't there at all. Haley turned away before her face could betray her. Somehow this hurt her more than she wanted it to admit. Scowling, she focused harder on her work, hammering away with more speed than both girls combined.
As the minutes slogged by and the conversations jumped from one famous name to the next, Haley found her jaw clenching more and more. Their chatter was like a constant beeping that had no end. On top of her internal irritated comments, Haley found Isaac popping up, though she struggled to keep thoughts of him out of her head.
The sun shifted, elongating the shadows. More booths joined the line along the wall, looking like a cramped fair. Those done with their work began to drift away. Isaac was one of them and Haley berated herself for caring when he didn't even glance at her as he left.
As Ty and Josie joined her to put the final pieces together, Haley felt as if she were at her wit's end. Her palm was red from gripping the hammer's handle and blisters were starting to form. With her back to them, she worked harder than ever, cursing her counselor for making her be a part of this group and hating the empty-headed ways of her classmates.
"Did you see the news about Lennon?" Ty asked.
"I can't believe she had to go through that."
"All her music makes more sense now. Like, Come Back To Me, Homeless Heart, Never Again and Minutes. You can really see how that one event defined her life-"
"Oh my gosh, who freaking cares?"
Haley didn't realize she had spoken aloud until the two girls stopped talking mid-sentence. When she looked back she found them staring at her. Josie's normally cheery face was less so and Ty was giving Haley a skeptical look.
"What did you say?" she asked, her tone questioning instead of aggressive.
Finding no way to deny what she said, Haley tossed her hands up, finding her annoyance crashing out.
"Well, it's true!" she said. "What you talk about is stupid and pointless. Who cares what these people are doing with their lives! It has nothing to do with you so why are you wasting your breath talking about? Do you know how obnoxious you sound? You're a bunch of fangirls who can't shut up enough to see that none of it matters!"
All the happiness drained from Josie's face. Ty crossed her arms, her lips pursed. She held up a finger.
"First off, rude," she said, her tone less angry than Haley imagined it should be. "Second, we're not fangirls-"
"Yes, you are," Haley said, "I have heard enough of your dumb conversations to know exactly who you are."
Both girls looked at each other then back at Haley. Josie cocked her head, her face taking on a scrutinizing look. For some reason, the expression startled Haley. Part of her expected them to explode on her. Part of her wished they would so she could yell at someone. Instead, the two girls looked at her like she was an abstract painting that needed to be studied.
"It sounds like," Josie said, "you're judging us without actually getting to know us."
"I don't want to, it would mean I would have to constantly hear your endless stream of nonsense."
Ty nodded like this was an interesting historical fact.
"That nonsense you say we talk about is actually just an opinion you have based on your outside observation. It's not fact, it's a perception."
"So," Josie said, "this whole prejudice you have against us only reflects badly on you since you've chosen to judge without any solid evidence to back it."
Haley stood there stunned. Both girls looked at her calmly.
"We're not who you think we are," Ty said, her voice passive. "And you would know that if you had given even a moments consideration of getting to know us instead."
"I'm not part of your clique," Haley blurted out.
"So," Josie said. "We've been standing beside you for the last two hours."
"You could have talked to me."
Ty gave her a challenging look. "We could have, but someone who joins us glaring and then moves to work as far away as possible doesn't really speak of someone who is open to talking."
Haley was at a loss of what to say. Instead of dealing with their neutral expressions, she turned and went back to work, fighting their words with every nail.
Ty and Josie chose silence as the booth was completed. When it was finished they carried it over to join the others and walked off with their things. Haley was left fuming, their passivity eating away at her. Jace appeared, his eyes studying her.
"Are you-"
"I'm fine," she snapped. "I just want to go home."
**********************************************************************
Здравейте, Toothless!
(Bulgarian)
Bam! That just happened! Ty and Josie came out of left field! Come on let's hear dem thoughts, you have to have some! 👉🕳👈
I would share how I feel but it's a bit tangled. I'm happy Haley was put in her place but she's my character so I also feel a little bad. Gosh I don't even really know how I feel honestly. 🙈
Since I'm a tangled mess might as well share a random fact with you: I'm empathetic. This means I feel the crushing weight of the world and all the people in it that are struggling, lost, lonely, depressed and just wanting to escape. 😢
Not even joking. I have to stop myself from dwelling on it too much or I want to cry. Didn't know that this wasn't how everyone saw the world until my sister told me she doesn't feel that way. 🤷♀️
I wonder what it's like not to be aware that there are so many people just needing someone to care about them. 🤔 I mean seriously it's heart breaking thinking about how messed up so many people's lives are and they don't know how to fix it....😳😢
Okay! I need to stop thinking right now so tell me, what is one unique, odd or interesting fact about you?
Vote, comment, follow. When I say I feel for you, I mean it. Whatever you're going through I'm truly and deeply sorry that life is hard at times.
(If you're not facing a hard time well THANK GOODNESS!)
Either way I hope this makes you smile!
Also I know Jace wasn't in this and you hate me just a little for it, don't worry he's in the next chapter! The whole thing! So breathe and rush to the next chapter!