"You're kidding me," Lark said.
"I wish," Naomi said as she made her way through the food service line.
She was enjoying her continued break from Malcolm by describing her day to Lark in the lunch room. She encountered minor stares, but after her talk with Quinn, she no longer cared...much.
"You set another student on fire?" Lark repeated, obviously shocked.
Naomi simultaneously elbowed and shushed her.
"It wasn't intentional. He was after me, so I defended myself."
"Don't worry. I believe you."
Lark's reassurance didn't stop Roland from blocking their path as they tried to find a place to sit.
"She cheated." He crossed his arms.
Naomi noticed he was sharing a table with Alicia, Gia, and Malcolm. Not surprising. Of course, he'd have a delightful set of friends. There were another boy and girl present at the table, but Naomi didn't know them yet. They appeared to be fraternal twins from their similar looks of chestnut hair and inquisitive, ice-blue eyes. At the very least, they were probably related.
"Cheated, no. Played dirty, perhaps. But either way, you deserved it." Naomi made to step around Roland, but Alicia stopped her in her tracks.
"You know, Scales, it seems like you didn't understand our conversation this morning."
A gasp ran through the growing crowd at Alicia's jab. At the ancient slur that set Naomi's body aflame.
Scales.
Only the most detested, despicable dragon shifters were called by that name.
"That's it," Naomi hissed, slamming her tray on the table. Her eyes must have transformed into the glowing red of her inner dragon because Alicia did back away. Lark raised her arm, trying to block Naomi's path.
"Don't do it, Naomi. It's not worth it."
"That's right. Defend your girlfriend. To be honest, I'm relieved you've managed to find one," Alicia mocked.
"You know what, Alicia? I'm getting real tired of you. Unless you want to end up humiliated like your friend Roland, I suggest you mind your own business," Naomi said, her voice low, dark. Damning.
"Are you threatening me?" Alicia attempted the same tone, but her voice shook.
"No, I'm saying you can't hide behind your fake relationship with the prince forever. Once you realize you've bought into his sham, you'll have no one left to hate but yourself. Then let's see how good you are at slinging around petty insults."
Feverish murmurs from the audience erupted, surrounding Naomi and Alicia in the heat of their rising conflict. Yet neither girl got the chance to let out an actual battle cry. Malcolm leaped from his chair, Figgis quickly following him.
"That's enough!" he shouted. A command from royalty ended any fight, including its eager spectators.
"Yes, maybe you should take a walk, Cliffton," Figgis warned Naomi.
"No. She's coming with me." With that command, Malcolm pulled Naomi out of the cafeteria. She possibly could have fought him on his manhandling, but she didn't see the point. They were going to have it out, one way or another.
When they were through the cafeteria doors, Malcolm dropped her arm, paced for several moments, then turned to her, letting out an exhausted breath.
"What the hell is wrong with you?"
"Me? Your girlfriend is a vindictive harpy with no sense of—"
"We talked about this. About how we are supposed to act here. At school, in front of everyone. I can't have you ridiculing my girlfriend and not be expected to do something about it."
"And I won't stand for being treated with such disrespect. I don't care who she is to you."
Malcolm started in again but she cut him off.
"Who is she to you, anyway? I'm assuming you're mad that I called your relationship fake, but come on. That girl is terrible, and if you care about her so much, why did you chat me up?"
"What?" Malcolm blinked, stirred out of his tirade.
"You heard me. At the bar, then the festival. When you...when you came on to me."
Malcolm turned away and Naomi felt her stomach sink. Maybe he hadn't been. Maybe she'd misconstrued the whole thing. Clearly, it meant nothing to him.
Then why was she bringing it up?
"You were coming onto me, weren't you? Does Alicia know you go around flirting with other girls?"
Why was she still talking?
Malcolm ran his fingers through his hair, half in sheepishness, the other half in exhaustion before he spoke.
"Remember how you said your life feels like a giant lie?" he finally asked.
Naomi blinked in surprise that he'd remembered her words. She gave a reluctant nod, leading him to continue.
"Well, sometimes that's how my life feels. Like the person I'm supposed to be and the real me are two different people. So when I take off and pretend to be Max....I know in a way, it's another lie but it's also freeing. I get to be the real me. I get to be anyone I want. I get to do anything."
"Your situation and mine are not the same, Malcolm," Naomi snapped.
"I know that, Naomi! But when I saw you...when I saw the most gorgeous girl I'd ever met, right in front of me, I wanted to talk to you." Malcolm started to step toward her but decided against it. Instead, he locked eyes with her and spoke an irreversible truth. "But that was it, Naomi. At the end of the day, no matter how bad I want him to be, 'Max' isn't real. I'm still a prince and Alicia is my future wife. "
Some kind of lump lodged in Naomi's throat. One that she couldn't swallow back down. Looking at his face, the one that had captured her from their first moment together, with his earnest turquoise eyes and full lips...she realized she'd never hated anyone so much. She wanted him to feel it, that hate.
"Well, the 'most gorgeous girl' from that cursed bar had her life destroyed because you had the audacity to speak. I regret the day I met you, Max, who the hell ever else you pretend to be! I regret the second I laid eyes on you, Malcolm Greenwood. I regret everything."
Naomi turned on her heel and left him behind. Wishing this was the last time she'd see him.
Knowing all too well that it wouldn't be.
***
The rest of the day passed by in stony silence. Malcolm and Naomi avoided each other, and the air reeked with tension, regardless of how many awkward jokes Sam tried to make. Once the final school bell rang, and Naomi was free, she rushed to her sacred haven.
The second Naomi walked into her bedroom, she gave a brief grunt, acknowledging Lark, before landing on her bed. She flopped on her back and stared up at the ceiling. Unlike the poorly structured one at home, this one had no cracks. It was perfect.
Dear deity, Naomi hated it here.
"Bad day?" Lark asked innocently, propping her head up on her hand to get a better look at Naomi.
"Worst first day ever."
She frowned, still staring at the ceiling. "Malcolm is an ass—I don't care what you say. I wouldn't help him blow his nose, let alone jump in the line of fire for that guy."
"Blow his nose?"
"You get what I'm saying. And Alicia has got to be one of the most unpleasant people I've ever met. At first, I thought it was me, but then she started attacking you. What did she mean by that stuff, anyway?"
"What stuff?"
"Calling me your girlfriend."
"Oh...she thinks I'm gay," Lark said.
"Why does she think that?"
"Because I am." Lark avoided Naomi's gaze.
"And?" Naomi tossed a pillow at Lark, forcing her to pay attention. "So what if you're gay? She has no right to comment on it."
"It doesn't bother you?"
"Why should it? It's none of my business. You can care about whoever you want."
"Well, what if I fall for you? Aren't you worried I'm going to peek at you while you're changing clothes? Or brush your hair a thousand times at night when you're asleep?" As she ranted, Lark clutched the pillow Naomi had thrown, holding it to her chest.
In spite of Lark's serious tone, Naomi fell into uncontrollable laughter.
"Okay, yes, that would be creepy, but I get the feeling you're not saying that because you're making plans. Did Alicia say these things about you? Is that why your roommate left?"
"Alicia was my roommate, since freshman year. But then she found out..."
Naomi nodded understandingly.
"She found out I was in love with her."
Naomi bolted up from the bed. "What? Are you insane?"
"I didn't mean for it to happen. When I first got to this school, Alicia was nice to me. Mostly because our parents were friends, but still. She welcomed me into her circle and slowly I started having feelings for her. Then one day, she found my journal, read it in front of the whole school, and exposed me. She made up lies about me, and then she moved out. I've had a single room to myself since. No one wants to room with me."
"I know it hurts, but you're lucky to be away from her. If only Malcolm would wise up too," Naomi mused.
"Oh, he won't. They've been together forever. It's only a matter of time before they're betrothed."
Malcolm's words echoed in Naomi's head: I'm still a prince and Alicia is my future wife.
"So it's a done deal then?" Naomi asked Lark, vaguely aware of how hollow her voice sounded.
"Yep. So done." Lark sighed.
Naomi's gut clenched in a way she didn't understand because Malcolm was absolutely right. Max didn't exist but Alicia did. There were boundaries between him and Naomi on all sorts of levels. He knew it, she knew it, so why the hell did it all still make her so damn mad?
A persistent part of her suspected it was because of the other part he said: no matter how bad I want him to be, 'Max' isn't real.
No matter how bad he wanted him to be. So had Malcolm thought of it too? The night they met and before everything else went to hell. That there could have been...something?
Not that it mattered one damn bit now.
"Good luck to them both then. Dumbasses," Naomi growled, snapping herself out of...whatever that had been. She turned back to Lark and gave her a reassuring smile.
"But don't worry, Lark. I think you and I will be fine. If there's one other person who understands what it's like to be ostracized, it's me."
"Yay! We can be pariahs together," Lark enthused, and the two girls gave each other high-fives from across the room.
Later, as Lark settled in for a power nap—she claimed she needed one before she could do homework—Naomi pulled out her old e-Mecha and sat at her desk. With such a hectic day, there was one more thing she needed to do: write to her father.
Dear Papa,
I wanted to let you know I'm doing well. My first day here has been good. The school's full of surprises, but I'm learning the new routine with Malcolm. Getting used to everything. I've made a few new friends too.
I don't know the rest of my schedule yet, but I hope I can be with you over the weekend. Until then, I'll remember Mama's words: 'You can endure anything if you fight hard enough if you love hard enough. For you're only as strong as the love you give.'
With all my love,
Naomi"
*** Naomi's not trying to be anyone but her true self nowadays. How do you think that will pay off for her?