My only consolation was having Rachel in my group. She's a good student and I liked her. She didn't care about social statuses or other superficial things and was nice to everyone without discrimination. Plus, she's funny.
At some point, I wanted to set her up with Noah. They would be perfect for each other, but my stupid best friend had to be in love with Laura for the past I don't know how many years.
Not that I have anything against Laura, just that she hangs with Trisha who is one of the nastiest girls I'd have ever met; and you know what people say: Tell me who your friends are, and I'll tell who you are.
"Okay then, hmm, how about we start by choosing a theme?" Anne asked.
We debated and decided to work on the colonization of America, we're all bouncing ideas off each other. All except Nick, who hadn't contributed with anything since we started and was simply slouching on his chair with a bored expression.
I swore I was not going to do the work for him, if he wanted to be lazy that's his problem and shouldn't be ours. I'll tell him that.
The bell finally rang, and the room was quickly cleared. I gathered my things and noticed that Nick was already gone, so I ran out to catch him in the hallway. It's easy to spot him and I ran to him, calling out his name, which he proposedly ignored of course.
When I got to him, I grabbed his arm. He turned to me, not surprised as he clearly heard me before, and let out an exasperated sigh.
"Look, I'm going straight to the point. You didn't say anything the entire class, didn't show any interest in the work we have to do, no comments, no ideas. Nothing. So, I just want to make it clear that you shouldn't expect us to do all the work because we won't. And if you want your name on that presentation you better do your part."
He looked over my head, distracted by something he sees behind me. And yes, he could do that, because despite not being small – I'm of average height – he still was almost a head taller me.
I snapped my fingers in front of his frowning face to get his attention. "Hey, I'm talking to you."
That worked and he looked back at me. "Okay. Got to go," he rushed away.
I swear... this guy...
My fists clenched and I turned to get to my locker, frustrated that Nick didn't take me seriously. As I walked, distracted, I bumped into someone. I lost my balance, as the person was clearly heavier than me but didn't fall. However, as I tried to regain my balance, I dropped my things.
"I'm so sorry," I said at the same time as a masculine voice, as we both kneeled to gather my things.
"No, it's my fault. I was distracted, as always. I really should focus more on what's in front of me," I admitted. "I'm sorry."
I looked up at him as he handed me my notebook and I was met with beautiful deep blue eyes that adorn a charming face. The face of Manson Wilde, the untouchable football player.
"Thank you."
"You're welcome." He offered me a sweet smile that made dimples appear on each side of his round mouth. I smiled back and said goodbye before walking to my locker, not unaffected by this cute side of Manson.
I opened it hoping I would find another mysterious note. I had become addicted to them and hadn't received one in a while. I was pleasantly surprised to find a pale pink card folded in the shape of a heart.
"You look especially cute today. Maybe I'll say 'Hi'."
I couldn't help but blush. I didn't know who sent me these notes, but they always made my day. I didn't believe anyone could find me cute especially with an oversized sweater, but I took it anyway. Excitement then rose in me as I focused on the last phrase.
Could it be? Could today be the day I met my secret admirer? My heart pounded hard on my chest, removing the sound of student commotion from my head. What would he sound like? What would he look like? His hair, his eyes?
All of this time I waited while imagining his figure only based on the sweetness and innocence of his notes, on his beautiful handwriting. How could a piece of paper bring so much happiness and warmth? How could I have all of these feelings for someone I had never met?
Noah of course noticed my good humor during lunchtime and immediately demanded to see the note. While he was reading it, I scanned the cafeteria looking for Micah. He was nowhere to be seen.
"Have you seen Micah? My mom asked me to give him this for his mother."
"Nope. Maybe try the back of the school. I guess that's where he hangs now, with his new friends." For the first time, Noah sounded resentful towards Micah. I felt sorry for him but relieved that I wasn't the only one.
I checked the time and decided I had time to follow Noah's suggestion before the next period. I darted there only to find out he wasn't there. Did he miss school today? Was he sick?
I spotted Tyler laying against the wall, smoking. When he noticed me he wiggled his fingers at me with a stupid smirk on his face.
"Don't tell me you found a liking to the bad side of the school. Did you miss me?" he said as I approached.
"I'm looking for Micah." His smirk disappeared. "My mom asked me to give him something. Have you seen him?"
He got off the wall, took one last puff of his cigarette before extinguishing it against the wall and putting it inside of a plastic bottle he was holding in his other hand.
Look at that, even a bad guy can care for the environment.
"He's at school, I can give him that for you." I was pondering the offer when he shoved me behind him.
"What the-"
He strolled towards a guy I didn't recognize.
"Is that your new slut?" the guy asked.
Excuse me?!
I raised my eyebrow and stomped towards them. I would teach that guy the definition of respect.
"How is your brother by the way? How is pr-" Tyler cut him off with a punch. He jumped at the guy before I got to them. The other guy was taken aback by the punch but recovered and they were now fighting.
That escalated quickly...
Tyler was managing to avoid his opponent's blows and land some punches. For some reason, I was cheering for Tyler.
"I have a message for you, from an old friend of yours," the guy said, looking at me, a smirk on his face, after wiping away the blood coming from his shattered lip.
I felt strong arms around me. Holding me from behind. I wanted to move but couldn't. The guy holding me was probably a lot bigger than I was. I tried to step on his feet as "Miss Congeniality" taught me, but he didn't budge.
I couldn't move my arms, only to the same degree as a T-Rex, so I tried to hurt him by digging my nails on his arms, with no success. So, I did the next logical thing and used the voice mother nature gave me.
I screamed as high as I could, surprising everyone, including Tyler, who turned to me with his eyes wide open. The guy holding me tried to shut my mouth with his hand, but I bit him. As hard as I could. He loosened his grip around me but recovered quickly. I was stuck again. Until I wasn't.
I looked back to see the guy I assumed was holding me on the ground. Nick was on top of him, punching him like a maniac. I was pulled away by someone. It was Micah. After a while, Nick and Tyler let go of their prey.
"Go show our reply to his message dick." Tyler spat. The other two guys left, bruised, limping, and crying profanities.
Surprisingly, apart from their messy hair and bruised knuckles, Nick and Tyler looked the same, completely fine.
"What is this Micah?! A gang dispute?!"
"What are you doing here Jules?" Micah asked in an accusatory tone.
"Excuse me?! Do I need a reason to be here? Isn't this still school grounds?"
"You know very well what I mean."
I glared at him before going back to pick up the lunch bag I had to deliver. I threw it at him, hoping that whatever my mom had baked wouldn't be destroyed.
"Give this to your mother. The recipe is in the front pocket," I said before walking away, only to stop after a few steps.
I turned back to him. "Is this why you ditched us for them? So you can hang out with the "cool" kids and get into fights?! Congratulations Micah, you found yourself a great company, so much for not getting in trouble."