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Fabric tore. They roared with laughter. The girl shrieked, followed by her cries filling the hall. The boys’ footsteps faded. I was left with just the sound of hiccupping sobs. And my ragged, desperate breaths.
A few moments later, Ariel quieted, then her timid steps approached the lockers. “A-are you okay, Julietta?”
I didn’t want to focus on the fact that I felt like I was suffocating, so instead I asked, “What did they do to you?”
“Ripped my new dress,” she replied sadly. Then seeming to gain confidence in her next words, she changed her tone. “My mom will just get me a new one. Did they hurt you?”
Besides the bruise I’d have on my knees? “No,” I answered.
The sound of jingling keys approached. “Julie?” Mr. Verris called. “Miss Vendercall, what are you doing in the hallway? You have class—what happened to your dress?”
“Jared and Todd ripped it,” she said, “but please help my friend. I don’t think she can breathe very well.”
As if that jogged his memory that a student was stuck in a locker, he brought out the keys. My whole body shook, and when the door shot open, I fell out with a startled cry and landed hard on my knees.
“You all right there, Julie?” the man with salt-and-pepper hair asked. He was tall and his face heavily lined. I tried not to groan at the name Julie, but the kids at school made it sound like a dirty word.
After a moment of gasping for air, tears pouring anew, I got to my feet. Swiping my tears away, I asked, “Are they going to get in any sort of trouble for what they did?” I looked at Ariel, who had wrapped her arms around herself—like she was physically holding herself together in that moment. She offered me a watery smile.
“They’re teenage boys, darling. It’s what they do.”
I gave a choked laugh before turning on my heel and heading for the door.
“You both best head to class now,” Mr. Verris called.
I held up my middle finger and kept walking, ignoring whatever he shouted after me. Ididn’t stop until I was out the doors, walking along the busy road, not really knowing where I was heading.
When the neighborhood turned to one I was familiar with, I adjusted my course slightly.
The sun beat down on me, sweat drenching my shirt, causing it to stick to my back. I entered the mall not long after, thankful for the cool air.
My pocket had only two dollars and fifty cents in it. My lunch money.
Sighing, I circled the food court, settling for a one-dollar burrito and cup of water. I stared down at the table while I ate, feeling beyond pitiful.
A chair screeched across the floor in front of me, making my head snap up.
Romero dropped into the seat, his lips pressed together. For several moments he didn’t speak.
I downed the last of my water, staring right back at him.
“You’ve been crying.”
“Don’t worry about it,” I said with more bite than I meant to.
His head cocked to the side. “I got a call from your school. They said you broke a boy’s nose, then skipped school.”
I snorted a laugh. I broke his nose? Good. “Is that all they told you?”
“They also said you were then forced into a locker by said boy and his buddies.”
I nodded. “Did they add in the fact that Todd knocked my books out of my hands? After all his jokes about my mom’s…problem, I couldn’t take it anymore.”
Romero continued to look at me, adjusting the sleeves of his dark suit jacket. He leaned back, flexing his hands on his lap—almost too low for me to see. “Want to see a movie?” he asked.
I blinked. “What, no lecture about punching the asshole kids at my school?”
He shot me a disapproving look. “Watch your language, Julietta. It’s unbecoming.”
