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I open my mouth to agree that Oliver would never go for someone as shallow as her, but Caley interrupts me.
“Let’s face it, Hannah, if it hasn’t happened yet, you’re wasting your time. A guy as hot as Oliver isn’t going to go for someone as plain and boring as you.”
Pictures of the three girls Oliver hooked up with last year flash through my mind. Kenna is a tall, athletic blonde girl who plays netball at Lakewood. Beth, also blonde, is in year eleven at our school. She works at his uncle’s fish and chip shop where he used to help out before he quit to focus on footy. She does Athletics and I heard she holds the state record for one hundred metre hurdles. Sophie plays footy for the Lakewood female team. She’s currently a brunette, but has also been a blonde and a redhead in the last six months.
Hmm… it seems like Oli does have a type… and it’s nothing like me.
“You’ve got no idea what you’re talking about!” Ashley spits when I say nothing, stunned into silence. She takes a step forward. “Oli and Hannah–” I put my hand out to stop her, not wanting anyone else to know about the kiss. Especially not Sarah.
“Uh huh,” Sarah sneers. “C’mon girls. Let’s leave these two losers to their delusions.” Shoving past me, she heads off towards homeroom.
“Ugh, she’s such a bitch!” Ashley explodes as she thrusts open her locker, the door slamming back, metal on metal. “One day she’ll get what’s coming to her! What’s her problem, anyway? Is it just me or has her she-devil metre ramped up to one hundred this year? I really don’t get why she’s had it in for you for the last six months. You haven’t done anything to deserve it.” She shakes her head.
Shrugging, I fumble with the combination on my own locker. After stuffing it up twice, I finally manage to get it open. “Forget about her. If we ignore her, maybe she’ll just leave me alone.” My phone buzzes and my heart skips a beat as I pull it out of my pocket.
“Is it him?”
I shake my head.Sarah not just a bitch, she’s the devil incarnate!Gritting my teeth, I show her the photo of Oliver and me, taken at one of his family barbecues last year. We’re both laughing at something he said, my hand resting on his arm. Sarah has screenshotted it from my social media profile and branded the words ‘desperate loser’ over me.
“Seriously? Ugh.” Ashley grabs my phone, deleting the message. “You’re right. Just ignore her. She’s a bully. A pathetic bitch who is jealous of you and your friendship with Oliver. He would never even give her the time of day.”
I try to smile, but it’s more of a grimace. I hadn’t even thought about kissing him or how I felt about him beyond our friendship before his birthday. But now that’s all I can think about.Why am I getting so upset by Sarah and Caley’s words? Why do I care so much?
The bell rings and I shove my bag into my locker before grabbing my books. Unfortunately, Sarah and Tiana are in my homeroom, and they giggle as I walk in. Sarah has her phone out and is showing it to a couple of girls sitting near her. More snickering follows. I tilt my chin up, taking a seat as far away from them as I can get, and wish Ashley was in my homeroom.
“Aww, what’s wrong, Hannah?” Sarah’s acerbic voice floats across the classroom making me shudder.
“Back off, Sarah. You’ve had your fun.” I turn to face her.
“Have I though?” There’s an evil glint in her eyes as she sneers at me.
“Look, I don’t know what I’ve ever done to you, but…” my voice trails off as she laughs.
“You make it too easy, Hannah.” Sarah shakes her head but doesn’t say anything else as our homeroom teacher bustles into the room. My phone buzzes in my pocket and I sneak a look under the table. It’s Sarah.
Watch your back.
Great, maybe it can get worse.
8
I stare at my phone trying to figure out what I’m going to say to Hannah. This is worse than when she went to France for her year ten school trip, and her parents wouldn’t pay for international roaming. It totally sucked. We only spoke twice in the four weeks she was away.
I close my eyes but the image of Hannah’s lifeless face in the car force them to snap open again. The nightmares are messing with my head. My doctor has increased the dosage of my anti-anxiety meds, but he told me it will take a week or so for it to help. In the meantime, I feel even more scattered than ever before. My brain literally feels like mush, and my body is slow and sluggish.
I haven’t told him about how Dad’s face now alternates with Hannah’s. He’ll want to send me back to see Eric, and I’m not ready to psychoanalyse that shit yet.I can’t lose Hannah. She’s the best thing in my life right now.My heartrate increases and I find it difficult to breath. I blink away the black spots dancing across my vision. I need to apologise. Not because I regret kissing her – I don’t. I regret the awkwardness I’ve put on our friendship. Not knowing how she feels makes my stomach twist. She definitely kissed me back. If she does have feelings for me, is it worth risking our friendship for?Nope. I can’t lose her.
I start typing,Hey Han, sorry about Friday night…
What a load of crap!Groaning, I delete the message. Maybe I should just pretend like I was too drunk to remember?
Hey Han, sorry I haven’t replied. Been busy…
Seriously?Way to be a real asshole. Delete!
Hey Han, what’s up? How was your first day of school?
At this rate, I’m never going to talk to Hannah ever again. I toss my phone beside me onto my bed and run my hands over my face. There’s a knock on my bedroom door.Just what I bloody need right now.
