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I’ve never done anything to her to warrant this aggression toward me, and I won’t supply her with any ammunition to keep attacking me.
Not that any of it truly works. No matter what I do, she still harasses me.
“Sorry.” As quickly as I can, I snatch up my fallen books to try to retreat from her before she starts making fun of me again.
“If you learned to take care of your hair like an actual person, you’d see where you’re going.” Her snarl causes all her little drones to laugh with her. It wasn’t even funny or clever. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with my hair. I wear it down in its natural waves all the time with longer bangs and see just fine. She purposely gets in my way.
If I didn’t care how I looked, my mom certainly does. I get regular trims and always leave the house with it styled.
“You have beautiful hair, Angie. It needs to be seen.”She tells me this every morning when I groan about her messing with it.
“Did you hear me?” Thin fingers, glistening with too-pink nail polish, snap centimeters from my face before I can get a chance to stand up straight.
Engaging with a bully—feeding their fire—gets you nowhere. So I keep my silence. Let her think I don’t hear her. If I don’t give in to her, then she’ll eventually find someone else to pick on.
“Are you stupid or something?” Her overly made-up face looks down at me in disgust. “Deaf? Mute? I know that isn’t true because I’ve heard you talk to teachers and those friends of yours.”
I blink at her, my expression one of boredom. I’m really sick and tired of her shit, but punching her would only get myself in trouble, not her for bullying me to the point of doing so.
The no-bullying policy established in schools is the biggest pile of bullshit given to parents and students.
“I know you’re in there. I see the way you look at—”
“That’s enough, Cera.” The commanding voice cracks through our little section of the hallway like lightning. Cera’s lackeys separate to allow Patience LaClare to join us. She’s shorter than most of us and the same age as Cera, which is two years older than me. She’s the hotheaded ringleader of a group of wild boys.
Chase Thorne is one of them. If Patience doesn’t like you, most of the time the guys won’t waste their time with you.
Except for Cera; somehow, she’s managed to stay attached to Chase even against Patience’s blatant dislike of her.
Patience stops next to me, forcing her way between myself and Cera.
“Is there an issue here?” Her gaze burns into me before turning a hardened glare up at the bully who can’t even pronounce her own name correctly.
“Sh-She ran into me.” I want to smile at the terror in the snob’s voice. Patience may look sweet, but she can be vicious.
“Oh really?” Patience shoots back in a condescending tone. “Because from what I saw up there”—she points at the hallway above us—“you went out of your way to run into her.” I don’t even take offense to Patience not knowing my name. I’m a sophomore, a no one to a senior like her.
“B-But—”
“I’ve heard enough.” Patience silences her. She reaches for my free hand and tugs me away from the group. “Nothin’ but a bunch of raptors.” She snarls under her breath. “Sorry about that.”
“I should be the one who is sorry.” I don’t look up. My gaze stays on the ground and her booted feet.
“Hey, look up.” I drag my attention up to her as she comes to an abrupt stop. “Keep your chin up, your shoulders back, and it doesn’t hurt to wear a resting bitch face. She’ll leave you alone soon if you do that.” She offers me a smile. “Take care.” She walks away, leaving me in the slowly emptying hallway.
“Thank you,” I call after her, but I know she’s already too far off to hear me.
Taking another deep, reinforcing breath, I pinch my eyes closed and turn around once more to come face-to-face with Cera Long, the only woman who can actually classify herself as one of Chase’s exes.
“Hello, Cera.” Forcing a smile to my face when I would much rather run it into the brick wall of the school, I say the name she goes by when I want so badly to pronounce it the right way.
“Well, was it?” She skips the pleasantries because after all, she hasn’t really changed.
Yet they let her teach children.
Releasing a breath, I roll my lips in an attempt to keep the smile on my face. “It was.”
“Oh really?” Her eyes come back to me from where she was watching. The evil I used to see as a teen comes back as her gaze penetrates mine. “I’ll have to make sure I pay him a visit, then.” Her face crinkles up in a way she must think is cute, but it makes her look like she needs to run inside and take an epic shit. “You know, for old time’s sake.”
