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“Speed demon,” he teases me. “You have such focus, I’m a little jealous. I’m about halfway done collecting data, so I’ll be here again tomorrow.”
Shrugging, I say, “You’re chipping away at it and dedicated to finishing. You should be proud of yourself.” Putting on my backpack, I wave goodbye as he smiles back at me in surprise and nods.
I think his name is Brenden, and he usually hangs out with the football players. I try to give everyone the benefit of the doubt, but I wouldn’t be surprised if he’d be grateful for my words one moment and bullying me the next.
Apparently, that’s just how high school in sleepy Brooksville is. I don’t remember eleventh grade being this awful in Texas. It’s like the entire school is out for blood. My blood.
Weaving through the crowd to my locker, I stumble forward as I see the paint has now been decorated to look like a cow. There’s brown, black, and white papers all over in the form of the animal. Breathing shallowly, I can’t get enough air as I reach out to touch it. A note is taped to the cow, and my fingers tremble as I reach out to pick it up.
“Oh I see you found the school’s present. You’ve been skipping meals, and we wanted to make sure you were eating properly,” Christy says, one of my step-sister’s horrible friends. I don’t stop to turn as I tear down their “creative artistry” and open my locker to find hay spilling out of it.
“No fucking way,” I whimper in horror at some of my books being ruined from the wet straw, and my eyes well up with tears.
“Miss Cassie, I know I didn’t hear a straight-A student curse in the hallway,” booms a teacher.
Turning, I let him see the mess in my locker. “Do you think I did this to myself, too?” I ask softly, tears rolling down my cheeks as the students roar with laughter.
His mouth drops open as he sees the mess, and he excuses himself to find an assistant principal. My eyes wander the crowd as they continue to their classrooms at the behest of another teacher. Lyra smirks as she walks by, murmuring, “Interesting diet choice there, baby sister. I’ll have to tell Mom to start serving you this for dinner.”
I open my mouth to say something, but she’s gone, disappearing around the corner. It happens so quickly, I have to ask myself if I’m going crazy. I’m so distraught by the time Mrs. Michaels finds me, I can’t talk. She sends me to the nurse’s office to sit and get a hold of myself while the custodian comes to take care of my locker.
“Are you sure?” I wheeze, anxiety and embarrassment clawing at me. Pushing the note in my hand into the pocket of my sweater, I shake my head. “It’s not fair for him to clean up someone else’s mess.”
I feel bad and want to tell them I’ll take care of it, but there are spots in front of my eyes from panicking.
“Hey,” barks the custodian, as he steps in front of me. His tone reminds me of my father’s when he’s yelling instructions at people, and it helps me breathe. It’s familiar to me.
“Yes,” I say softly, wrapping my arms around myself.
“Did you make this mess?” he asks, pointing at the offending locker.
“No, Sir, I did not,” I tell him, and there’s a small smile on his lips when I call him “Sir”.
“Then you don’t gotta apologize to me,” he says with a nod. “High schoolers are snotty-nosed brats most of the time, and I have made people help me before. However, today is not that day, and you’ve had a rough day already. Go rest your feet, calm down with the nurse, and maybe go home early.”
I haven’t had much experience with the custodian, but I can appreciate his kindness. “Thank you, I’ll do that,” I mumble, then walk away. I head to the nurse’s office and lay down, thinking about what a shit day I’ve had.
My stomach rumbles again, and I studiously ignore it. After this latest incident, maybe I do need to lose some weight. My hips are a little round, and I could stand to lose a little weight in my ass.
Maybe if I do, I’ll actually be able to be happy, and my step-sister will stop trying to ruin my life.
The nurse walks out of the room after telling me to close my eyes and take as much time as I need. Pushing my hand into my sweater, my fingers brush the note. In the crazy of everything, I forgot about it. Opening it, I mutter, “This is probably a really bad idea.”
This is just the beginning, little cow.
You should just disappear.
I hear your father has a pretty gun collection.
Mouth dropping, I sit suddenly, shocked anyone could be so cruel. A wave of nausea rolls over me, and I cover my mouth, begging it to go away. I already seem crazy after I freaked out in the hallway, puking would just be the cherry on this fucked up day. I wipe the tears and lean forward on my arms to steady myself. I close my eyes and try to catch my breath.
I don't know why they’re being so cruel, but maybe they’re right. Maybe I would be better off gone.
ChapterThree
These past few months have been hell, and I'm so ready to escape. My grades are slipping, I'm having trouble focusing and sleeping. I don't feel safe in my own home.
Lyra has made it her mission to torture me, and the worst part is she likes to bring her new boyfriend around. He creeps me out and likes to touch me when no one is near.
