I look up and see my two best friends, Lori and Kelly, standing there, glowering at Nina.
This is so not going to be good.
“Did Stanks knock you down?” Lori asks, using the horrible name they’ve given her to let her know how much she smells.
“No, I turned the corner and lost my footing. Nina was helping me pick up my stuff.”
I’ve known Kelly and Lori my whole life, and they can be cruel beyond belief. However, the three of us do everything together and it’s been that way since we were in kindergarten.
“Still,” Kelly huffs, picking at her nails. “She should…shower…or something.”
I look at Nina, who is clearly on the verge of tears. I want to say something, tell them to stop, but I don’t. I never do. I hate myself for it. I don’t want to be this way, unwilling to speak up for those who can’t, but I don’t want to be on the other side of their friend-card either.
A year ago, Lauren Evans was our fourth best friend. She was by far the nicest one of all of us. Whenever Kelly and Lori got mean, Lauren would never join in and was always uncomfortable around them. Then, she decided she didn’t want to do cheerleading anymore, and she was booted from the group because she was “too busy” for us. You would think that Lori and Kelly would want her to be happy, but they don’t. In fact, they make fun of her more than anyone else in the school. Lauren can’t fight back either because they know some of her secrets. Which makes me terrified to be like her, because they know all of mine.
The bell rings and I jump up. “Shit! We have to go. Thanks for helping, Nina.”
Kelly and Lori scoff. “Shower, Stanks.”
“Guys,” I say with frustration. “She didn’t do anything.”
“She exists.”
“And she’s gross,” Lori tacks on.
There’s no stopping them, and if I push back, it’ll make it worse for Nina.
“We’ll see you after school?” Kelly questions.
“Yup! See you later.”
I rush off and enter the cafeteria before the bell rings. I head over to the teacher who is stuck chaperoning the group and he points out the table where my peer student is.
Derek Hartz? Really? It has to be the one kid who seems to think I’m the biggest bitch?
“Hey,” I say as I sit.
“Oh, come on. You?”
“I’m not any happier about this than you are,” I assure him.
Derek is…odd. When we were younger, it was fine, but he never changed. He still wears out-of-style clothes and never talks to anyone.
“I just need help with a few math problems.”
“Okay. Show me where you’re stuck.”
We go over them, and I show him a few tricks I’ve learned when it comes to equations. The next twenty minutes fly by as he starts to master the steps a little more.
We chat a little about his father and the wild horses that he found wounded on the island. I can’t imagine seeing them hurt. They always seem so mystical to me whenever we do see them.
“They’re cool,” he says. “I like the fact that they’re wild, but the more people who come around, the less the horses will be willing to show up.”
“Really? I feel like this island was built for the wild horses.”
“I agree, I’m hoping more land gets preserved to protect them.”
I nod. “Me too.” We both sit here, looking at each other and I wonder why I’ve thought he was so weird. He’s not. He’s actually pretty normal and funny. I’m having an off day if I’m thinking of Derek Hartz this way. I need to get back to the math so I can get my head on straight. “Okay, let’s try this problem.”
I laugh when he gets frustrated because it’s the same part I’ve shown him twice, but he keeps trying.
“What if you try it like this?” I spin the paper around and show him how to draw it out. “Does that help?”
“That actually does.”
I smile. “Good. I’m glad. It’s really easy once you get the right order. Is there anything else I can help with?”
“You know, when you’re not around the two super-bitches, you’re not all that bad.”
“What?”
Derek shrugs. “Bitch one and Bitch two. You know, the ones who seem to think they’re perfection walking.”
“Lori and Kelly aren’t bad.”
His brow raises. “They’re beyond bad, and you know it.”
Okay, maybe I do. “Still, they’re my friends.”
“Lucky you.” He chuckles.
“Next you’re going to insult my boyfriend, huh?”
Derek laughs, his head falling back, and I can’t help but think how free he looks. I don’t laugh like that. I can’t let it fly and not worry that someone might see me. I don’t ever feel comfortable enough around people to not have to keep some sort of control because people are always waiting to see me fall.
Other girls want it more than anything. To see the queen bee fall from grace.
The guys want it to either date me or take something away from Keith.
If I could be invisible or part of the background, no one would care.
I glance around the room, looking at everyone going about their lives, not watching him, and jealousy rears its ugly head.
“I could never insult Keith. He’s…a god amongst men. I would be shunned, hung in the town square, beaten for speaking out against the king.”
“Just a little dramatic?”
“That’s what this town thinks.”
I lean back in my seat. “And you don’t?”
“Hell no. He’s a dickhead. Who cares that he’s great in football? Not me.”
“Well, a lot of people do,” I challenge him.
“Good for them. I’d be impressed if he used his time to do anything good for anyone but himself.”
“And what do you do, since you’re all about putting everyone else down? I don’t see you out there saving the world.”
Derek leans forward, arms on the table, his face is closer, and I wonder if he knows that he’s really cute.
