“And the loser by knockout,” Kenna bellowed, doing her best to imitate an announcer but ultimately falling flat. “Our resident wimp, Grant.”
I wanted to shrink in on myself but doing so wouldn’t erase my presence from that bitch. After all, the newest hot topic of the day was me. Instead, I had to resort to putting my head on my desk over my crossed arms and pretend to be resting. That clearly was a desperate ploy, but at least it hid my pink face from the constant jeers and laughter from the annoying group she had gathered.
This was a far cry from the restful day of suspension I had enjoyed hanging out with my dad. There never had been any expectation of the red carpet treatment when I came back, yet Nicole might have had it somewhat worse. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see that her cronies had abandoned her. Left alone, she cradled her cheek and stared out the window in feigned interest.
It was funny how, a few short days ago, I would have been over the moon at her being miserable. Now, I just felt bad that her backing me up had led to this.
She hadn’t tried to join in with any snide comments to try and gain back their favor, and the others were content to shun her rather than make her the center of attention like I had become. Was it a small mercy from her friends or that I was simply an easier person to bully? Or maybe this was just karma for all the people I threw under the bus in the past to save my own skin? Had Jack not been absent today, I would’ve been curious to hear his opinion.
“Are you hiding because your face has more bandages than skin?” Sophia asked.
Dropping my head to the other side further concealed them from my view. Unfortunately, shifting my position couldn’t stop the rest of the stupid shit they had to say.
“I wouldn’t have got my ass beat by a junior, but that’s just me.”
“All for some girl he has no chance with anyway.”
“He even dragged Nicole down with him. Talk about some lame shit!”
“News made it around too fast and Emma heard. Otherwise, we might’ve got to see a repeat today.” Kenna laughed loudly. “Her and Luke are the only reason Erin and that dude didn’t kick his ass again. He should be on his hands and knees, thanking them for saving him.”
They were treating me like I wasn’t there at this point, rattling on with their over-the-top exaggerations that made no sense when you thought about it. That didn’t stop them or the outlandish things they were yapping on about. Until Aubrey kicked at a chair and the tall, lanky dude leaning on it stumbled and nearly fell. “What’s your problem?”
She stood up, facing the group with her hands planted on her hips. “My problem? You’re the ones with problems. All you ever do is pick on other people. Don’t you assholes have anything better to do?”
“You got something to say to us?” He stopped when the former cronies motioned for him to back down. He may have been useless but he was an obedient mutt.
“I just said it. Or are you so stupid you can’t understand English? In that case, let me rephrase. You all are a bunch of dumb assholes.”
Nicole broke her charade to exhale loudly, the laughter bubbling underneath if her upturned lips were any indication. I was the only one who noticed, however, since everyone else was captivated by the stand-off going on.
Kenna didn’t seem to appreciate either the attention or having someone stand up to her. “Listen here, skank. I told them to lay off you because I thought you had a lot going on in that screwed-up head of yours, but I can see–”
“That's enough.”
The room went quiet. Miss Halsey stepped fully through the doorway and looked over the gathered students. “I don't know what happened, and frankly, I don't have the patience to find out. But if I hear one more insult, some of us are going to have a very long afternoon.”
Her gaze settled on Kenna. “Are we clear?”
Kenna muttered something under her breath.
“I asked if we were clear.”
“Yes, ma'am.”
“Good. Seats. Now.”
That was all it took to send everyone scrambling to their assigned desk. Miss Halsey walked down the cleared row after having pulled a Moses and successfully parted the sea. She took her lackadaisical pose at the podium and started pointing her pens at people while she jotted down who was absent. “Grant?”
“Y-yeah?” I asked, curious if she somehow hadn’t seen me.
“You’ll be joining me after school for a little discussion.”
“Why’s that?” Nicole interjected.
Our teacher blew the bangs out of her eyes, allowing me to see how far back they had rolled at what must have been an inane question to her. “Consider it part of his club activities. Any further concerns can be addressed straight to the principal because I don’t get paid enough to deal with this crap. Speaking of which, I was supposed to make sure you were invited too.”
Nicole molded her palm back onto the side of her face and gave no reaction to the news. Miss Halsey did not appear concerned about it and dove straight into the intricacies of figurative language, while I worried more about what kind of deal Nicole’s mom had struck with the school. Were a few detentions lying in store for us? Somehow it felt like this was building up to something a little more pressing.
The second hand ticked onward, seconds turned into minutes, minutes turned into an hour, and then the bell rang to dismiss us. Miss Halsey’s warning of the homework due tomorrow was drowned out by the sound of shuffling papers, shifting desks, and the outbursts of conversation. Everyone filed out, save me and Nicole who were eagerly awaiting our fates. So eager in fact, that she drew out the slowest ‘this is bullshit’ I ever heard in my life. Unfazed, Miss Halsey slouched over the metal podium. Was she still deciding our punishment, building suspense, or waiting for something?
The answer came in the form of Aubrey re-entering the room, having stashed away her coat and backpack. Miss Halsey took the opportunity to scuttle away to likely go procure a coffee or do whatever it was she did when not teaching. That wasn’t surprising in and of itself. I figured this had something to do with our club. If I knew Miss Halsey, she was probably going to force us into some sort of servitude disguised as a club outing or activity.
Aubrey came to a stop about two meters past the podium, serving as an epicenter between my desk on the left and Nicole’s desk on the right. She looked between us, her lips pressed into a thin white line. A wave of expressions seemed to pass over her, and yet she couldn’t decide on a single one. With all the confusion, a stoic mask slipped over her face, and I couldn’t tell what was going on with her.
“Come here.”
I would have asked who she was referring to, but her tone left no room for debate. She wanted both of us, and she wasn’t going to take no for an answer.
Slipping out of my seat, I soon found myself standing in front of her. The usual amusement of towering over her had faded in anticipation of what was to come. Was she upset? Well, I guess that much should have been obvious. Nicole had warned me that she wouldn’t have wanted us to fight that bastard. This was fine, then. Whatever anger was about to pour forth from her would be nothing compared to how much her cheek had healed. The swelling had gone down considerably, and the blistering had faded, though a patch of red and purple still marred her cheek.
I would do it all over again if I had to, and I was sure Nicole would as well.
What I hadn’t anticipated was how close she would come to me. She was near enough that my nostrils were filled with the light scent of vanilla, and I had to resist the urge to move further away. Scratching at my cheek to play off how on-guard I actually was, I waited on her next move with bated breath. She sniffled once, then stared up at me with those crystal blue eyes of hers. “Nicole was right. You’re an idiot.”
I let out an awkward chuckle. “That might be the first thing you two can agree on.”
“It might be.”
She stepped away, and relief flooded through me. Doing my best to disregard the pounding of my heart in my ears, I watched her glom onto Nicole. To be fair to myself, Nicole wasn’t handling the situation any better than my pathetic display. Standing like a petrified statue, she whispered something to the girl who had her in a vice-grip. A small smile split across her face, and Aubrey hugged the other girl tighter, eliciting a sigh that was either of resignation or the air being squeezed out of her lungs.
It was hard to tell at this point.
When Aubrey had withdrawn from her and returned to her original spot in the classroom, I finally found the courage to speak. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you what Luke–”
“I know.”
The words stopped me cold.
She returned behind the podium, looking between Nicole and me, her expression difficult to read. “I never blamed you. But that doesn’t change the fact that you both are infuriating.”
“Not sure what I did wrong here…” Nicole stated.
“I’m glad you asked. It’s because I didn’t want you to do something like this. What am I supposed to take away from this? How should I feel, having both of you step in for my sake? Get hurt for my sake?” She sucked in a deep breath, rapidly delivering her impromptu speech. It was obvious she had run over some vague ideas to cover. “Are we going to give this an honest shot? The club? Each other?”
I nodded, Nicole locked eyes with her in agreement, and Aubrey smiled beautifully.
It was a nice moment–a promising moment–but everything always came to an end. Aubrey’s smile morphed into a frown. “Miss Halsey wanted me to let you guys know your punishment. She said it's her duty as the club’s advisor.”
“She went home already?” I asked, my new working assumption being that Aubrey and her had planned this ahead of time. Even though it benefitted our teacher, it was nice of her to help bring us together and give us some privacy to sort things out.
Aubrey hummed a confirmation, and Nicole just shook her head. “Of course she did. She hits us with double jeopardy, and then just leaves. Typical.”
“What’s the deal?” I asked.
Aubrey twirled a lock of pink hair around her finger. “We’re going to be officiating a soccer game tomorrow."