Him and Her

Five

Five

Ana

I sit on the bench in the locker room and put my head in my hands. I begin to cry. I hate those people. She is so mean! Am I ugly? Am I really the loser of the school? Kimberly and Emma walk in. They must have noticed I didn't come out.

"Oh Ana! You can't let them get to you!" Kimberly says sitting next to me. "Whatever they said is not true!"

"Really?!" I whip my head up to look at them. "I have been the loser of the school forever!" I sob.

"No! You are a beautiful, brilliant girl!" Emma assures me.

"How do you know? Look at me."

"I know because we practically grew up together. Ana, I know you. You are the smartest person I know!" Emma says.

"Yea! They are just jealous over your brains and looks." They both hug me.

"Thanks guys." I wipe my tears. "I don't know what I'd do without you." I flash a genuine smile.

After I wash my face with water and calm down, we all go out to the bleachers and take a seat. We make small talk until the bell rings. "Alright! I will see you guys next class." Mr. Wright says, dismissing us.

We all leave the gym and go our separate ways to our lockers. "See you guys later." I say going to my locker.

"We can call to do homework together!" Emma suggests.

"That sounds perfect." I smile.

I walk to my locker and open it. I pull my coat on. I grab my backpack, kneeling to the ground to load it with my books and binders. Just then I feel someone next to me. I stand up to see Josie and Maria standing there.

"Hey!" Maria taunts.

I don't answer.

"Why were you talking to Eric?" Maria questions.

"None of your business." I mumble.

"I think it is!" She demands an answer.

I don't say anything and close my locker walking away. I go outside and speed to my car. And of course, Carter is parked next to me. Carter hits on me, making me very uncomfortable. He always waits for me at the end of the day to leave the building to talk to me. He is also a senior.

"Ana! What a delight is is to see you!" He says with his creepy grin. I ignore him walking faster toward my car. Only for him to follow. "Why are you ignoring me?" He questions a little louder. Carter can get really mad. The last time I ignored him he shoved me to the ground and called me mean names.

"Can you leave me alone Carter? I have to get home." I plead.

"Why? You love when we hang out!" He grins, stepping closer. I get to my car. "Hey! Pay attention to me!" He slaps the hood of my car. "Oh, I'm sorry baby. You just get me so angry sometimes. If you listen to me then I won't get angry."

"Carter. I am going to get into my car and drive home. Back up." I say.

He hits the car again. "Don't you dare tell me what to do." He orders. "Why don't you just come with me? We can go get dinner?" He offers, grabbing my wrist.

I pull back. "No." His grip is tight, and pulls me toward his car. "Carter, stop." I beg. I can suddenly hear two people walk toward us.

"Hey. Everything okay here?" I think Jake from my gym class asks.

"Yes! We are just going to go to dinner. Come on Ana." Carter continues to get me toward his car.

"I don't think she wants to go to dinner." Jake says. I turn my head for a split second to see Jake and Eric standing there. Eric looks concerned as he looks at me.

"Carter, I need to get home." I plead, continuing to pull my hand free.

I see something flicker in Carter's eyes, fear maybe? "Okay. Maybe another night." Carter says, letting go of me. He scrambles into his car. He still kisses his lips toward me and I cringe.

I pick my bag up off the ground. "Thank you." I say, not looking at them as I go to my car door. "Please don't tell anyone." I beg.

"What? Between Josie and Maria? No Carter?" Eric speaks up.

"I don't want to cause a fuss. I don't want any drama. Please?" I plead.

"Are you sure?" Eric questions.

"I am." I get into my car. "Have a good rest of your day." I close the door. They slowly walk away. I take a few breaths before driving out of the parking lot.

I really hope that Jake and Eric don't say anything. I hate making a big deal out of things. I am not worth all the trouble. I don't like the attention on me. Driving home, I listen to music trying to get my mind off of the Carter thing. Nobody knows about it. Not even my parents. They love and support me, but I don't want to bring it up.

My father owns a technology company while my mother works in a big office building in the city. We bring in really good money, so I used to be picked on for being "rich". That bully from Josie stopped back in ninth grade thankfully.

I pull into the drive wat, parking my car before I walk into my house. "Buddy?" I call out. A few moments later, he comes running down stairs. I take him outside to go to the bathroom. Once he is done we go back inside. I take off my jacket, hat, and boots before we go upstairs. Buddy follows me and lays on my bed as I sit at my desk to start homework.

After a couple hours I finish my homework and go downstairs for a small snack. When I open the refrigerator, there is a note on top of a covered casserole dish:

Here is your dinner for the night! Love you! - Mom I smile at the note.