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xii
before the dead began walking...
"𝐎𝐡 𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐤, 𝐢𝐭'𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 emo weirdo who's brother went to prison." the mean girl, Catherine, grins. It was dinner break and I had no one, all of my friends were off with a bug, conveniently. "Are you ignoring us?" Georgia sneers. "I think she is." Catherine grabs my face roughly. "Why are you ignoring me?"
"Because I'd have a better conversation with a rat." I snarl. "Then again, there isn't a difference." To "show me a lesson" she smacks me across the face, no teachers were around, just my luck. "Why don't you show us your wrestling skills?" she giggles. "Show us how good you are. We don't like it, but maybe we might change our minds."
"How can you tell you hate it?" I ask innocently. "We've never had rectal bleeding before, but I'm pretty sure we're not fans of that." Georgia laughs. "How about I shove her head up your ass and we'll find out?" That triggered Catherine enough to give me another slap. But this was redemption now.
Without thinking, I grab my dinner knife and slash her forearm, she steps back screaming in pain, Georgia coming to her aid. The teachers grabbed me, now here, yet again, my luck, and shove me out of the cafeteria, I was still in shock over what I had done, this was going on record forever, I'm only twelve for fuck's sake.
***
present...
"𝐉𝐚𝐝𝐞! 𝐉𝐚𝐝𝐞!" 𝐌𝐚'𝐬 𝐬𝐨𝐟𝐭 voice wakes me up from my nightmare. "Are you all right? You're drenched in sweat." "Just a nightmare." I breathe. "Where is everyone?" "Already outside doing stuff, come on lazy bones, we have the washing to do." She leaves the tent and I get all my clothes ready.
I leave the tent and see Ma, Lori and Carol hanging up the washing. "Here she is, Sleeping Beauty." Zak coos, sharpening his knife. "Don't, I'm not in the mood." I grunt. "When are you ever in the mood?" he chuckles. "Zak, she's had a nightmare, leave her." Ma defends. "What was it about, the monster under the bed?" Zak jokes.
"No... because this one was real, it was when that Catherine girl pissed me off so much... I slashed her arm, happy?" I slam down the clothes I was trying to hang up, and walk away. I just don't get why I'm being reminded now, in the middle of an apocalypse.
