Happiness [Book 2]

Chapter 13 - Defeated

As I walked down the hallway the next day, I heard someone calling my name. Sugar appeared behind me, in her brightest pink clothes yet. "Marley, I need you help."

"Of course," I smiled.

"I'm running for Student Body President. I know Amy in Glee club is also running, and I have a feeling we're going to need to sing it out. I want the tips and tricks... from the best," Sugar grinned. 

I thought her comment was sweet, but I had no idea how to help. Luckily, Kitty swooped in to save me from an awkward interaction. "You suck, Sugar." Kitty flicked Sugar's sparkly pin pom-pom pen from her hand. 

Sugar picked it up and looked so defeated. I knew that feeling all too well, and I wanted to save her from it. Plus, I could have something to keep my clearly boring mind occupied. "You don't have to sing, Sugar. I think you could do something fun to win the people over, like... hand out sugar sticks. Your name is Sugar, after all."

A smile grew on Sugar's face. "You're so right!" A squeal left her mouth, and she was off down the hallway. It felt good to help my friends. 

As I continued on, Travis appeared in my line of sight. I planned to just smile and wave, but he stopped for a chat. "Hi there!" He said, that dorky smile on his face. 

"Hey, Travis." I held my books tighter to my chest.

"Fancy seeing you here. I guess that's the funny thing about school, hey? That you run into people so often." He chuckled. I gave a polite laugh. "Hey, I'll walk you to class!"

We begun walking in the direction of my classroom. 

"So... how's your day been?" He asked, trying to make conversation. A sense of dread washed over me. I hoped that we wouldn't have more spark than Ryder and I at the moment. 

Then something happened. I wasn't sure if it was a saving grace from this conversation, or a curse from the universe, but a blue slushie flew at both of our faces. "Suckers!" I heard Phil the footballer shout, before laughter filled the corridor around us. I knew the bathrooms were just down the hall, so I made a run for it.

I felt my way to the sink, rinsed out my eyes, and saw my friend Angie giving me a sad look. "I'm sorry this happened." She said quietly, handing me a wet paper towel. 

All I could do was laugh. "My world has been weird lately. I'm glad this happened, because it's shown that not everything has changed."

Angie nodded. "I get that." 

The hallways outside the bathroom begun to quieten down. "You go," I said to Angie, "I'll catch up with you at Glee, alright?" As she left, I pulled my denim jacket on to hide the blue marks on my shirt. A mask, to pretend that everything was normal when really it was all stained with... the saddest colour of them all. 

***

As the bell rung for the end of the day, and I packed up my books, the door to my classroom was blocked off by Bobby and Phil. I knew there was about to be a confrontation. 

I stepped up to them, swallowing my nerves. "That slushie was fun today, huh?" Phil asked. 

I nodded. 

"We had it out for the Emo Chick in your group, but we couldn't find her anywhere." Bobby shrugged, leaning against the door frame. I must have had a puzzled look on my face, because he kept on talking. "Oh, you know, the Emo Chick? She always wears that thick ass leather jacket... cause she's an emo!" He and Phil laughed, like they were the funniest people in the world. 

"You always make friends with the weirdest people!" Phil commented.

"And you always find a way to... to... be a dick." I snapped.

Bobby and Phil shared a look, pretending to be scared but definitely making fun of me. "Well, well, well," Phil begun, "it seems that you've spat us out... just like you spit your food out after you eat it!"

That was the straw that broke the camel's back. I hit him hard across the face, before pushing him to the side and walking to Glee club. I was seething with rage. I hated that I was seen as that girl to him, but probably... to everyone around. Was that all I was? Was I just the damaged bulimia girl, with nothing else interesting to say? 

***

My friends at Glee club appeared to be whizzing by me in a mad rush, whilst I sat there, quiet as ever, staring at the blank wall ahead. Despite the room being so busy, I felt so alone. 

A loud knock startled me. Principal Figgins was standing at the door. "Sexy teen imbeciles," he said, "I need to talk to Miss Marley Rose." 

The rest of the room stared at me, quizzical looks on their faces. It felt like this was the first time today that they were really noticing me there. I knew exactly what this was about. I simply stood, and followed Principal Figgins. 

When I got to his office, Finn was seated on one of the chairs, scratching his head. "Why are you here?" I asked, taking a seat on the opposite one.

"I don't know," Finn shrugged. "Why are you here?" 

I shrugged, even though I knew all too well.

Figgins shuffled into the room and plopped down into his chair. "There have been reports of Miss Marley assualting two of our students." Principal Figgins looked right at me, but I couldn't quite tell what his expression meant. 

"Marley?" Finn asked, shocked. "Assaulted?"

Figgins continued. "An appropriate punishment-"

"Did you say Marley assaulted them?" Finn repeated. He looked at me, eyebrows raised. 

I sheepishly nodded. "I-I-I did it in self defence. They were making fun of me, of my friends." I turned to Finn. I could feel tears welling in my eyes. "What was I meant to do?"

Finn slid to the edge of his seat. "Principal Figgins, you can't punish Marley for that. She and the whole Glee club and so many other students put up with so much bad stuff, and I never see them getting punished." 

"My hands are tied, Finn," Principal Figgins stated, so plainly, so matter-of-factly. 

"No, no they're not." Finn was starting to get angry. "You can't punish her, but let everyone else get away with it. It's not fair to her, to them, to us." 

"Finn," Figgins sighed, "I will have to issue out one afternoon detention." 

Finn started to argue again, but I couldn't handle it. "Principal Figgins, I will do a... detention."

"Wonderful. You are free to go." Principal Figgins said, signalling me out of the room. 

I stood up to go. Finn hesitated for a moment, before following behind me. "I don't understand why you just took that," Finn whispered. "You need to stand up for yourself."

I felt myself about to cry again. "There's no point, Finn. Nothing ever changes here." I finally looked at Finn in the eyes. I couldn't quite tell what he was feeling, but I knew it was bad. 

"I-I..." Finn started. He sighed heavily, before continuing to speak. "I care about you guys. I don't want you to suffer the same way my New Directions did."

I thought about giving him a hug, but instead I gave him a pat on the arm. I hoped he knew what that meant: I appreciate you. 

We hurried back to the choir room, where we were greeted by stares from every single member.

 I hurried to my seat next to Angie, smoothing down my dress as I sat down. "What happened?" Angie asked me. "Are you okay?"

I didn't want to make eye contact. I felt nervous, but I tried my best to make it light hearted. "What do you even do in detention?"

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