THE UGLY DUCKLING, nate macauley

chapter seven: secrets spilling

     MALIA HAD A weird night's sleep. She never had more than thirty minutes, and then she wouldn't fall back to sleep until an hour later. It felt like there was something pulling on her stomach. Addy had been outed to the entire population of Bayview High and everyone else that read About That. That al had been unprovoked as far as Malia knew. If she was being honest she would say she was scared. Addy didn't tell Simon anything about her and TJ, but Malia had a different story.

      Malia sat silently on her bathroom floor. She had her knees pulled up to her chest and pressed her back against the door. 19, 18, 17, 16, 15.  She started twisting her ring around her finger taking a deep breath in and out. 11, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5. The girl hadn't been more scared in her life. What was she going to do if it- DING! Her phone started ringing beside her, signalling that the timer was up.

     The brunette looked up to her bathroom counter. It felt so high. She felt small. Shakingly the girl stood up. Her hand was hesitant as it grabbed the small object. She clutched it in her hands, then shut her eyes tight. "Now or never." She muttered.  In one movement she turned it to face her.

     Two

      Malia stared blankly at it. It's like every emotion in her body had left at that moment in time. She felt numb. So silently she placed the item back on the counter and returned to her original spot on the floor. Malia grabbed her phone with one intention only. She placed the device up to her ear letting it ring before she heard a click. "Can you come over?" She asked in a soft voice. "I- something happened."

     Luckily for Malia, her entire school day had been uneventful. No Simon drama. No, About that posts just pure silence and bliss. The girl was doing stretches with Amelia in the gym, the dark-haired girl just gossiping about anything and everything. While the blonde wasn't paying much attention to it, something that she did pay attention to was the loud commotion coming from outside. Amelia silenced herself and shared a look with her best friend. In a split second, the entire dance team was up and sprinting out of the gym. They were all met with Jake and TJ fighting in the hallways.

       People were crowded around them, some even filming it. Malia put her hand up to her mouth in shock. Cooper came running around the corner holding Jake back from TJ, but Jake ended up pushing him into the lockers and pinning him there. Cooper shoved him in the opposite direction of TJ, rolling his shoulder. Malia stood there wide-eyed and concerned for everyone involved. Roman tapped Malia's arm. "Let's go." He whispered, when she opened her mouth to protest, he shook his head. "Principal's coming."

     She bit her lip nodding and made her way back to the gym, with the rest of the team in tow. The second they stepped foot back in the gym all their phones rang.

     It's your lucky day Bayview. Spilling Addy's secret was so fun, I think I'll give you another one.

     Malia's stomach churned.

     We all know Bayview's resident bad boy, Nate Macauley, deals drugs, but did you know he almost dealt a eat blow this summer when he sold to a junior who OD'd? Don't blame the victim, though.  Nate saw she was drunk on cheap liquor and bad ideas and still sold her the pills that almost killed her.

     The blonde hated to say this but she knew exactly to who Nate had sold the drugs. Well, she didn't realise it at the time, and that's what made her sick.

      Is this what will finally land him in jail?

     Malia felt a hand on her shoulder, trying to comfort her. She felt the eyes on her and she realised that people felt pity for her. She shrugged it off and walked out of the gym. She was honestly terrified she did not want her secret to come out especially not like this.