The Lies We Breathe

Chapter 7 - Wednesday, August 2nd: Facing the new enemies

Despite Liam's advice, I was back in my car driving up to Highridge the next day. I wasn't feeling well at all and I hadn't gotten much sleep for a second night in a row.

When I entered my very first class that morning, my heart sank. Blake freaking Shields was in it. And so were Josh and Frank. But no sight of Liam. I looked at my schedule again, considering if there was any chance I could exchange this class for something else. It was literature, the subject I had been looking forward to the most.

Frank had still a bruised eye and he was glaring at me even with more anger than the day before. I had embarrassed him. Twice.

Josh moved his finger as if slitting his throat. I swallowed hard.

Then, I looked over at Blake. At the sight of me, his face turned hard. There was a hint of a wicked smile on his lips though.

I looked around for a free desk, which was the last in the corner next to the window. Far enough for me. So I headed straight there, ignoring the looks everyone gave me as well as all the snickering.

I didn't get far though then Blake stood up from his chair and blocked my path.

"What part about "leave and don't come back" did you not understand?" he asked. He was very close now, so I backed up a step. He was towering over me and dangerously close. It made me uncomfortable and he knew it.

"That is not for you to decide," I replied lifting my chin and locking my eyes with his.

As if in slow motion, I watched him raise his left hand and touch the collar of my blazer.

"Just look at you. Secondhand, I assume?" he commented condescendingly. I pushed his hand away. He began circling me like some prey. Next, I felt him touch my hair. "Ponytail. How boring." I pulled my hair to the front, out of his hands. "This bag of yours. Did you get it at a flea market?"

I turned and faced him.

"Touch me again and I will break your arm. That's a promise."

He was gonna say some more but just then the teacher walked in. He gave me an amused look, like he knew something I didn't know, and moved back to his seat, letting me pass.

I hurried to the desk at the back and sat down. Since I still had everyone's eyes on me, I chose to look out the window. From here I could see the ocean. I guess I could daydream to escape my dreadful reality of breathing the same air as those guys.

"Hey, new girl!" someone called out to me. I turned and I saw two guys, looking identical to each other. They occupied the desk beside me. They were unmistakably the Rileys. They were both blond and blue-eyed. "You rock!" One of them said.

"Shut up, Riley-Twix," Frank called out to them.

I wished my head would disappear between my shoulders. I already felt miserable about having to share the room with my arch-nemesis for one full hour. I didn't dare to reply to their comment, lest I provoke even more the already fully awake tigers.

I was relieved when the teacher finally started the class. I liked him right away. Mr. Jackfield was young, only in his thirties and it seemed like he was very at ease with all those rich kids around him. Half of the girls seemed to be in love with him, judging by the giggles. He was very professional about it though.

"I see we have a new student with us this year. Hope Pauline Collins," he read from his sheet scanning the room for me. "Hope, why don't you introduce yourself," he said once his eyes found me.

I have done it several times in the last few days, but it was very different with three pairs of eyes filled with absolute hate for me staring me down. I cleared my throat.

"I'm Hope..." I began.

"...poor trash..." I heard someone say and cough. A few giggled. I balled my fists.

"...born and raised here. Happy to be in your class, Mr. Jackfield." I didn't sound happy at all saying this.

"And we are happy to have you with us, Hope. You may sit down now," he said. I was glad he left it at that. Other teachers were less merciful. They wanted to know all the details about me, which usually also included mentioning what part of town I came from and what my parents did for a living. Mr. Jackfield just proceeded with laying out the course material for this year and I was forgotten. I could not be more grateful. I had already enough on my plate.

This was the class I have been looking forward to the most. And now it seemed like the evil apocalyptic forces were breathing down my neck. How I wished I could be anywhere but here. I could keep my mouth shut, but a shut mouth would not get me the grade I needed.

"The first novel we will be covering is "Wuthering Heights" by Emily Brontë," Mr. Jackfield announced. Many moaned at that, but he ignored them. "Highly controversial. But might be also one of the greatest love stories ever written."

"More like one of the greatest hate stories..." It was Blake. He almost sounded bored the way he said it.

"All the characters had their troubles, Blake. Love, hate. Sometimes it is hard to see where one ends and the other begins. This is what we will try to uncover this semester," said Mr. Jackfield.

"What is there to uncover? Heathcliff was a gold digger. The rich let him in among them and he'd stripped them of everything they had. And his love for Catherine was nothing but an obsession the poor have with the rich. Catherine knew that. That's why she ultimately married someone of her own standing. Let's see it for what it was."

There was laughter from all sides at that.

"Interesting opinion, Blake," said Mr. Jackfield.

"There are the rich and there are the poor, if those two mix, nothing good will ever come out of it," Blake added and leaned back in his chair. And then he turned his head and looked straight at me. And he was not the only one.

Under his gaze, my cheeks flushed red and I hated to admit that his words wounded me. I knew that indirectly he was talking about me.

"Catherine loved Heathcliff and so did Isabella." I said looking back at Blake. Love doesn't choose who is poor and who is rich. It just happens. Maybe not to someone like you, which only speaks about your own inability to love and nothing else." If he thinks he can win verbal combat with me, he better think again. My answer annoyed him, I could see it by the way he pressed his lips tighter together.

"Thank you, Hope. I see, we can look forward to some interesting debates once again. As usual, we will be working on the project in pairs. Blake and Hope, I think you will make a very good pair. I believe all of us would be very curious to see what fruits such diverging views will bear."

My heart sank. I looked over to Blake again, and the look he gave me almost made me want to jump out of the window. We were only five minutes into the class and somehow I had already gotten myself into partner work with Blake. With freaking Blake!

Well done Hope! My mind was racing, I was in full-blown panic mode. Calm down, I told myself. What could he possibly do to me? Kill me? Probably.

When the class was over, I practically ran out of the room before anyone could stop me. And I almost could feel arrows shooting at my back as I made my escape.

I know it was cowardly of me. But this was the best I could think of given the circumstances.