Becoming Mrs. Bryant

𝐓𝐇𝐈𝐑𝐓𝐘 𝐍𝐈𝐍𝐄

Hailey

May 15, 2023

"First day back." Zach said as he put his arm around me, "are you excited?" I rolled my eyes.

"Everybody knows that I stabbed Derek!" I whined, "how could I be excited?"

It was only two weeks before we'd be saying goodbye to Norwood forever. Our group would have all completed high school, and it would officially be a thing of the past. I couldn't wait, literally because I don't know how the hell I'm supposed to get through these next 14 days before graduation.

I received looks as Zach and I were hand-in-hand, heading up the stairs. Similarly to how Nova was looked and pointed at, I was too. Actually I had always been, because Nova and Aubrey somehow left this everlasting effect on the current sophomore, junior, and senior classes.

"They're back together?" A girl asked rather loudly as she and her friend passed by Zach and I. "We never broke up" I scolded, "mind your business."

"Not what Derek said," the other girl insisted, "we heard you stabbed him because Zach caught you cheating and you were trying to prove that you didn't really like Derek." I could feel my heart beat pick up.

"And you believe that shit?" I asked, trying to get myself to calm down. "Really?"

"I mean, why else would you stab him?" the first girl who'd spoken asked. "His reasoning actually made a lot of sense Hailey. Plus, you do hang around questionable people." I folded my arms.

"Questionable people?" I asked, "like what? Somebody who was struggling with their sexuality and didn't get the privacy they needed to properly navigate the situation? Or somebody that had a complicated relationship and wanted to do the right thing but was then lied on?"

"Let's just go" the second girl suggested, and I nodded. "Yeah, you better get the hell out of my face" I warned, "worrying so much about Derek, you might be fucking next." All it took was that line, and they were far gone. Zach looked at me with big eyes.

"Damn" he went, "I didn't know you were like that."

"I'm just over this year babe" I groaned to Zach as we made a pit stop at our lockers. "Prom is at the end of next week and there's no point in me going. Everybody's gonna think I'm there to commit a serial stabbing or something." Zach stepped in front of me.

"Are you doing all of this for you, or for everybody else?" he asked me. I cocked an eyebrow. "Huh?"

"School. You're not here to make friends clearly, right?" I nodded, "right, I suppose."

"So why are you not gonna go to prom? Oh, because people who don't like you might be there?" Zach asked, "Hailey who cares! This is your prom as much as it is the next chick's. You not going might show all these lames that this shit is bothering you."

"Well, I have a week to get a prom dress. How am I gonna do that?" Zach chuckled as if I had asked a dumb question. "Hailey, your best friends are Nova and Aubrey. They do damn near everything for you. Just run it by Nova." I shrugged, "I might."

***

Nova

My phone rang, but Aubrey picked it up before I could. "It's Zach," she informed me, "y'all had something you needed to talk about? Or can I answer?" I thought for a split second, "nope" I said, "nothing we needed to talk about. Answer babe."

"Hello?" Aubrey spoke into the phone, "what's up Zach? Is everything alright?"

"Hey, Aubrey?" Zach said with uncertainty, "is this your number or Nova's?" Aubrey chuckled.