Destiny Is Calling

Chapter 11 (Part 1)

Sophia

The weekend flew by far too fast for my liking, and Monday morning saw us back at school. I managed to navigate the halls without too much difficulty for most of the day. Unfortunately, Callie and Cole were away visiting cousins of theirs for a couple of days, and wouldn't be back until Tuesday night. This meant that I was all alone in my classes, and also that I had to either walk or take the bus to and from school. Normally, this wasn't a problem; it's not like I've never walked home or been on a bus before. Monday after school,

however, I did not feel like doing either.

I had a weird feeling as I closed my locker door; like I could sense that something bad was going to happen. Just as I turned to walk towards the door, I felt someone knock straight into me, slamming me back against the wall. I let out my breath in a gasp and looked around for whoever it was. I caught sight of Bryce Adams and a bunch of his dumb friends over to my left. I was pretty sure that it was one of them. Unfortunately, I had to walk right past them in order to reach the door.

I started walking again, looking at the ground and occasionally glancing up at the group of boys in my path. I was trying to slowly edge around them when someone caught my arm and yanked me sharply backwards. I stumbled and tripped on something that felt like a foot, landing smack on my backside. My books fell out of my bag and scattered over the floor. "Ow! Hey, what's your problem?!" I yelled. I got up and looked around, trying to see who had pulled me. I couldn't figure out which one of the guys had done it, but I knew it was one of them.

I bent down to gather up my things. As I turned around, searching for my Biology textbook, my face suddenly forcefully connected with something hard. I recoiled back, my face smarting like I'd just been slapped. Then I realized. "Did you just kick me?!" I screeched, whirling 'round to face the group of boys.

"I don't know what you're talking about, Sophia. We were just talking. I didn't see anyone kick you," Bryce said, smiling cruelly. His friends murmured in agreement. I was starting to get really mad. "You know, I've met quite a few pricks in my life, but you my friend are the whole freaking cactus!" I told him. Spying my Biology textbook on the floor off to my right, I grabbed it and stuffed it into my bag. I walked around the group of boys, keeping my back to the wall and a wary eye on them. I was thankful when I reached the tarmac in one piece. I took a couple of deep breaths before setting off down the road. I had a feeling that I was going to have quite a bruise on my cheek the next day.

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Tuesday morning didn't warrant any trouble for me and I began to relax as I thought about seeing Cole the next day. I had missed him terribly and couldn't wait to just be held in his arms; he always made me feel so safe and protected. I knew that nobody would try anything so long as I was with him.

I spent lunchtime in the library, as I didn't want to sit all alone in the cafeteria. As I'd suspected, the kick I received the day before had left a beautiful bruise flowering on my left cheek. I had tried to cover it up with foundation, but it still showed through. I was hoping it would go down before I saw Cole, but I wasn't convinced that that was going to happen.

I was pulling on my shorts in the gym locker room after lunch when Brittany came up and stood in front of me, arms folded. "Can I help you? You know, I'm trying to change here, in case you hadn't noticed..." I told her, bending down to lace up my trainers. As I switched to my other foot, I saw her knee come up. I jerked back, causing her to narrowly miss my already-beat-up face, and instead make forceful contact with my left shoulder. I winced in pain. "What the hell was that for?!" I yelled, gripping my shoulder with my right hand. Great, another bruise. At least it's not so visible this time, I thought.