Hello, Luna

Chapter 2. I Don't Care

I woke up on Monday morning with a lump in my throat. Vi was at her house, and she doesn't even go to high school anymore. I had friends at school before, but I don't know if they are my friends now.
I check my phone. It's 6:30 in the morning. I have three texts.
One's from Vi, Good morning. You feeling a little better?
I write back: Hardly.
I look through my other texts. One's from an unknown number: I can't believe you did that to Cal. You really are a b*tch!
There were no asterisks. I felt a tear travel down my cheek. I deleted the message.
I saw the other one, also from an unknown number. Ur a worthless low life you kno that? U ever hurt cal again then i am comin for u! i dont care if u r a girl!
I didn't even feel bad about that one. I laughed. They're calling me a worthless low life when they wrote the word "know" as "kno"?!
The only thing that bugged me was that they said they were coming for me. That worried me. Was this person going to hurt me physically? I never thought that I would be in that kind of position...
I heard a knock on my door, interrupting my thoughts. I shut my phone and wipe my tears, then let them in.
My younger brother, Ray, ran into the room, his phone in his hand.
He looked at it, and then to me again. He knows about the article.
"What's this?" He asks.
"It's a lie." I said. I explained everything.
"Oh," he replied. "Okay. I knew this wouldn't be true, but I had to ask."
"Why do you think he did that?" I asked my younger brother, who has no experience in relationships whatsoever.
He shrugged. "He's an idiot." Then, with that, he walked out of the room.
I called him back in, and he popped his head through the ajar door. "Yah?"
"Don't tell anybody."
He nodded. "Got it."

***

I had to face the misery.
I walked into school with a pit in my stomach. And just as I suspected, as soon as I made my way into the gates, I had glares shot at me from people I don't even know.
I looked down onto the pavement and kept walking. I had a massive lump in my throat. My bag seemed so heavy suddenly, and my legs were shaking.
Just keep moving I told myself.
That's when people started yelling at me. Swearing, name calling.
I looked around me, and they were circling. Tears threatened to come out, but I blinked them back. I don't cry in front of others. And I don't plan on starting now.
They circled me, all of Callum's friends, the jockeys. My heart beats faster. Are they going to hurt me.
Callum's best mate, Billy Friar opened his mouth, inching closer towards me. I had nowhere to go. "Hey there, sl-"
"Children!" A familiar voice called. I spring my body around to look at the Senior School Principal. I breathed a sigh of relief. Nobody would be killing me today.... I hope.
The boys stopped and backed away a few inches automatically.
"I would like to speak to Miss Revondel alone, if that's okay."
I nodded, shoving my hands into my skirt pockets to make it less obvious they were shaking. I looked back at Billy. He has a big nose, brown hair that was cut short, and crooked teeth. He scowled at me. "This isn't over," he muttered, loud enough for only me to hear. I turned my back and pushed through the teenagers. I had a ringing in my ears as I followed Mr Feyer towards his office.

***

I sat down in the chair across from the senior school principle, in front of his desk. He was bold, and his head so glossy it would suffice as a mirror. His eyebrows were white. That was the only hair he had, well, visible. I cringed at my own thought, disgusting myself.

"I know that you know what I'm going to speak to you about." He said.
Dammit. The entire state probably knows by now.
"Um... no sir." I lie. "I don't."
"Don't play dumb with me," he says. "It doesn't look good on you, Luna."
I was taken aback with his blunt words. I stuttered for a second before I spoke.
"Like I said, sir, I don't know what you're talking about."
"Well, I know you're lying, but at this rate we aren't getting anywhere." He grumbled. He showed me his laptop screen. The article popped in front of my eyes.
I sighed. "What about it, sir?"
"What you've done does not concern the school board, yet. If any incidents happen here at school between you and Mr. Holt, I must get involved. You don't want that, do you?"
Is he threatening me? I bit back the words that threatened to come out, and yet again, became a suck up.
"I assure you, sir, nothing like that will happen again, not in or out of school." If I tell him it's a lie, he won't believe me.

"It better not." He said. "Now get to class."

***

I spent all day by myself, dodging gangs that seemed to be following me and immediately finding a random teacher and hanging near them.
Finally lunch came, and since I had no appetite, surprise surprise, I only ate an apple.
I sat down on a bench in the back of the year 12 cafeteria. People glared at me, mostly the jocks (so Callum's gang, who was, most obviously, away from school "mourning").
I plugged in my headphones and pressed shuffle on my phone's playlist. The FIRST song was I Don't Care by Fall Out Boy.
I swear I choked on my food when this song came on, considering what it was about. The entire cafeteria was staring at me choking, but they didn't move. I drank water and my throat was okay, but now I was laughing. Cackling, in fact. They kept staring, flabbergasted looks on their faces. Everyone here knows me and what I was accused of doing, and they're looking at me laughing at myself choking like I'm crazy. Of course that's how I felt. But a good crazy, suddenly.
I don't care just what you think, as long as it's about me Patrick Stump sang.
I said I don't care.
(I don't care)
I said I don't care
(I don't care. No I don't care)
I don't care.
I don't care.
I, don't, CARRREEEEEEEEEEE
I don't care what you think as long as it's about me.
The best of us can find happiness in misery!

I was howling of laughter now, my cheeks red and lungs breathless. I jumped up, continuing my apple like nothing happened, and ignored the other looks. Because I don't care.