Give All the Credit to the Hot Cocoa

Chapter 3: Paige

" Who does that, that,that, girl think she is? I mean Kaleb is mine and she thinks she can be new to this school and just think it's all about her and she can get everything she wants? I don't think so!", Paige was telling her friends as they stood on the cafeteria stage. I've only been here for one day and I've heard that Paige is that "mean girl" you see in movies. She thinks she is all this and that! She also has those people that walk around just like her and try to copy her and be like all that. They don't even talk! They call them " The Brunettes'" also known as Olivia, Jayden and Sarah. " I got to stop Kaleb from going to that girl and come to me.", she said as she smiled to her posse with an evil grin. She flipped her hair and walked out of the cafeteria as a diva. All of them. They didn't know that Claire was in the cafeteria the whole time hiding behind a trash can. She snuck in there to spy on Paige to get more information on her. Claire heard everything!"That no good.... I don't even know! She can't get between Skyler and Kaleb. Not if I have anything to say about it!", Claire whispered to herself. " I guess Paige thought her and her minions were the only ones in the cafeteria,WRONG!", Claire said as she ran back down the hallway to find her friends.

*

" Hey, Kaleb. Your drinking cocoa. Same. What song you listening to?", I asked Kaleb as I saw him sitting on the bench.
" Not song, beat. I made it myself. He handed me his beats so I could listen.
"Sick. Um could you tell me more about this...."
"SKYLER!!!!!", Claire yelled as she came running down the hall with Jackie. " Hi Kaleb, bye, Kaleb.", they said as they pulled me with them into a running adventure which ended up in the janitor's closet.
"What is so important that you just HAD to pull me away from you know, who.", I said as I stared at the ground only thinking about Kaleb.
"Paige....gonna....you....Kaleb.....no good....can't....breathe", Claire said in short breaths.
" SPIT IT OUT WOMAN!", I said as I hit her on her back to help her get some breaths in.
"Paige is going to try to stop you and Kaleb from being a thing! You can't let her do that! Kaleb belongs to you not Miss Bratty! What are you going to do?", Claire finally said as she was able to breathe.
" I'm not going to do anything. Kaleb wouldn't ask out a girl like me. I'm totally not in his mind. Paige can have him even though it will rip my heart into a million pieces and I'll probably end up living with only cats naming one of them Mr. Whiskers and having my own grown son living in my basement but I'll be fine.", I exclaimed with a worried look while Jackie and Claire just stood at me like I had a problem.
"When did you get Beats?", Jackie asked.
" I never did! Oh my gosh I'm still wearing Kaleb's Beats! Gotta go. By the way I still like Kaleb but if he likes Paige that's his problem.", I said as I was halfway out the door. I ran as fast as I could to the bench to see if Kaleb was still there.
" I thought you weren't going to give those back to me.", Kaleb said as he smiled at me.
" Sorry. Just my girls doing their thing.", I said with embarrassment.
"Um do you want me to give you a tour of the school. I know it like it's the back of my palm since my brother went here and I was here almost everyday."
"That would be great. When?"
"How about right now?
"Okay.", I said. He grabbed his stuff and showed me everything about this school.
" Thanks for the tour."
"No problem. Um, do you want to go to the Hope Café to get something to drink? You can bring your friends. I just wanted to get to know all the new faces around here.", he asked.
"I'm free but I don't know about my friends. I'll get back to you.", I said.
"Great. Three o'clock?", he asked.
"Sounds great. Bye.", I exclaimed. I walked away feeling happy and awesome though I felt as someone was following me or even spying on me. But when I turned around no one was there except for Kaleb and his brown shaggy hair.

*
" I'm glad you could make it. What are you going to get to drink?", Kaleb asked me.
" Is that even a question?", I asked him. He laughed.
" Yoo Hoo! Kaleb over here!", called a voice from behind. It was Paige.
" Paige, what are you doing here? I thought you didn't like this place because it was were all the losers come. Not that you guys are losers", he said to us.
"I never said that! Stop joking around honey.", she said looking directly at me as she playfully hit Kaleb on the arm.
" Honey? You guys are dating?", I asked crushed.
"Why does it concern you, what's your name?", Paige shot at me with a dirty look.
" Skyler. Skyler Huggins."
"Ohhhh. The girl who smells like fish. That was you that was stinking up the cafeteria or was it your sense of fashion?", Paige said totally like a brat.
" You can't talk to her like that!", Jackie said.
"Yeah!", Claire joined in.
" And who said? Wow, Kaleb I thought you couldn't get any lower from dropping out of the popular group but I was wrong. Way, way, way , way, wrong! Hanging out with losers. Wow. That's low.", she said looking straight at me, Jackie and Claire.
" I mean especially hanging out with this Skyler chick!She is as ugly as a split ends and is obviously a loser who can't do anything! I mean look at her! This is who you want to hang out with! Hahaha. You are totally wasting your time. All these girls can do for you is do your homework. They aren't one of us.", Paige said hanging on his arm. He yanked his arm out of hold. Tears were already coming to my eyes.
"Um. Kaleb, I'm just gonna, um go.", I said with a lump in my throat. A tear drizzled down my face.
" Are those tears or ugliness running down your face?", Paige asked. I ran out the café. Jackie and Claire behind me calling my name. I didn't hear them. I didn't want to. All I could see where the blurs of cars and people as I ran till I got to the school then to my room. I ran inside locking the door behind me. I slowly slid down the door with tears coming down and off my face quickly. I had nothing. I was so hurt. I mean what she said was mean but I don't have tough skin so that hurt a lot. Not even hot cocoa could fix the bullet holes from Paige's words.This is what it feels like when you've been hit in the gut with a punch. Pure miserable.
"What you said was totally wrong Paige. This is why I left the pod. You.", Kaleb said as he ran out the café leaving Paige and her mischievous smile. She had struck me down. Dear Mom, every thing's fine except for the pain in my wounds. Obviously Paige did not want me around. I'm such a wimp. Kaleb would never ask me out. He's probably laughing with Paige while I'm crying. I hear the pounding of knocks as Claire and Jackie pound my door and tell me to unlock the it.!I just sit and then lay on the cold floor in a puddle of tears and sorrow.