Welcome to Oceanside High: Revenge of the Bully

Chapter 21

Annabelle - I'm sorry I'll be late.

Brittney - Car trouble?

Annabelle - No. I wish. It's Carlos...ya know he's worse than a girl. He keeps trying on different shirts and asking which one accentuates his chest muscles more. Unbelievable.

Britt - I know. Boyfriends are a handful. So yeah, I got you. Don't worry. I'm sure it will still be a blast even without you here.

Annabelle - You know I'm the biggest blast so don't you dare say that. I'm trying to make it there in time for the ceremony.

We arrive at the party at Mulligan's which is just like Galecki had said: old people hangout. But for tonight it's packed with fans, adoring parents, and most of the student body of Oceanside High.

Travis takes my hand and leads me through the congestion at the front of the restaurant side. I hear people shouting: McDurn! McDurn! McDurn! They cheer as they realize the lead star of Oceanside High's soccer team has finally arrived. Travis' star has really risen since he joined the soccer team and I can tell by the looks on everyone's faces. He was great at football but once he bailed on being any part of the Devil's Trio he knew it was time to leave football altogether. Those guys never would've let him play without fucking with him.

Plus, he said his mom wouldn't let him rest every time a professional football player got brain damage and it was in the news.

Girls smile at him as we pass by and then sneer at me. I don't even need to pretend to throw a punch, I just narrow my eyes and they flinch and stumble off on their high heels to flirt with some drunk frat boys at the bar side of the restaurant.

Badass Bahalia. I like the nickname. It definitely precedes me, or so it seems.

The crowd parts ways as we make our way along through crammed bar and into the restaurant area where every table is filled with parents and guests munching down on buffet food and snatching appetizers from the caterer's food trays. I'm thankful I see people who I know, and who aren't caught up in Oceanside High's student politics.

"Hey Josie!" Travis waves to a dark-haired girl in a pink summer dress. I see Josie, Travis' younger sister coming our way. I've yet to meet her. I have to admit I'm kind of nervous.

"Hi!" I say cheerfully. I guess this is the first family member I've finally got the chance to meet.

"Josie, this is my girlfriend, Brittney Bahalia."

She puts her hand out to shake mine. "Pleasure." She says, she has a big beautiful smile just like Travis, and her teeth are straight too, unlike mine which are just a little crooked.

"Come on I think my coach needs me up by the stage. Follow me." He tells the both of us.

"Let me know if you see Annabelle. She said she'll be here." I tell Travis. I look behind us to see Josie trying to stay close as we filter through the crowd of families, some standing, some seated at round tables, chatting about their lives. I reach my hand back to Josie so she doesn't get lost, and she gives me a grateful smile for grabbing hold of her hand and pulling her through the ruckus.

"Don't worry about Annabelle." Travis replies loudly over the bar music and the chatter of the restaurant's new patrons. "You're here with me to celebrate. If Lindzey and her Bitch Squad are here already they might want to start trouble."

Travis glances at me over his shoulder and I smirk at him. His eyebrows rise like he expects I'm about to react in a way he might not like. "So you're keeping me all to yourself now?"

He smiles with the corner of his mouth which gets me every time, in fact, I think it gets to every girl, and he knows it. Even though we are surrounded by acquaintances, parents, strangers, and even the rest of the student body, he stops and pulls me into him. "Even if I have to tie you to me."