Loving Kiera

11| Normal

Kiera

I'd only spent a week at Jefferson High, but it was as if I'd spent a year.

The rats were bothering me with name-calling and insults, and I soon got to know why Cammilla said that reporting them only made matters worse.

I reported a bunch of kids who insulted me mercilessly to a teacher, who in turn called them, gave them a firm scolding and lectured them that verbal abuse could kill a person as easily as a knife could slice into a person's chest.

That didn't deter them. When they saw me again, their insults were ten times harsher, seeing me as a spineless snitch, and one even made an attempt to punch me, but a friend held him back.

I went back home feeling as down as ever. I couldn't bear that people were treating me like some worthless thing instead of a fellow human being.

Dad was clueless on this aspect of my life. I was always smiling and laughing with him in the house. With him, it was genuine and he actually made me laugh though. After all, he was my own, caring dad. For all he knew, I was doing better than okay. I had a few friends at Jefferson.

He asked me to invite them over sometime, and I said I would. I kept stalling everytime he asked me when my "friends" were gonna come over, and if he was suspicious, he never showed it. I think I might invite Cammilla over, just to assure my father that yes, I was okay.

In reality, I was not okay.

And I know you've been wondering: what about Shane?

Believe me, I've never talked to him since I ran away from him that last time in the hallway. I usually saw him at the cafeteria with his friends at their table when Cammilla and I were bold enough to go to the cafeteria for lunch.

I pretended I didn't care. It was supposed to be no big deal anyway. I had no business rushing to get so attached to someone so quickly. I had no business catching feelings for a stranger, no matter how attractive he was. But I always watched him from the corner of my eye, or when Cammilla was not watching me.

So far, she had no idea that I'd spoken to Shane before. I knew she, like every other female in this school, had a crush on him.

Sometimes, I wondered if Shane knew we all cried our little hearts out over him, and if he did know, how did that make him feel? Did he thrive on it? Or did he feel frustrated?

I wish I could read that guy's thoughts.

***

Cammilla and I were sitting on the bleachers at the basketball field and chewing pringles after school was over. I had done my homework and was even far ahead of the teachers in some subjects.

This wasn't only because I was nerdy, but also because I was always alone in the house and had nothing better to do after school except to pick up my laptop and do a shit ton of homework.

Cammilla, like me, was also free today after school, and today, in the bright sun, we sat on the bleachers chewing pringles and watched the field.

"I'm gonna get a new hairstyle." She told me, fingering a braid of her hair.

"This still looks new." I observed. "It's still so pretty."

"I know." She sighed. "Just that it hurts too much when they pull it."

I winced and kept my mouth shut. Cammilla and I never talked about our predicament: outcasts. It hurt too much to bring it up, yet discuss it. It was always at the back of our heads when we were together, but none of us voiced it out.

"Do you ever think about what life at Jefferson High would be if we were just normal, like other kids?" She asked me, her eyes holding a very distant look in them.

I wondered if she'd ever had the chance to be a normal kid before, because I haven't. In a way, I thought that Jefferson could be a second chance for me. I thought I could blend in unnoticed, make some few friends along the way.

That didn't happen, though. My life in Cali was simply rewinding, with Cammilla playing Louisa's role, and me being the abomination no one wanted around.

Maybe I should've known better. I was expected to know better. Jumping in to save Cammilla that day was a mistake I of all people should have known to avoid, but...I just couldn't stand watching someone suffer like that.

"I don't even know what normal is." I shrugged. "I never had the chance to be normal."

Even when I was younger than ten, when my mom was still around, I was always with my books, trying to shut out the echoes in my head of the mean kids at school as they hurled insults at me. All because I had an eye problem that required me to wear glasses, and also happened to be smart.

I wasn't a show off; heck, I barely answered questions in class unless the teacher picked on me. But these kids still hated my guts because I was doing well in school.

I only met Louisa when I was fourteen, and that was when things got better, because by then I had my own someone.

Cammilla chuckled without humor. "Me neither." She replied. "If it ain't bullies trying to torture you for some sick fun, it's some racist asshole trying to bash you at the supermarket."

My eyes misted. Why are people like this? I wondered desperately, trying to find answers.

Even if Cammilla is black, she is a human being, just like the rest of us all.

I was a mix as well. My mother was half Arabian (a beautiful one at that, and I sometimes wondered why I did not get her features) and my dad an American. I still had the Arabian blood in me. If you didn't look hard enough, you would never guess I was mixed.

I often thought if I would be bullied by racists if they knew I was mixed?

"I'm sorry." What else could I say? I couldn't promise her that I would put a stop to her pain. But I had hopes, and she had hopes, too. So I added, "things will get better."

"They might," she shrugged. "Someday."

At that moment, I wished I was as strong as Cammilla. She was strong in her own firm way. My heart ached though, at the thought that one day, the ugly people of this world might succeed in breaking her.

"Yeah, someday." I replied, and for the first time ever, she leaned her head against my shoulder.

Cammilla, my friend.

We sat staring at the field, our legs dangling, the breeze blowing softly against us.

Two against the world, I thought, not just Jefferson High School.

***thanks for reading!

What do you think about this chapter? I feel like Kiera gets to have friendships which are wholesome, though not many friends. She has quality over quantity.

Anyways, I want to say that I intended this story to be this Love at first sight trope, hence why they got attached easily. I'm sorry if it seems rushed, but that's how I wanted it...a love at first sight, followed by a little slow burn.

Please vote, comment and share this book to your friends.

I'll be updating twice every week, so expect another update.

Ann out. ;)