The Swap

Allison 5.4

It's been about ten days or so since we swapped, and I no longer feel uncomfortable around Evan, Sam or Zachary's sister. It helps that Evan is there whenever I mess up in front of Sam, since he can play along to keep Sam in the dark.

Today, someone drops the pencil and I pick it up and return it without thinking about it. The girl only retrieves her pencil after I've let go of it, very tentatively. Add another tally to the board.

"Since when do you act so chivalrous?" Sam jokes, but I can hear that he's also genuinely curious.

"What, he can't pick up a pen?" Evan jokes back.

After that lesson, Evan and I head for the cafeteria, and Sam tags along with another group of boys to the supermarket. I've always made my own lunch, and even now I still do, which only raises more suspicion to Sam. I'm not going to stop though, that'd mean having to tag along with a bunch more boys every day. No way I'm doing that! They'd probably not want me - Zachary Marlowe, the violent kid - to tag along anyways.

"Sam isn't wrong for calling it out though," Evan tells me as we eat, "It's pretty apparent how different you're acting from Zach."

"I suppose, but I don't want to act like a jerk! N-No offence..."

"Zach's not here to hear it," he points out, "But if you want to keep things a secret then you better start swearing," he smirks.

"S-Swearing? No, I-I don't swear, I don't want to swear..."

"Suit yourself, but then people are going to think like me and assume you and Zach are dating."

"Right... just like Damian..."

The conversation - if you could call it that - we had last week in the library comes to mind. It never fails to make me angry at him. Is this how Zachary would react?

"What about Damian?" Evan asks.

"N-Nothing important, it's just that he also assumes Zachary and I are dating." I think back to the conversation, "Actually, he thinks something worse..."

"What exactly?"

"That I'm - well, I guess Zach- Okay, wait." I need to phrase this properly since it's vulgar enough under normal circumstances, "Damian thinks that Allison Par is Zachary Marlowe's... s-sex... uh... p-partner..."

He gives me a confused stare.

"Y-You know!" I try. When he shrugs, I take a breath and carefully whisper to him, "L-Like what people would call a... whore..."

"Damian said that?" he asks, much more appalled, "What did you say back?"

"N-Nothing... I just ignored him... And he left me alone afterwards."

"Big mistake. Zach would never have let a comment like that slide."

"W-Well what was I supposed to do? Get into another scuffle and go to the principal again?"

"No, you should have said something back. Weren't you disgusted by his remark?"

"O-Of course, but-"

"Then you should have said it to him."

I don't have anything to say back to him.

"I don't mean to be condescending, but I've noticed it a lot with you: you're too quiet for your own good. That Damian incident, but also when the teacher called on you during biology or yesterday at the grocery store when I tagged along with - it would have been much easier and faster if you asked the employees where everything was, don't you think?"