Affections

{15}

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Wallowing in his absence, I wandered through the hallways. Curious that no one noticed my kidnap. It's nice to know he didn't want to be seen with me. The thought was bitter and disheartening.

A girl with black hair stumbled past me, knocking me down. I picked myself off the floor and watched her gloat. "Next time, watch where you're going," she said.

It often surprised me how someone could find satisfaction in another's misery. She thrived on my discomfort. The realization hit me like a wave. Katie's followers.

"Tracey, you need help. Please go fix your leg; it is broken if you can't walk like a normal person." She frowned at my response.

Students trudged past us, probably thinking we were one of those students who weren't in school to study.

Sadly, if that were true, I wouldn't be here right now.

"How dare you! A skunk like you should apologize and not run that mouth." She snickered priding herself with the amount of audience we were building.

Carl would be wondering where I am. I needed to end this.

I adjusted my hair, recently avoiding my obsession with hoodies. It fell over my face some more. I smiled sweetly, invading her space, her brown eyes focused on mine, unnerving me but not enough to back down.

Sad, I found her attractive, but she'd rather be a follower than a queen.

"Oh love, what…is your fascination with my mouth? You must want to kiss me," she gnashed her teeth, making me believe that Katie must have been loved.

I continued, knowing it wasn't my fault. "Sweetie, I hate it when you frown."

With every passing day, I was losing my clear sense of reasoning. What I did next shocked me. I kissed her cheek and smiled in mockery.
Kissed her cheek?

Hearing gasps I turned to observe their reactions.

I faced shock, fascination, and judgment, unfazed. I daringly gazed at Tracey, waiting for an outburst, which promptly came as Tracey hit me hard across the face.

I struggled to gain my footing and heard another. This time it wasn't me who suffered the brunt. I looked up to see Beatrice's rage. My love.

Tracey backed a step, then cursed, "You bitch!"

She reached for Beatrice, and I felt a surge of anger. Bellamy trudged out of nowhere, pulling us apart. Malcolm pulled a glowering Tracey away.

"Let go, Bellamy! None of this would have happened if you had gone to class like a sane person!"

I met Bellamy with a wry expression, all too familiar with his anger, but this time it was different. His jaw was tense, and his eyes were dark, and I was at the receiving end of it all. Thankfully, it wasn't Beatrice.

What was it all about anyway? She started it!

Okay, let's calm down.

"What's happening here?!" the principal's voice boomed. The boy rushed us both into the old chemistry laboratory.

Although the cleaning wasn't thorough, the spare equipment remained. Extra seats were still lingering as Carl closed the door behind all of us. They looked at us disapprovingly, and Beatrice appeared to shrink away from the attention.

I intentionally avoided Bellamy because I was scared of his outburst.

"What's wrong with you two?!" Carl shouted in anger, a strange sight as he trembled. I shrank away.