You Drive Me Crazy || Sam Evans

39. Pot O' Gold

Melanie strolled down the bustling hallway, her earbuds in, only half-listening to the world around her. Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted a jock slam the new Irish kid into a locker, sneering, "Go back to Mexico."

Her jaw tightened as she yanked her earbuds out, picking up her pace. "He's Irish, dumbass," she called out sharply, her voice carrying down the hall.

The hockey player stopped in his tracks and turned to face her, his brow furrowing in irritation. He stomped toward her, getting right up in her face. Towering over her by a good foot. She'd be lying if she said there wasn't still a small part of her that was still afraid of these guys, but anger and frustration drowned it out most days.

"I said, he's Irish, dumbass," she repeated, standing her ground. She gestured toward the Irish kid, who was still standing by the locker, his wide eyes darting between them. "Look at him. Casper's got more melanin than he does."

The jock loomed over her, his height forcing her to tilt her head slightly to meet his glare. "You better watch it, Mouse," he growled, his voice low and threatening.

"Or what, Rick? What are you gonna do? You already slushie me every other day," she shot back, exasperated.

Rick's glare faltered for a moment before he leaned in closer. "Like I said watch yourself," he muttered slamming his shoulder into hers as he stormed off, his posse of jocks trailing behind him.

"Jerks," Melanie muttered, shaking her head before turning to the new kid, who looked somewhere between amazed and nervous. "You okay?"

"That was awesome," The kid breathed, his Irish accent thick with awe.

Melanie shrugged, offering a small smile. "Honestly, the longer you get bullied, the less scary it gets. It just becomes... annoying." She paused, then softened her tone. "Don't let them get to you... uh—"

Rory nodded quickly, still wide-eyed. "I'm Rory," he introduced.

"Well, Rory, don't let them get to you," she repeated, giving his shoulder a reassuring pat. Though as she walked away, she couldn't help but think how hypocritical that advice was coming from her. She let everything get to her these days.

Further down, Melanie spotted Rachel taping up a huge poster that read, "Put a Berry on Top of Student Government." It was covered in dark pink stars and in the center had an obnoxiously large photo of Rachel's smiling face.

Melanie frowned. "You're running for class president?" she asked, her brows furrowing.

Rachel turned, clearing her throat. "Yes, I—"

"Why?" Melanie interrupted bluntly.

Rachel hesitated, her confidence faltering for a moment. "Well, at first, it was to beef up my college applications, you know, just in case I didn't get Maria in West Side Story."

"But you did get Maria," Melanie pointed out, still confused.

"I know, but I started thinking, and... I could actually make a difference," Rachel said with a hopeful smile.

Melanie blinked at her, still processing. "But... who would vote for you?" she blurted out, immediately regretting it when Rachel's smile dropped.

Rachel shot her a glare before storming off to hang another poster.

"I didn't mean to say that to your face..." Melanie trailed off but Rachel was long gone. With a sigh, Melanie looked at the poster again. "Put a Berry on Top of Student Government," she read aloud. "...That's actually a decent slogan," she muttered under her breath.