Letters

The Course of Two Days

I walked through the next two days in a haze. The crazy part was that outwardly nothing had changed. Nathan still told the same jokes, Bryce still made fun of the same people, we went to the classes, sat in the same places. But instead of just being oblivious now it was as though someone had cut through a film that was covering my eyes and now I could really see who I was around. Bryce wasn't just bad to me he was bad to everyone, and Nathan couldn't care less. Everything that had happened at homecoming had been swept under the rug. Even Mia ceased to pay attention to me although she had joined our lunch table.

"I think Mr. Henry is totally unfair," she complained. "I totally turned in that worksheet!" We were walking to lunch, she on one side of Bryce and me on the other. I stared off into space not really listening. Bryce and Nathan seemed content now with me just saying one or two words and nodding.

"Yeah, I'm sure you turned it in," Bryce said, his voice sugary sweet. I wanted to vomit as we took our seats across from Nathan.

"Hey how are you guys?" he asked, looking from me to Mia and back again. I let Bryce answer.

"Bad. Mrs. Richie moved our seats so now Mia and I aren't sitting together." I ignored Nathan's second worried look, instead choosing to eat my sandwich. I didn't even know they were sitting together.

"That stinks," he replied. "That makes two of us with bad days. I totally think I failed that pop quiz in Art."

Bryce snorted into his milk. "Who gives a pop quiz in Art?" Nathan stuffed a french fry in his mouth, nodding emphatically.

"I know! That's what I've been saying! She's evil!" This time Kate, who had begun to sit at our table for Nathan, chimed in.

"I wouldn't go as far to say that she's evil," she tried. Nathan shook his head.

"Nope, she's evil. She sent me out of class for laughing about a picture, but it was almost completely of a guy's butt!" By now Kate, Mia, and Bryce were all laughing. "How is a person not supposed to laugh about that?"

"As an artist you are supposed to be able to look at things artistically and see past what the picture is actually of," Kate mimicked in Mrs. Richie's voice.

"There is no way that butts are artistic!" I tuned the conversation out instead choosing to think about who I was going to get to go with me to the support group meeting. I couldn't take either Bryce or Nathan, and they were really my only friends.

A shout jolted me out of my thoughts and I turned to see Karen storming towards our table.

"You bitch!" she shouted at Mia. The cafeteria fell silent as if someone had hushed them and everyone turned to look at Karen. I had forgotten about her, and I guess Bryce had too because he was staring at her, his mouth gaped open. Even the teachers stopped what they were doing, but didn't make a move to stop Karen.

"What the hell?" she had tears in her eyes, and for a second I felt a pang of sympathy. She looked awful, she was wearing sweats, her face was pale, and her hair was in an unusually messy bun. "I get sick for homecoming and come to school the next day to hear that you and Bryce hooked up while I was gone? That's how you treat me while I was home puking my guts out? You steal my boyfriend?"

Mia winced, but her eyes were on fire. This was what she lived on, attention and drama. She might have felt guilty, but Karen confronting her like this had brought out the monster. "It wasn't really like that Karen-,"

"Oh so enlighten me then," she cut her off, her voice thick with sarcasm. "What was it like? I'm sure you guys just happened to go to Daniel's party together!"

"Well you sure wouldn't know because you weren't there," Bryce's voice cut in, the anger apparent in it. She turned to him, the tears in her eyes threatening to spill over.