Insecure

Chapter 10

*A week later*

It was a chilly April morning. It was only 35-40 degrees outside, and Lilly was taking a little longer this morning to get ready. Laura was in her bathroom as she waited for Lilly, so she decided to pass the time by brushing her hair out and pulling it up in a bun. She really wasn't the girly type that really cared about her hair, even though she still took care of it. She looked at herself in the mirror and sighed. "I wish I was more beautiful than this," she said to the mirror like she was talking to someone other than herself. "I know Jayce has been dating me for a couple weeks now, 12 days to be exact, but I honestly don't believe that I'm beautiful enough for him."

 "You're beautiful, stop talking smack. Let's go," Lilly interrupted her, grabbing her by the arm.

 "Calm down and let me grab my book bag."

 "Hurry up." Lilly walked out the door as Laura ran into her room to grab her book bag. She was just going to grab it and leave, but something caught her eye. She turned around, and saw a piece of paper on the ground. She walked over and looked at it. It wasn't a normal piece of paper. It couldn't be notes or an old homework assignment... This was something different....She picked it up and read what it said:

"You should've seen the look on your face when I kissed your hottie! I'm surprised you forgave him. We all know that he enjoyed touching me 10 times more than he will ever enjoy looking at you. He must be pretty desperate if he's still with you."

Laura crumbled up the paper and ran out of the house. She stormed out the door, and ran past Lilly. She ran so fast that Lilly couldn't call after her. She tried yelling her name, but Laura had only two things in mind. One, she needed to find Jayce to make sure he's not with her, and two, Jayce or someone better hold her back because she was going after her.

~~~~~~~~~

Jayce and a few of his friends that were from the football team when it was in season were standing outside talking about something about one of the football players from their favorite NFL teams. Jayce was hardly into the conversation because he couldn't concentrate with all the smoke that was floating near his face. Basically all the guys in the Junior and Senior roster smoked that he knew of.

 "Dude, you are full of shit. That team is not better... "

 "You don't know real football!"

 "I'm the one that's been on the team for 4 years!"

 "Oh, my bad. I forgot that I was born a year too late..."

 Jayce shook his head as they continued to argue. Then, he felt someone tap his shoulder. "Yo Jayce, isn't that your girlfriend?" Jayce looked in the direction that he was pointing in.

 Jayce's eyes widened as he saw Laura running full speed towards the school, and she wasn't even breaking a sweat! Jayce dropped his bag and ran towards her which caused her to run into his arms. Laura hit him almost like a brick wall, but she recollected herself, trying to push through. She was breathing heavy and livid. The world was spinning but she didn't care. As soon as Jayce let her go, she's finding her... "Laura! What the hell is wrong with you?"

 "Let me at her! I need to hurt her! I don't care anymore, she pushed me way too far this time."

 "Laura, please just calm down," Jayce said, gently holding her arms.

 Laura was breathing heavily as she looked at Jayce. Then, she grabbed the crumpled up note and shoved it in his hands. He looked down at his hand and looked confused. "What is this?"

 "A note that bitch snuck through my window."

 "Babe, calm down. You can't do this here. You'll get suspended."

 "I don't care. I need to get out of this hell hole anyways."

 Jayce opened up the note and read it. After he was done reading, his eyes were flared up with anger as he grabbed Laura's hand. "Let's go."

 "Where are we going?"

 "We're going to take matters into our own hands."

 "Really?" Laura asked, getting excited.

 "It's not with who you think."

 "Please tell me we're not going to the Principal."

 "You're funny. We both know they can't do shit."

 "Exactly, so who are we going to?"

 "Mindy's boyfriend."

 "You know her name?"

 "Her boyfriend was on the football team, and he talks about her all the time."

 "But, why are we going to him?"

 "She's messing with you, we're going to mess with him."

 "Jayce, you know who Mindy's boyfriend is, don't you?"

 "Some Tommy guy."

 Laura stopped. "Oh my God."

 Jayce stopped and looked at her. "What's wrong?"

 "Nothing."

 "Do you know him?"

 Laura looked at him, trying to control herself. "I might." Jayce didn't ask anymore. Laura had a feeling he knew what and who she was talking about, and she could tell that this wasn't going to be pretty. Not only was Tommy the most popular guy in school, but... He's the biggest douche bag on Laura's list.

~~~~~~~~~

"Guys, what's going on?" Lilly asked Jayce and Laura once they got into class. "Laura ran all the way to school which scared the hell out of me."

 "Mindy sent me a note and I was pretty upset," Laura replied, sitting next to her best friend.

 "What? How? She doesn't even know where we live."

 "Apparently someone does."

 Lilly shook her head. "I can't believe this. How the hell did she get to my house?"

 "I'm glad that's the number one question on your list."

 Lilly ignored that remark and shook her head. "That bitch is going down." This caused Laura to smile. 'Yes, we both agree,' she thought to herself. "What did the note even say?"

 "To keep it short..."

 "Let me see it," Lilly said, grabbing it out of Laura's bookbag. She skimmed it and copied Jayce's look. She read over it again to make sure she read it right. She looked up, disgusted and angry.
"Are you kidding me?"

 "I wish I was."

 Before anyone else could say anything, the teacher walked in with the fake smile on her face like every teacher had. She discussed what the plan was going to be for the day and Laura tried everything to pay attention.... She couldn't. All she could think about is going after Mindy and her boyfriend... The douche that thinks it's funny to mess with her. Little does he know that she has a boyfriend and a fired up Lilly, so this wasn't going to be pretty. Not for him, not for Mindy.
Laura could feel Jayce staring at her, but she ignored it. She couldn't look at him right now. She just needed breathing room....

 Breathing....

 That's what she needed to do... Was breathe.... This will blow over, but it was time to take this challenge head on. Whatever comes out of this, it is what it is. No one wanted to pay attention to the teacher. Everyone was excited for school to be over so they can get on with their lives. It was closing in on the school year after all. Why not count down the days? Laura tried to leave her thoughts and keep her focus on the teacher. While she did so, the teacher made eye contact with her. She makes eye contact with everyone. That's when she realized the teacher was looking at her bandage. The bandage was still around her head which needed to be checked out soon...
But, why was she looking at her bandage? Was there sympathy in her eyes? What was going on?

They probably just think I fell or something, right? Why is she looking at me like that. Move your eyes. Move your eyes! Laura was slowy starting to freak out. Occasionally, the teacher would look away but her focus seemed to be on her. Did she hear about the whole Tommy thing? She shook her head and broke the eye contact. Something was fishy here and she couldn't put her finger on it. No one knows why I have this bandage, and I plan to keep it that way.
Laura took out her pen and made a plan for herself. Get healthy. Get proud. Make Jayce and Lilly happy. They're who you need. They're who will be by your side. They will be supportive, caring.... You're better off with them and not your family. She put the note away and focused her attention to the front again. Looking over at Lilly, she whispered, "She knows."

 Lilly looked at the teacher and back at her. "What do you mean?" she whispered back.

 "She knows."

 That was the last thing said for the rest of the class. Pure, utter silence.