Branara ~ Magnum

Chapter Five - Smile

KARA'S POV

Maybe it feels kind of nice that Brandon likes me.

And maybe I did do alright retaliating to Mitch.

But he could have tried to help me, instead of running.

I sigh and sit against the wall.

The bell rings. Class time.

I make my way unscathed to the lunch line.

After waiting for the horrendously long line to dwindle, I sit at a table alone.

I bite into my sandwich without really tasting it. And across the clearing, I hear people shouting.

"Mitch! What the hell happened, man?"

I hear Lachlan's distinct Australian accent. "I watched that girl beat you up! You're pathetic, you know that?"

I feel the urge to yell at him. Why does it matter that I'm a girl?

"Shut up." Mitch's voice sounds husky. "I...I just tripped, okay?"

"What? You just tripped over your shoelace...and whoopsies, your nose broke?"

Brandon is sitting in a corner. I wouldn't have noticed him if he hadn't stood up so suddenly.

He stands up and walks casually over to Mitch.

"What, wimp?" Mitch snarls. "Come to gloat?"

"No," he says. "But now that I have evidence that you can be beaten, maybe I should stop running."

Mitch looks at him, speechless.

"I don't think we were ever really friends," Brandon goes on. "I think you used me. Manipulated me, changed me from what I was, because you could always beat me. Your grades left mine in the shadows. When we played sports, I was always left in the dust. Back when you cared."

"You were my role model," Brandon presses. "But you've changed. For a while, you managed to bring me with you. But now I want to change again. I want my old self back, and I think you do too."

"But," he looks back before walking away. "You're too scared to admit it. Just because you are the school's biggest bully, does not mean that you are not a coward."

I stare at him as he walks away.

He looks back at me, biting his lip. Then he spins around and disappears around the corner.

He wants himself back.

I smile.