Tough Girl

6: What you don't know can't hurt you

Luckily, I got a seat to myself on the bus. And no one bugged me when I went to my locker, or even to the courtyard where I sat at the same bench from yesterday. When I got there, however, was a different story. I feel someone's presence beside me. It's once again Luke. I suck in a breath. I'm not in a good mood and I really don't want to blow up in his face.

"Luke, please don't sit next to me." His eyebrows furrow. "I'm going to sit here. I'm not letting you push me away, again." I lift an eyebrow before shaking my head. "That's not my problem. I'm just not in a good mood today and I really don't want to blow up on you- because you didn't do anything wrong." Luke shrugs. "I'll stay here with you. I'll just have to remember that if you're yelling at me, you don't mean it." "I guess that-" I am cut off by the sound of my phone ringing. I look at my caller I.d. Luke looks too, and automatically tenses. I swipe it and answer.

"Hello?" "Hello, daughter. I just wanted to remind you not to get in any fights today." I bite my tongue to keep from arguing. "You didn't eat any breakfast did you?" "No, sir. I wasn't allowed, as I recall." "Good girl. I'll call you later on your lunch period." "Yes, sir." "Have a nice day."

He cuts the phone line and I bury my face in my hands. I don't know what I was expecting of Luke, maybe to walk away, but he didn't. He rested his hand on my shoulder blade and rubbed in circles. Which felt really good since most of my muscles were sore from last night. Crying against a tree on the ground and then running that much was not in any sense good for my health.

"What did he say?" Luke asks cautiously. I don't know how much information to reveal or if any at all. "He told me not to get into any fights and that he would call back at lunch." I say, leaving out the part about my punishment. It wasn't really his business and if he asked now, I would most likely have to avoid him. I can take care of myself. However, I liked his company and what you don't know can't hurt you, right? That's what my mom always says.

"Sang? Will you sit with me and my friends at lunch please?" "Um...okay." I say. "It can't hurt to be a little social, can it?" Luke laughs. "Of course not, otherwise everybody with an email, phone number, and social media account would be dead right now." I giggle at the thought of this. I was picturing a boy sitting on his bed, scrolling through his instagram when bam! He gets a follower and a broken leg. I smile through all of my classes, and soon enough, lunch rolls around.

I make it to the courtyard quickly since I don't have anything packed to grab. I sit on the usual bench, not sure of Luke's location. Eventually, he finds me and drags me to an area of tables close to us. That's when I realize where I'm going. We're headed straight for the polos, as I like to call them. They are definitely a variety of people types.

"Guys look! I want you to meet Sang!" Every boy stops, turns to look at me, and just stares. My cheeks heat up and I look away. Luke still had a firm grip on my arm and I tug against it. Luke rolled his eyes. "Are you going to say hello or what? You know what, I'll just point them out to you," he says, then uses a teacher voice.

"When I call your name please stand. Kota." I wave a little and he gives me a small hug. "Sorry about last night." He whispers. I offer a smile that he returns. "Nathan." "Hello." "Hi." I say quietly, clasping my hands together. His hair is reddish brown and looks soft, like rabbit fur. "Victor." "Hello." "And to you." I say. His eyes... are like little jars with flames inside. Something burns through his pupils. "Gabriel, aka Gabe." "Oy, I love your hair." "Thanks, you too." He has blonde hair with two brown strands on either side of his face. "Second to last-" "Wait! Can we shake this up a little?" I ask quietly. I'm getting bored of this repeating pattern and just want to change it a little.

"Okay?" "Whoever is left stand, please." Two of the tallest, scariest ones stand. I feel short, suddenly. "Can I have both names? I'm going to guess." Luke claps and jumps up and down. One of them raised an eyebrow and the other crosses his arms. "Silas and North." I look between the two boys.

One had an olive complexion and dark hair. The other had dark features as well. Both had dark eyes. I frown and crease my eyebrows, concentrating. "Okay, so I think you're Silas and you're North." "That's correct!" Luke cheers. This clearly surprises North and the other smiles like he just won the lottery. "How did you know?" A gruff voice, belonging to North, asks me. "Well, it's hard to explain but I made the connection between the greek name and the Greek complexion of Silas. I double checked to see if the name would match you, which it did. It's harder to explain. Something about the vibe you give off fits the name... don't ask." I say, blushing a little as Gabe gives me a high five.

I take a seat next to Luke and North and watch as they talk and enjoy their meals. Close to halfway through the period, North nudges my shoulder. "Hmm?" "You aren't going to eat?" He asks. I shake my head no and my phone rings. It's my dad. Luke sends me a knowing glance but I shake my head with a sad smile, getting up to take the call. Luke watches me but doesn't get up. I walk to a nearby tree.
"Hello?" "Hi sweetie just wanted to make sure you didn't eat anything." "No sir." "And you aren't getting into trouble?" "No sir." "Good girl." He hands up without saying bye and I shrug it off. I sit back down at the table. Conversations resume when I am seated. "So you don't each much, I'm guessing?" I shrug. "It depends. Usually not breakfast, anyway." "Why not?" "Never can hold anything down. The rest depends on the circumstances." He sends me a curious glance. "Which would be?" "Reasons I can't tell you." I sigh, picking my stuff up at the sound of the bell. I call to him as I walk away. "What you don't know can't hurt you." I thought it was true.