Bullied

Chapter 11

I woke up in a really great mood. I was even up before my alarm, which was a rarity. The first thing I noticed when I looked in the mirror was that my face looked a little thinner. I squinted at my reflection and thought for sure I was losing my mind. I shook my head and smiled at myself before jumping in the shower. The one thing I couldn't get over was that I looked and felt so happy. It was something I hadn't really experienced much, especially not first thing in the morning. As I washed my hair and body, I hummed to myself. I wished my stereo hadn't short circuited and made a mental note to mention it again to dad. I missed listening to music. I know most people my age had their computers and phone apps to use to download songs and make playlists, but my dad had never really gotten around to buying me that kind of thing. Besides, it wasn't like I ever even asked him.

Truthfully I never asked him for much of anything. It made me feel guilty that I wasn't paying for it myself. Maybe you should get a job. That wasn't a terrible idea actually. I could earn some money for things I wanted and not have to feel like I was basically mooching off of dear old dad. The downside would be that I wouldn't be around Luke as much, but depending on where I worked, maybe he could visit me sometime. Besides, it would only be part-time. I didn't think I could handle a full-time job with school and chores. No. I'd start with part-time and work my way up. I needed the paper or something to look at the classifieds. Use the library computers during study hall, genius. I could have smacked myself. Of course. So, simple. I got dressed and brushed my teeth with my whitening toothpaste. I loved how minty it made my mouth feel. My teeth didn't look too terrible either now that I thought about it.

The second thing I noticed was that my pants were a little baggy around my waist and thighs, even my t-shirt was a little looser. What is going on? Did I lose weight? I hadn't really been trying. Luke had kept me busy lately with walking around town and going to the park where we would kick around a ball or something. I still got pretty winded, while he seemed to have superhero-like stamina. I had no scale to check my weight with and I was unsure what I started out as measurement-wise. That was another thing to smile about. I was getting smaller without any effort at all. I tried to be aware of how I was eating and monitored myself even more when other people were around me. It seemed way too simple to be working out in the right direction, but I wasn't going to knock it. I headed out of my house and across the street with a lot more bounce in my step. I knocked on Luke's door to see if he was ready to walk to school with me, but was greeted by Kelly instead.

"Hi Kylie. Sorry, Luke isn't feeling well and has to stay home today."

Oh no! She looked really sad and I could see her glance back at the couch where Luke was lying. He waved weakly, then started coughing as he tried to speak. He looked pale from where I stood and I tried to go inside the door to see him, but Kelly stopped me with her hand.

"I'm sorry, sweetie, I'm not letting you come in today. He has a really bad cold and I don't want you to catch it."

"It's okay, Kelly. I just hope he feels better soon."

"Me too, Kylie. Thank you. Have a good day at school."

"I will thanks. Bye Luke, feel better!"

He shot me a pathetic thumbs up and a small grin. It made me sad to see him such a state. I hated to leave him, but I had to run to catch my bus, nearly missing it. I hadn't ridden the bus in nearly a month due to walking with Luke. So, I wasn't sure what to expect, but I tried not show my anxiety. I simply took a seat in the front and buried my nose in a book. Thankfully nobody bothered me, which was a huge relief. I hoped my good luck streak would continue, but to my dismay it did not. When I got to school I rushed to my locker so that I could make it to my first class on time. As I was closing my locker door, I spotted Julia in my mirror slinking her way towards me. My heart sank into my gut and I tried to go the opposite direction only to be halted by one of her cronies. Her name escaped me. I had never been picked on directly by her before. She just chose to watch. Which really was just as bad.

"Hey loser. Where's your hot boyfriend?"

"He's not my boyfriend. We're just friends and he's sick today."

"Of course he's not your boyfriend, Kylie. Why would he be with such a fat ass like you?"

She sneered at me. I looked over my shoulder at her, not really wanting to turn around, but unsure what else to do. I tried to walk past her, but she sidestepped in front of me. I sighed and rolled my eyes. For once I didn't feel the need to cry. Maybe being friends with Luke had done me some good after all. I felt braver, but not invincible.

"Don't you have something better to do, Julia? Why don't you just leave me alone?"

"Being alone is where you belong, dumbass. I'm doing this school a service by putting you in your place."

A crowd was starting to form around us. Instead of trying to run away this time, I took a deep breath and held my ground.

"Let me pass, please."

"Awww, Lena, she said please. That's so cute."

Her crony, Lena, moved to her side and crossed her arms, an evil glint in her eyes. Some of the kids in the crowd grabbed their cell phones and held them up. They must be recording this. I turned in the opposite direction and tried to head the other way around. The bell should be ringing soon. If I could just buy some time, I would survive the day.

"Don't walk away from me you fat cow."

She grabbed my shoulder and shoved me into a locker. I flinched as my back hit the locker handles and pushed her back, finally getting pissed off enough to do something about it. Her slap stung my cheek as the sickening sound echoed in the halls. Someone in the crowd gasped, but not one of them stepped forward in my defense. Not that I expected any different. My cheek stung and my eyes teared up from the shock, but I refused to let them fall in front of her.

"Nobody wants you here. You know that, right?"

I didn't answer her, which seemed to piss her off even more because she shoved me again. This time I tripped and hit the back of my head off of the lockers, falling on my ass in front of everyone. My bravery faltered.

"That's enough, Julia. Leave her be."

I turned around in surprise, wanting to see who was sticking up for me. It was Callie. She looked angry, but also a little shaken by the fact that she was saying anything on my behalf. Julia and her hung in around the same crowd, but they weren't friends that I knew of. Her hands were on her hips and her flaming red hair was pulled up into a bun, making her look kind of scary.

"Stay out of this, Callie or you'll be next."

"I'm not afraid of you, Julia."

They glared at each other for a minute before they both turned their attention back to me. Julia leaned down, extending her arm in an offer to help me up. Her cotton candy perfume and mint gum made me want to yak, but I grabbed her hand anyways. The bell finally rang and everyone began to disperse, many of them begrudgingly. As I got up, Julia gripped my arm hard, her nails digging into my flesh and making me wince.

"If I were you, I would just kill myself and get it over with. It's better than being a nobody."

My mouth hung open and she dropped my arm, walking away with a smirk. Callie asked me if I was okay and I nodded, even though I kind of felt like I was dying inside. As they walked away, I headed to the girls room. At least in there I could cry by myself and not worry about being judged. My face crumpled in the mirror and I smacked it with the side of my fist, hard. My hand felt numb, but blood oozed slowly from a cut caused by the broken glass beneath my fist. I stared at my shattered reflection in the mirror and frowned as the light bounced off of my monstrous face, making my already plain features even more hideous. Tired of looking at myself, I locked myself into a stall and stayed there for the rest of the period. People came in and out, but still I remained locked in the stall until I was sure school was over. Maybe Julia is right. Maybe I am better off dead.