Social Experiment

50 | Rumors, Lies, and Heels

I can't believe this story is at chapter 50. All of my stories have been short and ended in the chapter 30's, so this is much longer than I expected!!
Enjoy the chapter :)
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Like yesterday, I walked the halls today with my head down and pretended like I was invisible. Unfortunately, it was ninety something degrees out, so I couldn't hide behind the comfort of a hoodie without dying from heat stroke. Still, I let my hair be a curtain around my head, and it worked just as well as a hoodie did.

When the lunch bell rang, I went straight to the art room, as I had yesterday. I couldn't face Nathan in the cafeteria for a whole hour, and I especially knew I wouldn't be welcome at the lunch table, so I found refuge with Casey in the art room. I set my backpack down and pulled out my sketch book, and then set myself up at a desk with pastels.

"Hi Lauren," Casey's quiet voice greets as she walks into the art room.

I turn to her and smile. "Hi Casey."

Casey, the freshman girl who feared me when we first spoke, but now my only friend.

"What are you working on?" She asks tentatively, dropping her backpack and approaching me at the desk.

I stare at the blank sheet of paper and sigh. "Nothing, yet." I turn to her and see her bright sketchbook under her arm and nod toward it. "What about you?"

She sits at a desk across from mine and opens her book. "I just finished a portrait of Audrey Hepburn, so I'm back to the drawing board."

As she opens her sketchbook, I stare at all of the passing images. Casey was one of the best artists I have ever known; she had a wide range of talent, and her work reflected it. After a moment, I look back down at my blank sketchbook, trying to conjure up any artistic inspiration.

Instead of artistic inspiration, I conjured up a loud grumble in the middle of my stomach. While it was a little embarrassing, it was mostly a reminder that I hadn't eaten and needed to get lunch. I laughed it off and got up from my seat reluctantly, set on going to get something to eat.

"I'll be back in a few minutes," I mumble as I pass Casey.

She makes an incoherent noise in response, already starting her new project, and I continue out of the art room. I maneuvered myself to the cafeteria, but hesitated outside of the doors. Nathan was in there; so were my friends. I haven't spoken to Vincent since yesterday, Nathan since Saturday, and Tess since Friday.

I stared through the open doors into the cafeteria for another moment before I mustered up the courage to walk in. For the first time in two days, however, I didn't duck my head and hope to be ignored. I took a deep breath, straightened up, and kept my chin held high as I walked into the bustling cafeteria.

Almost immediately I felt people staring at me as I passed. Table conversations came to a strict halt when I passed, only to be continued in whispers when they thought I was from ear shot. It was still a strange feeling, being the center of attention; you thought with the hectic past few months, I'd have been used to it.

I wasn't.

"Well look here girls," An annoyingly nasally voice declares loudly, grabbing the attention of passerby-ers. "Lauren decided to show her face instead of hiding behind a hoodie."

I stop halfway from the cafeteria doors to the lunch line and take another deep breath before I turn back around. Just as I expected, Nina Alexander is standing there with her two followers standing closely behind, a smug smirk on her lips. 

"What do you want, Nina?" I ask as I attempt to keep my voice even.

By now, unfortunately, we had gotten the attention from a good portion of the cafeteria. Quiet whispers swept over the lunch room, hundreds of pairs of eyes stared at us, and I suddenly felt my stomach drop. Judging by the look on Nina's face, she was ready to pounce.