Street Wise

Chapter 5: Open-Toed Boots

 Monday after the encounter was a blur, and it had almost nothing to do with the fact that I had been beaten so badly I felt like a walking sack of potatoes. 

  Flo decided to shun me for awhile in light of her jealousy, but her undying attraction to Darren paired with her love for me ate away at her conscience until she couldn't help talking to me again when fifth period rolled around. I stuffed my face unattractively with a turkey sandwich, delighted when I finally heard her speak up.

    "What happened?" She demanded as she turned towards me, her half-sandwich forgotten on her plate. "Tell me everything!"

  I smirked victoriously when I finally heard her question directed towards me, but there was no way I wanted her angry again, so I didn't call her out on it.

   "Watch," I whispered. I looked over at his table, and we met gazes. He smiled softly and I even built up the strength to wave. Getting the crap beaten out of me is so much easier than talking to guys, I thought frustratingly to myself when my heart began to pound. 

   Flo looked at me as if I had grown two extra heads. "Did you just wave to my future husband?"

    I laughed incredulously as the tension slipped away and I spoke with ease. "Honestly, Flo, if you like him that much, just go talk to him. No one is going to eat you alive at their table. I promise." 

    She scoffed and rolled her eyes at me. "Excuse me, who are you and what have you done with Am?"

   "She's right. You've had a crush on him since the beginning of time. Just go over there," Our mutual friend Courtney chipped in from her place across the table. A gorgeous Latino girl with wavy brown hair, long legs, and high cheekbones, Courtney was all confident and sass, with amazing dance skills and a fashion sense that would put any designer to shame. Flo and I always wondered why she chose to be friends with the two middle-schoolers who practically cowered in the back corner at the mere mention of the opposite sex.

   I shook my head and gazed wondrously at the popular table, deep in thought. Why couldn't guys and cliche high school life be just like fights? You make a move, wait for your opponent to open up,  quickly spot their weaknesses, and then you go in for the K.O. But then you have high school: a riddle of mixed signals, popularity, and disgusting food. 

   "I'll only go if you come with me," Flo stated defiantly. She stared at me levelly, as if she didn't just ask me to singlehandedly butcher my reputation into tiny pieces and toss it  into an erupting volcano.

   My shoulders tensed and I became rigid again. Teasing Flo about going over there and actually going over there were worlds apart. "Um...Flo, there is no way I can-"

    Courtney scoffed, stood up and stepped on her seat. With one large step she was standing on top of the table, her stance fierce and oozing the confidence and bravery she must have felt. She took long strides across the table, heading our way. Her brown suede, open-toed designer boots clicked on the mediocre table and my face burned with embarrassment as heads began to turn. She moved with effortless elegance and loomed in front of me and Flo, all 5'7" of pure majesty. She placed her hand on her hip and pursed her full red lips in disdain as she looked down on us.

  "I love you girls, but I'm tired of you living in a stupid no-guy bubble. They are just people, and we're all going to say hi." Flo and I exchanged dubious looks. "Now," she added when it was clear we obviously had no intention of moving.

  She hopped down from the bench and strutted towards the Four Wonders' table at the front of the cafeteria. Flo and I shared another painful look before we followed suit. When Courtney started to catwalk, no one messed with her. Plus, there was no way to put holes in her logic. We had been living hidden away for too long. I could count the months on my hands until we were graduating. It was time for action.