Chapter Seven - Don't Lose Faith
"And then he was like: "Is that how you're gonna cover yourself up? By pretending someone else did it?"" Sabrina relayed into her cell phone, as she paced her room.
A chilly breeze made her sneeze, so she walked up to her window and closed it. Outside, the sun was setting, making the sky look like it was on fire. Sabrina hoped her parents would be back soon from grocery shopping because she was starving and wanted dinner as soon as possible. On the other end of the line, Leila groaned in exasperation.
"Ugh. What are we gonna do about this?" Leila asked.
"I dunno." Sabrina mumbled, "but I wish we could somehow expose Leena so Khalid wouldn't be so furious with me."
"Even if we did expose her...he'd still be mad at you." Leila pointed out.
"Yeah." Sabrina sighed. "I should have never reacted in anger that day. What I said was...inexcusable"
"Anyway." Leila said, breaking the awkward silence that was threatening to stretch out between them. "I'll be thinking about ways to...expose Leena."
"Yeah, me too." Sabrina said, halfheartedly.
They ended their conversation just as Sabrina's parents came home. She went downstairs and helped her mom make dinner, listening to her dad crack jokes. She smiled at him politely, but could hardly understand any because she was so busy wondering if she could possibly "expose" Leena. That stuff happens in fairy tales, she thought, gloomily. And my life isn't nearly as perfect.
* * *
The next day Sabrina prayed, got dressed and headed to school. As she stared out the window at fallen leaves and bare trees, her mind swam with scenarios of Leena's little secret becoming known and spreading through the school like wild fire. Then everyone would know that she hadn't ratted out Khalid back in Junior High. Sure they would still hate her, but they would have one more reason not to.
When Sabrina entered the school, she headed to her locker and found Leila standing there, engaged in her phone. She rolled her eyes and walked up to her, poking her on the head.
"Earth to Leila." She said, smiling.
Leila looked up and glared at Sabrina.
"I'm texting someone important!" she pouted.
"Well I hope this important person-"
A small burst of laughter interrupted her sentence. Sabrina looked over, knowing full well who was laughing and that she was the target of the laughter. However, the glances that Sabrina was getting from the giggling group were quite peculiar - more than usual. Leena and her friends were huddled together, leering at Sabrina, who rolled her eyes and started to open her locker.
As soon as her locker opened, a waterfall of glossy pictures fell out, each of them displaying Sabrina's least favorite person in the whole world: Khalid. Laughter filled the hallway, as dozens of pictures poured onto the floor. Sabrina couldn't comprehend what was going on until the cruel laughter and jeering faces of the crowd that was gathering around her, shocked her back into reality.
Leena was laughing in her face now, saying something she couldn't hear. Tears blurred her vision. The pictures of Khalid smirked up at her from the ground. There seemed to be a million of them, laughing at her, mocking her. Her gaze slid to the crowd, jeering down at her. She couldnt focus on anyones face, they were all a blur.
"Gosh, Sabrina." Leena's voice rang out, sharp and mocking. "I thought you hated us. But what are you doing with all these pictures of Khalid?"
"But...these aren't mine." She choked out.
YOU ARE READING
The Best Of Us
Teen Fiction"Why didn't you tell me he went here?" Sabrina managed to croak out. Her throat was dry and there was a loud drumming sound in her ears which she realized was her heart. "Oh..uh...well..." Leila stuttered and then trailed off. She smiled sheepishly...
