Red Hair, Black Soul (Red & Black #1)

21 | Hemoglobin

Complement #12

Said to: Makena

I'd freaking kill  for your hair.

***

It takes the school another week to figure out the new Biology teacher is my Mum.

And even though I expected myself being teased about it, nothing could have prepared me for the actual situation.

One would think that in high school, some jokes should be out of date. Turns out, they're not.

"Just ignore them. It'll pass." Al murmurs quietly when I try to hide behind my hair from another set of eyes watching me curiously.

I nod my head in answer, but the gesture holds no certainty. At the beginning of this week, some genius put two and two together and realized that the new Biology teacher and the redheaded girl in one of his classes share the same last name. And since no one around here seems to hold a traditional Scottish surname, a coincidence just wasn't an option.

Of course, he didn't hesitate to inform all his friends about it. It wasn't long before the whole school got to know.

Which is all I ever wanted.

Not everyone is bothered by it, though. Most people just ignore it and their approach towards me hasn't changed. All that's different is that the label of the new girl from Scotland is now joined by the one tagged: 'Biology freak'. Not that it changes anything for me. I don't like Biology, but as long as they leave me alone, I'm okay with it.

What I'm not okay with are the childish, impromptu teasings directed my way during almost every break.

"Hey, Dearg!" A guy at the table to my left yells. He got my surname wrong but I don't point it out. Everyone does, and that's not the point right now. "Tell me, is it possible for hair to hold the hemoglobin? Because there's no other way it'd be so red!"

I keep myself from rolling my eyes and just clench my fork tighter. This one wasn't the worst I've heard, but still, the level still runs depressingly low.

"Okay, you know what ?" Makena slams her hands down on the table. She gets up with enough force to send the chair scraping across the floor as she eyes the asshole behind me. "I'm tired of this bullshit. If you refuse to stand up to yourself, then I'm going to. But my sense of humour just can't stand it any longer. I'm done."

She makes a move to turn but I reach out and grab her hand.

"Mae, don't." I tell her, meeting her gaze. "Reacting is the way to fuel them. You're only going to make things worse."

"Of course I am." She rolls the sleeves of her shirt up, exposing her forearms. "When the guy wakes up, he won't be able to tell what day it is."

"Just cut it off." I order, adding pressure to my grasp around her hand. "Don't."

"Oh, but I'm so tired of this." She groans, sitting back down. Crossing her arms over her chest, she sends a murderous glare to somewhere over my shoulder. "How long can this keep going?"

I shrug, piercing a leaf of salad with my fork. I bought it, but I haven't eaten a bite yet and am still not planning on it. I don't like eating at school and come to the cafeteria only because of Makena, and occasionally, Al.

Today, he joined us and is sitting silently in our company, throwing in a word or two from time to time. The two of us has been hanging out with each other more frequently lately and sometimes, we even know what to talk about. Right now, he concerns himself with trying to make me feel better, when, in fact, I don't give a damn.