An Exchange

Chapter Ten - A Case of the Ex

Penny

I went out to the field during our lunch break. Dylan and her friends met me at the sideline. She was probably out to get me, so I tried to go around them, but they blocked me.

“What’s the matter, Penny? Can’t get to my boyfriend?” Dylan asked in a high pitched taunting tone.

I really didn’t want a confrontation with her, especially as outnumbered as I was. I glanced around for an escape.

“What’s wrong, Penny? Cat got your tongue?” Dylan sneered.

“I don’t want—”

“You don’t want what? My boyfriend? Good because he is, well, mine.”

“Who's your boyfriend?” I let slip.

The girls gasped.

She glared at me. “You know full well who my boyfriend is, you foul little traitor! We take you in to try and make you popular, and you go behind my back and try to steal Ryan from me—”

“He told me he dumped you.” I couldn’t believe I said it out loud!

A girl behind me yanked my hair, pulling me to my knees. Flashbacks of all the other times I had been brought down in a similar manner caused my throat to tighten as I panicked. No one would help me. No one ever did, not until it was over. I would go home and try to hide the bruises and make excuses for the ones I couldn’t cover up...

“Ryan! What are you doing?”

I snapped out of my trance at Dylan’s voice. Ryan stood me up beside him. “Something I should have done the instant we broke up!” he yelled. At her feet lay a pile of notes and cards. “Dylan, you are a spoiled brat. You’re a mean girl, and if you ever want a guy to really like you for reasons other than sex, you need to change that.”

Dylan pouted and pointed at me viciously. “This is her fault!”

“No, Dylan, it’s your fault for being so awful all the time. It makes you ugly.”

All the girls gasped and Dylan stepped back, horrified. “Ugly?” She couldn’t say anymore, she was too distraught.

Ryan took advantage of the situation and pulled me out from among them.

When we were a safe distance, we looked back as they retreated to their normal place. Ryan looked me over. “Are you all right?”

“Yeah,” I whispered, still fighting to suppress the memories. I touched my hair and pulled out the ruined braid Zoe had done, and tied my hair in a ponytail.

“I can’t believe she did that to you,” he said indignantly.

“Thanks for getting me out of trouble again.”

He sighed. “It’s kinda my fault anyway.”

“Not really. You didn’t ask her to be crazy.”

His face lit up as he smirked. He went to say something but we were interrupted.

“Ry, buddy! Let’s play some football!” Spencer slapped Ryan across the back. He saw me and swore. “Have you told her yet?”

“Told me what?”

Ryan elbowed Spencer in the ribs.

Spencer winced, but shoved him aside as he turned to me, smiling. “About what those bonbon swishers were going to do to you on Friday night.”

“I really don’t think she needs to know that,” Ryan hissed.

“Why not? Jonas will tell her if we don’t.” Spencer then told me about the prank the girls had planned to pull on me. My heart sank. I had gone on exchange to get away from all the ridicule and to give myself a second chance, but I found myself face to face with it all over again.