Dragging myself through school that day made me feel more exposed than ever. Even though I knew that the only people who definitely had any knowledge of my rape were Brandon and Michael, that didn't mean word hadn't gotten around to other people. Jesse and I were still a popular topic of discussion; who knew what would happen if they found out what Garrett had done.
Actually, no. I did know. They would all gang up on me like always and take Garrett's side solely because he's a guy and was more liked than me in this hellish prison.
Period through period, I got by without being acknowledged by neither my fellow classmates nor my teachers, although some people continued to do the whole, we're-talking-about-you-but-we-don't-want-you-to-know-so-we're-whispering-yet-you-do-know-because-we're-looking-right-at-you thing. What, were we still in middle school? People could be so immature. But at this point, I had gotten used to it. I was being talked about, and even though it was in a negative light, it was something. I mean, that's how people get famous, right?
Not lilke I would be getting famous any time soon but a girl could dream.
Speaking of fame, I wondered what meeting Michael's band mates would be like. I just hoped they wouldn't be all stuck up from their success, although I wasn't sure how successful they actually were considering I had never even heard of them before meeting Michael. Either way, I didn't understand why Michael would want me to meet them rather than his other "friends" here.
But if they happened to be cute, I wouldn't question a thing.
Once lunch rolled around, I decided to go out somewhere to get food. That was one thing I actually liked about my high school - because our cafeteria was so small, upperclassmen were allowed to leave the building for lunch. The various fast food franchises literally up the street made finding food very easy for students who couldn't drive. I usually liked to bring my own lunch and stay in the school, though. The period became an extra study hall for me, and it wasn't like I ate with anyone else, anyway. But for once I needed to treat myself to make me feel better, so I convinced Michael to let me borrow his car and drove down to Main Street to indulge in some pizza.
A bell chimed above me as I stepped into one of the four pizzerias on Main Street alone. A group of girls I recognized from my school glanced back at me as they ordered their meals at the counter.
The typical whispering and staring continued throughout my lunch, but I tried not to pay any attention to them, as difficult as that was to do since they sat right behind me. I even heard mine and Jesse's names mentioned a few times.
Once I had finished my two plain slices, I wrapped my coat and scarf around myself and stood to throw out my garbage. The girls were still gossiping and made no move to leave even though we had to be back at school in just a few minutes. But something else caught my attention as I headed past them to the garbage can.
"She was definitely asking for it."
Laughter followed.
There was no way they were talking about what I thought they were talking about...
I whipped my head around to see that they were staring right at me as they giggled into the palms of their hands.
No that couldn't be possible, though. No way.
I quickly tossed my trash and hurried out the back door to the parking lot behind the building.
Brandon's familiar brunette locks came into view as soon as I pulled into the lot. I hopped out of the car and stomped over to confront him, not caring that he was surrounded by a bunch of his friends. Confrontation had never been something I could handle well, but the adrenaline coursing through my body at the moment told me otherwise. "Excuse me," I muttered, brushing past his friends and pushing Brandon off to the side. He was clearly taken aback by my sudden action, but nodded to his friends to go along without him as I dragged him towards a nearby car.
