Torn » h.s./marcel

Chapter 9: Just The Beginning

Chapter 9: Just The Beginning

Marcel's POV

I don't know what I was expecting Wednesday morning, but definitely not what was coming up. Allie didn't show up for school on Tuesday. Of course, that meant Adam and Kendall ruled the school that day.

But that changed when Allie burst through the doors the next morning. Her head was held high and she stared everyone in the eyes. She stormed forward, her hair bouncing behind her, in long confident strides.

She pushed past Adam and Kendall, who were gaping at her. She didn't talk to anyone, but the message was pretty clear (to me, anyway): I'm back, bitches, stronger than ever.

That kind of scared me. What would she do to me now that she came to her senses? Would she slap me silly for actually touching her? Would she get the whole school to mock me more than they already did? What would she do? I bit my lip anxiously.

It was obvious that the other, lesser kids feared Allie again because they scrambled out of her way as she stalked down the hall. She passed me, and I waited for her to do something. But what?

But Allie just walked past me and turned the corner. She didn't even look at me. I almost felt... hurt in a way. Why everyone else and not me?

Shut up, I told myself. That's your stupid little crush talking. Allie obviously hates you, and that's the way it's going to be. Always has, always will.

I shook myself a little bit to get rid of these thoughts. I clutched my books tighter to my chest and walked off to my first class.

*~*~*~*

Allie ignored me for the whole first half of the day. I was perfectly fine with that. Allie ignoring me meant no ridicule or any kind of physical abuse for me.

I sat down at my lunch table with my cold lunch. I wasn't very hungry. I opened the bag and dumped everything out of it. A turkey sandwich, a water bottle, two applesauces, and a container holding a slice of chocolate zucchini bread. I picked at the bread.

I glanced up and looked around the cafeteria, people-watching. I spotted Allie walking through the open double doors. She had a thin smile on her face as she sat down confidently beside Adam at the popular table.

"What are you doing here?" he demanded. My table wasn't very far away from the popular table, so I could hear every word they said.

"Sitting here," Allie replied calmly. She opened her cold lunch bag and took out a bagel. "And eating lunch."

"Why?"

"Because I'm hungry, you doofus," she retorted. "And it's lunchtime."

"That's not what I meant. Why are you here? Why are you sitting next to me?"

"Geez, Adam," she scoffed. "I didn't know that there were certain seating arrangements. If that's the case, go sit next to Marcel. I saw your name on the chair next to him."

I shrunk a little in my seat. Please don't come over here, please don't come over here, please don't come over here, I pleaded silently in my mind. Adam didn't come over.

"Shut up, you stupid bitch," Adam snapped. "You don't get it, do you? You're not Little Miss Queen B anymore. Kendall is. We rule the school. And a little girl like you can't stop us."

My eyes widened. The last time someone stood up to Allie like that the student had gotten transferred. The ending results were not pretty. What was she going to do? To my surprise, Allie remained calm.

"I think YOU don't seem to get it," she said smoothly. "As far as I can tell, the whole school is still wrapped around my finger. They still listen to me. I'm Queen B, not Kendall. She's just a wanna-be. And a lowly peasant like you can't help her, because your new reputation as a cheater won't get you anywhere."