LaMelo Ball - By Ari

Eighteen

The next day, there was some assembly about a stupid fundraiser that I didn't really care about, nor did I want to learn more information about. Nelly and I sat in the very top corner of the bleachers, since all of the popular and social students sat more towards the middle section. I didn't see LaMelo, thankfully, so I actually felt a little more comfortable for the first time in a while to actually be out in the open without looking over my shoulder, searching for him. Principal Racine spoke in the microphone for about twenty minutes before handing it over to some lady by the name of Gladys, who did nothing but ramble on and on about nothing, it seemed like. Nelly and I quietly conversated amongst ourselves until I caught the eye of a group of girls who were sitting a number of rows in front of us, who kept looking behind them up at Chanelle and I. I only grew aware at them because of their obnoxious whispering and mean snickering. I stared down at them until one girl in particular turned her head back to stare at me and my vision lit up in recognition.

Nevaeh Fucking Whitmarsh.

My head suddenly began to grow dizzy as I sent a million daggers into her body telopathically. I wanted to beat her ass just at the sight of her filthy self, but I had to restrain. Nelly was mumbling about something basketball-related and when she suddenly stopped talking, my attention was turned to her.

"Um, are you listening to a word I'm saying?"

I raised my eyebrows, hoping to be convincing. "Mmhm."

"Then what was I talking about?"

Biting my lip, I continued to stare sharply at that group of annoying girls, especially Nevaeh. "The KU basketball game tonight?"

Chanelle narrowed her eyes at me and tried to see what I was staring at, craning her neck and then glancing at me a few times to see if we were watching the same thing. I knew she noticed Nevaeh when she drew in a sharp breath and growled softly, obviously irritated by her presence.

"That bitch has a lot of nerve, sitting anywhere near us," she whispered and she, too, was now glaring meanly. "I hated her even before she did what she did; she's such a hoe."

I could barely hear Nelly as she ranted when the principal dismissed everyone, making each body in the whole gymnasium stand at once and try to file out of the large room at the exact same time, of course making it even more of a hassle. My best friend and I waited behind a crowd of people at the west exit, getting to the hallway slowly but surely. Once we made it through, Nelly patted my shoulder and told me she had to go, also asking if I was going to be okay by myself.

"Of course," I assured her and flashed a convincing smile, making her nod and walk away. Standing in the middle of the hall and taking a deep sigh, I watched students push past me rudely and not even really acknowledge my existence. I didn't really care, though, because I didn't know why I couldn't move; my feet felt like they were cement blocks as I lifted them slowly, my legs aching with each movement. I finally made my way to the bathroom after a long amount of time and once I entered, I shut the door behind me and leaned against it, blowing out a breath of relief. I walked over to the sink before splashing some cold water on my face, absolutely exhausted since I didn't really get a good night's sleep.

I was bending over and drying my skin when I heard the door creak open and several pairs of footsteps made their way in, hissing whispers passing amongst the group of girls.

Oh, no.

It couldn't be.

I slowly turned around and of course, to my misfortune, the group of girls were nothing other than Nevaeh and her little pets. My stomach dropped and I knew what was about to happen and before I could even advance forward, one out of the five girls who consisted of stringy hair and shorts that were several sizes too small stood in front of the door, blocking it. My eyes shifted to each and every body that was standing before me, not knowing what to do.

"Get out of my way," I made my voice sound stern and that's when a sudden blow to my jawline made me grab at my face with pain. I realized that it was Nevaeh who threw the punch, causing me to automatically begin throwing my fists in her direction, knocking her onto the hard tile at first before eventually being attacked by her friends, a couple of them shoving me to the floor as well and punching and kicking me. I was in such a great amount of pain in such a short amount of time, and there was nothing I could do about it. I was trapped and I was forced to take the dire pain. I tried to get up and fight on several occasions, but they held me down, continuing to torture me. I wanted to disappear so badly that I almost forgot about the throbbing in my head, face, chest, stomach, and legs.

It was when they all stopped, I opened my eyes.

I looked at all of the girls, who were staring down at me like they were inspecting a stray animal. My hands slowly withdrew from protecting my head from the blows and I spotted Nevaeh, who was the closest to me out of everybody.

I thought she was going to leave but instead, she drew her leg back and I guess she had given my head one last kick because she knocked me cleanly out cold.

Everything went dark.