I sat alone in the courtyard for the rest of lunch. I tried my hardest not to blame Katie for leaving me; I mean she did just find the one person she was meant to be with forever. But still, I was just a little miffed.
I rolled up my sweater sleeve, glaring at the harsh black numbers. I remember when I was little my mom would tell people that I was a 'Zero.' I didn't get it, when all the other kids teased me on the playground. when I got older, I just told everyone I'd Encountered them already or something. But usually, I just kept it hidden.
I yanked my sleeve down, and looked up, greeted by a pair of shocking green eyes about three feet from me. I quickly yanked my sleeve down, and stood to walk away. The thing about everyone knowing who their soulmate is, is that there's no more wondering who has a crush on who, or whatever.
I glanced back, but the eyes had vanished, or turned away. I shook my head clear of the image, choosing instead to hide by my locker 'till the end of lunch.
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I practically fell out of Government, anxious to get out of school. I was tired from all the new developements, and kinda just wanted to go home. I pushed the front doors open, letting natural light flood my eyes.
I set out, pushing up the sleeves of my sweater due to the heat, striding past the throngs of kids who'd escaped earlier than me. A familiar voice stopped me in my tracks.
"Hey Shutout!" I closed my eyes, waiting for the torment to begin, but I quickly realized they were talking to someone else. Like the terrible person I am, I ducked behind a wall to see what they where doing.
The guy whose voice I'd heard was Bret Johnson's, along with an assortment of others. they where tossing around a boy, only a little taller than I was, with dark hair. I could see a cut on his arm already. Bret caught the kid, twisting his arm, as if they where playing Uncle. Which Bret was playing. The other guy just wasn't.
"So, somebody's got zero's on their wrist. Last I saw, you didn't have no Lady," Bret sneered, still not releasing his arm. "Lemmego!" the kid panted. I peered out around the corner just a little more, to see if I could catch a glimpse of who they'd been tormenting.
"And who're you?" One of the guys said, grabbing my arm from out of nowhere. I squeaked a little, and managed to choke, "I was looking for my, um, boyfriend? yeah, and I heard stuff coming from here but y'know I don't think he's around, and-"
I was stopped short by the pleading look from the kid, the fear in his bright green eyes. "Oh, there he is. C'mon, er, honey?" Bret released the guy, staring at me hard. His brow was wrinkling, and a spark of recognition flashed in his eyes.
"Alright we'll just be going," I blurted, yanking the boy around the corner. After we where a safe distance from them, He pulled his arm from my grasp. "Ow! that was just going through amateur chiropractics y'know."
"Sorry," I mumbled, but kept walking. He jogged up to keep pace with me, and insistantly began trying to get me to speak. "So, thanks for saving me 'n all. What's your name? I'm Sam. S-dog. SamDizzle Whatever you prefer."
I struggled not to smile at the absurdity of 'SamDizzle,' but I just replied, "Sage." He nodded, staring at the side of my face intently. "Just curious, why didn't you just ignore them picking on me? most people would laugh or join in messing with a Shutout."
Ah, yes, the nickname for anyone with eight little zeros on their wrist. I don't remember who'd thought it up, but I bet it took hours on Thesarus.com to find a good synonym.
I shrugged vaguely, flicking my hair so it fell as a barrier between us. I didn't feel like talking to him much, especially since he probaby had someone better to hang out with, and was just pitying me 'cause I saved him.
"No, really, I'm curious," Sam prodded some more, until I stopped walking for a second. He stopped too, taking a step back to be beside me. "Well," I sighed, standing up straighter, pushing the hair out of my eyes, "So am I."
He stood for a moment, staring at me, not saying anything. I blushed, but decided to ignore it. Sam stood there, even as I walked away, eyes following me.
It wasn't until I'd gotten home that I realized: my sleeves had been pulled up the whole time, displaying the 00:00:00:00 for the world to see.
^~ugh, Not feelin' this chapter but whatever. ~^
