The Legend Of The Six

Chapter 19

"Hey, can I call you Rae?" Penelope asks. I snort at the nickname.

"Depends. Can I call you Penny?" I counter. She pretends to think about it.

"Well....I suppose I can deal with your insufferable, clingy personality a bit more. Alas, it'll be heart wrenching!"

"Hey!" I say, bumping her shoulder with mine. "Meanie!"

We laugh as we sit at our tiny lunch corner. Lunch started just a few minutes ago, so people are still getting their food. That includes the rest of our little peculiar group of mismatched kids. Suddenly, I remember something I need from my locker. It's a feather pendant that I had to take off for gym. I've had it since I was a baby in the foster system. We came as a package deal, the necklace and I.

"Be right back. I forgot something in my locker," I tell Penny. She nods and I hurry out of the cafeteria. I'm just about to my locker when I'm tripped. I fall to the ground, then hear laughing. I roll my eyes when I recognize the laugh. The head cheerleader, Miranda, is standing over me with her little minions by her side.

"Hey freakazoid! Heard you finally made some friends. Be honest. Did you have to pay them?" she asks. She and her friends laugh at her poor joke over-enthusiastically.

"Oh wait! You're so poor you don't have the money to pay them. Did your daddy spend everything at the liquor store? Again? Everybody knows your worthless and he knows it, too. Why don't you just crawl under a rock and die, sweetheart? Save yourself the trouble of living with that ugly face the rest of your life? You will never be important. Nobody will ever remember you. Got that, honey? You know, I think that our school's roof is pretty high up! Maybe you should check out the view sometime, sugar!"

They strut off, laughing their pretty faces off at my brokenness. Pushing myself off the ground, I groan. My nose is bleeding because of my face biting the floor when they tripped me. Perfect. Just perfect.

I don't let them see the hurt. It would just make them laugh harder and I would hate myself for letting that solid stone wall crack just the tiniest bit. So I put my mask on. Cinderella without the prince and happily ever after that everyone longs for in life.

"Hey, Raven. You okay?" a soft voice asks. I flinch when I recognize it. Turning around, I see Jack standing there.

"Why do you let them do that?" he asks curiously. I shake my head and laugh bitterly.

"Nobody's there to help me. To save me. Nobody cares," I tell him.

"I'm sure that's not true," he says, scoffing.

"It's true Jack. You just don't realize it."

He tilts his head to the side, considering this for a moment.

"Maybe you're right," he says finally. I sigh. Maybe. The one word that has the power to change everything.

"Let's get back to lunch," he says. I nod, and as we walk down the hallway together, I can't help but wonder....

Maybe...