Becoming Beautiful (Wattys2014)

| Chapter 8 |

Chapter 8

On Monday, school was terrible. When I woke up that morning, I still had that feeling that I should just stop going, that I should stop showing up, but I pulled myself from my bed and slipped into the bathroom to get ready. Once I arrived at school, Ronnie was there. His locker was near the entrance, so I wasn’t surprised. What I was surprised about was his black eye and his busted lip. Did I do that? I nearly gasped once I saw his face, but for some reason- I didn’t feel as sorry as I did after I committed the act. Maybe it was the look he gave me, or maybe it was the way people looked at me- the way they actually noticed me, for the first time in practically two and a half years. I was the talk of the school for my first five out of ten months here as a freshman, mainly because of my father’s death. Or because of how my friends up and left me the moment I returned to school from my two week mourning.

I walked down the hallway towards the gymnasium. I’d rather stand in there and look like a loner rather than stand alone in the hallways and look like a criminal. “You’re going to class already? What happened to being a rebel?”

Marissa smiled at me before closing her locker. I noticed Chloe give me a wary look while Dana just smiled. I don’t see why Ethel said that Dana is stupid, because she seems intelligent to me. And even if she isn’t smart, she’s still really nice. Chloe might not be the brightest bulb in the box, but she probably has a few good traits or else Marissa wouldn’t have befriended her. One of her good traits is that she’s pretty, along with her two friends. Compared to them, I look like I crawled out of a cave. I’m also extremely short, which isn’t helping. I’m also not skinny, which makes me seem like an outcast among them, when normally- I’m pretty okay with my weight.

I shrugged. “My rebellious days are over.”

Dana and Marissa laughed while Chloe ran her fingers across the screen of her phone. “You have that class with my brother, right?”

I nodded. “I have had this class with him since the first week of school.”

She rolled her eyes. “Can you please give him these?”

I nodded, accepted the small case in my hands. My eyebrows furrowed when I noticed that they were contacts. He wears contacts? Ha, that’s what he gets for having pretty eyes. “Sure.”

“Thank you," she told me before pursing her lips. She glanced at Chloe who had a scowl on her face. Marissa stifled a laugh, earning a confused look from me. “Can I talk to you later? During lunch?”

I winced. “I have lunch detention…for the whole week. You can talk to me in the lunch line when I get my lunch, but then I have to leave. Same goes for after school, it ends at four.”

She shook her head. “They overreacted.”

I shrugged. “I did attack the guy. At least they didn't suspend me.”

“Did you see what you did to his face?” Dana asked, holding her mouth as a smile threatened to show up.

I nodded, biting my lip to stop myself from laughing. Just a few moments ago, I was gasping in shock. But now I realize that this is Ronnie we’re talking about. Rotten Ronnie, the guy who talks about my late father, the guy who got on my case because I can’t play volleyball to save my life, so I don’t feel as guilty as I should. Speaking of the devil, Ronnie came limping by. I did tackle him, so I’m guessing he landed on a weird angle. It wasn’t enough to put him in a cast, which would have made me feel extremely guilty. The bell rang as Marissa and Dana laughed loudly. He offered them the one finger salute as a girl rushed to open the door for him, as if he wasn’t physically capable of doing it himself.

I ducked into the gymnasium, offering Marissa and Dana a kind smile and a wave. Chloe wasn’t looking in my direction, so I didn’t bother to wave at her. I walked in Noah’s direction, watching as he blinked rapidly, rubbing his eyes occasionally. That explains why he kept rubbing his eyes and blinking quickly when I asked him to go to Ethel’s gala with me. I assumed it was because he was tired but after being awake and functioning for ten minutes, you’d figure you’re fully awake with no need to keep wiping at your eyes.