Razzledazzle [ ✓ ]

Chapter 20 | The Whispers

The next day at school, Troy still isn't back. There's still an empty spot at the end of the table, where Tyler has dumped all of his stuff.

Tyler turns around and for a split second, he winks at me, but by the time this registers with me, he's turned around again.

On a side note, Trinity Washington isn't here either, so I'm sitting at the middle of the row, all alone. In front of me, it looks like Glory, Alex, and the other girl are having lots of fun joking around.

And I'm just sitting here in silence.

How can they take Troy's side? I still don't understand. Troy's clearly the bad guy here. Or is he? Is this all a misunderstanding? Am I overreacting?

Or is there something else going on?

I'm still so confused... as hotheaded as he was, I had really been sure that Troy would never go as far as to punch Lee, let alone knock him out.

But I guess I had been wrong, just like I had been wrong about Lee being all bad. But it didn't really matter anyway, considering I had bigger things to worry about, like the project.

The bell rings, and Ms. O'Carthy made her usual announcement, telling us what to do. It's nothing out of the ordinary, and we all pull out our shirts to work on them.

After a few minutes of silence, I realize how terrible it's going to be to sit alone. There's no Glory by my side to make me laugh. Alex still isn't talking to me anyway.

This is going to be a long class.

"Rose."

I spin around to see cheerful Ms. O'Carthy, with her short bob of ash blonde hair and her round glasses standing behind me. "W-what is it, Ms. O'Carthy?" I ask.

"You look lonely, ever since your friends moved to the other desk," she tells me quietly, so my "friends" won't overhear.

"I'm f-fine," I stammer. The last thing I want her to do is force me to sit next to my "friends" for the rest of the class period.

"You don't look fine," she objects. "I want you to move up to the first desk, with Tyler and Lee. Where Troy used to sit. I might start having him in the back anyway."

Oh. She wants me to move up there with Lee and Tyler.

"If you don't want to, it's fine," she adds hastily. "Ill understand if you don't want to sit next to those two hooligans—"

"I'll do it."

She smiles. I try to smile back, but I'm pretty sure it came off as a grimace.

Carefully, I gather my things and drag them over to the front. I can almost feel the burning stares of my so-called friends as I move across the room.

Lee is the first one to see me coming over. "What are you doing here?" he asks.

"Obviously she's going to set up a lemonade stand—you idiot she's going to sit here." Tyler rolls his eyes.

Lee gives his stuff a rough push and it falls to the floor with a plop. "I'll clean that up later," he informs a disapproving Ms. O'Carthy as I sit down.

"Well this is going to make it easier," Tyler whispers from the other side of the row. Lee, who's in the middle, nods slowly.

It's going to make what easier?

"What are you whispering about?" I ask, and Lee abruptly turns to the front.

"Nothing, just... stuff," is his amazing reply.

"How eloquent," Tyler mocks him, turning back to his own shirt.

"Shut up," Lee hisses. "I don't want to have to deal with you, too, Troy is making it hard enough."

"Troy is making it easier for you. This was a great plan," replies Tyler in a hushed voice.

"Yeah, great plan," Lee mutters. "But I'm worried that I might... you know..."

Tyler gasps. "Really? That would defeat the whole point—Troy would never let you hear the end of it—I would never let you hear the end of it—"

"Guys!" I cry, trying to keep my voice down. "What are you whispering about?"

"Nothing," they answer again.

We work on our shirts for a little longer in silence, before I realize that there's someone standing over me.

I look up.

It's Alex.

"What do you want?" I ask, trying to keep the anger out of my voice. Her dark eyes are narrowed into ebony slits.

"I need to borrow a marker."

"Not from Rose, you're not going to," Lee says. I'm very surprised—why is he sticking up for me all of a sudden? Does he just want to repay me for sticking up for him?

"Yeah, go somewhere else," Tyler snaps. Lee takes my markers into his arms and protects them with his binder.

"Wow, I didn't know that this much idiocy could exist together in one place without the universe exploding," she informs us angrily, before storming off to another table.

Lee gives me back my markers. "That was too easy... way too easy. Alex doesn't give up without a fight—Glory and Troy don't, either, for that matter."

Tyler nods. "You're right... this is way too—" He stops dead.

Why does he stop dead?

Because Alex is pouring glue in his hair. That's why.

He panics suddenly, jumping up, and Alex, who's still pouring the glue straight from the glue bottle, doesn't move her hand in time... the glue spills all over his shirt.

"Alex, what are you doing? This is a new shirt, what the—"

Alex, grinning wildly, runs to go and sit back down. I scan the room for Ms. O'Carthy, but she's standing by the supply closet, conversing with Mr. Gordon.

"Ms. O'Carthy! Alex poured glue in my hair!"

She doesn't seem to hear him.

The bell rings before anyone can do anything, and everyone rushes to get their things and leave before Ms. O'Carthy catches the culprit. She doesn't even notice when Alex walks by... she's too busy talking to Mr. Gordon.

The three of us: Tyler, Lee, and I, all grab our things, and attempt to walk out of the room, Tyler wincing from the cold glue. But when I start to walk away, I'm stopped.

By Lee.

He grabs my hand before I can say anything and pulls me in the opposite direction.