Finding My Family **ON HOLD**

Ch 14: Try

Finally P.E. is over, my last class of the day and I can go home and get ready for my date with Silas tonight.  I rush into the locker room hoping to catch a bathroom stall to change in before the other girls come in.  I was too slow and all of them are taken.  The last bathroom stall has a bunch of girls in it.  I know it's Jade because I've seen her in their smoking with her friends repeatedly since winter break ended.  I turn to just leave and change at home when I catch part of her conversation.

"I asked him and he said no!  Can you believe that shit?  North Taylor saying no to me?!?"  Jade is talking loud and keeps ranting on and on while her friends mumble words of agreement and encouragement.  "He better not ask that fucking slut.  She's fucking the whole football team did you know that?  Yeah, my brother too and I overheard the guys talking at practice that Silas is taking her out." 

She's talking about me.  She has to be.  She's been picking on me the entire year, then confronts me about North and just a couple days ago Silas announced to the entire football team we're going on a date.  Now the cheer team knows!  Does the entire school?  Now how am I going to go to the dance with Gabriel?  I figured I'd talk to Silas about it tonight.  Hoping since it was just the football team that no one else knew.  I'm too shocked from what I'm hearing that I don't move when I hear the lock un-latch and the door open.

"Oh look at the little slut now.  So you're an eavesdropper too?"  Jade sneers at me as she holds a joint in her hand.

"Hard to not eavesdrop when you have such a loud mouth"  I hear from behind me and it's Karen as she walks past the lockers and into the bathroom portion where we are. 

Jade takes a drag from the joint she's holding before passing it to Tara.  "Shut up, Karen!  I'm not talking to you." I can't even think about what Jade said about me I'm too distracted by the smell of whatever substance they are smoking.  It doesn't smell like weed, I can't really put my finger on it.  I've smelled weed in the hallways and this isn't it. 

Karen comes up beside me and stares Jade down, "Smoking's not allowed on campus, Jade."  They engage in a stare down and I feel like they are silently communicating with each other like my parents do.  It's weird and I wish I knew what they were saying.

Jade gives in first and nods towards her cheerleader pals.  Tara and Sara bump my shoulder as they walk past and Jade grabs me by the arm, digging her stiletto nails into my flesh, "North is mine, bitch!"

I don't know what to do so I just stand there.  North would never go out with her and I can't just tell her that.  Karen snorts as Jade walks by and mumbles a 'good riddance'.  "Are you okay, Sang?" Karen asks turning towards me,  "She can be a bitch sometimes."

"Sometimes?"  I ask and Karen just shrugs.  The smell of whatever Jade was smoking lingers and it makes me curious, "Karen, do you know what she was smoking?  I can't tell from the smell."

"It's the new JH-14"  She replies as we both walk back out to the locker area.  I decided not to change so I just need to grab my backpack before I leave.

"I thought they got rid of all that last year?"  I remember Nathan and Kota talking about how bad it used to be at their school before Mr. Blackbourne and Dr. Green cleaned it up.

"Yeah, good thing they did.  It was making people crazy.  This is the new stuff.  Same brand, but supposedly the 2.0 version that doesn't make you flip out.  From what I've heard it's the same JH-14 but in rock from that they're encouraging people to snort or smoke instead."

I have more questions, but Karen starts to change.  She just took off her shirt right in front of me!  I was a little slow to avert my eyes and notice she has a couple large bruises on her stomach.  I quickly look away and ask her more even though I'm a little uncomfortable with her changing in front of me, especially now that she's starting on her pants.  "Ummm...snort or smoke it?  But if it's a rock how do they do that?"