The Unloved One

06: tickets

Monday

Lee's Observations
Bea is completely different from the people I used to hang out with at my old school.

Which I'm kinda happy about.
•••

     At one point in my life, I thought that all girls were the nicest people on earth. My sisters made me believe that. But I was fucking 11 at the time.

     When I reached middle school, I was shocked to see a girl violently stab her cherry juice pouch and pour it on another girl.

     And that's how I found out girls can be scary as fuck, too.

     "At least the marker isn't permanent this time," I hear Bea chuckle softly to herself, as she reaches into her pocket to pull out a wrinkled napkin from Dunkin' Donuts.

     I, on the other hand, still can't help but stand beside her motionless and stare in disgust at the terrible words written on her locker.

     One of them read:

happy fucking monday, freak show!
love, mina & bianca

     I finally snap out of my thoughts when I notice her small figure struggling to wipe off a word that's too high for her to reach.

     "Here, let me do it," I say, gesturing for her to hand me the napkin.

     Seeming embarrassed, she reluctantly hands me the napkin. I reach up and wipe the rest of the writing off her locker.

     "Thank you," she tells me with a smile, before turning around to open her locker.

     "No problem," I tell her, throwing the napkin in a trash bin nearby. "They've done this before?"

     She nods her head as she pulls out a few of her books. "Every Monday," she mumbles, before closing her locker and turning to me. "That's why my locker is a different shade of blue from everyone else's. The cleaning staff had to repaint it so many times."

     I scrunch my eyebrows in confusion. "Don't they ever suspend them? You know, for vandalizing school property?"

     We begin walking to our first period, and she shrugs her shoulders. "No," she says with a sigh. "I heard it's because of Bianca's father and his position in the city, and Mina's reputation in the school."

     "But that's bullshit."

     She looks up to me again, her lips slightly quirked up into a smile. "Don't worry, it's fine."

     I let out a tired sigh and adjust the strap of my bag. "But it really isn't, Bea."

     She stares at me with a smile. "I said don't worry," she tells me reassuringly. "It's my problem, not yours."

     ~

     At my old school, each of my classes had at least one person I knew and that I can hold an actual conversation with.

Now that I've transferred, the only person that currently has these qualities is Bea.

"Happy Monday, students. Welcome back to another day of biology."