Bikini Body

Chapter five:

Usually after Dance I'd go to Honors History. But I didn't. I, Abigail Ash Newman, ditched Honors History. Yes, for some people, it's not that big of a deal, but for me, it was! There was no way in hell I was going into a classroom where almost everybody knew what happened to me in Dance. Gossip spreads like wildfire-- easily started, hard to put out. I decided to camp out in a stall in one of the Girls' Bathroom until lunch. I stayed dead silent when a girl would walk in. A lot of the girls that went in and out of the bathroom were the teacher's pets. They all carried bathroom passes.

Last year, the school announced that every classroom of every subject had one bathroom pass for each gender. The reason was that people would sneak out and visit friends, fight, or do graffiti on the bathroom stalls. And if a security guard or other teacher catches you, it's an automatic trip to detention. Now, those teacher's pets tattle-taled anyone who didn't carry their bathroom pass. Kindergarten all over again.

Finally the first lunch bell rang. In no time, I heard the hallways being filled with numerous voices. I gathered my stuff and walked out of the bathroom. I kept my head down as I made my way to the cafeteria. My ears picked up the stifled laughter and whispering coming from the students I'd pass by. Maybe coming out of my bathroom stall was a bad idea. I should've stayed in the nurse's office. I could've had lunch with Mrs. Ramirez and--

Lunch! I groaned.

I just remembered I was supposed to sit with Lauren at Tad Bryant's table. Why did I say yes? Everybody in that table already knew what happened! What's the point? I shook my head. Lauren was my friend. I didn't not want to get into an argument with her like Grace. No. A promise was a promise. That's what good friends do. I'll just stay a little bit and then go back to my bathroom stall. Yes! That was exactly what I was going to do.

I found Lauren waiting in line for food. She was all nervous and played with her fingers. I swore she almost jumped like a cat when I grabbed her shoulder. She turned around and took a sigh of relief when she was me.

"Damn it, Abby! You almost gave me a heart attack!" Lauren said.

"You looked like you were having a heart attack," I told her. "Seriously, are you that nervous to sit with Tad Bryant?"

Lauren sighed. "Yes. I mean... I know all the girls want him. So do I. I like him. I really like him. I just-- I just don't want to be the one to mess things up."

"Everything will be fine. I'll be right there with you. But this is just for today, right?"

"I think so..." Lauren sighed again. "Thanks, Abby."

We grabbed our lunch and headed outside to the picnic tables at the courtyard. It was a beautiful day outside. The sun was shining down on the ground, birds were singing. And sitting on a picnic table with his group, was Tad Bryant. He sat on the table, a carton of milk in his left hand, laughing so hard, I thought we was going to fall backwards. When he saw us, Tad greeted us with his signature smile.

"Hello, ladies," he said in a suave voice. He put his arm around Lauren, who was starstruck. "Are you wearing space pants? 'Cause your ass looks out of this world!"

Tad pinched her behind.

Lauren yelped. "Ow!"

That was the most disgusting pick-up line I've ever heard. "You're a prude," I said.

Tad jolted back and let out this high-pitched scream. It was high enough to make dogs deaf. He turned to Lauren. "You know this person?"

"S-she's my friend," Lauren squeaked. She rubbed her bottom. "That pinch was kind of hard, Tad."

He replied, "I'm just marking my territory, girl." I wondered if Tad actually knew "the girl's" name. He tried to pinch her again, but Lauren smacked his hand.

"Tad, you player!' one of Tad's friends yelled. Tad turned around and flipped him off. He turned back to me again.

"What? I could've done worse," he protested.

What haven't you done worse? I thought. I shuddered, mentally.

People like Tad absolutely disgust me. There was no way I was letting Lauren into his trap like Destiny. I couldn't afford to lose another friend. Especially to a narrow-minded bully like Mr. Big Shot over here. I grabbed Lauren's arm and pulled her to me.

"Yeah, no," I told him.

Tad didn't like that. "Hey!"

"Abby," Lauren said as she roughly took my hand off her arm, "can we talk? Alone."

"Sure," I said as I started to walk off. Tad ran in front and faced me.

"Hold it," he said. "Whatever my girl has to say to you, she can say it in front of me. We have no secrets." He turned to her. "Right, baby?"

Lauren barely nodded. She stood next to Tad.

"Abby... it's okay. Really," she said, her voice filled with hesitance. "Abby... I think you should.... go. Please."

My heart dropped.

"OOOOH!" we heard from behind.

"Shut up, you vultures!" Tad snapped as he flipped his friends off once again. I was stunned. I couldn't speak. All of my emotions went into me and I had no idea how to react. Lauren gave me an apologetic look before Tad took her away.

I turned around. Tears filled my eyes. Back to the bathroom stall for me.