Witness to a Love Story

Thirty-Seven: Pieces

I jump back as soon as I come in contact with the squishable breasts. My eyes travel upward to see that they belong to Rene Lotts. Her face shows surprise and she jumps back from me. "B-Beatrice." She says my name shakily. I can almost hear the faint whispers of tormented memories surface to her empty skull.

Without control, my face contorts into a twisted smile. Rene, other than being some red haired ditz, is also Sharon's best friend. Although she is lame in the brain, the girl is always on top of rumors and knows the ins and outs of Carl Hayden. Bumping into her must be a sign that things are going to be turning around for me. "Don't be so afraid, Rene. I was actually hoping to run into you." My face remains sinister and I close in on her.

Rene cautiously takes a step back. She draws her question out slowly, her eyes darting around frantically looking for an escape. "Why would you be looking for me? I don't know anything." She stops and focuses on me once more, giving me a clueless grin.

I shake my head. "Now that just isn't true, Rene. There's got to be something in that big empty skull of yours. Why don't I have a look?"

Rene pauses. She looks at me then down to her feet. Her voice begins quieter than before. "I really don't know anything, Beatrice."

"Well, let's test that out. What do you know about Nathan?" I ask while inching a little closer. Her eyes flash a small dial of pain, but it goes away quickly.

Rene starts to play with a loose strand of her ginger hair, still fixated on the ground. "Just that he is dating my friend and he's the quarterback. I only know what everyone else knows."

"Ok, Rene. That's good. You passed." I tell her with a small pat on her arm. Rene flinches the instant I my skin makes contacts with her, but she knows better than to brush off my touch.

Rene's eyes snap into my face and I can see them glimmering a bit with home. "So I can go?"

The eagerness in her voice does not go unnoticed by me and I enjoy cackling like a villain and watching as her face contorts into both disappointment and fear. "No, no, Rene. What that means is that we move onto the next round. So what do you know about someone named Amnisty?"

Rene acts like a cornered animal, her eyes searching for an escape once more. She continues to play with her hair. Twisting and untwisting it around her finger. "Amnisty. That's a funny name. I've never heard it before."

"Bullshit."

Rene's face scrunches a little from my harsh tone. "I-I really don't know anyone named Amnisty."

"You're lying Rene. You know who she is, don't you? You know who Shamin is too, huh?" I get a little aggressive in my interrogation. I end up having Rene back up to a wall because I've moved in on her so much.

"Stop! Please," she breathlessly begs. Her brown eyes plead with mine. Suddenly, I realize that there's a chance Rene is telling the truth. That she really doesn't know who these people are.

Unable to resist, I land my final blow. "Amnisty is Shamin's girlfriend, right?"

Rene pauses and laughs which deflates and confidence rather fast. "You thought Amnisty was Shamin's girlfriend? Leyla is Shamin's girlfriend." Rene snorts as she continues to make fun of my mistake.

All too soon, my frustration grows to an unimaginable height and I lose my restraint. I grab a fist full of Rene's hair and tug her down to be eye level with me since I'm a few inches smaller than her. "What do you know, you fucken ditz?" I growl out to her menacingly.

Tears spring to Rene's eyes, but she manages to hold them in. "More than you!" She calls out while trying to free her hair, scratching my hand and fingers with her manicured nails.

I tighten my grip on her hair, pulling on it more than before. "Shut up!" I yell in my rage and throw Rene to her knees with a swift tug of her hair. Tears of pain finally spill out and slid down Rene's cheeks. I smile victoriously at the sight.

"Beatrice Sanders!" A gravelly voice calls out to me. One that I could be content with not hearing for the rest of my life.

I drop Rene's hair and turn to face the owner of the voice. "Livingston, what a pleasure to see you!" I say with a grin.

He looks at me, unamused. "Principal office. Now!" He barks his order at me and goes to help Rene up. He starts taking her down to the nurse's office.

I glare back at him, but stroll down to Snyder's office. "Knock, knock." I say as I open the office door.

Mr. Snyder is reading the school newspaper with a strange smile on his face. I'm going to assume that means he enjoys what he is reading. Mr. Snyder is startled and dashes to hide the newspaper under his desk in startlement. "Miss Sanders!" His voice comes out in a haste and he clears his throat.

I close the door behind me and give him a smug smile. "Snyder, I didn't-"

"Not another word." He stops me mid-sentence. I simply take my seat across from his desk, the smile on my face remaining. "Wipe that grin off your face." Mr. Snyder says, a proper frown on his wrinkly, pale face.

"Just let me enjoy this for a minute." I put my finger up and continue to smile. In fact, I think my smile grew a little more.

A minute goes by rather soon, though. "Are you done now?" Mr. Snyder asks me.

I let out a breath and with it my smile. "Yes, Snyder."

"Good." He gets comfortable in his office chair. "So what is it this time, Miss Sanders?" He looks at me over the rim of his glasses.

I relax in the chair and start up story time. "Nothing much. I just ran into Rene and-"

"Rene Lotts?" Mr. Snyder interrupts me. That seems to be happening a lot today. Slowly, but surely, my patience is starting to run thin.

"Yes, Snyder. Now as I was-" I go to continue my story, but get cut off once more.

"You haven't spoken to her since junior year." Mr. Snyder comments, shuffling around some papers on his desk.

I sit in the chair, my nails digging into the edge. He's not even looking at me. I wait a full minute. Mr. Snyder finally glances in my direction. We make eye contact and he blinks slowly. I heave a sigh as I look away. "Having established that, Snyder, lets continue-"

"Luck of the Irish, huh?" Mr. Snyder says and now I'm starting to believe he is doing it on purpose.

I groan and sink into my chair, giving up to defeat. "I pulled her hair." I mutter weakly.

"That wasn't too hard, now was it, Miss Sanders?" Mr. Snyder is giving me a crooked smile as he looks down on me. He must be a sadist because he seems to enjoy others pain. Specifically, mine!

"I just love our conversations, Snyder." I say through gritted teeth and sarcasm.

"As do I, Miss Sanders. How does ten hours of community service sound?" He asks me as he turns to his computer. Very weakly, I give the sadistic principal a thumbs up. And with that, I slink away from that god forsaken office with what little patience didn't get fried today.