nerd.

vingt-et-un

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Arielle Evans

I bite the inside of my cheek nervously, tapping my pencil against the desk. Mrs. Porter had decided that today was the perfect day to give us a pop quiz on the unit we were studying. Go to hell, old woman, I think as I fill in a random answer bubble.

"Time is up." she calls, and I quickly scribble in some random answer bubbles before handing the quiz in. The bell rings moments later, finally signaling that we can go home. I grab my books and run to my locker, quickly packing up. I shove my books into my bag and run out to Mason's car, leaning against the outside until he comes.

"Long time no see, Mermaid. Rather, long time no bully." An annoyingly familiar voice jeers from behind me. I whip around and find Chelsea with her arms propped up on the hood of the car, her eyes piercing through my soul.

"Chelsea. How lovely to see you." I say sarcastically, though a bit afraid of what her reaction will be.

"Oh, the Mermaid has found a voice, huh?" Chelsea sneers bitterly.

"My name is Arielle." I snap.

"Arielle, Mermaid, it's all the same to me, because all you are to me is a nerd." Chelsea says. Two new sidekicks of hers come up behind her, smirking at me, with Kevin following closely behind.

"Really, guys? Kevin, you're still her boyfriend, and you two, you're actually her friends?" I snap, my blood boiling. "Have you even seen what she does to innocent kids in this school?" One of the sidekicks looks away, and I can tell I hit a nerve. "What's your name?"

She looks up, clearly surprised that I had spoken to her. "Rebecca. Rebecca Doyle."

"Ah. Your little brother is Cameron Doyle, am I correct?" I say, knowing I have found her weak spot.

"Yea." she replies shakily.

"See, Becca, what I don't understand, is why you are still friends with Chelsea when you know that she bullies your little brother." I say.

"Becca, you know that's not true." Chelsea intervenes.

"Actually, Becca, I think that you know it is. Why do you think Cameron comes home every day crying? Chelsea and Kevin. Why does he have bruises and scratches where an innocent boy's clear face should be? Kevin and Chelsea." I point out. Rebecca looks up at Chelsea, her eyes filled with nothing but fury.

"You...you are responsible?" she asks, her voice wavering. Chelsea looks away, but shakes her head in protest. "You..you...you are a pathetic little bitch, Chelsea." she spits, backing away from Chelsea and closer to me.

"Excuse me? Listen to yourself, Becca. You're taking a nerd's word over mine." Chelsea yells.

"No. No, I'm taking my innocent little brother's side over yours, you lying skank. Oh, and by the way, Kevin, your precious little girlfriend slept with Trevor last weekend." Becca yells.

"What?" Kevin screeches. Chelsea's face turns red, and she shakes her head in denial. Kevin grabs her hand and pulls her away, while she screams and demands to be let go. They both disappear into the building, and Rebecca looks at me, pity filling her blue eyes.

"I'm sorry..I..I didn't know." She says, tears welling at the corners of her eyes.

"Hey, it's okay." I say, wrapping my arms around her and dropping my bag on the ground. "It's not your fault. I'm just glad I could help another person realize how bad Chelsea really is."

*

Mason finally comes out of the school building, sprinting towards the car.

"Hey, sorry I'm late, and whoa..who are they?" he asks, pointing at Rebecca and Cameron.

"This is Becca," I say, motioning towards her. "And this is Cameron." I tell him, resting my chin on the top of Cameron's head. He nods, but I can tell he is still confused. I smile at him and he takes that as a signal to stop asking questions about our two new friends. 

"Let's get going, yeah?" he says, picking up my bag and tossing it in the backseat.

"Yeah, just give me a sec." I tell him, and he nods before getting in the car. "It was so nice meeting you two, I'll talk to you tomorrow. Oh, and here's my number in case you need anything." I say, quickly scribbling my number on a small piece of paper and handing it to Rebecca. She nods before smiling and giving me a hug. I hug her back and give Cameron a quick hug, seeing Mason impatiently glancing at me through the rear view mirror. With that, I get in the car, and we start the drive home.