County Falls

Chapter 26: The Fungi of California

I woke up completely dreading going to school. It was the first day back from winter vacation which meant the first day seeing Justin and Vanessa, facing the rest of the school, and more importantly, seeing and speaking to Jason in weeks. I was a bundle of nerves on the morning ride. I didn't need coffee to wake me up, hell, I needed a sedative to calm me down. My leg constantly shook, my nails were a jagged mess and I couldn't remember if I'd brushed my teeth at all. Aidan, oblivious to it as usual, talked the whole way about the swim team and their upcoming competition. If only his ramblings were enough to distract me from my thoughts.

I walked to my locker per usual and everything seemed just as it was before my birthday. People were running down the hallway, chatting on their phones and carrying they're books. Everything seemed normal but my nerves were still shot. Lauren hadn't been to the locker yet, I could tell because her books were still missing. I looked around me to see if there was a friendly face in sight. On the opposite of the hallway was Dana speaking to one of her girlfriends. When she noticed me looking, she waved goodbye to her friend and walked towards me.

"Hey. Haven't seen you since your birthday. How was your break?" I knew what she wanted to really ask but she was being polite.

"It was boring. I worked during most of it. You?"

"I was down south with Damon and his family. It was fun."

"Cool..." We stood there awkwardly.

"Can I—"

"Go ahead." I interrupted knowing where this was going.

"Thank god! What the hell happened?"

"In a nutshell? I found Justin getting it on with Vanessa. In my bed." The image came back in to my mind and I shuddered. Maybe it was time to throw away my sheets again.

"I would have killed her! You're a much bigger person than I am."

"Oh believe me, the thought crossed my mind but it wasn't worth it. HE wasn't worth it."

"So what, are they together now?"

"Apparently. She can have him. They deserve each other."

"What did Jase do?"

"He umm..." I didn't know what to tell her. A lot happened that night between Jase and I, most of which I was still confused about myself.

"Jase is Jase. He said he took care of it and then he was there for me like he always is." I must've sounded a bit crazy because Dana shot me a look of suspicion.

"You really are over him aren't you?" I nodded. "Interesting. Well I'm not, Want me to kick her ass?"

I laughed. "It's alright, but thanks for the offer." The bell rang.

"I'm glad you're okay, Kai. See you around." Dana smiled and walked to class.

Classes went by at snail speed and didn't help that I kept checking the clock every five minutes. When the lunch bell rang I hopped up quickly and ran to my locker. It was just as I left it this morning. Lauren still hadn't picked up or dropped off any of her text books which meant she wasn't even here today. Hearing giggles from across the hall, I looked up to see Vanessa clinging to Justin's arm. His back was turned towards me but I was right in Vanessa's eye sight and she knew it. She gave me a smirk and then rubbed Justin's arm. She then grabbed his face and proceeded to make out with him in front of everyone but not before locking eyes with me. The whole charade was disgusting. She didn't have feelings for him. He was just property that she could show off to everyone and piss on to mark her territory. He was just another pawn in her attack against me, but too bad for her, it wasn't going to work.

That was when the whispering began. Seemingly, out of nowhere, I saw fingers from all directions pointing at me and then pointing at Justin and Vanessa. Eyes darted back and forth between me and the new "it" couple. Some of the students laughed in my direction but most stared at me with pity in their eyes. I wanted to tell, no yell, to everyone that there was need to feel sorry for me. I was fine. If there was anyone to pity, it would be Vanessa. My attention was brought towards them again when Vanessa's cackle echoed through the halls for everyone to hear. It didn't matter if people were saying anything bad about her, people were talking and that was all that mattered. She was relishing in all of the attention.

I'd had enough, I texted Aidan that I was eating lunch in the library and to meet me as soon as he was done talking to his coach. I walked briskly, careful not to look anyone in the eye and hummed to myself to drown out the noise. When I reached the library I let out a sigh of relief and sat at my favorite table.

I was escaping in to the novel I was reading when a few books dropped on the table in front of me.

"Sorry." An unfamiliar voice said. I looked up and saw a pretty blonde girl standing above me. I'd never seen her around before and assumed that she was new. She was wearing the latest fashion trends and designers which told me that she came from a wealthy family. She gave me a friendly smile and took the empty seat across from me. "I'm new here if you couldn't tell."

"I could tell but thats only because I tend to attract the new people. I'm Kai." I introduced myself, extending my hand to her. She grabbed it and shook.

"Taylor." She said. "I just moved here from Southern California. It's so different up here."

"That's what I've heard but you'll get use to this place. It grows on people."

"Like fungus?"

"Yup. We're the fungi of California." We both laughed quietly, remembering that we were still in a library.

"I'm waiting on my boyfriend. He was supposed to help me with my books and show me to my next class."

"New here and already have a boyfriend? I'm impressed."

She giggled. "It's sort of new. We've been talking for a while and finally made it official over break. Our fathers introduced us and convinced me to move up here to check out the school. It was an easy decision to make since I liked him so much." Her head turned to the entrance. "He should be here by now."

"I wouldn't worry, most people in this school still don't know where the library is. What's your next class?"

"Study hall with Winters."

"That's my next class!" My volume rising in excitement. I liked this new girl and thought maybe she would become my new friend. "I can walk you there now if you want."

"That would be great! Thanks for being so nice Kai. I was worried that I wouldn't make any friends." I helped her with her books as she led me to her locker which happened to be in the same hallway as mine, only on the opposite side.

"Damn, I was hoping he was here." She said as she looked around.

"Do I know him?" I asked.

"Everyone knows him. He's on the football team."

For some reason my heart started to race. "Oh? What's his name?"

"Jason. Jason Summers."