The Renegades

Chapter 12

Rae, Landon, and Sabina walk towards Ruby High School from the parking lot the next day. Rae stayed at the Harpers' late last night talking to Sabina, so she ended up just spending the night. It's not unusual. She practically has a whole drawer in Landon's dresser for clothes she's left. She has a toothbrush in the bathroom, too.

Landon sees Wesley's car in the lot, Easton getting out of the passenger seat of the truck to find Cece.

"I'll catch up with you guys," Landon says, letting go of Rae's hand to cross back into the lot. He didn't get the chance to give Wesley a piece of his mind last night, so now he will.

Rae and Sabina both realize where he's going, and all Sabina can do is roll her eyes. Her brother has always been protective of her in the dumbest ways.

"I'm going to stop him from getting his arms broken," Rae says. She holds out her daily smoothie. "Hold this." Sabina takes the green mush that Rae calls a smoothie, and then she's alone in the courtyard.

As usual, she's never alone for long. Lilly Xavier and her little squad come over to her. Lilly wraps her arm around Sabina's shoulders.

"Hey, Bean," Lilly chirps. Sabina has almost forgotten how ugly her nickname sounds coming from anyone except Wesley. "Kass here tells me you were on a little date with my sloppy seconds."

Sabina's not in the mood to deal with Lilly today. "It wasn't a date."

Lilly laughs and lets her arm fall from Sabina. She steps so she's in front of Sabina, looking in her eyes. "Of course it wasn't. As if anyone who's ever been with me would be interested in a freak like you." She adds extra emphasis to the word freak to make it sting more. She looks over at her friends. "Can you imagine the downgrade? I mean, everything is a downgrade from me, but going from me to you would be like going from a Kardashian to a hobo." Lilly's eyes flick over Sabina's outfit, which she got, like usual, from yard sales, flea markers, and thrift stores. "You're already dressed the part. Wesley isn't into freaks like you, Bean."

Usually Lilly's words don't bother Sabina, but maybe it's because they're about Wesley today or because Sabina is sensitive after last night or because Wesley managed to un-numb her that she can feel anger broiling up inside her. Anger mixed with embarrassment because everything Lilly is saying is true and Sabina knew it all along but still let herself fall for him.

"No witty little comebacks today?" Lilly asks, pinching Sabina's cheeks and pouting. "Did I Hurt your feelings? Do freaks even have feelings?"

Sabina just looks at Lilly's tiny little cheerleading uniform that's no longer as tiny as they've switched to their long sleeved tops for colder weather. She looks at that uniform that gives Lilly and her friends all their self confidence, and she takes the lid off Rae's disgusting, shit-colored smoothie. Before she's even fully aware of what she's doing, Sabina throws the contents of the cup in her hand onto Lilly.

Lilly shrieks as the nasty half solid, half liquid hits her perfectly made up face and precious little uniform. The white of the uniform immediately stains greenish. Sabina starts walking away.

"How did you and Landon come from the same egg and he turned out so normal and you became such a freak!" Lilly fumes, trying desperately to wipe the smoothie off herself before it causes any more damage.

Sabina looks over her shoulder and yells, "That's not how fraternal twins work, you dumb bitch!"

Sabina throwing a smoothie on Lilly Xavier is the talk of the school. Everyone always whispers about Sabina when she walks by, but today some of the remarks are of awe and admiration rather than pure judgement. She wishes everyone would just shut up and leave her alone.