Don't Get Angry

5- Otis: High School Clichés

High school is honestly nothing like the instruction manual called TV says it is. Well, at least my high school isn't. There's no singing, no specified cliques and no extremely popular kids who dictate what happens around the school. But the one thing that high school movies got right about my school was the bullies. The thing is, they weren't the type to take your lunch money or drown you in toilets. And they weren't rich girls who only wore pink on Wednesdays. They were all of us in our own different way. And we didn't know. Funny, how we sometimes never seem to notice our flaws until we're face to face with them or called out for it.

I was on my way to class as normal, listening to my friend, Todd, talk about some girl he'd met in some park. Todd was the type that seemed to think that meeting any girl meant she was his future wife. He was perfect for Penny. Unfortunately, Penny didn't find extremely skinny attractive. Don't get me wrong, there was nothing wrong with her or Todd's weight. Penny wasn't overweight due to overeating and Todd wasn't underweight because of the opposite. They were just a part of the unfortunate ones in society who couldn't lose or gain. I fell into that category as well, only thing was I was apparently perfect...according to Penny.

I rubbed my chin as I listened to Todd energetically sing his words between sighs. My eyes met Dalta. Her face lit up when she saw me coming up the hallway. She opened her locker door a little too close to her face and knocked herself in the nose. She covered her nose and slammed her locker door shut. I chuckled and led Todd over to her. "Hey." I rubbed her arm still laughing at her clumsiness. "Are you okay?"

She nodded. "I'm fine."

I looked at Todd. He was staring at her. I rolled my eyes. "Todd this is-"

"Klutzy," he said with a grin too broad for my liking. He shook her hand. "I know."

Dalta shook her head. "Please don't call me that."

"Hey." He shrugged. "You can call me ‘Tiny Todd’ if you want."

She looked at me then back at him. "Why do people call you ‘Tiny Todd’?"

"I get that a lot when I tell people my nickname. I thought it would be obvious just by looking at me."

"Oh no." Dalta covered her mouth. "Is it a racist thing? Like, because you're Asian?"

I snorted and quickly bowed my head. I looked at Todd. He was glaring at her.

"No," he sassed, folding his arms. "It's because I'm short." Todd knew it wasn't because of that. He was just in denial.

I looked at Dalta and shook my head trying to signal to her that she was right. She nodded once, then she looked over at Penny and her other friends walking down the hallway. Penny rushed over to us. "Dalta!" She grabbed her arm. "Did you hear about Betty?"

"Betty who?" Dalta looked at her.

"Our Betty. Betty F."

"Betty F?" I chuckled. "How many Bettys are there again?"

"There's Betty F," Penny started counting on her fingers," Betty G., Betty-Anne L..."

"Okay." I put my hands up. "I remember."

"I dated a Betty once," Todd said, holding his head high proudly and gripping his bag straps.

Penny glared at him.

"You wouldn't know her. She's not any of the Bettys you know."

"Why? Because she's imaginary?"

Dalta and I snorted and bowed our heads. I looked at her and smiled.

"Harsh much?" Todd scoffed. "No...she's from out of state. We were long distance."

"Is she a pervert?"

"I don't...I don't know. We never skyped because her camera was always broken so-"

I turned away from Todd facing a locker so he wouldn't see me laughing silently. Dalta bowed her head and pursed her lips. Penny shook her head, then she looked at Dalta. "Betty and her boyfriend broke up. Right after he used her for...you know."

I rolled my eyes. "Real mature, Penny. Real mature."

Dalta looked at her with furrowed brows. "That's horrible. Is she in school today?"

"Didn't come. She's pretty upset about it."

"Well," Todd mumbled, folding his arms," Betty's not exactly a saint."

"Do you know this Betty?" I tried not to laugh at the fact that we called each Betty with the first letter of their surnames like objects. We called them "The Bettys". THE BETTYS. Thank God I wasn't named Betty or I would blow a fuse. "Do I know her?"

"Yeah, dude." He leaned closer to me. "It's Betty. You know, Optimus Prime Betty? The Betty of all Bettys... ‘The Betty’?"

I had a eureka moment, then a moment of disgust right after. "Oh. Yeah. That Betty." I looked at Dalta.

She looked confused and a little upset. "Why'd you call her ‘The Betty’?"

Todd quickly interjected before I could answer. "Because she doesn't have standards and has made out with half of the guys in school, including yours truly-"

"Todd!" I shouted before he could finish.

He put his hand at the corner of his mouth and whispered the rest. "Otis included."

I quickly pinched him on the back of his neck, turning to Dalta. She looked disappointed in me. Todd howled like a dying wolf and rubbed the back of his neck. "Idiot."

Penny squinted at me. "That was a rumor. She said she didn't do anything with anyone." She shook her head. "I can't believe you said she did with you."

I gulped, feeling embarrassed. And with that emotion, the only way I could express myself was with anger. I was furious that they'd found out that I was a part of the rumor; a rumor that wasn't fully untrue...maybe. I wasn't sure. I had only said she’d "made out" with me to fit in with the other guys. What I said was minor compared to the things they claimed she did. But it wasn't as if Penny was innocent. She was one of the reasons why people called Todd, ‘Tiny Todd’. She lied about them dating, along with seven other girls. Whether it was in the eighth grade or not, Penny had no right to tell me how horrible a person I was. She was just as bad...way, way worse.

I looked at Dalta who was staring at me with a look of discouragement and disgust; these glaring, shameful eyes...clawing at mine. "You think I'm terrible for what I did two years ago?" I blurted out. "Penny's the reason why people call Todd that stupid name."

Dalta shot her head towards Penny. Penny glared at me. Dalta shook her head and walked away. "Dalta! Wait!" Penny chased after her.

Todd looked at me. "Wait till she finds out that Penny's the reason why people call her Klutz and Boy Body."

I looked at him with furrowed brows.

"Like, Boy Body doesn't even sound cool or funny. Like, why not ‘Guy Body’ or ‘Stick girl’...’Man-girl’-"

"Why do they call her that?"

"Yeah. She's really skinny...Like, apparently she's got no fat, whatsoever. That's why she wears baggy sweaters. I heard she's anorexic."

"That makes no sense."

He scoffed. "Trust me. People have confirmed it."

"What do you mean they've confirmed it?"

"People say stuff. Everybody talks, man... I don't know much anyway."

I glared at Todd, then pushed his head before I walked away. I looked at the floor with furrowed brows. I knew Penny had a thing for gossip, but talking about her best friend that way, that was low.