Don't Get Angry

20- Dalta: Glares and Stares

"We should stay away from Otis." Penny handed me her Pink Lemonade juice box. I took it from her and took a sip, then I handed it back. I squeezed my eyes shut from the sour taste. My body shook.

"Ugh," I groaned and crinkled my nose. "Yeah, that's so bad." I gagged.  "Don't like it at all. Why should we stay away from Otis?"

"I don't know. He gives me bad vibes."

"He never did before." I stuck my straw into my juice box and took a sip. I relaxed as the sweet taste of watermelon hit my tongue. "Much better." I handed it to Penny.

She sipped it. "This is too sweet for me." She pushed it back.

I shrugged and sipped it again looking at the cafeteria door. Otis walked in with Taylor holding her hand. She was pulling him along like a pet. "I like him. But you know who is bad news? Taylor. I wanna look into her."

"Don't you think their relationship shouldn't be any of your business?"

I looked at her. I shook my head. "You guys had a fight, didn't you?"

"Who?" She looked down at her french fries.

"You and Otis. Knowing you, you would love to snoop in his business. What did you fight over?"

She looked over at him. I turned to him. He was glaring at her. She glared back.

"Penny."

She looked at me.

"What did you guys fight over?"

"I don't know. I guess he thinks I'm still interested. He thinks I'm jealous of you maybe."

"Penny, you don't have to be-"

"I'm not. I'm over him. He's terrible. Doesn't know how to treat girls."

I looked at him. His hand was on Taylor's back and she was fixing his hair. She squeezed his cheeks. His eyes met mine. He smiled and she quickly turned to look at me. She glared at me and rolled her eyes then she turned back to him. "There's something not right about her."

* * *

I walked down the steps of the school looking around for a red car. There were many, but I knew the one I was looking for and it wasn't there.

"Hi."

I jumped turning to back to see Taylor standing behind me. "Oh...hey."

She looked at my shirt. "Nice shirt. Love the pink."

"Thanks-"

"So, Otis and I are dating now." She folded her arms.

"I'm aware-"

"I know you think you are. But I know that you aren't. Don't stare at him like that, okay? He's my boyfriend now. That little thing you guys had; it's done. Got it?"

I snickered in surprise. "Excuse me?"

She smirked and lifted her chin. "You heard me."

"Yeah. I heard you."

She shrugged and stared at me. We stood in awkward silence.

I scratched my head. "So..."

"I just came here to warn you-"

"About?"

"If you don't leave Otis alone I'll..." She seemed hesitant about something.

"You know," I said, cutting her off and folding my arms, "a pink wig and giant sunglasses are not a very good disguise."

Her smug look disappeared.

"I know you followed us yesterday. Did Chad send you-"

"Stop talking!" She leaned over me.

"Stop me. I'm going to tell Otis-"

"No, you won't."

"Why wouldn't I?"

"Because I have this," she lifted her red phone. There was a picture of me in a two-piece swimsuit standing in Penny's bedroom.

I felt tears filling my eyes. "W-where'd you get that?"

"Betty." She shrugged, shutting off her phone. "I had it a while now," she shoved it in her pocket. "Got it probably last year. Betty sent it to me." She looked at her nails. "Told me you were embarrassed by your body or something like that." She looked at me. "To be honest, I think you look fine. Except for those little cuts on your legs."

I froze.

"What happened to your legs, Dalta?"

Tears filled my eyes. "I-I-I-"

"Anyway, you should get better friends... Honestly. I'm not a bad person and I like you, but you've put me in a bad position."

"Taylor," Otis called out to her from the top of the steps. He looked at me and his joy turned to worry.

I quickly turned away wiping my cheeks.

He walked down the steps and stood beside Taylor.

"Hey, babe." She leaned over to kiss him, but he stepped closer to me and touched my arm.

"Are you okay? What's going on?"

I looked at Taylor. She lifted her chin at me. "I'm fine." I forced a smile but more tears began to flow.

"No, you're not. Do you need a ride home-"

"No," I quickly replied and shook my head. "Penny...," I paused. Penny was a traitor. I couldn't drive with her. "I..."

Otis stared at me. He turned to Taylor. She folded her arms at him. He sighed. "I'll see you tomorrow, okay?"

I watched him walk down the steps with her.

Todd stood beside me. "Are you okay?"

I tried not to cry, but the waterworks just burst out of my eyes.

"Do you want a ride home?"

I nodded. I walked with Todd. "Why are you doing this?"

"Because I know what it's like to be rejected and teased by people about my body." He frowned. "I overheard your conversation with Taylor... -Not that I was eavesdropping or anything."

"Are you going to tell Otis?"

"Are you?" He looked at me with raised brows.

I shook my head. "I can't." I wiped my cheeks then stared at the ground. I looked at Todd. "Can you keep a secret?"

"It's honestly all I do."

We got into his Jeep. "So...there's this group that Otis and I know about it. And we're not sure what they are. They wear these masks and do robberies and stuff. Then there's this guy who's connected to someone who's connected to the group and Taylor seems to be connected to that." I looked at Todd.

He looked confused as if the information had overloaded his brain.

"You get what I'm saying, right?"

"Kinda. And you can't tell Otis because Taylor's blackmailing you."

"Right."

"Classic secret cult behavior. She's probably a part of something like the Illuminati."

My eyes grew.

Todd's cheeks began to fill up with air. He suddenly burst out laughing. "You should see your face."

"Dude, the Illuminati are no joke. Call me crazy for believing in them-"

"No." Todd's smiled fell. "You're far from crazy. I believe in them too..." He stared at me. "Are you dating anyone?"

I held my breath...then gulped.