My Covert Bodyguard

11: Nosey (Un)Friends

Half an hour after Kyle left, the door opened to reveal Melissa.

"Did your guest leave, miss?  Is everything alright?" She asked tentatively.

"Yeah, he left," I said, and hesitated. I wondered why she would think anything was wrong.  Did she overhear anything suspicious?  Was she allowed to know about Kyle, or was I not allowed to tell anyone about him being my bodyguard?

Finally I said, " and everything's fine."

I decided I'd ask Kyle later.

And I also chose that I trust him more than I do Melissa.

Was that weird?  Probably.  But everything was weird lately anyway.

* * * * *

I walked into my classroom ten minutes early.  I had arrived to school early, and I didn't feel like waiting outside.  I was tapping my fingers on my desk as I stared at my notes for class when a girl walked in.  She had long blonde hair that she had assembled into one long braid, tied with a red ribbon.  She wasn't like many other girls, and wore black flats and didn't have her skirt rolled up.

It was Wendy Reed.  Her father was a business owner, and she was a shy, quiet girl.

She gave me a small smile and slipped into her seat.

I kept on staring at my notes, reading the words but not processing them.  My mind was elsewhere, somewhere in a swirl of morning sleepiness.

"Hi." Wendy suddenly said, her voice sounding loud in the quiet classroom.

I looked up, knowing it was only me in the classroom.  Unless she was talking to herself, which I sort of doubted, she was talking to me.

"Hi." I said, and she stood up and took a seat next to me.

"I just wanted to say, that uhm, I know how it is to be bullied."  Her words stumbled over each other clumsily and she seemed nervous.

"Oh, okay." I said, slightly confused.

"It was when I was in sixth grade," she blurted, "my dad didn't want me to get indulged in his wealth, so he sent me to a public school for middle school.  I was bullied because they were jealous and I was different from them, and I finally persuaded my dad to get me into a private school afterwards.  Worst year of my life."

While she talked, her eyebrows were furrowed, a little angry-looking, and I knew that she was trying to comfort me.

I gave her a smile, "it's stupid, isn't it?  The whole concept of bullying?"

Wendy seemed pleased that I was carrying on the conversation.  "Yeah, and it makes you feel terrible.  Well, I don't know about you, you seemed fine, but it made me feel terrible at least."

I almost laughed at how talkative she was.  I always thought she was really quiet.  "It made me feel terrible as well."

Wendy's eyes filled with sympathy.  "They're all jerks, you know.  Those guys who think they're all cool and popular.  Especially with Zayden, and those Heywood brothers—"  She immediately clamped her mouth shut.

"I'm so sorry!" She squeaked, and I burst out laughing.

"Trust me, you don't have to apologize for that.  If anything I'm glad at least one person realized they're assholes."

Relief flooded Wendy's features as she said, "yeah.  I've never really liked the entire crew."

I nodded in agreement, and she gave me a smile.  "Well, I just want you to know that I know how you feel, and that I understand you."  I thanked her, and she went back to her seat as Mr. Sullivan marched into class along with several other students.