A Chapter Completed

Out of the frying pan, into the fire

Recap:
"...But nooooo! You just had to drag me to your bloody table! And for what reason? F*cking free entertainment!"

By the end of my...speech, I was breathless, and was surprisingly feeling much lighter.

But two seconds later, as I watched the expressions of the Popular, I thought, not for the first time, "Shit."

..........................

"Well, that was unexpected," Stacey commented, breaking the silence.

"What do you guys think about what she said? Jace, Drake, any comments? What about you, Stacey?" Davina questioned, as she stood up, and walked closer to me.

Drake still had his poker face on. Stacey and Jason were both intently looking at Davina, probably wondering what she was up to.

I on the other hand was slowly backing away from the table, slightly shaking my head. I had single-handedly just ruined that little part of my life that was still partially tolerable.

I had to get out of there. Right away.

But life had other plans, as usual.

"Oh no you don't, Zoe. You can't expect us not to give back for all the...wonderful things you just said about us."

"I...I...," I began.

"I...I...," Davina mocked, as she walked closer.

"What, cat got your tongue? You weren't this scared a few minutes ago."

"I...I'm sorry," I whispered.

Davina stopped walking closer, which was good considering that I was running out of space to back away into. Her face, which was full of mockery, morphed into one of annoyance and frustration.

"Really! Seriously woman? You're sorry?!" She exclaimed, slapping her palm hardly on one of the tables nearby.

I jumped at the sudden sound.

Davina turned away from me, facing the other three.

"You know guys, I can't believe this girl. She says she's sorry for standing up for herself. Who the hell does that?"

Wait what?

"W..what..what's going on?" I asked, confused.

"We, well, I threatened her to do stuff she didn't want to do, and when she finally cracked and yelled at us for being brats, she ruins it by saying she's sorry?" Davina continued completely ignoring me, walking towards the booth.

"Come on D, give her some credit. At least she took a stand," Jason replied.

"Excuse me, you guys? Hello?" I said in an attempt to gain their attention because yes, I was super confused at this point.

But I got ignored yet again.

"Yeah. I agree with Jace. That was some speech," Stacey commented.

"What the hell are you guys talking about? Hello?" I tried one again this time waving my hand in front of Stacey's face.

"I suppose you guys are right. Partially. I still believe she shouldn't be sorry," Davina replied.

"Ah to hell with it," I thought.

I braced myself, shut my eyes and banged my hands on the table. Needless to say, the conversation came to an abrupt end. I slowly opened my eyes, not surprised to see them all staring at me. But still intimidated.

"Sor...sorry about that, but, I would like to...to know what's going on," I demanded, shakily.

Till now, what I had gather from their conversation was that they were not pissed off at me because of my outburst, and were in fact proud of it, if not expecting it. I have no idea why, though. Anything beats them getting pissed off, coming for revenge, and ultimately murdering me though.

But at the same time, you never know with Davina. I had spent four years of high school seeing her make people's lives miserable for absolutely no reason. One wrong move, and I'd be one more name to the long list of her victims.

Which is why I was still treading lightly. Apart from the whole table banging thing. Lets just ignore that.

"D wanted to get a reaction from you," Stacey said.
I furrowed my eyebrows, confused. A reaction? Why on earth would she want a reaction from me?
"Why?" I asked, turning sideways to face Davina.
"Oh, just for a bit of fun."

My mind processed her words. I realized how hollow I was already feeling compared to the burst of rage in my veins a few moments ago.
"Right. Well, I should really get going now," I said, still confused.

Walking away, I heard the gang continue conversing, and although I half expected Davina to stop me once again, she didn't.

Before the door closed behind me, a few words said by Davina drifted to my ears. "You guys are right. That's progress. Still, just wait till..."

............................

Half an hour later, I was standing at my doorstep ringing the doorbell.
And because the universe loves me so much, I was greeted by the sight of my mother's face as the door opened.
As she processed the fact that I was, in fact, not in school during school hours, I was still recovering from the initial shock of seeing a sparkle, for the first time in years, in her eyes. The sparkle that was slowly fading, and making room for fury as she realised it was me she was looking at.

"What the hell are you doing here? You're supposed to be in school!" She whisper-yelled.
"Wasn't feeling well," I muttered.
"Oh. You should have gone to the nurse first. It's too late for that now."
She stepped away from the door, allowing me to drag myself in. I was feeling worse by the second.
"Should've stayed at Rodriguez's," I thought.

Mother pulled me from my thoughts before I could even reach the stairs.
"Since your here, might as well meet our guest. She's going to be staying here for a month."

I froze exactly where I was. Turning on the spot to face my mother, I questioned, "Guest? W...who? And why?"

Mother smiled – a real smile – and was just about to say something when a familiar voice beat her to it.

"C'mon Serene, I thought we agreed I'm family."

Chills ran down my spine. My heart began racing. This wasn't possible.
Blinking few times and taking in a deep breath, I turned towards the source of those words.

I staggered a few steps backwards. Shaking my head from side to side as I rocked front and back on my feet, I began muttering, "No. Please no. This can't be happening. Please no."

"Zoe, stop fooling around! You're enough of an embarrassment as it is!"
But even mother's words couldn't shake me out of my panic attack.

My breathing became deeper and deeper. My heart was pounding. I stumbled, almost fell, but managed to steady myself on the wall. I was drenched in sweat.
My mind was racing. My surroundings faded away. I could hear voices, but I couldn't make out what they were saying. I tried saying something but it was as if I had forgotten how to speak.

I managed to regain control of my movement a few minutes later, and without glancing backwards, I escaped upstairs as fast as I could, holding on to the handrail.

Slamming the door shut behind me, I fell on the floor. Curled in a fetul position, I replayed the last few moments in my life.

I tried to tell myself that I was just dreaming, and that nothing of that sort had happened. But I knew it was real. I knew she was real. I knew that I was doomed.

Family. That's what she had called herself. No doubt, that's how she would be treated. The sparkle in mother's eyes was proof enough.
Elena Thunder had arrived. And she had already started making me wish – even more than usual – that I was dead.