Inside Out (discontinued)

Chapter 2

7 Rings - Ariana Grande

I took in a deep breath and smiled contently. Petrichor (the smell of earth after rain) should be a perfume, one that lasts forever. Jenny glanced up from her phone screen and caught my smile. She raised a perfectly curved eyebrow.

'' Feel that good about the breakup, huh?'' she said, smirking slightly when I nodded. ''Told ya..'' she chanted sassily.

 I let her take the credit, not wanting to argue with her and ruin my mood. Meanwhile, Jenny paid for our lunch trays and walked to our table, which was, unsurprisingly, crowded with girls and guys all vying for our attention. I frowned as the stench of sweat and perfume molded in the humidity to hover over the open cafeteria like a toxic gas leak.

 'So much for keeping my mood up' I thought moodily as the crowd parted to let us walk further in, watching enviously as we passed.

 I swallowed my complaints and followed Jenny, who maneuvered us along while carrying her tray and playing Candy Crush on her phone. Don't even ask me how she does all that at once. I always worry she's gonna trip over her heels and break her face, but so far her multitasking skills had not failed her. My mood worsened at the sight of our table. Chris was scarfing down food like he hadn't eaten in weeks, Kyle was flirting shamelessly with some brunette on his lap and Toby had disappeared, probably to shoot some baskets.

'Such a wonderful existence to be a part of. I'm so blessed' I thought sarcastically. My frown turned into a scowl as Jenny burst out laughing at my expression. ''You're so cute, Makayla'' she giggled because apparently, chuckling was not feminine enough for her.

I just looked up and silently prayed to God, hoping he would zap me to heaven for the next hour of torture I had to endure. But it seems he was too busy playing sadist, so I resorted to pouting and ignoring the people around me. 

Suddenly, the cafeteria doors burst open and in waltzed Toby. His curly black hair was slicked back into a ponytail, making his pale green eyes stand out against his dusky brown skin. His smile was wicked and cocky, but I was long used to his shenanigans, having pulled him and Kyle out of a myriad of punishments.

 It was rare to find a teacher's pet in a popular group like ours, but because of my friendship with Jenny and me playing savior to the morons, I was accepted without any squabble. I watched Toby warily, knowing he was up to something. He walked a bit further out in the open, winking at the blushing girls near him. 

''Hey yall! Sorry to bother your bullshit, but I got something cool to show you. Now, everyone knows that I'm very protective of my best buddies, and anyone who messes with my man Kyle, messes with me''. Some guys chuckled nervously as Toby's smile widened.'' Getting to the point, I found someone out of place in the basketball field today, someone who owes us payback. Big time''. 

We could hear shuffling outside the doors now, and everyone turned to it simultaneously. My gut had clenched painfully. ''And so I present to you....'', he gestured to the cafeteria doors. Pin drop silence, even Chris had stopped eating, his spoon stuck halfway. ''The nerd who cried sport!!''.

Two jocks from the basketball team came in, dragging behind them a very bruised and teary guy. A collective gasp echoed in the open air as he was shoved to the grassy area further out and forced up on his knees. 

Even though my head was reeling from what I saw, I managed to recognize Brian. He had multiple bruises on his arms and face, and by the way he was gasping for breath, you could tell he'd received a hit or two on the chest as well. There was a small circular cut on his cheek, which probably came from the sharp gold ring on Toby's right hand.