Five Hundred Miles

0.3: My best Friend (Part 2)

Chapter 0.3: My best friend (Part 2) [UNEDITED]

[Simon Lewis: You're a heart-breaker, Isabelle Lightwood.
Isabelle Lightwood: I don't know. Maybe you'll break my heart.
-The Mortal Instruments]

"Maple, move your butt." he says.

I want to, but the point is, I am stuck! "The superglue, Joshua!" I grunt.

From far away, Amy and Victoria laugh. They clutch their stomachs as they try their best not to topple over my joke, and I'm here, embarrassed. My face burns when the entire room joins them.

The only person who isn't laughing is Joshua.

His face is somehow amused, like he's never seen something like that before, and he looks pretty astonished. "Are you people fancy in sticking your butts to their chairs? Using super glues?" I'm glad that he doesn't say that out loud.

Tears prick the back of my eyes, but I insist not to cry because it will only show them how vulnerable I am. Then they'll think they succeeded, and they'll think of something else. That's what they want, isn't it. I'm always the one.

"Can you please, help me up?" I ask him quietly, for the last time. I'm afraid to lose myself when I speak anymore louder. Joshua closes the space between us, and grabs my hand. I feel myself being lifted, but the skirt is still sticking onto the chair. "This isn't happening, no."

But yes it is.

"Shh, I got you." he says, comforting enough. After several attempts to separate my skirt with the chair, the room quiets, and Joshua eventually gives up. "Maple, it looks like you have to do this by yourself."

Do what?

"There is nowhere up," he mutters, close enough only for my ears. "Not unless you take that skirt off."

My heart ponders from humiliation as I think of what will happen to me then. They will be watching me take my skirt off. They will be watching me do that, and then laugh at me. They will be.

Deep down my heart I can just hope that one day, karma will knock on their doors and slam pancakes to their faces. Rotten ones. That's exactly what I want, after what they've done. Earlier when I was nine, Amy and her army of boys sneaked into my room and secretly stuffed cockroaches into my school bag. Then a year later, they dumped paint on me, they stole my stuffs, and they lied to Miss Collins that I did that myself. They know that as long as I'm not injured they'll be free from the teacher.

"Can you please fetch Fraulein Collins?" I ask Joshua, as I'm feeling scared.

"Of course." he says, when he's about to leave.

"He's not going anywhere." The tall and irritating John blocks the way. Amy and Victoria appear, and literally throw themselves on Joshua to stop him. Joshua easily shrugs them off, but he turns to meet my eyes.

And then, he shrugs again.

I can see the corner of Amy's lips twitching. "Sweet Maple, just take that thing off, it's hideous, to be honest." Amy sneers, giving me a bored face, looking down at her nails. Frankly, she doesn't have her nails painted and I don't understand why she's doing that.

"Show us your leggies, babe!" a boy I can't name yells, and the crowd cheers. Part of me wants to cry, and part of me just wants to fold myself into one piece and die.

When is Miss Collins ever coming back in here?

"Take it off. Take it off. Take it off..." The rooms chants, and I can't help it anymore. I let a tear slip.