Pyrophobia

Arsonphobia -2-

Chapter Two

I was walking towards the lunch room, regretting the fact that I had to wear my purple long sleeved shirt, it kept riding up in the back and every few seconds I would check to see if it had slipped up again. I took a deep breath as I opened the lunch room door and came face to face with the loud student body.

“Mel, over here!” I heard Brad shout from the front of the cafeteria. Almost the whole place became silent, looking at me as I walked towards my lunch table.

“Why is everyone looking at me?” I mumbled, only for his ears as I took a seat by him. He looked up at the people watching, silently telling them to go away.

“No reason, maybe it’s just you.” He said. I ignored the fact that it was a lie, hoping it was better that I didn’t know.

“How was your summer?” He asked, sounding interested. I saw Toni walking into the cafeteria, making quick eye contact with her before looking back at Brad. I shrugged my shoulders and looked down at the table.

“Figures the shy girl of our table, has a secret life we don’t currently know about, am I right?” He joked, causing me to laugh. I rolled my eyes at him as I sat back in my seat. Toni sat down next to me, grabbing her salad out of her shoulder bag and setting it on the table.

“Ugh, I hate the end of summer; dieting to get back in shape from all the laziness I put myself through, why do I bother doing this?” She complained, grabbing a plastic fork out of her bag and mixing in some kind of dressing. I was thankful that she didn’t mention anything about earlier and the fact she caught a glimpse of my scar. Brad and Toni joked around with each other the whole lunch, telling me things I missed during the summer, and almost falling in love with each other unknowingly. I could play match maker, if I wanted.

Brad was a typical jock; he played basketball and lacrosse every year. He had black hair and piercing green eyes. Toni was you average semi-popular girl. She got along with everyone but dressed like a complete material girl. She was shorter, skinnier, and her deep brown eyes matched her almost brown, but red, hair.

“Mind if we sit here?” I heard a small voice ask. I turned around and notice the three new people standing behind us. Toni squealed and stood up, hugging the small girl to death.

“Mel, this is Courtney, she’s the new one this year! We had physics together, do you mind if they sit with us?” Toni asked, pleading me with her eyes. Everyone knew how uncomfortable I was around new people, they always asked if it was alright if they invited someone somewhere or asked permission if they thought they were crossing the line. I shrugged my shoulders and turned to face the front of me again.

“Court, you can sit next to me and your brothers can sit over there.” Toni said, excitedly. I felt someone tap my shoulder and I turned around, facing Bentley. He nodded his head down before walking to sit in front of me next to his sister. I looked at him confused, before realizing. I quickly put my hand to my back, pulling my shirt down again, afraid to look up and make eye contact with him. He’s seen it twice in one day, really?

“Mel, there’s this small party on the beach this Friday, want to go?” Brad asked, bringing me out of my small trance. I looked up at him and gently shook my head no.

“Is she mute?” I heard Courtney whisper to Toni. My eyes snapped to her, slightly glaring. Toni shook her head.

“No, she’s not,” Courtney looked up at me apologetically and I just looked back down at the table.

“but you seriously should come, I’ll pick you up. You need this, Melinda.” She said, sternly. I kept my focus on the table thinking about it. It’s been six years; I needed to get out eventually.