What He Left Behind

Five

Charlie doesn't turn up to homeroom the day and neither does Stan, so I assume they're both bunking. Throughout the class, I am constantly distracted by the three girls behind me whispering, one of whom is the girl Coral that the guys were talking about the other night at the gig. That much is obvious by the fact they're wearing more make-up than they are clothes and that they're glaring at me as though I've done something wrong.

Girls like that are so petty I can't help but find it funny. At my old school, it seemed like whatever I did got me talked about and therefore I quickly found myself winding people up intentionally just to stir the pot. It was a self-fulfilling prophecy I guess. Perhaps that makes me just as petty as them but it seems a better option than getting upset over gossip and bitchiness.

When the bell rings, I pick up my things and leave the room, but I only get a few metres down the hall before I'm stopped.

"Noelle!" a voice behind me calls. I turn around to see Coral and the two other girls from homeroom catching up with me.

"Hey," I enthuse with a false grin.

"That didn't take long," Coral smirks.

"What's that?" I ask, playing dumb to wind her up.

"You and Charlie," she laughs, as though it should be obvious. There's a spiteful tone to her voice which I guarantee is her feeble attempt at trying to intimidate me. If only she knew I've dealt with things a lot scarier than jealous teenage girls.

"I didn't sleep with him if that's what you're thinking," I tell her, "I have standards."

"That's weird because everyone's saying you did."

"That's weird because if it did happen, which it didn't, everyone wouldn't have been there," I state matter-of-factly.

"I just hope for your sake that he wrapped up; the amount of people he's slept with, it wouldn't surprise me if he's got some sort of disease." She really is scraping the barrel of fights to pick, isn't she?

"Catch them from you, did he?"

Coral opens her mouth to respond but either she second guesses herself or can't think of anything to say. I don't know how exactly she was expecting me to respond but I can't work out why no one stands up to people around this place. I, for one, will not be pushed around or walked all over by anyone, particularly not a bunch of Barbies. Well aware of the fact I'm a couple of inches taller than her, I step closer to where she is standing, so that there is only a small amount of space between us.

"Don't try and intimidate me honey. We all know Charlie doesn't care half as much for you as you do for him."

"You don't know a thing about me and Charlie," she attempts to argue, the look on her face telling me that even she knows it's a lame response.

"I know what Charlie's told me," I retaliate, deciding not to give away anything more than that. Leaving her to sweat it out is a much more enticing idea. Coral takes a step away from me and her friends look awkwardly between the two of us.

"I'll see you around hun," I smirk, knocking into her shoulder as I walk away.

People make it too goddamn easy.

---

That lunchtime, I sit with Amber and her friends as usual. There are five of us altogether and from what I've seen so far, they're really nice. Amber's the happy-go-lucky type, always being thoughtful and friendly and considerate. Harlee-Indigo Parker is one of the coolest girls I've ever met. Her fiery red hair hangs in perfect waves and her style is unique but she pulls it off. She can sing and play guitar and she loves Fall Out Boy as much as I do. She's confident and assertive, but I can tell if she and I ever disagree on something, all hell would break lose. I never lose a fight, and apparently she doesn't either.