When The Rain Stops (BXB)

Chapter 12

Our losing streak doesn't seem to end. Three more games're lost, one win, and a tie happen before Coach says we need to reshuffle our positions. By the time she makes this announcement, we've basically been knocked out from getting into regionals.

The bullying doesn't help that much, either.

Something's written on my locker every day. Usually it's a swear word. Mason's made it a habit to spit on me when I walk to English. I think the only thing that hasn't changed is that Taylor, Wesley, and Harper sit with me still at lunch. Though we don't really talk about soccer anymore. Or...our lives, really. We bitch about school.

Stuff that doesn't matter.

"Berkley Springs advanced." Harper's swiping through his phone. It would be a nice change of pace except for the fact that we're not going to regionals. He looks at me for a second before saying, "Keyser didn't." I'm gonna smack him in a second. "North Marion – "

I grab the phone. "We get it." I turn off the thing and toss it back to him. "Can't fucking believe Berkley got in."

"I heard South Pendleton's going to regionals," added Taylor.

You can't be fucking serious. Their team sucks ass. They're worse than us.

Wesley sighs and pushes his burger away from him. "What a crappy senior year."

We all grumble.

And don't say anything after that.

~ ~ ~

It's the second Friday. Paige hangs out by my locker before we head to the geography room. She's complaining about someone from the theater department "upstaging" her in her Latin class.

It's legit the most "Paige" thing to complain about.

"Paige." She looks at me. "I don't care."

"I don't care if you care. You're my captive audience right now and I'm gonna make use of it," she says, grinning.

I go and hang up my cleats. Practice was cancelled today. Probably because of the really dark clouds that've been over town for two days. And the gym's being taken over by the volleyball team. "What're the plans for today?" I ask.

She hums. "Owen's been asked by the club sponsor to bring up the bake sale fundraiser again, and put forward a new way to promote the club." Paige taps her fingers on the locker. "Then usual stuff."

"How's...Natalie?"

Paige grins. It's a sad smile. "She's been indoctrinated into the Lyons house. We're waiting for her parents to cool off before going back." She's gonna say more but then I slam my locker door closed. "You okay?"

No. I still don't fucking know anything. Like, Rory isn't talking to me (well, he kinda texts me off and on) and I wanna kill him but I still don't know anything about anything, really.

But I just shrug and whisper, "I guess I'm just tired." I open my locker again. Because I just remembered the rest of my shit's in there.

And then Mason spits on me.

I still haven't gotten what he scratched on my locker off it. So now every morning I get to walk up to one of the only lockers in school with "faggy c *t" scratched into it.

Paige groans. "Ugh, don't pay attention t – "

But I'm putting on my cleats. I'm done with this shit.

"What?"

"Stay here." I trot over to him. Walking in these on tile floor is really weird. "Yo, Mason."