Bitter

thirteen - cal

She was spying on me again from farther down the hall, back against the wall, phone in hand. Okay, maybe not spying because I was trying to be seen by her. Anyway, she had her hair up in a high ponytail and wore a plain white shirt, different from what she usually wore (that ugly sweatshirt). If she was trying to blend in, she wasn't doing a very good job of it. Then again, maybe she wanted me to notice her, to know that she saw me and was angry.

Meg and I were talking about homecoming. "I heard Zach was going with Aly. I think they're really cute together," Meg commented, gawking at me. I looked past her and met the curious, stormy gaze of Lydia Bosher, all while Meg chatted away. "Do you know who Jason and Marco are going with to—"

"Hold on," I interrupted, "can you move to your right a little?"

When she didn't and instead, stared up at me, blinking, I placed both hands on her shoulders and steered her a few steps to the side. She had been drifting out of Lydia's field of vision and I had to make sure Lydia saw me and Meg together.

Meg was looking at me quizzically now, so I explained as best I could why I'd moved her. In other words, I came up with another lie. "Sorry, I couldn't read that down there," I said, gesturing to the huge homecoming banner at the end of the hall. Meg turned around.

   "You can read that from here? Like, the little words too?" she questioned, astonished. She spun back around to face me again. "That's crazy..."

   I shrugged. No, I couldn't actually read the little words like she'd asked.

   Meg had started to talk again, something about a dress and what she would wear to the dance, but everything went in one ear and out the other. I noticed Lydia wasn't focused on me and Meg anymore but on something in the opposite direction, all the way at the end of the hall. That's when I saw him.

Some guy walking next to Principal Norris. All of the students went quiet and were looking at him, turning to each other and mumbling. At first I thought he was a teacher, but then I saw him carrying a backpack over his shoulder. He was fairly tall, had one hand in his jeans pocket, and walked like he'd just come up from the grave. Norris was in a rush, I could tell, but the new guy took his sweet time.

Before the two passed me and Meg, he glanced at me with cold, silvery eyes. Anybody else would've just brushed that look off as normal. Just a normal glance from a stranger, nothing to think about. It wasn't normal to me. I guess I was staring the new guy down a lot because Meg stopped talking and was now studying him too.

That look he gave me wasn't good. It wasn't a hello, it wasn't to wish me luck, it wasn't normal. It was a challenge.