by Mina Thorne
"Are you fucking kidding me?" Barrett said and raced ahead of us, making the ten feet in two long strides. He began to tear at whatever was there, so I ran to catch up with him and stop him.
"I want to see it," I demanded and pulled at his arm, trying to drag him back. He whirled around and blocked my locker.
"You don't need to," he replied.
"What the fuck are you all looking at?" Whitt bellowed and raised his clenched fist as he psyched a few kids out, rushing at them until they backed away out of fear.
It didn't matter what I'd done or what they thought of me, nobody fucked with the football team around Westview. And I was being protected by their two star players, that had a lot of weight in my defense.
"Let me see it. I can handle it," I insisted. "Just let me see."
"Let her see what these fucking little cowards think is funny around here," Whitt said, not taking his eyes off the huge crowd of students gathered around. The laughter had stopped, but several of them had their phones out and were recording.
Barrett hesitated again, but stepped to the side at last. I felt revulsion and rage rise up in the back of my throat like vomit, but I remained completely calm on the outside, aware that I was being filmed.
The bigger the reaction I gave them, the more they'd share it. If I freaked out then I could guarantee that I'd be all over the internet again.
My locker was painted bright green from to top bottom, just to highlight the words written there in bright pink.
"Stephanie Montgomerie, Most Likely to Die Chocking on a Bag of Dicks."
At the top was a golden tiara and underneath the words, "BJ QUEEN 4EVAH."
And lining the entire thing were several enormous dildos of all colors and shapes, stuck to the surface of my locker so they pointed out and wiggled almost comically every time somebody walked nearby.
Barrett was holding two of them in his right hand and an enormous bright pink one in his left hand. The kids around us started to snicker again and every single one of them watched me, hungry for my response.
I cocked my hips, pursed my lips and shook my head. "They spelled my last name and choking wrong," I said with disdain dripping from my every word.
And I continued like nothing had happened. I opened my locker, put away my backpack and removed my books and proceeded to flounce off towards my first class.
"What should I do with these?" Barrett asked, holding the dildos ahead of him in disgust.
"Toss 'em into the crowd, I'm sure there are a few of them who need to go fuck themselves," I replied with a smug grin.
Barrett did, he threw them out down the hall one at a time like they were footballs. They arced beautifully, rubbery dicks flying in the morning sun. I half expected the kids to all run from them, but the cheers of the students who caught them told me otherwise. It seemed as if I had won this round. The three boys who each had one ran up and down the hall brandishing them like light sabers, and when I looked back at my locker, every other dildo was gone too and was in the hands of students who were using them to beat on each other while laughing their asses off.
I smiled to myself and was proud that I'd remained calm on the surface in spite of the anger roiling just below.
I wasn't going to let them win, I wasn't going to let them break me.
They could go fuck themselves, and at least they had those dildos to use this time when they did.
Chapter 23
I flopped into my seat for my second class, math with Mr. Sinclair. The first class had been easy enough. There had been a surprise quiz so everybody had spent the hour with their heads down, focused on their desks. Not me though, I was done after twenty minutes so I kept my head down and texted Maddy and Brie the rest of the time.
By the time I’d made it back to my locker somebody had cleaned the words off the front and it was like brand new. I’d have to remember to thank one of the custodians for saving me the embarrassment of doing it myself.
Math was okay, the only person I knew was Rome and I didn't know how he would behave around me now. He was on the football team, so his loyalty had to be with Barrett and Whitt so that did bode well for me.
The whispers started before Mr. Sinclair came in. A couple girls at the front were giggling like crazy and sharing something back and forth on their phones.
I could just assume they were laughing at a funny meme or a video of a dog stealing pizza off a dining table, but there was that razor edge of cruelty to their laughter that told me otherwise.
The guy in front of me leaned way forwards and started watching the video with them, then turned back and said, "So you like cock?"
"What the fuck are you talking about?" I snapped.
"All those rubber dongs on your locker, you must like having all your holes filled at the same time. Maybe double up on a couple of them," he snickered and glanced at his friend across the aisle who was watching with interest. Both of them chuckled as if he'd made the funniest joke of all time.
"I guess if my only options were tiny dicks like you two, then I'd stick to rubber," I replied and arched my eyebrow.
His friend laughed at first, then caught on that I'd included him in my insult. He narrowed his eyes and lowered his voice. "You fucking take that back, bitch. Apologize to us."
"I'm sorry you're pathetic losers," I replied.
"Fuck you," the first guy spat. "You're just a skank ass slut, who the fuck cares what you think?"
Rome walked in just then, strolled through the classroom door like one of the kings of the school, and headed towards me. And he was, a king that is, as yet another football jock he knew he ran things wherever he went. I'd almost forgotten how cute he was, with his blond hair and blue eyes all country boy confidence.
And the long, muscled legs that looked so good even in the black slacks of the Westview Academy uniform.
"Yo, Steph...these two bugging you?" Rome asked as he took the desk next to mine, right behind one of the douche bros who were harassing me. “Barrett told me to beat the shit out of anyone bugging you.”
"They kinda were," I said and shot them both a smug look. They hunched down and put their eyes straight ahead, suddenly intent on avoiding me instead of harassing me.
Rome reached around on of them, slammed his hand on the kid's desk and said, "If either one of you talks shit to her again, you'll be dealing with me. Got it?"
They nodded and I swear I heard one of them call Rome, "Sir," as he did everything in his power to avoid me altogether.
I laughed and said, "Thanks. That was awesome."
"Worth a math lesson? Man, that homework just about fucking killed me on the weekend," Rome replied.
"Seriously? It's pretty basic if you have the foundation skills," I said. I realized what he was doing though, he was deflecting the conversation away from the elephant in the room. The disaster on Friday night and my locker that morning.
"You're just bragging now," he laughed. "Maybe I could come over to your place and you could help me out."
"Maybe. You want my number?"
"Of course," he winked. I smiled and appreciated his easy, laid back personality. He wasn’t anybody who made my body heat up like Whitt and Barrett, but he was cute and friendly and scary enough to silence the little pricks who had been trying to mess with me.
I was adding my number to his phone when Mr. Sinclair walked in, dropped his briefcase on his desk with a loud bang and said, "Good morning, math minds. Is everyone ready for a surprise quiz?"
I handed Rome's phone back to him and he looked stricken. He mouthed the word, "Help," as Mr. Sinclair handed out the quizzes.
"Fifty questions, you have forty minutes," Mr. Sinclair said and looked at his watch. "Starting....now."
I dove in and the rest of the class melted away, I blazed through every question and it was a good thing too because just as I completed the last one, the overhead speaker crackled to life and a woman's voice said, "Stephanie Montgomery, please see Dr. Adams in his office. Stephanie Mon
tgomery, to the dean's office please."
Everybody looked up and a couple kids said, "Ohhhh, someone's in trouble..."
I even heard one of the gossipy girls whisper, "This is probably about her dildo collection."
They both snickered as I passed by, equally beautiful with perfect long brown hair and matching faces. I hadn't realized it before, but they were identical twins. Double your fun with two horrible bitches, I thought as I sauntered to the front of the class, dropped the test on Mr. Sinclair's desk and headed out of the classroom.
"Will you need more time over lunch to finish the quiz?" Mr. Sinclair asked as I reached the door.
I turned around and scanned the classroom, found Rome's friendly face as he winked at me. I looked at Mr. Sinclair and said in a haughty tone, "Nope. Not me. I'm already done anyways, it was so easy."
I walked down the hall to the dean's office with nerves leaving me feeling jangled and disconnected. I wasn't used to being called to the principal's office back home unless I was getting some sort of academic honor. I had a feeling that this wasn't about anything academic.
Selena Sanford, the school secretary, was waiting for me with a tight smile stretched on her lips and she wouldn't stop touching her ponytail, a telltale sign that she was as nervous as I was just then.
"It's nothing to be worried about," she told me with hands that fluttered like little birds around her. She opened the waist-high door for me to come around behind the counter. "He just has a few concerns that have been brought to his attention, that's all."
I wasn't convinced. I stepped into Dr. Adams' office and felt as though I'd swallowed my tongue, my throat felt stretched so taut and my mouth so dry.
"Miss Montgomery, please have a seat," Dr. Adams said, gesturing to the chairs across from him. I sat on the edge of the leather cushion and waited.
He read over a paper in front of him and looked at me with a cold smile on his face. He was an intimidating man, he would have been better suited as a trial lawyer in New York City or perhaps as a Wall Street financial guru. His features were sharp, his eyes glittering grey, and his hair almost white. He was handsome for a man his age, but not friendly.
At least he wasn't giving off friendly vibes to the likes of me. He looked through me as if he'd already judged me and found me coming up short.
"It seems we've had several complaints about your conduct during your first week at Westview Academy," he said and leaned back. "I know this has all been quite a big adjustment for you, but I might remind you that our school has a strict code of conduct that must be adhered to in order to stay enrolled. At this time, you are walking close to the line between enrolment and expulsion from our Academy."
"What? Why?" I blurted angrily. I hadn't realized it was this bad, I thought he'd ask me about the bullies, not my behavior.
"Things that might have been deemed...reasonable...on the West Coast are simply not acceptable here. You might have had quite a reputation at your old school, but we cannot allow that sort of thing to pollute our student body."
"This is a joke, right? You realize somebody has been targeting me with harassment, this isn't about me doing anything bad. This is about somebody trying to make me look bad."
"We are aware that you have conducted yourself in a manner back in California that isn't becoming of one of our Westview Academy students," he replied with a slight sneer twisting his lips. "As I said, that kind of loose behavior might be acceptable to your California public school, but here in Harrisburg we have a reputation to uphold."
I wanted to call my dad. That was my first instinct, to have him come in here and make Dr. Adams cower in fear as he threw his weight around.
But I also didn't want my dad to know how much the school was involved, there was still that part of me that was ashamed of what had happened with Josh in the first place. How mom and Reg had dragged me out.
How they'd both seen me like that. I didn’t know how much they’d told Dad, and I didn’t want to know. I never wanted him with that visual in his head.
I couldn't let Dad know what was happening to the full degree, not yet. Not after I felt like we were finally bonding and getting along.
So instead of calling Dad, I decided to channel his brilliant boardroom tactics...or at least what I imagined would be his tactics in the boardroom, and I looked Dr. Adams right in the eyes.
I stood slowly, placed my hands on his desk, palm down and said, "You might think you can intimidate me, Dr. Adams. You might think you can bully me into shrinking away like a meek little mouse by taking their side. By not even bothering to investigate who is behind this disgusting attack on my character. But I want you to know this right here and right now...if you don't keep a lid on this and let me find the perpetrators, The Montgomery family will come down on you and Westview Academy so hard you won't know what hit you."
At first his eyes hardened against my words, they narrowed and he appeared to start speaking several times until I got to the Montgomery threat portion of my speech.
And then, as soon as something clicked in his brain and he remembered who I was, he shrunk away from me and his eyes widened in surprise.
After I finished, it was quiet in the office. Dr. Adams cleared his throat, swallowed once and didn't respond.
"Are we clear here?" I asked in a superior tone. "Or do I need to call my father, David Montgomery, and have him call our family lawyers?"
I didn't even know if we had family lawyers but I assumed we did. I hoped Dr. Adams wouldn't call my bluff and force me to find out.
But luck was on my side, he gulped one more time and stammered, "Well, no. No. We don't need to bother your father at work, he's a very busy man. I wouldn't want to disturb him. I will do my best to squash any rumors and find the people who are harassing you."
"No need. Just don't get in my way," I replied and stood straighter, crossing my arms in front of me. "Is that all? Can I got back to class now?"
He nodded, I left the office and smiled at Selena as I passed through.
I had definitely used my family name as a hammer to scare Dr. Adams into submission and it was...absolutely thrilling. I could see why people became addicted to this kind of power, it definitely put a bounce in my step as I walked back to class.
Chapter 24
I survived the next class and was going for lunch when I heard my name being called.
"Steph-a-NIE! Wait up, girl!"
I turned and found Becca loping towards me, pushing her way through students to get to me.
"Hey Becca," I said in a completely uninterested monotone voice.
"Oh my god," she said, breathless but as beautiful as ever. Even after her run through the hall to catch up with me, she was perfect with her blonde curls and delicate features. "I've been dying to talk to you since Friday night. How are you? I would have died if somebody had done that to me. Just died!"
"I'm good," I replied. "I survived it the first time, I'll survive it this time. At least I wasn't shipped off across the country to start a new school."
"I can't believe it though. Do you have any idea who did it?"
We started to walk together and she was being such a fake bitch I wanted to scream. I wanted to grab her by the shoulders and yell in her face that I knew it was her and no matter what it took, I was going to prove it.
Instead I just shook my head and said, "No. No clue. I can't imagine somebody hating me that much after just meeting me. They must have a sad, stupid, lonely life."
She took affront to that and huffed, "Maybe not. Maybe you just really made somebody mad."
"In one week? Mad enough to do that? That's like next level psycho stalker shit."
"Speaking of stalking, you liked my pic on Saturday. Why did you lock your account down though? I wanted to go through and like some of your pics."
"I'm sure you did," I replied. "But you know, with a crazy stalked lurking around I can't be too careful."
“Speaking of being careful,” she said quietly when nobody
was in range of us, “I’d be careful if I were you. It seems like you might be horny for the wrong boys around here, and if Westview girls feel like their boyfriends are being tempted, they’re likely to do crazy things to keep them in line.”
I stopped, looked her up and down and said, “Huh. I guess it’s a good thing the guys I hang out with don’t have girlfriends then.”
I turned and kept walking, she paddled along on her shorter legs to keep up and for once I felt smug and in control with her around. She didn’t respond though, so at least I shut her up.
We reached the cafeteria and stood in line for our lunch. Becca's friend Sienna joined us, along with Agnes and Marie, two other cheerleaders who were close with Becca.
I was basically like a tasty mouse hanging out with a bunch of hungry cats, the way they looked at me. I felt a little on edge, but I wanted to make them uncomfortable by being chill about the whole thing.
"Are you the dildo queen?" Agnes asked with a giggle. "I can't imagine somebody doing that to me."
"No, I'm the BJ Queen," I replied sarcastically and pantomimed sucking a dick by holding my hand up to my mouth and jerking it back and forth. "I think the dildos were supposed to represent how many dicks I've sucked."
"Oh my gawd!" Marie gasped and looked scandalized, putting her hand on her chest. "I can't believe you just said that!"
"I'm not the one who put them there," I said and shrugged my shoulders. "Listen, are we going to get our food or are we going to stand here talking about rubber dicks all day?"
Agnes took her turn to gasp, Sienna and Marie laughed and Becca glared at me with icy heat. She would have lit me on fire with her mind if she'd been able to, I could tell. She wanted me gone from Westview and I didn't give two shits about what Becca wanted.
We picked up our salads and they followed me to a table in the corner. I was annoyed, but I couldn't quite seem to shake the mean girl contingent.
