Chapter Seventeen
I fell off of the examination table and knocked over the nurse’s instruments in my blind descent to the floor. I was panting in outright terror and disoriented. I couldn’t remember where I was until the crashing noise intensified the ringing in my ears. I groaned as my memory flooded into my awareness. I stumbled around in the dimly lit space, gathering the scattered items.
The nurse rushed into the room and flipped on both sets of lights in fear. The harsh lights added another insult to my already pain racked head.
“Oh my goodness, what just happened? Are you okay?” she questioned me as she helped me up from the floor.
“I’ll live. Sorry ‘bout your stuff,” I offered.
She retrieved my book and my LED light handed them to me. Fortunately, my portable CD player was still in my backpack or I would be headed to detention when I return to school. The clock on the wall revealed that I had only slept for about ten minutes. Tray should be here soon to pick me up. Once the room was back in order, I thanked the nurse, apologized again and told her I would just go wait outside for my parents.
I ran into the nearest bathroom and splashed cold water on my face. I barely recognized myself in the mirror. I looked just like a ghost because that nightmare had felt so real. After taking a few minutes to build up my courage, I examined my neck. Thankfully, my skin was flawless – not a single claw mark in sight.
I was still shaking all over and I didn’t want anyone to see me like this. So I decided to just hide out in the last stall because it was more spacious than the others. I prepared to pull out my CD player and listen to music – on a very low volume – until it was time to go outside to meet my brother. Turns out that fate would have something else in store for me entirely.
The muffled voices were approaching the door fast and I felt my heart skip a beat. There’s no reason to be anxious. I certainly wasn’t doing anything wrong by sitting in the restroom. It was inexplicable, but I still pulled my feet up so no one could see them.
I sat, fully dressed on the toilet with my arms wrapped around my knees. Fear surged through my body. My instincts told me that I shouldn’t let anyone know I was in here.
In life, sometimes survival can depend on carefully following the instructions of your inner whispers...
I heard two distinct female voices laughing as they entered the restroom. Their laughter stopped abruptly, when one shushed the other. I knew they were looking under the stalls for the telltale signs of other girls. I held my breath nervously and waited to see if my presence would be discovered. They must have been satisfied that they were alone because a few seconds later they resumed their conversation in a normal tone.
“This little welcoming party for the new guy should be very entertaining,” girl one stated.
“We are certainly overdue for some fun and drama around this place. You realize the guys never properly welcomed the airhead and the hulk. That is quite a pity…” the second girl stated and something about the way she said ‘welcomed’ brought chills to my arms.
“They have had ample opportunity to welcome the airhead. Although I am ashamed to admit it, I fear the guys are afraid to take on the hulk…” girl one countered.
I knew they were talking about me and Tray. Their insults didn’t bother me in the least. I had attended many tough, inner city schools throughout my life. So I had been called much worse names than an airhead. However, I was extremely curious about what their little welcoming party entailed, because it didn’t sound very welcoming at all.
Greg is smaller than the average high school guy so that is already a problem. Wounds to the male ego at any age usually can’t be repaired. My best friend Krista will also be walking right into the same welcoming party because I knew she would take my advice.
She won’t be walking into any nightmarish situation if I can figure out some way to stop it…
I pulled the cotton balls out of my ears, so I could hear their conversation better. I didn’t know many people yet. I knew I would never be able to distinguish these girls’ voices from any of the others. I shifted quietly and tried desperately to see who they are. I could only see a set of hands though from this stall. A set of manicured hands wouldn’t be much help for identification purposes.
“It’s a ridiculous catch-22 – no one is willing to welcome the airhead, because they are terrified of what the hulk might do when he finds out. At least that’s what I think. I know Cam was blustering about trying to welcome her. I discovered that he was all talk and no action. I offered to help him out when we were alone and he still backed down! Can you believe that?? He even said I could do it myself if I wanted to try. He expected me – a girl – to attempt a welcoming party without any assistance from the guys.
“Well, I blatantly dared them at lunch, but they all flatly refused to do it. It’s like some odd spineless curse has swept over them. My dare might have prompted them back into action at least, because the guys have been diligently working since then on this scheme for the next new student. It is top-top secret. The fireworks should start right before assembly.
“I am still ashamed of the bunch of cowards. They refuse to welcome a 90 pound red riding hood because they are too frightened of the big, bad wolf. He is not even here to protect her. All I can say is this had better turn out to be an excellent welcoming party today. Otherwise none of the guys we share lunch with will even register in my orbit anymore,” girl two stated wickedly.
“So the guys have given up welcoming the airhead, entirely?? She is alone every afternoon – well, maybe not by herself per se, but she is without him. That means she is available to be properly welcomed by the guys. The big, bad wolf leaves campus early every day – it’s not like he could prevent it. What could he do about it anyway, even if he did manage to figure out which guys were involved? It’s not like he can take them all on,” girl one coaxed.
“Be my guest and try to reason with them if you believe you can do any better. I would wager, you will get precisely what I received – which was nothing. You will not succeed in convincing them because they will only work as a pack. Now that I consider it more closely, one guy must have refused to welcome her and that is the reason for their cowardice. If one guy says ‘no’ then it stands to reason they would all say ‘no’…”
“That makes perfect sense so I wonder which one dissented…”
“I have no idea and no one will tell me. They always close ranks when one declines – it’s absurd. Wait, perhaps we should plan something for red riding hood ourselves. It would set an example for the spineless boys and I cannot envision the big, bad wolf taking on a bunch of girls in retaliation…”
“We would probably be wasting our efforts to plan that welcoming party because I hear that red riding hood is a deformed freak. She would likely scare us before we could do anything to her. She hides under that hood so she must be warped in some way – like one of those sideshow people in the carnival. We should channel our efforts to the next new female…” girl one stated tentatively.
“Well, I assure you she is not deformed in any visible way, so we’re perfectly safe from being terrorized by looking at her. The freak part – now that’s a different story altogether…” girl two replied.
I had no idea what transpired between them – a look or a gesture maybe – but they both found it hilarious.
“Oh yeah, that’s right! Ginger told me about how you had the rare opportunity to scope her out in the lunchroom. So tell me all about our newest side show attraction. It appears as though we might need to get our first all-girls welcoming party together, after all…” offered girl one, clearly building up her courage.
“Sadly, there’s not that much to tell you. She is precisely like all the other freaks she sits with. They must have some type of internal radar. Apparently, losers can zero in on other losers and then, they band together. I suppose they do this out of sheer desperation.
It’s quite pathetic if you think about it. The airhead was spaced out. She positively could not take her eyes off of me though so she must be thoroughly jealous. It was a strange encounter however, I would not expect anything else from the airhead freak girl,” girl two added.
So the second girl is my challenger from that lunchroom-stare-down match – ‘Cat Girl’…
“Does she look at all like the gorgeous wolf?”
“No and that’s fortunate for him. The wolf has definite potential, but he would have to be willing to lose the losers first. Honestly, it’s almost frightening. He is attached to that airhead like she is in constant danger of permanently floating away,” Cat Girl replied sarcastically.
“Potential, huh – that’s an understatement. I believe every girl in this forsaken school has thrown themselves at him, and yet he has NO interest in them. Perhaps he has an attachment to someone from the last school that he attended…”
“You should make Johnnie aware of your assessment. He gets furious just watching the wolf walk anywhere near you. After their collective chicken act, maybe you should toss yourself at the wolf and see if he will bite. I have never met a guy that could resist you. Then, he would forget all about the airhead and she would be ours for the welcoming,” Cat Girl offered and my mouth dropped wide open in shock.
Cat Girl called her friend irresistible, but her tone suggested something else. I knew that she didn’t believe her own words. Not to mention the insane fact that Cat Girl told her “friend” to whore her body out to get my brother’s attention. Her friend didn’t slap her face or even get offended??
What kind of girls are they???
“Johnnie’s juvenile tendencies are not my problem. Hey, do you truly believe I could get big, bad wolf’s attention?” she questioned Cat Girl dreamily and I had to hold my breath to keep a horrified gasp from escaping.
“Absolutely, you have precisely what he needs…” Cat Girl stated and then added nothing further.
This was thoroughly frustrating – I wouldn’t get to hear what she thought Tray needed. He didn’t need her or anyone she knew for sure. That still didn’t mean I wasn’t curious to discover it.
“You are so much prettier than me though. Maybe you should play the bait,” the first girl hedged again – either she was scared to attempt it or she thought Cat Girl would have a better chance at catching Tray.
“It seems you are forgetting something important. I have my sights set on higher positions. I could not possibly risk someone discovering that I have attempted to obtain the wolf’s interest. That would prove to be counterproductive. Also, my time would be consumed since I would have to mastermind the whole plan. However, if you are too scared to do it…” Cat Girl called her out.
“I’m not scared! I just think you are much prettier and more his type. Maybe we could get someone else to be the bait because I will need to assist you in the planning phase…” girl one declared.
“We’ll have to discuss it later because the welcoming party should begin in a few minutes. We do not want to miss the “make-up” fun with the new guy. Who knows, maybe the airhead will present herself? The guys would not be able to chicken out if she just happened to walk into the line of fire. Not with everyone watching…” their voices faded as they exited the bathroom.
Once I was positive they were gone, I ran out of the bathroom stall in a panic. I began to pace nervously. Should I do something or nothing? What could I do even if I wanted to do something?
My hideous nightmare came back to me. Indecision is dangerous! The dark clique girls had been right – Tray will not get here in time to stop this from happening. I couldn’t tell the principal or a teacher either because what would I say to them. “Some kids are gonna do something to the new kid and me if I go near them?” It sounded ridiculous and paranoid. My ears are still ringing and my head hurts so badly that I almost gave up.
“Please help me! I need a plan…” I whispered to the Creator.
Then a strange thing happened. That same gentle certainty welled up inside of me – just like the day I had that stared down episode with Cat Girl in the cafeteria. My apprehension was replaced with a righteous type of conviction. A strategy materialized, but I would need to hurry. I left my backpack lying in the last stall because it would slow me down. I can’t afford any delays. Hopefully, no one will discover it before I returned to retrieve it.
I rushed out of the bathroom, ran to Krista’s locker and yanked out the necessary items. Then, I raced back to the bathroom to put my plan into action.
I hope I have enough time to save them…
Ember Rising Light (Book One) Page 21
