I didn’t smile at him this time, I looked down at the floor and scurried off to my next class.
I couldn’t focus on Biology or Algebra II or English. All I thought about was Brad, the wink, his curious behavior, and how a text book was more interesting than me. I didn’t know how I was going to get him to actually notice me, notice me. Even dressing to appeal to him wasn’t working.
It was eventually time for lunch, and I steeled myself to act somewhat normal for Tiff. But, as I turned the corner of the hall that led to the cafeteria, I was grabbed from behind and dragged into a small, dark room. I didn’t even have time to scream.
Before I could panic, the light in the small room came on and I was looking at…John, if I had his name right.
I frowned and turned to look behind me. There was Brad; he laughed and let go of my arms.
“The look on your face is priceless,” he managed to say, still laughing.
John was smirking, but didn’t say anything.
“What are you guys doing in here? Why did you grab me?”
“Because I thought you might want to join us,” Brad said, finally calming down from his bought of mirth.
“Join us…?” I looked back and forth between the two, unsure if I should be scared.
Honestly, I didn’t know what I was felt at the moment, but my adrenaline was definitely pumping.
“We’re going to lunch,” John said, folding his arms across his chest and leaning back against the janitor’s room door. At least that seemed to be what the room was, considering its contents.
“That’s where I was going when he grabbed me,” I said, nodding to Brad.
John shook his head and looked at Brad.
Brad sighed, and said, “We’re going out to lunch.”
“But no one is allowed to go…” I stopped, finally realizing what they meant to do. “Oh!”
“Now she gets it,” John said with a chuckle.
Brad nodded, grinned, and then winked at me. “You down?”
Everything in me screamed to say no, but I wanted to be noticed by Brad…and he was noticing me.
“Sure,” I said, and shrugged, trying to pass it all off as no big deal. It was a big deal though. I was screaming, doing cartwheels, and dancing inside. I was feeling every warm, gooey, and excited emotional possible. But, at the same time, something in the back of my mind ticked like a clock counting off the seconds. That usually meant something bad was going to happen, at least that’s what happened when I’d had the feeling in the past.
I ignored it. I figured it was just my desire to obey the rules and not do anything that would get me in trouble – nothing serious.
Just to sound extra badass, I grinned, tilted my head to the side, and dared to openly flirt with Brad.
“You buyin’?”
He laughed. “Sure, babe, anything you want.”
I wanted to scream in the most girlish way possible and felt foolish and elated all at once.
“We gotta get going if we’re going to do this,” John said, peeking out the door. “Ready?”
I nodded, still grinning, and Brad grabbed my hand and tugged me behind him as we snuck out of the janitor’s closet…and the school.
Chapter Three
I was surprised how easy it was to sneak out of the school building and off the grounds. I thought for sure we’d be locked in like prisoners or something. I didn’t know the school believed we’d do the right thing just because we were told to. But, then again, I could. I was one of the ones who would have obeyed, no questions asked. Apparently Brad was a bad influence on me. One I kind of liked…
I know they just wanted me to go along so they wouldn’t get caught by me ratting them out (not that I would), but it still felt good to have Brad’s attention. I kept telling myself that if he didn’t like me at least a little bit, he would have threatened me and left me at the school. But he hadn’t. He’d brought me along, against John’s wishes from what I was gathering, so he had to like me at least a tiny bit. And I was glad he was at my side, since John was throwing me the stink eye all the way to the fast food restaurant we’d be eating at.
It had been years since I’d eaten fast food – I had vague memories from years ago of eating a cheeseburger and fries – and I was excited and a little anxious. The thought of having forbidden food with Brad was exciting. But, I had no idea what to order and how to pretend eating it wasn’t a big deal for me.
I took a deep breath and tried to pay attention to the conversation between John and Brad in the front seat of the car; it was hard to hear their voices clearly over the rock music John had blaring.
I leaned forward to try to hear them better, and maybe join in, when John turned the car sharply into a parking lot.
The burger joint they’d selected was one I’d been past many times. The aromas that wafted into the air from the grilling meat had always been alluring. My excitement level went up another notch.
“This place okay?” Brad asked, looking back at me. He pulled the lever to lean the passenger’s seat forward so I could climb out of the backseat.
I’d been so focused on the restaurant, I hadn’t noticed the engine of the car had been silenced and John and Brad had exited the vehicle.
“Yeah, great,” I managed as he took my hand and helped me climb out.
I glanced around and saw John roll his eyes and shake his head.
The parking lot was full and more cars kept pulling in. The drive-thru was backed up and as we walked across the parking lot to the door of the establishment, someone honked at us.
John waved his middle finger at them with a grin.
Brad chuckled.
I felt my cheeks heat up with a blush. Being bad was kind of exciting, but only a little bit. I couldn’t believe how rude John was.
Thankfully, we made it to the door without further incident.
Inside was worse than outside. Everyone was packed together as they tried to get to the counter and order their food. People were shoving and generally being rude to each other. No one smiled politely or anything.
Wow, I thought, fast food people are grumpy!
I looked around the seating area and noticed there were no tables available…and there were people holding trays waiting for seating to become available.
This place no longer seemed as nice as I thought it would be.
We waited in line while John and Brad chatted. I couldn’t hear them above the din of fifty or sixty other voices speaking at once.
The smell that was so alluring from outside, was heavy, greasy, and cloying on the inside. I fought the urge to flee or throw up. Before I knew it, even with the large crowd of people, we were up at the register – it was our turn to order.
“What’ll ya have?” Brad asked, grinning at me. “Remember, I’m buying.” He winked down at me.
“I’ll have whatever you’re having,” I replied, smiling wide because he’d winked at me.
He nodded and turned his attention to the overwrought lady behind the register. He rattle off our order, pulled his wallet out of his back pocket, and paid her.
The woman put the money in the register, gave him his receipt with our order number and then retrieved two milkshakes. Brad picked them up, turned to me, and pointed over toward the far wall where John was already waiting with the other people who had ordered and hadn’t received their food yet.
I headed that way with Brad close on my heels.
Once we made it to John’s side, Brad handed me one of the shakes and a straw.
“Thank you,” I said loud enough for him to hear me.
I opened the straw and stabbed it through the plastic lid of the Styrofoam cup. After sucking on the straw for what felt like forever, I finally had my first taste of chocolate shake. I thought I would die with delight.
I looked up at Brad and opened my mouth to thank him again, just as his face disappeared from view.
Someone screamed as Brad’s shake flew out of his hand and landed on their head, o
pening and spilling all over them.
Brad grunted and yelled as the man who’d tackled him thrashed on top of him, growling and trying to bite him.
John was quick to action. He shoved his drink at me, which I barely had time to grab, and hooked his arm under the man’s armpit and gripped his shoulder. He pulled the strange man off of Brad only to slip in some of the spilled shake and have him drop back down on Brad and find flesh with his snapping jaws.
Brad screamed.
John regained his footing and pulled the guy off again.
This time the attacker slipped in the shake and flew headfirst into the corner of one of the trashcan holders. There was a loud crunch that made the room fall silent.
The strange man didn’t move after he hit the floor.
All eyes were on him and it seemed everyone was holding their breath.
“That motherfucker bit me!” Brad snarled, breaking the silence.
John took Brad’s uninjured hand and helped him to his feet.
“How bad is it?” he asked. “You gonna live?”
Brad laughed. “I think so, but I might need stiches.”
“We’ll have to drop your little girl friend off before we head to the hospital,” John said flatly, nodding toward me.
“You aren’t going anywhere,” a man in a restaurant uniform said. “I’ve called 9-1-1 and an ambulance and the police are on the way.”
John turned to the guy, smirked, and headed for the door.
Brad followed.
I was lost. I didn’t know what to do.
Finally, making a decision, knowing I didn’t want to get caught where I was, I scurried after them, still clutching the shake and John’s beverage to my chest.
< + >
“Dude, we shouldn’t have just taken off like that,” Brad said after we were all in the car and heading down the road. “That guy could be seriously hurt and we could get in trouble.”
John shrugged. “That guy attacked you. It was self-defense. Besides, we’d be in serious trouble either way.”
I was shaking like a leaf and tried to steady myself. I opened my mouth to talk, but I didn’t know what to say. Even if I had, I don’t know that my voice would have worked anyway. To say I was shaken up was an understatement.
I wished I would have stayed at school.
I wished I would have continued to be a good girl.
I wished I could make this entire day disappear.
“Can I have my drink?” John asked.
“Uh-huh,” I managed to grunt out as I handed him his drink between the middle of the front seats.
He took a long drag from the straw.
I couldn’t believe how calm he was.
“How bad’s your hand?” he asked Brad after he put the drink down into a cup holder.
Brad wiped blood off of his hand with his shirt and held it up to examine the wound.
I could it from the backseat. It was swollen and red, seeping blood from identifiable teeth punctures.
“It’s not as bad as I first thought,” he said. “I think he just broke the skin.”
John glanced at it after he stopped at a red light.
“I can patch you up with my first aid kit once we get back to the school.” He glanced back at me before going when the light changed to green. “Not a word of our adventure, princess. You got it?”
I nodded numbly and sucked at the straw sticking out of my shake. The once delightful flavor was melted down into a cloying sweetness that wasn’t appetizing. I wanted to throw my cup out the window, curl up on the seat, and cry.
< + >
The rest of the ride back to school was a blur. Brad and John talked and joked around about how badass they were for taking the guy down.
I kept feeling sicker and sicker. I couldn’t believe I’d put so much of my happiness in the hands of such a twisted, thoughtless person. Now that I was spending time with Brad I was realizing who he really was. Since I’d never been around him, never really talked to him, I hadn’t realized he was a dick.
The reality of Brad was depressing. He was a selfish loser.
I felt horrible and pathetic for trying to get his attention. I hated myself.
John parked the car in the same space he’d left less than an hour ago. He and Brad climbed out, and Brad once again let me out. This time he just pulled the lever and leaned the seat forward. He didn’t attempt to take my hand to help me out. He was too busy talking to John about getting bandaged up.
For a moment I felt bad, thinking about Brad’s wound. He had been injured in the altercation…
“Are you going to be okay?” I stammered.
“I’ll be fine,” Brad said. “Go inside and don’t tell anyone anything.” He winked at me.
I didn’t feel the warm flush of emotion this time at the gesture. I felt relieved that I’d been told to leave.
I headed toward the school building, throwing the melted milkshake I’d been clutching into a trashcan as I passed. And, just like that, my affection for Brad was gone. I no longer wanted anything to do with him. I hoped he’d be all right, but other than that, there was nothing.
I entered the building through the same door we’d used to exit – the boiler room door that lead into the basement where students didn’t usually venture. From there, I walked cautiously through the dark rooms that contained plumbing and electrical boxes until I reached the stairs. I ascended them with caution. I didn’t hear anyone beyond the door that led to the first floor of the school, back by the locker rooms, off the gym. I opened the door slowly and peeked around. I didn’t see anyone or hear anything. I pushed it open just a little further, squeezed out, and turned toward the hall that would lead me to the cafeteria.
“What are you doing, sneaking around?” a snide, bitchy voice asked as I passed the first cross hallway.
I stopped and glanced to my right to see Stacy leaning up against the wall beside the water fountain. I noticed in the single glance that she was alone; her minions were nowhere to be found.
“I wasn’t sneaking,” I said, hoping I looked and sounded convincing. “I had to get something out of my gym locker.” I pointed over my shoulder behind me with my thumb.
“Sure…” Stacy said, snickering and walking toward me. “Your gym locker always smells,” she paused, leaned toward me, and sniffed loudly, “like cheeseburgers and fries. You snuck out, didn’t you?”
I huffed and rolled my eyes, trying to play everything off like she was ridiculous.
“How would my locker smell like cheeseburgers and fries? I don’t eat that stuff and you know it.”
“Then why do you reek like fast food?” she asked, starting to walk in a little circle around me, looking me over. “If there weren’t burgers in your locker…you had to have left to smell like you do.” She stopped walking, standing directly in front of me. She leaned close to my face… “I’m gonna tell Principal Myers you left.”
“Go ahead,” I sneered, leaning in toward her until our noses almost touched. “I don’t care what you tell Myers, because I didn’t do anything.”
Just then John burst through the door behind us, looking around frantically.
Stacy stood up straight with a gasp, looked at John, glanced at me, and an evil grin spread across her face.
“You were out with John?” she taunted. “You are a bad girl.”
I rolled my eyes at Stacy and turned to John. His eyes were wild and there was blood on his shirt…more than had been there when I’d left him and Brad at the car.
“What happened?” I asked, taking a tentative step toward him.
“He went nuts!” John yelled, rushing toward me. “He went nuts and bit me!”
As he moved closer, I noticed there was a patch of skin missing from his shoulder, right beside the crook of his neck. Blood was free-flowing from the wound.
“Are you okay?” I asked. “Where is he?”
John opened his mouth, but he didn’t get a chance to speak.
Brad bur
st through the door behind John with a deep, menacing growl.
John screamed like a girl and threw himself down the hall, knocking me to the floor.
I landed hard on my butt.
Stacy, who was still standing in the same place, staring at all of us, didn’t get out of the way fast enough.
One of Brad’s large hands found her throat and wrapped around it. He lifted her effortlessly off her feet and drew her to him. His other hand went into her hair as he sank his teeth into her face.
Blood sprayed into the air and poured from her wound.
Stacy’s screams were deafening as they echoed through the halls.
John and I scrambled to get away from the scene as fast as we could. We ran headfirst into a crowd of students that came flooding down the hall to see what the commotion was about. We didn’t stop. We pushed through and kept going.
“What happened?” I asked John breathlessly as we jogged to get away from Brad.
“I don’t fucking know,” he snapped. “How the fuck am I supposed to know what’s going on?”
I slowed down, realizing I didn’t want to be running with John. I knew he didn’t like me, and I knew I didn’t like him. I didn’t want to get stuck somewhere with the likes of him.
He headed straight for the main doors that led out of the school and into the parking lot.
I figured he was going to get in his car and drive away, just like he’d done earlier when there’d been trouble at the restaurant. He acted all tough, but I knew he was a weakling/loser at heart; he’d proven that.
I stopped in the middle of the lobby, in front of the three doors that lead out to the sidewalk in front of the school and the parking lot.
I turned around in a full circle, trying to decide what to do.
More screams sounded from the crowd of students and that broke me out of my cloud of indecision.
Chapter Four
With a brief, fleeting thought of Tiff, I darted to my locker, down an abandoned hallway in the opposite direction of the commotion, put my combination into the lock with shaking hands, extracted my backpack, and headed back the way I’d come and out the main doors of the school.
Zpoc Exception Series (Book 2): Re-Civilize (Elaine) Page 2
