Authors: Katlyn Duncan
I slowed my pace, searching for the cafeteria, when someone gave me a flat tire. A willowy blonde gasped as if I’d assaulted her. She stumbled back, her too high heels clacking. She would have been pretty if it wasn’t for her grimace. Another girl was behind her, her lip curling as if I’d hit her as well.
“Watch it, Freak!” the blonde snapped.
I raised an eyebrow. “Excuse me?” I couldn’t help the white-hot anger burning inside of me.
She pursed her lips and poked a finger into my shoulder. “I. Said. Watch. It.” She accentuated each word with a jab of her finger. Her chin was raised high enough to convey her “status” over her classmates. I’d met a hundred girls like her. Her insecurities were masked by how mean she was to others.
I grabbed her finger and twisted it downward. She cried out.
I pulled her down to my height. “Oh, I heard you,” I said in a low voice.
“Chloe?” the other girl whined.
I’d dealt with plenty of girls like this one in every school and even though I should have kept a low profile, I couldn’t resist the opportunity to set her straight. “You touch me again and you will lose that finger.”
I let her go and she stumbled away, holding her hand against her chest. Her eyes narrowed to slits and her breathing was almost as ragged as mine. “You’re going to regret that.”
We were at a standoff and a few kids gathered around us. I waited for her to make the first move. Instead, the two girls walked away.
A few other kids stared at me and I immediately regretted the unwanted attention. I needed to find this person and get out. I scurried down the hall and approached two girls walking together in front of me. “Where’s the cafeteria?”
Neither looked at me yet one of them spoke. “Left then left.”
“Thanks.”
I followed her directions, keeping my head down, not risking any more attention to myself. I checked my watch again. I had five minutes. I chided myself. I should have let it go when the girl Chloe came at me. I couldn’t let go of the “freak” comment. I’d been called many names about my eyes throughout the years and even though I pretended like it didn’t bother me, the way she said it had struck me the wrong way. Being the bigger person was never my forte.
I found the cafeteria quickly and stood at the end of the long line outside of the room so I’d be in a prime location for whoever was searching for me. The line continued to grow as we moved forward. My eyes darted over all the faces. As I got closer to the doors of the cafeteria my body temperature rose. I checked my watch again and the clock on the cafeteria wall. They both were in sync and read 12:01. My chest deflated. If this person expected me on time, where was he or she? I got out of line and shuffled toward the back. The note said to meet behind the cafeteria. I stumbled over someone’s foot and turned, coming close to taking a backpack to the face before catching myself and moving out of the way.
I sprinted past him. A mumbled “bitch” followed me. I didn’t care. I got out of line again and moved in the opposite direction. I should isolate myself. Maybe I’d be easier to spot? I stopped at a row of lockers outside of the bustling cafeteria. The hallway was less traveled at that point and a few of the bulbs flickered above me, creating an annoying ringing sensation in my ears.
The room tilted around me and my shoulder slammed into the wall. I pressed my hand against the cool surface to steady myself while taking in a few deep breaths. I hadn’t eaten anything since the night before but I’d gone longer without eating before and this never happened. I blinked a few times but the scene before me blurred as a fuzzy darkness outlined my vision. I’d had the same sensation every time I got my blood drawn at the doctor.
Don’t pass out
. I repeated the mantra in my head a few times. A volcano rolled around my stomach as I fought to keep consciousness. Heat spread through me like wildfire, making beads of sweat form at my brow.
A blurry sign for the bathroom was up ahead and I lurched toward it. I barely made it through the doors before my legs gave out from under me. Sharp pain ripped through my legs as my knees connected with the tile floor. I grabbed the edge of the sink. I took a breath and the room stopped spinning. I waited a few seconds before lifting myself from the floor. I dropped my bag under the sink and pressed both hands against the cool porcelain.
One of the stall doors opened and I flinched, expecting another confrontation.
Instead, a girl with short black hair emerged from the stall, her mouth stretched in a satisfied smile. “I thought for sure you and Jake would be inseparable now.” She clicked her tongue and turned on the sink next to mine. Her eyes moved over my body from her mirror as she washed her hands. “Why are you wet?”
I swallowed once, giving myself a moment to compose myself. How did she know about Jake? I turned to the sink and tucked my hair behind my ears. “It’s raining.”
“I thought after this morning you would have avoided the rain. Unless—” She closed the tap and turned to face me, her hands dripping between us. “He kissed you!”
I choked. “What?”
She grinned broadly. “Jake hates PDA, so he took you outside to kiss you? I would have picked a sunnier day.” She went to the towel dispenser and grabbed a few sheets. “At least he finally took the next step!”
“Um,” I mumbled, my brain going blank. Why did Jake have this effect on me?
“Fancy!” The girl pulled my wrist to hers. She moved her finger over my watch. “Where did you get that?”
“My mom,” I said before I could stop myself.
She frowned, looking up at me before narrowing her eyes. “Bri, did you take your contact out?”
The name shocked me as it had the night before. I stared at the girl. A million questions fired in my mind. Who was this Bri girl and why did people keep calling me by her name?
The girl checked her phone. “I need to eat something before Mr. Henry’s class. Come on. We can talk more after your swim practice.”
She held the door for me.
“I’ll be right there.” I’d finally found my voice. I needed this girl to get the hell away from me.
“We have like ten minutes left.”
I snatched my bag and headed for the door. “I forgot something. I’ll see you later.”
The girl said something as the door closed. The line for the cafeteria was gone and no one remained in the hallway. My eyes started to burn. Was this some sort of cruel joke? I decided to retrace my steps and jogged in the direction of the entrance I had come in earlier. My shoe slipped, the soles still damp, and I nearly went down. I slammed my hand against a locker.
Someone grabbed my arm and I cried out.
“Sorry,” said the guy, holding his arms in front of him. “I thought you were going to fall.”
I ripped my arm away and glanced up at him. His leather jacket was covered with beads of rain. He towered over me. His forest green eyes widened with recognition. My eyes moved over his face; his sharp features were pulled even tighter as with each passing second he appeared to get angrier.
His jaw clenched. “You don’t belong here.”
My stomach twisted. My mind flashed to another time and place with a different guy. I quickly shoved the memory away. I lifted my chin. I wasn’t going anywhere without answers. Before I could open my mouth the bell rang again.
The guy reached for me but I ducked under his arm and bolted in the other direction.
“Hey!” he called out but I was already halfway down the hall. I looked back and saw him only a few feet behind, until kids poured out of the cafeteria, separating us more and more with each second. I turned down the next hallway in an attempt to lose the guy. Clearly something had gone wrong or maybe I’d misinterpreted the note. Either way I had to get to a quiet place to collect my thoughts. Like hell was I giving up that easy.
Bri
“Come on ladies, hustle!” Coach Kendra called across the natatorium.
Bri pulled herself from the pool and onto the slick tile floor, unable to hide the grin on her face. She’d kicked Chloe’s butt in that last relay and both of them knew it. The obvious anger on Chloe’s face when she surfaced and saw Bri already halfway out of the pool was perfect. Bri wished she had a camera.
“Yay, Bri!” Max called from the top of the bleachers. She had books and notebooks spread across her lap. Max didn’t like being home in the afternoon. Her parents worked third shift at the hospital so she had to be silent while they slept.
“I didn’t realize hustle meant walking like frickin’ zombies!” Coach Kendra clapped her hand against the clipboard permanently attached to her other hand.
The twelve girls who made up the swim team picked up their pace until they huddled around Coach. Her beady brown eyes captured each of them in her gaze before she spoke. She looked the part of a female high school gym teacher with her too long and unflattering shorts and shirt big enough to swallow any sense of her figure. Even with her tough-as-nails exterior she was a great coach. They’d won most meets since she became coach at the beginning of the year after her parents had passed away, leaving their home to her.
Her eyes touched each of the girls as she spoke. “All of your times were below last season. You need to treat every single second you’re here as if you’re in a race. Do you understand me?”
“Yes, Coach,” the girls chorused.
“Now do it again. Group together and I want two hundred and four hundred yard freestyle relays.”
Chloe snorted and Coach narrowed her gaze. “Another two hundred for you.”
Chloe rolled her eyes. They’d had this battle before and Chloe never won.
Coach lifted her whistle to her lips and blew. The shrill sound echoed off the walls and the girls partnered off.
Bri nudged Gina, a mousy freshman. She had the best backstroke on the team. As captain, Bri had taken Gina under her wing. “I’ll go first,” Bri said, giving Gina a break after the last relay.
Gina heaved a sigh of relief into her towel.
Bri took her place at the block and dropped her hands down close to her feet. She closed her eyes and inhaled deeply, letting the air out slowly through her slick lips. She opened her eyes and focused on the water below. It rippled and moved over itself as if it were alive and waiting for her.
Coach blew the whistle and Bri dove into the water, her body slicing through it. She pumped her legs and arms until she resurfaced, her arms lifting over her head as she took in her first breath. Her eyes focused on the line painted at the bottom of the pool, ensuring she was right above it. Seconds before she hit the other side of the pool, she flipped her body around and pushed off the wall. She focused on the line and her breathing again, tunneling her vision in counting laps. She could hear the other swimmers but didn’t dare look to see how far away they were in relation her. Swimming was the only thing that cleared her mind. Nothing mattered when she was in the water.
On the way back from her first lap something caught her eye at the bottom of the pool. She lost her pace and her stroke slowed for a second as she squinted her eyes to get a better look. Something red ebbed and flowed at the bottom of the pool. A body shot past her and she snapped out of her trance. She clenched her jaw and picked up her pace, knowing she’d lost precious seconds by letting herself get distracted. She kicked her legs and moved her arms faster until she reached the side of the pool. She couldn’t help search for it on her final lap. As she sped down the lane whatever she’d seen was gone. She pushed on until she touched the side of the pool where Gina stood ready on the block. The girl dove into the water.
Chloe preened from the next lane, having finished her laps before Bri.
Bri jumped out of the pool. “Have fun on your next set.” She didn’t look back at Chloe, her mind still on what she might have seen.
Bri made her way to the bleachers and wrapped a towel around herself. Her heart still pounded hard in her chest as she thought about how she’d messed up. She watched Gina, mentally critiquing her form. Coach never moved from her spot yet Bri felt her stare. She was going to hear about her screw-up soon enough.
Gina was the first to finish in her group, even though Bri had slowed them down. She smiled at choosing the girl. Coach might not be as hard on her since they’d won. Bri headed to the side of the pool to join her team. The girls huddled together, cheering for Chloe. Even though Chloe had earned those extra laps with her mouth, they still were a team. Since they were always in competition, Bri was rarely able to watch Chloe. Chloe’s form was very good, even though Bri hated to admit it. One thing she loved about the sport was that most of the time it was individual. A place where Bri shined.
Chloe lifted herself from the pool and made her way over to the group. Her chest heaved as she caught her breath. They all turned to Coach for their next instruction.
“That was pitiful. Same time Monday.” Coach unnecessarily blared her whistle in their faces and headed toward the locker room. “Shower up.”
Just as Bri heaved a relieved breath, Coach’s voice bounced off the high ceilings. “Brianna, in my office.”
Chloe snorted on her way past Bri.
Bri clenched her jaw.
In instances where Chloe annoyed the crap out of her, she tried to remember the days when they weren’t at odds. They had been friends up until their freshman year when they both got onto the swim team. Chloe’s overly competitive nature had split them up and Chloe had veered off, making her own set of friends who were higher in ranks than Bri and Max.
Max bounded down from the bleachers. “What happened out there? I saw you slow down. You okay?”
Bri nodded and pulled her hair free from the cap. She twisted her fingers around the strap of her goggles. “I thought I saw something.” She shook her head.
“Well you definitely gave Chloe more fuel.”
I shrugged. “There’s always Monday.”
They entered the locker room.
“I’ll wait for you by the lockers, okay?” Max headed down the narrow hall.
Max knew the locker room always freaked Bri out. For some reason Bri was reminded of horror movies when she went in there alone. The tall ceilings and dim lighting threw shadows in every corner. To the right were the showers. A dozen stalls, capable of hiding anyone from wandering eyes. The perfect spot for a serial killer. Up ahead were rows of lockers and benches. She didn’t expect Max to wait outside of the shower cubby—she wasn’t five.