The Resurrection of Aubrey Miller(15)

For a split second, I allow myself to enjoy the foreign feeling before nodding my head and hauling my ass out of bed to join my new friend for breakfast, selfishly blinded and oblivious to the danger I may have just put her in.


Chapter Eight

Breakfast was a success. In fact, it was so successful that it quickly became a staple for our morning routine. We’ve actually added some other occupants to our shaded table in the courtyard area outside the cafeteria since this started. One welcome, the others not so much. Kaeleb, of course, was welcome. Candace and Sabrina, AKA The Annoying Emaciated Bobble-head Twins, along with some seriously stupid ‘roided out tagalongs, Josh and Luke, were definitely not welcome. Not by me anyway. Kaeleb didn’t seem to enjoy their presence too much either, but Quinn, my poor Quinn has seemingly fallen head over heels in love with Mr. Beef-and-Brawn-with-no-Brain—Josh for short—since she first met him a couple of weeks ago.
A spoonful of Froot Loops finds its way to my mouth as I glance across the table and note the dopey, love-struck grin plastered on her face as she listens to his highly intellectual account of some “sick”—his wording not mine, obviously—keg party he attended Friday night. Sabrina and Candace look equally enthralled as they watch with Quinn from across the table. My gaze darts to Kaeleb and I choke down my laughter at the look on his face as he also listens. Grimacing as though he just bit down on a slice of lemon, his face is puckered with a look of absolute distaste. A strip of bacon falls from between his fingers directly onto his plate as he tears his eyes away, throwing me a questioning sideways What the f*ck? glance. My left eyebrow rises along with my shoulders as I answer him with my own look of uncertainty.
“Quinn, seriously, you aren’t going to eat all of that, are you?”
I quickly disengage from Kaeleb’s stare, my face now pinched in disgust as I eye the outspoken, hollowed-cheek bitch sitting across from me. Sabrina’s eyeballs practically bulge from their sockets as they glare at Quinn’s plate which—I kid you not—contains a meager piece of unbuttered toast with a small helping of fruit salad. I guess that’s a lot when you compare it to the two lonely coffee cups in from of both Sabrina and Candace.
Mmmm…the breakfast of champions and anorexics everywhere.
Quinn’s face falls as she sheepishly looks back at Josh, who seems unaffected by Sabrina’s statement and makes no attempt to shield her from the scathing comment. Her cheeks brighten with embarrassment as she hesitantly places the tips of her fingers on the sides of the plate before pushing it in Kaeleb’s direction.
“I got this for Kaeleb. I ate earlier in the room.”
Completely stunned, I watch Quinn practically fold into herself in an effort to disappear from the table after her blatant lie. She didn’t eat a goddamn thing. I know this for a fact. Why isn’t she sticking up for herself?
My stomach tightens and churns while my heart rate increases, instigating a raging flush of anger as it spreads across my face like wildfire. I open my mouth, fully expecting to spew venom all over this undernourished wench, but just as the words are about to fly off my tongue the menacing tone of Kaeleb’s voice stops me cold.
“You’re kidding me, right?” he scoffs, breaking only to shove Quinn’s plate back across the table before bringing his hazel eyes back to Sabrina, darkened with brute ferocity. “You look like a starved carcass, Sabrina. It’s not only unattractive, it’s ironically unappetizing. You should really eat something for the sake of everyone at this table.”
Heat rolls off of him, warming the entire left side of my body. “You’re a bitch,” he adds matter-of-factly, but his anger is unmistakable as it fills the air around us. Sabrina and Candace simultaneously gasp in response while Josh and Luke exhibit only blank stares. Big surprise.
My eyes find Quinn next, whose face is now completely void of the previous coloring as she clamps her jaw shut. I guess it flew wide open along with mine.
Sabrina collects herself and quickly recovers, responding with, “Whatever, Kaeleb. Your opinion doesn’t mean shit to me.” She gestures to Quinn. “Hey, I’m just trying to do Quinn here a favor. We all know she’s in the pageant circuit, and from where I’m sitting, the top of her jeans is the only thing getting crowned.” Her blue eyes slide in Quinn’s direction. “Watch that muffin top. That’s all I’m sayin’.”
Candace snorts and Quinn’s face crumbles in anguish and embarrassment, her light green eyes glistening as she bolts up from the bench and grabs her backpack from underneath her. Tripping awkwardly over her own feet as she tries to make a somewhat graceful exit, she whimpers, her right hand rising to swipe the falling tears from her cheek before heading in the direction of the dorm. Kaeleb’s body tenses to rise next to me, but I place my hand on his leg, keeping him still as I move to stand.
After pressing myself off of him, my palms find their way to the cool cement of the tabletop and my fingers stretch widely as I lean over, positioning my face a mere inch away from Sabrina’s. I shoot a quick glance at Kaeleb over my shoulder, and based on the throbbing vein on his forehead, he’s using every single bit of restraint within his possession not to jump across the table and strangle this skank. Giving him a subtle shake of my head, I wordlessly let him know that this retribution will be falling within my jurisdiction.
I casually turn my attention back to Sabrina and lean in even closer. Her coffee breaths hit me in the face as her breathing picks up with my threatening stance. “It looks like Quinn isn’t the only one sporting a crown.” Grabbing the cereal bowl between my hands, I swiftly raise it above her head, making the most of the fear flitting across her face as I can before quickly turning it upside down, dumping the contents right on top of her perfectly coiffed blonde hair. “Watch your f*cking mouth. That’s all I’m sayin’.”