The Fragile Ordinary(65)
I exchanged worried looks with Vicki and Steph.
“Tapping virgin arse doesnae make ye God, King!” Jimmy shouted and the group of them laughed.
Wanting to die I ducked my head against Tobias’s shoulder, to hide, but also to murmur, “Don’t,” when I saw him shift in his seat. The muscle in his jaw popped but he nodded reluctantly.
But the mocking continued as one of them affected a posh feminine voice, “Ooh, Tobias, you’ll need to brush the cobwebs from my vagina before you stick anything in there!”
My hand clamped down hard on Tobias’s thigh as stifled laughter muffled in ripples across the room. His muscle was hard underneath my hand, and I could feel the heat of anger emanating off him. I was angry, too. Mortified. Seething! However, I refused to give anyone the satisfaction of seeing me walk out of that cafeteria.
“Oy, Comet! When yer done wi’ him, give me a call and I’ll show ye whit a real man can do between yer legs!”
I shot a glare over my shoulder, searching out Stevie.
Our eyes met as more degrading comments were thrown our way by his friends.
Finally, after what felt like forever, he looked away and said something to the group that made them laugh at us. I tensed, waiting for more barbs to come, but their eyes flew over my head and I turned to see assistant rector Mrs. Penman striding through the cafeteria. She stopped, staring at Stevie and his boys. “Word has reached me that verbal filth is being thrown around the cafeteria,” her voice boomed around the room with authority. “This is your one and only warning. I hear of it again and it’s a three-day suspension for all those involved.”
Quiet descended on the room and then she turned on her heel and left. Not a minute later a disgruntled-looking sociology teacher entered the cafeteria and began to patrol.
Tobias finally turned to look at me. Guilt shone out of his eyes. “I’m sorry.”
Horrified that he should blame himself, I slid my arm around his shoulders and crowded into him, not caring what anyone thought. “Don’t. Stevie’s just acting out.”
“Why is Stevie acting out?” Steph asked curiously. “And what happened to his face?”
“Well...” I didn’t feel it was my place to explain all of the crap going on in Stevie’s life and why he now saw us as traitors, but she knew about the cocaine so... “I think he got in a fight. And after what we saw at Dean’s party... Tobias and I are keeping our distance from him. He won’t stop hanging out with those guys so we can’t be involved with him.”
“Good.” Steph nodded. “I was really worried you were getting in with the wrong crowd, there, Com. No offense,” she said to Tobias.
He barely acknowledged her. Instead he stared into my eyes, anger pushing through the guilt. “It doesn’t give him the right to set those guys on us. On you.”
“It’s just the first day since the bust up. He’ll get bored and leave us alone,” I reassured him, hoping against hope that I was right.
THE FRAGILE ORDINARYSAMANTHA YOUNG
18
If only there was a button she could push,
And suddenly she’d be covered in armor.
Her skin protected from your ambush,
Your bullet-shaped words couldn’t harm her.
—CC
It was a particularly cold late November morning. The trees were nearly bare and glittered with frost. The sea was a dull gray, choppy and uninviting today, making me shiver as I passed by then strode away from the quiet beach through town. I’d sacrificed my head in the name of fashion, wearing a purple woolen headband that just covered the tips of my ears. A woolen flower shot through with silver was attached to the right side of the headband near my temple. I wore matching purple gloves, my turquoise coat and purple ankle boots. I was thinking about Stevie, warring between guilt for taking Tobias from him and fear that he and his friends would continue to make our lives miserable. The boy I knew wouldn’t do that to us, but I hadn’t recognized him in the one who’d confronted me in the hall the day before. Still I held on to my hope.
It turned out hoping Stevie and his crew would grow bored was wishful thinking.
“Oy! Slut!” I heard someone behind me yell.
Of course, I was the farthest thing from a slut so I ignored it, assuming some girl was calling after her friend in that insulting fashion that had become so popular lately. Like for instance the time Steph greeted Vicki and me in the cafeteria with, “Hey, bitches,” and I got up and left the table in protest.
“Dinnae ignore us, slut!”
Well, that didn’t sound friendly at all.
I glanced over my shoulder and almost tripped at the sight of Alana Miller and three of her friends hurrying along the pavement behind me.
“Aye, you!” She pointed at me, her pretty face scrunched up in aggression. “Think yer something ’cause King’s goin’ oot wi’ ye? Yer just the sad wee geek ye were yesterday.”
Whipping back around, I picked up pace.
“Dinnae ignore us, bitch!” one of the other girls shouted.
And yet, despite trembling from head to foot at their intentions, I was going to ignore them, hoping they wouldn’t make it impossible. In other words, hoping to God they weren’t going to make this physical. I wouldn’t put the possibility past Alana.