smiled at the crew behind her. "See, even your mother knew what a heifer you'd turn out to be."
"You little…" Jillian already had her fist up ready to knock Kendra's lights out when I caught her arm. Fighting at school was an automatic suspension. I didn't want Jillian to get in that kind of trouble because of me.
"It's okay, Jillian. Stop." I forced her behind me. "This is between Kendra and me."
I stood as straight as I could and looked right in Kendra's eyes. Calm. I would remain calm. "I don't know what I've done to offend you so much, but I'm sorry. If I knew how to change it, I would. But I can't. Just please, can you tell me how to get a ticket to the Red Ball?"
She crossed her arms and smiled an evil little smirk. "You don't know what you've done to offend me? Big, honestly. Isn't it obvious?"
"Not really."
"I don't like you because you are a waste of space. A large waste of space." She put her arm around my shoulder like we were old friends, and it took everything I had to stand still and let her. "You think people like you, but they don't. We hate to see your fat cheeks eat." The funny thing was her words sounded sugary, but they hit like arrows to my heart.
"We hate to watch you scramble to squeeze your obese butt in a desk only made for one normal-sized person. And we hate… hate … when you think one of us is your friend. Word of advice, Matt isn't your friend. He's mine. Soon, he'll be my boyfriend again, and you'll be nothing except the fat girl he's forced to tutor."
Kendra leaned into my ear so only she and I could hear. "Face it, Big. You're nothing. You're less than nothing, and I wouldn't tell you where you could get tickets to the Red Ball if you offered me a million dollars."
She patted me hard on the back before walking off laughing with her four friends .
Jillian's shoulder touched mine, and we both watched Kendra's crew disappear down the hall. "What did she say?"
"Nothing. Not important." I put my book in my backpack and headed the opposite direction to English class. Jillian walked with me until Freshman Hall then told me she'd see me at lunch. I nodded, so not in the mood to talk.
I wouldn't let Kendra Moses's opinion upset me the rest of the day, but the fact that she wouldn't sell me a ticket might.
Like normal, we had it drilled into our heads that our dead poet paper was due tomorrow. I was almost finished so I didn't care. It would have been nice if my teacher had given us some extra time to work on it in class. Instead, we read more poetry, and I became more and more nervous about my geometry test. Matt said I was ready. I wasn't so sure.
English went faster than it should have. Before I knew it, dead poet hour was over, and I was on my way toward Geometry and my academic destiny.
Deep breath in. Deep breath out. I could do this. I could so do this.
I couldn't do this.
My feet faltered and I wanted to turn at the front exit and get out of Dodge. If I missed the test, I'd have to do a make-up. More studying. More anxiety.
Quit being a baby, Brittany. One test won't kill you.
Hopefully…
I made it to the classroom just as the bell rang. Ms. Bennett smiled from her perch at the tall teacher desk and motioned me over. "How's your mom?" I asked, since she'd missed tutoring the day before because her mom had fallen and possibly broken her hip.
"She's better. Thanks for asking. She's in the hospital, though. If you feel comfortable with Matt now, I'd rather leave right after school to stay with her. If you want me to stay, I can, but…"
I got what she was saying. "It'll be okay. We've been alone every other day."
Ms. Bennett's mouth squeezed to the side with a cringe. "Sorry about that. It's not what I intended."
"It's fine." I laughed. "Matt and I get along. We'll make it. Spend time with your mother. We'll survive."
"Speaking of Matt…" Ms. Bennett took her glasses and laid them on a huge stack of papers on the desk. By the looks of it, today's test. "He said he
"You little…" Jillian already had her fist up ready to knock Kendra's lights out when I caught her arm. Fighting at school was an automatic suspension. I didn't want Jillian to get in that kind of trouble because of me.
"It's okay, Jillian. Stop." I forced her behind me. "This is between Kendra and me."
I stood as straight as I could and looked right in Kendra's eyes. Calm. I would remain calm. "I don't know what I've done to offend you so much, but I'm sorry. If I knew how to change it, I would. But I can't. Just please, can you tell me how to get a ticket to the Red Ball?"
She crossed her arms and smiled an evil little smirk. "You don't know what you've done to offend me? Big, honestly. Isn't it obvious?"
"Not really."
"I don't like you because you are a waste of space. A large waste of space." She put her arm around my shoulder like we were old friends, and it took everything I had to stand still and let her. "You think people like you, but they don't. We hate to see your fat cheeks eat." The funny thing was her words sounded sugary, but they hit like arrows to my heart.
"We hate to watch you scramble to squeeze your obese butt in a desk only made for one normal-sized person. And we hate… hate … when you think one of us is your friend. Word of advice, Matt isn't your friend. He's mine. Soon, he'll be my boyfriend again, and you'll be nothing except the fat girl he's forced to tutor."
Kendra leaned into my ear so only she and I could hear. "Face it, Big. You're nothing. You're less than nothing, and I wouldn't tell you where you could get tickets to the Red Ball if you offered me a million dollars."
She patted me hard on the back before walking off laughing with her four friends .
Jillian's shoulder touched mine, and we both watched Kendra's crew disappear down the hall. "What did she say?"
"Nothing. Not important." I put my book in my backpack and headed the opposite direction to English class. Jillian walked with me until Freshman Hall then told me she'd see me at lunch. I nodded, so not in the mood to talk.
I wouldn't let Kendra Moses's opinion upset me the rest of the day, but the fact that she wouldn't sell me a ticket might.
Like normal, we had it drilled into our heads that our dead poet paper was due tomorrow. I was almost finished so I didn't care. It would have been nice if my teacher had given us some extra time to work on it in class. Instead, we read more poetry, and I became more and more nervous about my geometry test. Matt said I was ready. I wasn't so sure.
English went faster than it should have. Before I knew it, dead poet hour was over, and I was on my way toward Geometry and my academic destiny.
Deep breath in. Deep breath out. I could do this. I could so do this.
I couldn't do this.
My feet faltered and I wanted to turn at the front exit and get out of Dodge. If I missed the test, I'd have to do a make-up. More studying. More anxiety.
Quit being a baby, Brittany. One test won't kill you.
Hopefully…
I made it to the classroom just as the bell rang. Ms. Bennett smiled from her perch at the tall teacher desk and motioned me over. "How's your mom?" I asked, since she'd missed tutoring the day before because her mom had fallen and possibly broken her hip.
"She's better. Thanks for asking. She's in the hospital, though. If you feel comfortable with Matt now, I'd rather leave right after school to stay with her. If you want me to stay, I can, but…"
I got what she was saying. "It'll be okay. We've been alone every other day."
Ms. Bennett's mouth squeezed to the side with a cringe. "Sorry about that. It's not what I intended."
"It's fine." I laughed. "Matt and I get along. We'll make it. Spend time with your mother. We'll survive."
"Speaking of Matt…" Ms. Bennett took her glasses and laid them on a huge stack of papers on the desk. By the looks of it, today's test. "He said he
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