Fight (#0.5, Fierce Series) by Clarissa Wild Page B

14
     
    I’m walking down the hall, making my way
to my next class. My bag feels heavy on my shoulders. It’s packed
to the brim with books. Some boys run past me, almost smashing me
into the wall as they push me aside. Sometimes I feel like a bug
ready to be squashed. Being a newbie gives them all the more reason
to do it. They like tormenting us, laughing.
    Oh well, guess I have no choice but to get
through this.
    As I walk up to some of the girls in my
class, I already feel my stomach churn. I can’t seem to make
friends with anyone around here, no matter how hard I try. I think
they find me annoying, but I don’t mean to be. I don’t know why I
can’t be different.
    Still, I’ll have to deal with them. Brody
isn’t here to support me, he’s already a junior. There’s no reason
why I shouldn’t keep trying, right?
    When one of the girls notices me, she winces.
“Oh my god.”
    “What?” I say, my eyes searching the
hall.
    She points at me, and I suddenly feel naked.
“That.” She pulls up her lip. “Your clothes.”
    “What’s wrong with my clothes?”
    “ Seriously, you put on baggy
pants?”
    I look down at my legs and try to see what
she means, but I seriously don’t get what she’s getting at.
    “They look horrible,” another girl says.
    The third girl starts laughing. My cheeks
turn red as a beet, and I frown.
    “Girl, you can’t wear that to school.”
    “ I-I don’t have anything else,” I
stutter. I feel cornered
by these girls.
    “Where do you get your clothes?”
    “Uhm … Walmart,” I mumble. I don’t know why
they’re asking me all these questions. I don’t even know why I’m
answering, but it feels rude not to.
    They chuckle. “Oh god …” one of them
says.
    “Seriously, hun? You really gotta shop at a
better store. Like Zara,” another one says.
    Frowning, I sigh and fold my arms. “I
can’t.” I wish I could. I wish I could decide where to shop and
what to wear. I wish money grew on trees.
    “Why not? Who buys clothes at Walmart
anyway?” She smirks, and I just want to smack her right in the
face, but I don’t. That’s not who I am. I would never do that. I
wouldn’t even try. I’m too much of a wimp. Besides, there’s no
telling what they’d do to me if I did that. I don’t want to get
into a fight.
    “It’s none of your business,” I say.
    They start laughing again. It hurts so
much to hear the sound. It’s like they took my heart, cut it from
my chest, and stomped on it.
    As I walk past them, one of them jerks my
hair, pulling down my ponytail. Tears well up in my eyes. I can’t
take this. I can’t go into class feeling humiliated like this.
    So I run to the nearest bathroom and lock
myself in a stall.
     
    ♥♥♥
     
    I’m eating lunch with Brody, trying to
keep my head down so I don’t draw any attention to myself. We’re
tucked into our little corner at the end of the lunchroom. Nobody bats an eye at us,
except when Brody accidentally knocks over his soda right in front
of one of those girls from my class.
    “Hey! Watch it.”
    “Sorry,” he says.
    “Jerk,” she says, scowling at him before
walking away.
    Some other girls pass and take a quick
glance at me, giggling, passing some gossip to each other, which I
can’t overhear. I don’t even need to hear it to know they’re
talking about me.
    I feel embarrassed, so I hide my face by
supporting it with my hands, and stare at the full plate of food in
front of me. I couldn’t eat one bit, not even if I wanted to.
    “ Hey, don’t think about them.” Brody smiles
at me, but it’s more of a pity smile than a happy smile. I
k now he’s trying to
cheer me up and make me feel better, but it’s not working. He
doesn’t realize how much they tease me here. I would even go so far
as to call it bullying.
    “They’re not worth it,” he adds.
    I sigh. “I know. I just can’t pretend
they’re not there. I hear them laugh. I feel them push me around. I
hear them call me names. One of