This story takes place when Jess is a little younger than the other stories... she is 13... x
"Im actually starving." Jess said to her two friends, Emily and Chloe. It was nearly lunch time and the three of them were sat in science learning about rocks.
"I know. Me too." Emily whispered, and her stomach rumbled. "I want fooooood."
"Me too." Chloe said. "How long until lunch?"
"Chloe." The teacher said, catching her talking over him. "Name the three types of rock for me."
"Um, sedimentary..." She said, looking to her friends.
"Metamorphic.." Jess mouthed to her.
"Metamorphic..." She said, recieving a nod from her teacher.
"And..." The teacher said, pressing for the next one.
"Igneous." Emily whispered.
"Come on Chloe we don't have all day..." The teacher said.
"Igneous! Igneous." She said, and the teacher looked at her.
"Right." He said. "Next time, I want you looking forward and not at your friends."
"Sorry." She said, and looked at the clock. The bell would go any minute now.
The bell rung and they all left the classroom and headed for the canteen. They were one of the first there, so they got in line and soon enough they had their food. The menu today was fish and chips, their favourite.
"Lets get that table over there." Chloe said, looking at the one in the corner.
"No we can't." Emily said. "Thats where all 'those' people sit." Those people being the popular ones. They would kill them if that sat there.
"And? It doesn't make it their table." Chloe argued. "Come on."
"Chloe!" Jess said, running after her. "Do you want them to go over and shout at us?"
"They won't." She said. "We got here first." She plopped down onto the chair and put her food down on the table. Jess looked around to make sure that the popular people weren't there. She cautiously sat down and began to eat her food. Her and Emily sat there, paranoid, until the coast was clear for a good five minutes. They began to relax after a while, and started to enjoy their lunch.
"Well well well. Sitting at our table?" Someone said behind Jess. Jess panicked a little inside and gave Chloe a 'I told you so' look.
"It- Its not your table." Chloe said. "And we were here first."
"Oh really?" The boy said. His name was Ryan. He was big built, muscly, and he had a very loud voice. He had a gang of equally violent looking people stood behind him.
"Yeah!" Chloe said, and Jess and Emily just sat there quietly.
"Im going to try and say this nicely. Move. Please." He said, raising his voice at the end.
"Why should we?" Chloe said, and Jess wished she would just shut her mouth for once.
"Chloe, lets go!" Jess said, standing up.
"No!" She said.
"Listen to speccy here." Ryan said. "Go with her."
"Speccy?" Jess said. She got new glasses the other day. "Speccy!?"
"Yeah." He said, picking up her chips.
"Those are mine." Jess spat at him.
"Not any more, speccy." He said, putting one in his mouth. "Eww. Vinegar."
"Can I have them back?" Jess asked, and to her surprise, he nodded.
"Sure." He said, grabbing her top and pouring the chips down. Emily and Chloe sat there, gobsmacked. "Now I suggest you get out of our way."
Jess ran through the canteen, ignoring the laughter from everyone else and went straight to the bathroom. It was empty, so she locked herself in a cubicle to get rid of the chips. She began to cry. Sometimes she really wished Chloe wouldn't do things like that.
She stopped crying when she heard the door open.
"Jess? You in here?" She heard Emily's voice.
"No." She said back as she tried to stop crying. "Chloe's still there. She didn't come with me."
"Good." Jess said, opening the door. "I wish she wouldn't open her big mouth sometimes." She grabbed some tissue and looked in the mirror to sort out her make up.
"Me too." Emily said. "That was horrible."
"Yeah it was." Jess said. "At least you didn't get called names or get grease all down your shirt. Look at it! How am I going to hide that from my parents?"
"I don't know." Emily replied.
"And calling me speccy?" Jess said, taking off her glasses. "Im asking my mum for contacts."
"Don't listen to them Jess." Emily said. "Your glasses are fine!"
"No they're not." Jess said, putting them in her bag. "Im not wearing them."
"Alright." Emily said. "But next lesson starts soon."
"I don't want to go." Jess said. "Everyone in that class was in the canteen. My shirt is dirty too."
"Ignore them Jess." Emily said. "Come on, lets go."
"I look horrible." she said, looking in the mirror. "Do I look like i've been crying?"
"A little." Emily said, being honest. "But it will go away by the time we get there."
"Okay." Jess said, glad they were going early. No one else ever got there early so they would have the classroom to themselves and the teacher.
They got there, and the teacher was there. They knocked on the door.
"Can we come in?" Emily asked.
"Sure!" The teacher said. She taught english which wasn't one of their best subjects but she was a nice teacher. She was very understanding.
Jess and Emily sat down at their table and Jess stared into space, thinking about what just happened.
"You alright Jess?" Miss Rowling asked, (hehe JK Rowling inspired the name!) seeing the red blotches around her eyes.
"Im fine." She whispered, tears building up in her eyes.
"What happened to you shirt?"
"Nothing." Jess said.
"Little mishap in the canteen." Emily said, seeing that Jess didn't want to talk about it. "Its nohing."
"You can tell me you know." Miss Rowling said. "Thats what us teachers are here for."
"Look. I will tell you but you can't tell anyone." Jess said. "Please."
"I won't." Miss Rowling said, sitting on their table.
"I don't want my parents to find out." Jess said, and Miss Rowling nodded. "Well we were in the canteen and Chloe told us to sit in the corner but thats where Ryan and that lot sit."
"Right." She replied.
"It was alright for a while because they didn't come in until half way through lunch. But then they told us to move and Chloe started saying stuff like 'Why should we?' and stuff like that. Then I stood up to leave and told Chloe to come on, and then Ryan said 'Listen to speccy here." Jess said, a tear falling down her face. "He called me speccy like three times."
"Thats not very nice." She replied. "There is nothing wrong with wearing glasses." She says because she wears them too.
"No. So I got angry, and they took my chips and stuffed them down my shirt and the whole canteen was laughing at me." Her voice wobbled towards the end.
"I really think you should tell someone who can sort it out." Miss Rowling said.
"No!" Jess said. "I don't want to be seen as the snitch or anything. If I ignore them they will stop."
"Are you sure?" Miss Rowling wasn't sure.
"Yeah." Jess wiped her eye with the tissue she kept from earlier. "Please just don't tell my parents. They will make such a huge fuss."
"If thats what you want." She shrugged, and the bell went. She got Jess a new tissue. "Here."
"Thanks." Jess said and wiped her eyes, before the rest of the class walked in.
(I know this seems like it has nothing to do with casualty but trust me, it will! Jess is Zoe and Nicks daughter, so it will include them in the next chapter.)