Title: The Hive
Rating: M
Chapter: 3
Fandom: Degrassi: The Next Generation
Summary: Esme is back at school after spending the summer in rehab. Between no longer being Queen Bee and troubles at home, this is going to be struggle unlike any other.
Comments:
Disclaimer: I own nothing, except the idea.
On Tuesday, Esme woke up to the sound of silence. She looked around her room and realized she was still in her clothes from the day before. She quickly stripped out of the previous day's outfit and wrapped herself in a towel.
She was relieved to find that her bedroom door was still locked so her father hadn't tried to jimmy it open, nor had his girlfriend. She went to the bathroom in the hallway and, locking the other door behind her, took a quick shower. She scrubbed the leftover makeup off her face violently with red nails and blow dried her hair before she fixed her face and hair for the day. Instead of spending too much time, she pulled her hair back into a loose ponytail. She headed back to her bedroom, wrapped in a towel, and quickly slipped on a dress for the day.
When she made it out to the kitchen, she realized there were dirty dishes cluttering the counter. At least her dad was already gone for the day. She wasn't sure about his girlfriend. She grabbed an apple off the counter and headed out as fast as she could.
After popping into the Dot for an iced latte, Esme drove up to Degrassi with her half-eaten apple in the seat beside her. She got out of her car, throwing the rest of the apple in the nearest trash bin. She tried to make it up the stairs without calling attention to herself, but just as the day before, someone called her name.
Esme turned around to find Frankie standing three steps below her, but this time the younger girl was all alone. Frankie dared to take another step up towards Esme. Esme crossed her arms over her chest protectively.
"I heard what Hunter did yesterday," Frankie informed quietly. She reached out, now only a step below Esme. "I'm so sorry, Ezzie."
Esme winced when Frankie rested her hand on her arm, pain searing. She hadn't realized when she was getting ready that her father had grabbed her so hard that she was left with a mark.
Frankie, thinking she had hurt Esme, pulled her hand back, mumbling yet another apology.
Esme shook her head, shrugging, "It's okay." She looked past Frankie, seeing Hunter bullshitting around with his friends. "It's not like you told him to say it. It must be pretty hard having to live with a delinquent like him." She let out a bitter laugh. "And I thought Miles brought shame and scandal to your family." She pouted her lips and jutted her hip to the side, trying to look like she didn't care about the Hollingsworths.
Frankie frowned at the sound of Esme's accusations. "That's a bit harsh," she whispered. She tried to get Esme to meet her eyes. "Hunter has his problems, but he's not a bad person."
Esme let out a chuckle. "Whatever you have to tell yourself to sleep at night, Frankie. I don't care." She turned away from Frankie and stomped inside.
She kept her eyes on the ground, flying past the front office as fast as possible so that an adult didn't pull her aside for another conversation about her feelings.
Staying away from Hunter had been easy, since he was confined to one room all day to serve his in-school suspension. However, avoiding Frankie had been a relentless chore. They shared three out of four classes together. Luckily, Lola or Shay were always with her and preoccupying Frankie's conversation.
Esme dipped out of the school to the Dot for lunch, so she could continue to be unbothered. She returned with another disposable iced coffee and went straight to the library for her free period so she could read and drink in pure undisturbed silence.
Esme thought she was going to get away with loneliness for the day, but when she showed up to Mister Mitchell's literature class, he was standing by his desk speaking with the school counselor. Esme shucked her empty plastic cup into the nearest garbage bin, trying not to make a scene, but drew attention to herself nonetheless.
"Esme," Mister Mitchell beckoned, looking over at her.
Esme let out a frustrated sigh, not moving from where she stood by the open door.
When she didn't move, Mister Del Rossi thanked the English teacher before meeting Esme where she stood. He gestured to the door and she stomped into the hallway.
"What?" Esme snapped.
"I just wanted to see how you're doing?"
"How I'm doing?" Esme laughed at him, suddenly unbothered by the attention she was getting. "I started school yesterday and you keep stalking me. How do you think I am!"
Marco took in a deep breath and counted to five silently in his head. "Esme, maybe you'd like some privacy. We could go back to my office."
"I'm going to lit class." Esme pointed at the door. "And then I'm going home." She didn't want for a reply from him before she headed back into the classroom.