So, last chapter, Mich finally took a stand and helped Quasimodo. This chapter, the girls are introduced, do some Esme-bashing and start questioning Mich's judgement, and another face gets slammed. Trying not to give too much away. You know what? Why don't I just let you find out for yourself.
Read on and don't forget to review :)
I'm gonna paint you by numbers and color you in
If things go right we can frame it, and put you on a wall
And it's so hard to say it but I've been here before
And I'll surrender up my heart and swap it for yours
I'm out of touch, I'm out of love
I'll pick you up when you're getting down
And out of all these things I've done I think I love you better now
I'm out of sight, I'm out of mind, I'll do it all for you in time
And out of all these things I've done, I think I love you better now.
'Lego House'- Ed Sheeran.
Everything suddenly seemed a lot brighter now, somehow. I felt free, like someone had shoved all the guilt and bad feelings I had into a bottle and thrown it into the ocean for someone else to find. I was no longer preoccupied with anger over the situation. For the first time in a while, I was able to pay attention properly in class that afternoon, even surprising the teacher a few times by not only answering but getting it right. Of course I thought of Quasimodo and everything that had happened, but I didn't dwell on the situation. It felt resolved- for now, anyway. I knew things weren't finished yet- not by a long shot- but it felt so good to know that I had done something right that I let myself forget, just for a few moments, my change in status that would have inevitably occurred.
I was by no means invisible anymore.
I couldn't help but notice how people already looked at me and whispered about me and speculated about me now in class. I couldn't pretend not to see it. It was the very thing that my friends and I had feared for a long time, being the centre of everyone's attention and vulnerable to being picked on. But somehow, it wasn't my main concern anymore. There was something else I had to do now.
I had to set things straight with my friends.
Pushing through the hordes of smelly, noisy teenagers that once again crowded the halls at second break, I grabbed my lunchbag from my locker, ignoring the stares that followed me, and made my way outside to our usual eating spot- the roots of and old, dead tree that sat between the soccer field and the basketball courts. Sure enough, just as I expected, there sat Em, Dez and Bex, deep in conversation, which they broke off as soon as they saw me coming. I slowed down a little when I saw this, shocked at the idea that they were talking about me. My paranoia kicked into overdrive. What were they saying? What were they planning? Were they gonna kick me out? Had they heard about what happened earlier and decided they couldn't be friends with a sympathiser?
It took me a few moments, but I managed to calm down, paste on a smile and keep going, and if necessary, face the music.
When I reached them, Dez opened her mouth to say something, but I quickly held up my hand and sat down in front of them. "No, I have to say something first and I want you all to hear it." I looked directly at Em. "Em, I'm sorry for calling you a selfish prig and all the other things I said. It wasn't the right way to treat a friend, and I hope you can forgive me. You were right, for the most part- you saw me that day the first time Esme ragged on him. I've been a coward and a bad friend. I'm sorry."
The girls exchanged glances, and Dez looked pointedly at Em, who cleared her throat self-consciously. "Yes, fine, I forgive you. I'm sorry too- like you said, what I said was true. But I shouldn't have said it. I was just fed up, I guess. But I am sorry now. Are we good now?"
I stuck out my hand, relieved. "We are definitely good now."
"We're glad to have you back, Mich," Bex said, leaning forward as Em shook my hand. I couldn't tell whether her eyes were shining with excitement or it was just the light on her glasses. Probably both. "Now, is it true, what everyone's saying about you?"
"I guess it depends on what they're saying." I fiddled with my paper bag, suddenly uneasy. The fact that everyone was talking about me was daunting enough, but not knowing what was going to happen next was kinda scary when you're used to being under the radar. Couple that with the knowledge that your school was known by everyone as 'one of those schools' and I had myself a pretty terrifying situation. Other schools didn't avoid taking the bus with our students for nothing.
"They're saying that you punched Phoebus's lights out and defended Quasimodo when he was bashing him up." She peered at my downcast eyes. "Is it true?"
"Yes." I shrugged at their wide eyes. "What? He was being beat up. There was blood. I got angry. I decided to do something about it. And," here I started laughing, "I punched Phoebus James in the face, which I've wanted to do for a really long time."
Dez shook her head. "But that's not all. There's also rumors going around that you and Quasimodo are an item and Esme's going to... well, she's going to kill you."
I shrugged again. "Let her try. It's not like I'm scared or anything."
Bex nudged me. "Liar."
"Ok, so maybe I am a little worried." I opened my lunchbag and pulled a face. "But there's nothing I can do about it now. I'll just have to take it as it comes."
"Wow, you're sure brave."
"No I'm not, I'm stupid. This wasn't well-thought-out or clever." I sighed and stood up. "If Esme's going to kill me, she'll try to take my friends down too. I should probably stop hanging out with you guys now."
"Oh, no, Mich, we're all friends, you don't have to-"
"But she's got a point," Em interrupted Dez. "Esme will target us because we're friends with her. That's the way she works."
"Which is why staying away from you is protecting you." I made to leave, but Dez put up a hand to stop me.
"Where will you go?"
"The art room, to eat with Kaz."
Em snatched up her lunch and jumped up to join me. "I'm coming with you."
"Wait, what? But you just said-"
Dez got up too, followed closely by Bex. "I think I will too."
"Me too."
"But didn't you hear what I just said?" I protested. "You can't be seen with me!"
"So just make sure we aren't seen." She crossed her arms. "I want to meet this 'Kaz' of yours and see what it is about him that made you change your mind about everything."
I looked at them, gathered around me and waiting patiently for me to agree, and had to smile. These were the girls I knew and loved- strong, dependable, fun and awesome. Why had I ever thought anything bad about them? "Alright, you can meet him." I turned to Bex, who was hopping around excitedly. "But please don't overwhelm him with craziness. I don't know how much more of this day he can take."
"Yeah, first being bashed up for something he didn't do, then be saved by a knight in shining armor..." Em said jokingly.
"Oh, please." I started walking, heading for the side pathway that would take us around the edge of the school instead of through it. I didn't want to take any risks of being seen. As I did, I was flooded with relief for the fact that my friends obviously didn't believe the 'kidnapping' thing either. They knew better than to believe that I would protect a dangerous person.
Bex caught up and nudged me, and now there really was a glint in her eye. "So, 'Kaz'. Is that some kind of nickname?"
I looked at my feet, watching her out of the corner of my eye. "Yeah...?"
Dez joined me on the other side. "Who came up with that one?"
"Me, mostly."
Em looked at me pointedly. "Really?"
"Problem?" I asked defensively.
"Oh. My. Gosh." Em skipped ahead and stopped in front of me, forcing me to stop too. "You gave him a nickname?" She threw her head back and laughed incredulously. "A nickname? Seriously? You only nickname people you're very close to, Mich. Like us. You don't just nickname random guys who you decide to befriend. Once you name it, you become attached to it."
"But Quasimodo is a long name, and besides, it was actually Katie who gave me the idea!" I pushed past her and kept walking, peering around the corner and sticking to the outside of the building. The girls followed closely behind me, quiet but obviously now contemplating whether I was getting too attached. I wanted to tell them to forget it, and I would've if I could be sure myself, but for the moment I was just as confused as they were. With a feeling of dread, I realized that this was something they were probably going to keep bringing up for a long time after this. Like I needed all that confusion and self-doubt while I was worrying about my almost-certain death by Esme.
"You know, now I think about it, you never actually said anything about the first part of the rumors we brought up," Dez said, trying to fake nonchalance but unable to fight the teasing grin that stretched across her face.
"What was that again?"
"That you and him are actually, you know, together."
"Well, that's one rumor you can forget, because it's not true," I answered sharply, pushing open the glass doors that were the entrance to the art block and holding open for them. "We're friends. What I did for him I would've done for any of you guys."
They filed in silently down to the end of the hall and stood outside the door as I fiddled with the lock, and somehow I felt they weren't convinced. "I'm serious, guys. There's nothing between us."
"We believe you." Dez said quietly. The others nodded.
"Good. Then I don't want to hear anymore about it." I pushed open the door and peeked in. "Quasi?"
He was sitting where I had left him, slumped over the table, and at first I thought he was asleep. But then he stirred and turned to look at me, a slight smile on his lips, and whatever I had been thinking at that moment evaporated from my mind, because he was smiling and suddenly that was all I could see, upturned lips and sparkling gems for eyes and floppy, wavy, red hair, and everything else melted into nothingness and ugly became beautiful. And then I blinked, startled, as it all came back and one of the girls cleared their throats impatiently and everything was normal again. Except it wasn't- I was very aware that that was just a lie I told myself to avoid thinking about it.
The pause was long enough for him to sense that something was different, and the smile vanished and was replaced by concern. "M-Michigan?"
I shook my head slightly to get rid of the fuzz and tried to focus, which was now very hard given that my friends were outside and I wasn't sure if what they had been saying was true after all. Suddenly this didn't seem like such a great idea after all. "Hi. I, um, I'm sorry, I have my friends with me. Is it ok if they come it too?"
The look of fear that crossed his face was so sad that it almost broke my heart. "Oh, n-no, I-I-I-"
"They're nice, really nice, and they've promised not to freak you out. Please, they won't bite."
He shrugged helplessly, still fearful but willing to trust me, and I pushed the door open wider and let the girls walk in, then locked it behind us.
"So." I walked up and stood in front of them. "Girls, this is Quasimodo. Kaz, these are my friends, Emma, Desiree and Rebekah, otherwise known as Em, Dez and Bex." I pointed to each of them in turn and sat down, opening my lunchbag. "Girls, make yourselves at home. Kaz, I brought some food. I couldn't get your lunch cuz I don't know your locker combo, but you can share mine if you want. I have an orange and a sandwich."
"Ok..."
I took them out. "Dez, can you please get me a knife? Blue cabinet, second drawer."
She did, then stepped back next to Em, both of them standing awkwardly to the side, unsure of what to do. I doubted they realized that they were contributing to the general unease, but they were. Bex, however, threw away any reservations she might've had and pulled up a chair beside me.
"So, Quasimodo." She smiled brightly. "I'm Bex, obviously, and the first thing I want to say is that I'm sorry for the way you've been treated so far at this school. It's not fair for anyone to go through that. Secondly, I just want you to know that I don't believe you did what everyone says you did."
"Really?" Quasi's tone was a mixture or hope and sadness, which puzzled me a bit. Why would he be sad that someone believed him? "You d-don't"
"Sure I don't." She winked at him conspiratorially. "Us Rangas have to stick together, right?"
He looked down, probably embarrassed by her forwardness, and I slowly began to cut my orange, the art-knife going through the thick skin like butter. "Esme's just evil for spreading those lies about you."
"A witch," agreed Bex.
"A mean, irritatingly-perfect scumbag of the highest quality," added Em.
Des raised an eyebrow. "You mean there's different qualities of scumbag?"
"Of course. Esme is a high, cuz she's sophisticated, and so are those bimbo cheerleaders and half the drama club."
I passed Quasi half the orange slices, smiling at the decidedly funny turn of the conversation. "And Harley whats-his-name, you know that jerky guy who breaks all the rules, is a low, am I right?"
"Him, and those guys who go around tagging everything with sharpies, and the guys who shove kids into lockers, and people who kick puppies-"
"And guys who cheat on their girlfriends, and players, and vandals-"
"And Phoebus and his friends."
"Well, congratulations, you named just about every guy in the school." Em sat down at our table, finally comfortable in Quasi's presence. "And I'd have to agree with you there."
"But Esme's just... I dunno, she's just... she such a-"
"Biatch?" I offered.
Dez glared at me. "I was going to say bully."
I shook my head, sucking on my orange slice. "Nah, mine's better."
Quasi, who had been listening attentively to our ramblings, looked at all of us is surprise. "So, y-you all hate her?"
"Oh, no." I smiled evilly. "I'm not saying I hate her. I'm just saying that if she got hit by a train, I would be driving that train."
"No, we don't hate her." Em leaned back, shrugging. "We're just not necessarily excited about her existence."
"Our attitudes have some major issues with her personality."
Dez came over and sat with us. "I think she just needs a hug."
We looked at her.
"Around the neck," she added. "With a rope."
Bex giggled. Then me. Then Em. And then we were laughing, all the tenseness that was in the room evaporating in that moment.
"Or a high-five," I said, gasping for breath. "In the face. With a chair."
That started us off again and it was a few moments before we managed to regain our composure. As the laughter died down, I reached for my sandwich and cut it half, then passed half to Quasi, who had been watching us with amusement. "The fact is, everyone hates her, but no-one's ever been brave enough to stand up to her. Same with her sister, though I never knew much about her." I turned to the girls, who were now eating their lunches around the paint-splattered table next to us. "Both of them went to Bundamba, you know. Then after primary school, for some bizarre reason a great big group of us moved here- Me, the Azarolas, Phoebus and a few others. The girls were quick to establish their places in the school hierarchy, and Phoebus wanted a new start, so he took up with Esme, and the rest is history."
"You have to wonder why she's the way she is, though," said Dez, chucking her rubbish at the bin and missing. "There's gotta be a reason, surely."
"Eh, I don't care. I'm sure not going to ask her."
"She wouldn't tell you anyway."
"And she'd probably kill you if you found out, no joke."
"Huh. She's gonna kill me anyway. That reminds me, where is she today?"
"At the tables near the tuckshop, I saw her there earlier. I think she's telling her story to anyone who'll listen."
"As long as she stays there, I'll be fine." I glanced at the clock on the wall and stood up. "The bell's going to ring soon, so you girls should probably get going. I'll be out soon."
Reluctantly, they all nodded and stood up, putting away their stuff and cleaning up the remains of their food. I went over and unlocked the door and waited while they said goodbye to Kaz, then they all trouped out and waved to me while I shut the door after them.
"So," I said as I began cleaning up the table, "What did you think of them?"
Quasi sat back, looking relieved. "Y-you were right, th-they are nice. I d-didn't expect them t-to be so kind."
I sat down in front of him. "There's one thing you should know about my friends, Quasi. I only choose the best. Sure, they make mistakes and they're crazy and stupid sometimes, but they are some of the best people in my life. I don't have as many friends as other people do, but I have them. And now I have you, too."
He didn't look at me for a few moments, but when he did, there were tears in his tears. Worried, I scooted closer and touched his arm. "Oh no, Kaz, what's wrong? What did I say?"
He shook his head, blinking furiously. "N-no, n-nothing's wrong. I-I've j-just n-never met anyone as k-kind as you. I've n-never had a real f-friend before." He sniffed and cleared his throat. "Th-the closest th-thing I've had to a f-friend was m-my m-mother, and when sh-she d-died..." He shook his head again.
I squeezed his arm, tears pricking my own vision. "It's ok, I understand. I really do."
He squinted at me, confused. "H-how c-could you p-possibly understand?"
"Let's just say..." I sighed and looked at the ceiling. "That I have a lot of experience. I know what it's like to be bullied and have no friends. I can't say I know exactly how you feel, but I have a pretty good idea."
He nodded in understanding, and I slowly took my hand away and sat back, just watching him. He looked up and met my gaze, and I smiled a little. I don't know what everyone's on about, I thought idly. He's not really that bad-looking once you get used to it...
And then the bell rang.
I jumped up and pushed my chair in, suddenly mortified without knowing why. "And now, I have to go. You can stay in here for the rest of the day. I don't know if I can come and see you after school, so you might have to make your way out by yourself. But your pick-up place isn't too far from here- just stick to the fence and you'll find it."
"Michigan?"
"Call me Mich." I shrugged, swinging the key on it's chain on my way to the door. "We are friends, after all."
"F-friends t-tell each other the truth, right?"
"That's right."
He looked down, fidgeting nervously. "I have t-to t-tell you something."
I turned to face him, worried. "What is it?"
"I... Ah... I-I..." He seemed to be having trouble getting the words out. "Y-you see... I..."
I crossed over, knelt in front of him and took his hands in mine. "What is it? Don't be afraid, I won't tell anyone if you don't want me to. We're friends, right?"
He nodded, staring at our hands clasped together. Was it just my imagination, or did he start breathing quicker? And I could've sworn that his skin got a little darker, almost like he was blushing. But it could've been the light. I remembered the way he looked at me in the hall when I grabbed his hand and helped him up. What was it about me touching him that got him so worked up? Had he really never been touched before?
"So tell me."
He squeezed his eyes shut, and if I hadn't been holding them, his hands would've been shaking. "Y-you kn-know what everyone's b-been s-saying about me?"
"Yes?" Suddenly I had a bad feeling about what he was going to say next.
"I... I-I... I did."
I tried to stifle my gasp and restrained myself from pulling away, but inside I was in shock. "Y-you did?"
"Yes."
I looked at the ground, shaking my head. I didn't know what to think, and certainly not what to feel. Angry? Afraid? Sad? "Why?"
"I-I had to."
I looked up at him, surprised and confused and little bit upset. "What do you mean, you had to? It's not like you didn't have a choice-"
"I didn't."
"Wha-" He opened his eyes, and they were full of pain and sadness. And then I knew he was telling the truth. "You mean someone made you do it?"
He looked down and sighed, a heavy, heartbreaking sigh. "Yes."
"Who?"
He was silent.
"Quasi? Who made you do it?"
"I can't... I can't tell you. I'm n-not allowed to t-tell you."
I rested my head on our clasped hands, confused and unsure. I had no idea what I was supposed to do in a situation like this. I couldn't make him tell me, and I couldn't tell on him. It just wasn't an option. Perhaps my best action would be to stay silent. I looked up and glanced at the clock on the wall- I only just had time to get to class. "I'm guessing it took a lot of courage to tell me all you did. Don't worry, I'll keep my word. I won't tell anyone." I retracted my hands and straightened up. "And now, I really have to go."
"That is one serious right hook you have there!"
I looked up, about to close my locker. It was late afternoon, just before the last class of the day, and I was feeling tired, grumpy and hungry as a result of my sparse lunch. And now here was Phoebus, leaning against the locker next to me and smiling cheekily, and I couldn't resist the idea of a verbal battle with one of the people I hated most.
"Awww, did I hurt your pretty face?" I countered, hand on hip. I was surprised that he was talking to me like this, a seemingly normal conversation that he had initiated, but I was mostly suspicious. He never talked to me. He just didn't. This is going to be fun...
"A little bit, yeah." He touched his nose protectively. "That's gonna leave a mark."
"I hope so."
"You surprised me, actually. I would never have thought that shy little Michi could pack such a punch!"
I made a show of flexing my hand and gave him a look. "What did I say about the name?"
"Ok, ok, I was just kidding. Down, boy." He looked around, and I noticed that there seemed to be an awful lot of people listening in to our conversation, though they tried to look innocuous. "But man, you can sure pick people to sympathize with. Didn't see that coming either."
"Oh?"
"But then, you always did have a thing for the weird ones."
At this comment, I smiled. Now was my chance. "And you would know that more than anyone, right James?"
He frowned, pretending confusion, but I was please to note that he shifted uneasily in my gaze. "What are you talking about?"
I did an Esme now, looking around to make sure everyone was listening. "I seem to recall a certain dorky blond kid with glasses who couldn't achieve any kind of popularity until he got a girlfriend and was suddenly deemed 'datable', and who allowed himself to be stolen away from his girlfriend without any explanation whatsoever to her. That poor girl, what she must've gone through! What do you think of someone who acts that way?" This question was directed to the people listening, who shook there heads and murmured in disapproval. "My sentiments exactly. Now, who could that have been, I wonder?" I pretended to think while Phoebus stood there uncomfortably and the people around us started grinning and nudging each other. Then I clicked my fingers and looked up, fake realization on my face. "Oh, that's right! That was you!"
A titter went around the hallway and I smirked, enjoying my new-found ability to bring him down a peg or two. This was turning out more fun than I had anticipated. I should've done this years ago! Still, I didn't let my satisfaction cloud my suspicions. I was still constantly looking out for something that would show this all up as fake. And I wasn't disappointed. The crowd's attention (for it was a decent-sized crowd now, unashamedly gawking at our confrontation) suddenly seemed to shift to somewhere behind me just as Phoebus leaned closer to talk to me.
"I remember all of that. You may not think so, but I do. And the thing is, I was young and didn't know what I was doing. I didn't mean for you to get hurt." He sounded sincere, but I didn't believe a word of it. Unlike most girls, I didn't wait around for guys to see the error of their ways and come begging for forgiveness. I didn't want Phoebus back. I was more interested in revenge. So my mind was clear and my expression was a clear representation of the classic 'bitch please' face as I listened to his pointless apology. "And I know that after all this time, you're still mad about what happened, and I can understand that. I know you don't believe me, but sometime I think back on those times when we were kids and... I kind of miss them. I kind of miss... you."
The moment he glanced behind me and smirked, I knew I had to act. Still pretending to listen closely, I let my hand creep up to my almost-closed locker door and swing it open a little wider, then I stepped forward (and, to my chagrin, closer to Phoebus) so it was behind me and propped my elbow against the edge, tense and waiting. Any moment now...
"And now I know exactly what I was missing," Phoebus went on, oblivious to all my preparations for the coming attack. If anything, he probably thought he was getting to me. "Forget Esme, you have fire, and I like it. In fact I love it." He took a deep breath and stared deep into my eyes, and I had to restrain myself from headbutting him. "Actually, what I've been wanting to say... what I've been wanting to say for a while now..."
Now I could hear the footsteps, slow and creeping, approaching me from behind, and I could almost feel the presence of the person behind me. If I had been truly listening to Phoebus, I wouldn't have picked any of this up, but thankfully I was aware and slightly paranoid. I fancied I could even hear their breathing, whoever they were.
Wait for it...
"I meant what I said back then, and I just want you to know that although it's been a while, I still-"
The crowd seemed to hold their breath, and in that split second I slammed my fist back against the door and felt the metal connect with the face of the person behind me. The girl gave a shriek and dropped like a stone, inadvertently also dropping her iPod and the cream pie she had been about to shove in my face.
Everyone gasped and pressed closer, trying to see, and Phoebus took a step back, shocked at this sudden development. I looked down at the girl- some crony of Esme's- who was groaning and holding her face and about to roll into the cream pie mess, then crossed my arms and smiled up at Phoebus. "You were saying?"
He stared at the girl on the ground, eyes wide and face pale. "Uh... no... ah... forget it, it's nothing."
I shrugged. "Suit yourself. Wow, two noses in one day. I am on a roll!" Suddenly I felt a bit sorry for the poor girl. It wasn't her fault that Esme was a manipulating bully. I held out my hand for her to take, and she took it, glaring at me, and let me help her up. She went and stood next to Phoebus, both of them unsure of what to next next. I doubt Esme had been planning on this.
"All right, you lot," I addressed the crowd, giving them all a stern look. "There's nothing more to see here. Move on, please. Get outta here."
They moved on, whispering and shooting glances back at us, and I allowed myself to relax for a moment, breathing a sigh of relief and rubbing the bridge of my nose. It had been a long and eventful day, and it wasn't over yet.
"Ok, you two, you can go." I turned around and started walking, eager to get to class and sit down. "Actually..." I looked back at them. "Nice try on your parts, but please tell Esme to fight her own fights from now on. This is getting exhausting."
They exchanged glances, a little fearful, and I left them there.
Even though it wasn't exactly the same, I have to say the smack-cam idea came from Leslie The Sorceress's story 'On My Own'. I thought I should give her credit for it since I wouldn't have thought of it otherwise.
Please review :)
