At school on Monday, a girl named Renee smirked at me slyly in English class as I sat down in my desk.
I turned to look at her crossly. "What?" I demanded.
"Nothing," she said, catty and dismissive.
"Don't be a bitch," I told her pleasantly.
She smiled and shrugged. "The bell is going to ring soon, you should turn around in your seat and face the front so we can start class."
Chris tapped me on the shoulder. I looked back at him. "You could take her," he whispered teasingly.
I smiled at him briefly. "I'll try to restrain myself."
The bell sounded.
"If that's what you wish to do," he laughed.
"Mr. Chambers, I don't know when it was that you developed a hearing problem, but that was the bell. If you look around the room, you will notice that your classmates are quiet and waiting for you so that we can begin today's lesson." Mrs. Alders stared at him challengingly.
"Well," he said, in an easy-going tone. "I'm ready. Let's begin."
"Don't get smart with me, Christopher," she warned him.
"Oh, I don't get smart," he assured her. "Not according to the way you grade my papers."
"One more peep from you and you're out of here, Mr. Chambers."
I looked back at him, angrily, to tell him to shut up. He gave me his usual emotionless smile and nodded, sitting back in his seat.
"Alright, Grade Nines," Mrs. Alders announced, making her way over to the chalkboard. She picked up a piece of chalk and began to write down the assigned reading pages in her perfect handwriting.
At lunch, I made a pit stop and pushed open the door of the girls' bathroom. Renee and her posse were already in there, primping or whatever it was they did when they stared at themselves adoringly in the mirror. I ignored them and went into the farthest stall.
"God, I smell fish," Renee declared. "Does anyone else?" One of her minions agreed. "Definitely. Tuna fish. Week old tuna fish."
When I emerged from the stall, Renee broke out into a big smile. "Oh."
I spun around. "Pardon?"
"Hmm?" She stared at me angelically. She let me wash my hands in peace before she asked, "So does Chris have to hold his breath when he goes down on you?"
"Why don't you go blow your daddy?" I whipped off the tap and flicked my hands in the sink to dry them. "I hear he just can't get enough of it."
Renee appeared to be appalled. "Who do you think you are? Do you think you're better than everyone else?"
I smiled. "I'm a lot better than you think you are."
She pushed me against the stalls. I smacked my head against the metal and winced. "Listen, Princess. You are so over at this school. By fourth period today, you are not going to have a single friend." She smiled. "Unless you count your little trailer trash piece of shit boyfriend."
"I hope you like my foot up your ass-"
Mockingly, she held up her hands in a parody of surrendering. "Woah, Nellie. Settle. I'm not saying that Chris Chambers is a bad person or anything. I have nothing against thieves."
"Fuck you sincerely."
"Thank you very much, I'm sure." She was still pinning me against the stall. She leaned in a little closer. "I'm only telling you this because I don't want you to get hurt or anything."
"Oh, of course."
"Don't you know what his big brother did?" she whispered, as if it were some sinful secret. "How do you know that Chris isn't going to fuck you with a knife to your throat?"
"Get the fuck away from me!" I yelled. Everything was closing in on me. I couldn't breathe. I couldn't even see straight. A horrible, dangerous anger was suffocating me and it hurt.
"Shh," she cooed. "No need to get in a huff. It's not like everyone doesn't know already anyway."
"Know what?"
"You're a slut, Tweten."
"I'm not a slut."
"No, of course not, and I'm not popular either."
"You should look popular up in the dictionary sometime," I said. "Popular means that you're well liked. The only reason you have big flocks of guys following you around is because they know you're an easy fuck."
While Renee punched like a girl, it still made its affect. My head snapped back against the stall again and I yelped. "You're a fucking moron, Tweten."
I shoved her away from me and left the bathroom briskly but with some kind of faltering composure.
Gordie looked up at me with a huge grin when I approached the table he and Chris were eating at. "Hey, looks like someone named Toby walked into a door."
I touched my lip and looked at my fingers. I was bleeding of course. I plopped down next to Chris, defeated.
He peered over at me. "Hey," he said. He pressed a napkin to my lip. "What happened?"
"Dumb whore," I spat.
"Who, me?" he shrilled.
I shook my head. "Whatshername."
"Someone did this to you?" he asked. When I nodded, his eyebrows furrowed. "Who the hell was it? Why? What happened?"
"I told Renee McKenna that she was an easy fuck."
"And the award for the world's most retarded fifteen year old girl goes to." Gordie gestured to me and then he clapped proudly.
Chris slipped his arms around me and I buried myself in his comforting warmth. "I'm so sorry, Toby."
"You're not the one that punched me."
"No, but I AM the reason that Renee bullied you." He kissed my forehead. "I heard her talking about you in Health class. I'm sorry. I knew I should have stayed away from you."
"Hey," I murmured. "I'm not going to just give you up over some bitches who don't have anything better to do than to spread rumours. I'm not giving anyone that kind of satisfaction. And even if you tried to stay away from me, I'd still find you. I'm very good at hide and seek, you know."
Renee past by our table, casually knocking my carton of milk over. I groaned in frustration.
Chris looked up at her tiredly. "I'd appreciate it if you left her alone, Renee."
Her eyes widening, Renee stared at him, shocked at the fact that he had the audacity to speak to her. "What did you say, Chambers?"
He looked so old and haunted as he averted his eyes to his hands. I wanted to reach out and touch his arm, but knew the reaction it would cause Renee to make. He muttered, "She didn't do anything to you. Just leave her alone, okay?"
Smiling, poisonously pleasant, she patted my head. "You had to go cry to your boyfriend, Tweten? Awfully immature, don't you think?"
I spread some napkins over the spilled milk and ignored her, hoping she'd go away.
"Hey, Renee, why don't you sit down?" Gordie asked conversationally. "You apparently don't seem to have a problem being seen with them."
"I'm-I'm not being seen with them-" Renee looked around, and sure enough, there were a few of her "popular" friends staring haughtily in our direction.
"Better leave quick or it'll be in the newspaper," I advised her.
Never had a more satisfying sight crossed my eyes than the sight of Renee McKenna's perky little ponytail swishing angrily in the air.
