Chapter Five: Lack of Respect
"That's enough for today, guys," said Haley. The nine girls surrounding her relaxed and turned to each other to talk, while Haley collected their equipment and began to put it away.
"Justine, can you help me?" asked Haley, turning to one of the youngest in the squad, a pretty ninth grader with long blonde hair.
"Sure, Haley," she said, looking distracted and slightly pained.
"So, I hear you're moving in next to me," said Haley eventually.
"Yeah. In a few weeks. They're putting a factory down the road from us and Mom doesn't want to be anywhere near it," explained the younger girl.
"Okay. Looking forward to the Classic?" asked Haley, referring to the annual cheer competition.
"Yeah. It's my first one, but I've heard lots about it," said Justine.
"It's pretty fun. It's an important competition, but it's also a pretty good time to party," confided Haley. Justine giggled in spite of her lack of respect.
The two of them came out of the supply closet as the basketball practice ended and the basketball players turned to the cheerleaders before going to shower.
"Hey you," said Lucas, coming up to Haley. Snaking her arms around his neck, she kissed him with the whole gym watching.
"I can't wait for this weekend, when we're finally away from parental supervision," she whispered.
"If I didn't have to practice all the time, and if you didn't have to wear your squad to the ground, it'd be perfect," he said.
"I don't! Well, not that much. Go shower. I'll meet you out front," she suggested.
"I might be a while," he warned.
"Don't worry. I have stuff to do," she assured him, running off.
Haley took a deep breath before entering the tutoring centre, aware of the evilness of her plan. This wouldn't not only destroy Brooke, it would destroy Lucas. She and Lucas had only been officially together for a year, but they'd been practically a couple their entire lives.
She entered and saw a room she'd never seen before-a wall lined with windows, a bookshelf covering most of one wall, a floor dotted with many round tables.
Haley tugged her shirt down slightly before walking up to the boy that was standing over one of them.
"Hey, I was assigned to you," she said, handing him a slip of paper. He nodded distractedly and took the paper before registering her voice, looking up, and seeing who she really was.
"What? You don't need a tutor," he said in slight disgust.
"What?" she asked, her eyes wide, innocent and appealing.
"You're a cheerleading bookworm. You're famous for it. You're a straight A student," he retorted.
"My math grades are slipping, and my parents say my grades have to be perfect if I want to be the captain," she said. Haley's grades were near perfect, her math grades were slipping slightly, but her parents had never so much as noticed.
"So that's why I should help you? So you can prance around the gym every week in front of some sweaty basketball players in a skintight uniform?" he asked.
"No, you should help me because you're paid to. And what the hell do you have against me, anyway?" she asked, her eyes narrowing.
"You've been nothing but a bitch to my best friend for as long as I've known her," stated Nathan.
"It's not my fault that my dad chose my mom and not hers," shot back Haley.
"I didn't say your dad was a bitch to her, I said you were," he said. He didn't know Haley well but if he did, he would know never to get her angry. Haley's temper was testy and unfathomable.
"Yeah, because she and you have always gone out of your ways to be friendly to me," spat Haley.
"Who is it that's friendly to you? The whole school is terrified of you!" he said angrily.
This was enough for Haley. She proceeded to call him every bad word she knew, which were surprisingly many. He listened calmly, looking entirely affected. Eventually, feeling as if she'd somehow lost, she fled from the room and went to find Lucas.
She was still fuming when Lucas drove her home, and avoided all his attempts of conversation.
"So, looking forward to your parents leaving?" he asked.
"Yeah," she said.
"And this weekend?" he asked.
"Yep," she said.
"You okay Hales?" he asked. For a moment, she almost considered telling him the honest answer. Then:
"Yes."
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