Chapter 7:

When the bell finally rang for lunch, I ran out of my classroom as fast as I could. I texted Frost and told him to meet me at my locker. When we were ready to go we set off toward Maura's locker. She had just finished putting her World Cultures book into her locker, and started to close it. Frost and I were standing right next to her as she turned. "Hi Jane!" She said with a huge smile on her face. I greeted her back and took the time to introduce her and Frost.

"Well, since we all know each other let's go eat. I'm starving." I added. As we walked down the hall I noticed the boy with dark hair standing in a corner of another hallway staring at us. He glared at us through his hair, but I could tell that he had a black eye. I could only guess that was a "gift" from Joey Grant after bumping into him by accident.

When we had gotten our lunch from the lunch line, I looked around for a table to sit at. There were none. I turned to Maura and Frost who were behind me. "Hey, you guys want to eat lunch out on the lawn?" Everyone agreed so we headed toward the doors that lead outside. I had just stepped outside along with Frost when I heard commotion behind me and the click-clack of high heels getting faster and further away. I turned to see two cheerleaders, Debbie and Emily, pointing to the heap of food on the ground and laughing. "What did you do to her?" I sneered at them through clenched teeth as I approached them. By now their laughing had stopped. One of them finally spoke up with a terror-laced voice.

"I-It was just a j-joke. All we did was scare her. We didn't know she was gonna jump and spill her food all over her."

I felt powerful standing over the cheerleaders. My height was finally paying off. "Where did she go?" I asked with anger still in my voice.

"I don't know. She ran back down the hall." After I was given that information I headed into the school searching for wherever Maura may be. I figured if she spilled her food on her she might be in the locker room getting her yoga clothes to change into so she wouldn't be dirty for the rest of the day. I made it to the locker room, but it was completely empty from what I could see.

I sat down on one of the benches to think of where else she may be. 'Maybe she ran to the bathroom? Of course that's where she is. How stupid can I be? Why didn't I check there in the first place?' I stood up and left the locker room to search for Maura in the closest bathroom she could have run to. When I approached the bathroom I heard laughing. I stopped to hear what was going on inside.

"Ahh, what a stupid bitch." I heard one girl say.

"I mean she didn't have to drop the thing." I heard another say.

"Whatever, that girl is so damn skittish, tap her on the shoulder and she jumps like nine feet in the air." The first girl said. It dawned on me that they must be talking about Maura. "I thought it was funny."

"I heard she has to take diet pills to keep her figure." The second girl said.

The first girl laughed and then replied back "Wow, they're really working for her." Both of them burst into laughter.

I was still standing outside the bathroom door when one of the girls spoke again. "Come on, let's go." I moved from where I was standing and backed away from the door. The girls that exited were Debbie and Emily. After they were a good enough distance away I decided to move from my spot. I started to make my way down the same hall Debbie and Emily just disappeared down. As I walked past the bathroom door I heard cries and sobs coming from inside. I was utterly confused. My curiosity got the better of me and I entered the bathroom. "Hello?" The crying stopped. I walked up to the stall door that the crying was coming from. "Hey, you ok in there?"

"Jane?"

I creased my brow in confusion. "Maura?"

Suddenly she opened the stall door. Her face was streaked black from the eyeliner and her dress was covered in food. She started to cry again. I approached her and wrapped my arms tightly around her. I took a seat on the floor with my back to the stalls to support me. Maura still lay wrapped in my arms.

By now she was sobbing again uncontrollably. I rocked her back and forth in my arms trying to comfort her. My mind couldn't help but think back to what had happened a short moment ago. Without warning it all came to me. 'She was in here when they were talking and making fun of her. Did they know she was in here? Was all of this planned out and done on purpose? Why would they do this?" My mind was swarming with questions. 'How could anybody be so cruel?'