CHAPTER THIRTY
Monday arrived and the students got through their first few lessons with barely any problems. That was, until it came to sports. The girls were getting changed and the room was filled with chattering students.
"Hazel, it's Finn." Blossom rolled her eyes. "Get over it already."
"Oh, shush." Hazel snapped. "You hardly know anything about love or boys."

"Hey, hey!" Ivy spoke up. "Put away those cat claws, Hazel."
The girl glared daggers. "You're only protecting your friend."
"Call it off." Cinder put in. "There's no point in fighting over it."

The girls went quiet and went back to changing. Dana was briefly curious in the drama but realized that it was the same thing she had already heard. Hazel complaining over Finn's lack of interest in her - old news now, and for some reason Hazel loved digging up the past and forcing everyone to put up with her whining. Blossom was right, and so was her sister. This was Finn they were talking about.

"You and all of your friends constantly blame me!" Brent shouted. "Not everything is my fault!"
Thin walls, huh. Dana tilted her head. Drama! Not a quiet moment at this school...
"Get away from my brother." Lionel's voice reached her ears. "We all know that you did it on purpose."
"You don't know anything." Brent snapped.

"I think the correct term-" Jace drawled. "Is that you don't know anything."
"Shut the heck up, blind kid." Brent growled.
"Stop making fun of my brother." The lockers made a loud crash as Brent was pushed into them.

Dana looked around at her classmates. None of them had seemed to notice.
"Hey, Cinder." Dana waved her friend over. "I think the boys are fighting... can you hear them?"
Cinder strained herself but shook her head. "No. I think you're hearing things, Dana. They're probably fine."

Cinder wandered away and Dana was left in a state of utter confusion. The events that were happening on the other side of this wall were clear as day. She focused back on what was happening and clasped a hand to her mouth. Someone was punched, and again, and then several others got into a fight. She couldn't hear the individual words as it was all one big blur.
The teacher arrived and shook her out of the daze. "To the field, girls!"

"Wow, you look exhausted." Hazel commented, looking Dana up and down. "Did you get any sleep last night?"
Dana nodded. "A complete beauty sleep. My mind's just elsewhere."
The teacher set up an area suitable for Rounders and the girls got into groups. Dana was in the batting team. The first to go was Hazel, who got half a rounder. Then it was Heather, who got a full rounder, and Poppy who got eliminated.

The boys were climbing the hill, towards the other field, where they would be playing Football. Dana spotted Ben, Tyler and several other familiar faces but it was obvious who was missing. Jace, Lionel, Finn and Brent. Some may wonder why Jace got changed with the boys and attended sports - Leah often needed a break away from it all, and Jace found some interest in listening to the boys get knocked over. Some sort of weird entertainment.

"So, how are things?" Blossom asked.
Ivy replied. "Meh. Not too good."
"Sister problems?" Blossom nodded in Dana's direction.

Dana looked sharply in their direction and at the people around her. No one was listening to what they were saying. Probably because they were fielding and were too far away for everyone else to listen in on their conversation. Dana narrowed her eyes and took up her position in the batting box.
"Yeah," Ivy shrugged. "She constantly has boy problems and she's so oblivious to all of it."

Dana tilted her head and the ball came shooting towards her - she whacked it in the direction of her sister and did not move a muscle.
"Go!" The teacher shouted. "What are you waiting for?"
Dana didn't move. Hazel and Heather cried out in exasperation. "What are you doing?!"

Ivy managed to get the ball and threw it back to the bowler, who shouted a thank-you. The girl came to a halt when she found Dana's dark glare on her. Ivy strode forward and stopped in front of Dana.
"What was that?" Ivy flashed a grin. "One heck of an arm you've got."
"I might have an arm but I apparently don't have a brain." Dana snapped.

"Right..." The teacher waved her hands. "Switch!"

The news soon travelled around the school as Ben and Tyler gave out the gossip. Lionel and Finn got in a fist-fight with Brent. Jace was a victim of Brent's sudden attack. All four of them were in Mr Heavern's office, much to the headmaster's dismay.
"I told you." Dana lifted her chin, directing her gaze to Cinder.
Cinder shrugged. "Lucky guess."

Hazel and Ivy were both stressing about Finn, but both had opposite opinions. Hazel was ranting about Finn's ridiculous behaviour and Ivy was panicking that he may be suspended (and what she would do if that did happen - the most likely option was to cry a lot).
"He'll be fine." Blossom reassured her. "Brent was the one who started it."
"But this is the second time that Finn had been involved with him!" Ivy groaned. "I seriously need to talk to him."

All of Lionel, Finn and Jace's friends were positioned outside of the headmaster's office, uneasily awaiting their exit. The door opened and Jace slinked out, getting out as fast as a blind person could. Then came Lionel, who was quickly followed by Heather. There was a small cut on his forehead, nothing drastic. And then there was Finn, who was dusted up badly. He had a huge black eye and multiple cuts on his face.
"Hey." Ivy smiled.
"We need to talk." Finn scratched his neck.
Ivy rolled her eyes. "No kidding, let's get out-"

Brent and two thick-built exited the office. The black-haired boy kept his head low and stared straight at Ivy and Finn, as he guided away. The group exchanged glances and Finn looked at his feet. Ivy swallowed and looked to Finn for an explanation. She did not get one.

I hope you enjoyed this chapter! If you did, please leave a review!
Have a wonderful day.