The Primordials

Chapter 5

ALLURA'S POV:

"Nah I can't today man", Jayden said to someone from behind me. "I have to pick up another shift at Mike's".

It was a week or two after meeting Emerald and I was at school, standing by my locker on Monday morning. I wasn't eavesdropping - exactly. This was just an unfortunate consequence of having a locker right next to Jayden's. Just my luck, right?

I tried to grab my books and get out of there as fast as possible, but I couldn't help overhearing the last part of their conversation.

"Helping your mother out with the bills again?", a voice asked.

"Um, yeah, something like that", Jayden replied quietly.

I watched him walk off down the hall in confusion before a nasty voice brought me back to reality.

"Pining after your boyfriend?", she spat.

I spun around and came face to face with Savannah Summers, leaning against my locker in all her fake blonde, blue-eyed glory. The school 'mean girl' and my personal tormentor. Her appearance fit the characterisation so well, as if out of a 2000's chick flick. From her evenly tanned skin to her perfectly manicured nails, she embodied the character right up to the evil stare in her piercing blue eyes.

I sighed, "Go away Savannah".

"He will never go for you, you know", she continued. "Try losing a few pounds and he might look your way", she snickered.

Her two sidekicks - or should I say clones - had joined us in the hallway, staring down at me and laughing at her pathetic joke. The wind picked up, circling around me, no doubt a product of my growing anger.

I had never thought of myself as fat before, I wasn't rail-thin like Savannah - I had a few curves that I didn't mind and thought of myself as normal. But standing there in the hallway, under their stares, I suddenly felt like a pig.

"I don't really give a fuck", I smiled back. "You can have him".

Savannah rolled her eyes. "As if I'd go for a penniless thug like that", she cackled.

The water fountain down the hall burst, saturating a few students standing around it. Whoops.

"Ok I've heard enough", a voice piped up from behind me - the same voice from the conversation with Jayden. "I think you better move along now Savannah and take your little band of followers with you".

She scoffed and rolled her eyes at him before flipping her hair in my face and stalking down the hallway, her friends in tow. The wind in the hall settled.

I turned around to thank my saviour, it was Toby Sutter. His wavy blonde hair fell in front of his deep chocolate eyes as he looked down on me. Since freshman year, I'd had classes with him and seen him around with Jayden from time to time but have never really spoken to him.

"Thanks for that Toby", I smiled up at him. "Savannah really knows how to rile me up".

"Yeah well, that's because she's a raging bitch", he replied.

I laughed loudly as we started walking to class. "So, are you still into photography?", I asked, using the little information I had about him to continue the conversation.

"Oh yeah I still love it", his face lit up as he spoke about his passion. "Waiting for hours and snapping a million photos just to get the right light and angles. It's very gratifying when you finally take the perfect picture".

"That sounds amazing, I would love to get into something like that", I encouraged.

Toby smiled shyly, looking at me through his thick lashes. "Well," he started, "What are you doing after school Friday?".