FIFTY SHADES OF G'DAY

Chapter 12

I spent the weekend curled up in a ball under the plush covers of my four poster California king bed, wondering where it had all done wrong. Was it the moment I tried to kiss Ava? Was it the moment she set foot inside the gates of Shore Cross High School? Or had my life started going downhill before I knew of the Australian girls existence? I had a feeling it was a combination of the three.

By the time the weekend had passed, I was desperate to escape my mothers constant harassment about going on a date with her coworkers son, so school, as daunting as it was, was a welcome distraction. Although, the minute I stepped foot through the gates and saw the Aussie walking hand in hand with her auburn-haired girlfriend (were they even girlfriends?), my heart sank, my jealousy soared, my sexual attraction throbbed furiously inside me, and I wanted nothing more than to be under my covers once more.

I walked towards my locker with my head down, hoping I could skate under the radar and not run into my 'friends' on the way. I was out of luck, however, as no matter how much I had been trying to distance myself from them, they always waited by my locker every morning before school started. It was a routine we had established when I first recruited them as friends, and unfortunately for me, it stuck a little too hard.

I prepared myself for the usual barrage of meaningless compliments as I approached, but was instead met with Gabby and Eleanor's whiny, high pitched laughter as they looked down upon a poorly dressed tenth grader.

"Oh em gee, is that from Walmart?" Gabby mocked the small tenth grader, whose name I didn't know. "That's pathetic."

"I'd be so embarrassed if I were you," Eleanor spoke, smiling evilly as she stepped forward and thumbed the collar of the girls Walmart t-shirt.

"And those pants?" Bianca chimed in, looking the girl up and down, "They don't even match. This is just tragic."

My body reacted before my brain could as I stormed towards them, ripping Eleanor's hand from the girls collar. Eleanor stumbled back, cradling her hand against her chest as if I'd burnt her — I wish I had.

"Shut the fuck up, girls. That's enough."

The girls all looked at me incredulously, as if I had committed a terrible crime. I looked down at the petrified tenth grader and said, "Go," and she ran off quicker than I could blink.

Hearing my 'friends' speak to the girl in that way was enough to make me cringe. I wouldn't have gone as far as to compliment the poor girls outfit, because I genuinely didn't like it that much, but was it that difficult to just leave the girl alone? The fact that not even a year ago I would've joined in, or perhaps even instigated the needless attack, made me sick.

"What the fuck, Marley?" Gabby spoke, stepping towards me.

"What?" I snapped back, folding my arms defensively across my chest.

"You've changed, Marley, you know that?" Bianca said angrily from behind her. "Ever since that lesbian came to our school."

"Yeah, Jason told Jodi that you even tried to kiss her at Chad's party," Eleanor chimed in, "Are you a lesbian or something?"

It was as if someone had poured a cup of ice water down my back. My entire body flooded with ice cold dread as the weight of the accusation fell on my shoulders. It was the first time someone had questioned my sexuality other than myself, and I wasn't prepared for it. To say I was panicking would be an understatement, and the first response that came to mind was one I wasn't proud of.

"Ava's popular. I just wanted to boost my reputation. I'm not a fucking dyke," I spat out, the final word laced with as much disgust and venom as I could manage.