Bully Proof

Chapter Nine

Amanda and I couldn't stop looking at the clock for the entirety of the first fifteen minutes of class. We both could see each other constantly checking the time, too, and it took all of my willpower not to burst out in laughter at our antics.

After a few more minutes, I put the sleeve of my hoodie to my nose, removing it occasionally only to put it back after I had looked at it for a moment or two. I made a show of this, making sure to grab the teacher's attention, by making a fuss and looking mad at how my nose was still bleeding, even though my jacket had already soaked up two minutes worth of blood. Classic.

"Kiley," he stopped pointing to the board to face me, "do you need something?"

I resisted the urge to smirk, and looked up at him innocently, speaking in a muffled tone because my arm was in front of my mouth from my hand cupping my nose, attempting to not let of my nonexistent nose-blood drip onto my desk, "I think I have a bloody nose. Can I go to the nurse?"

He sighed and shook his head, clearly annoyed that I interrupted his lesson. "Just take someone with you," he huffed.

I nodded to Amanda, that boyish nod that was basically a guy's way of saying "'Sup, bro," except it was silent. It was my way of telling her to follow me out, so she stood up and joined me in leaving the room, and all of our pent up laughter exploded right after the door to the classroom shut.

"That was priceless!" we high-fived as I removed my other hand from my bloodless nose. Thankfully, no one was walking in late through the hallways to see our escapade, and we made our way to the band room in silence, me leading the way because I never told Amanda where we were going. I was hoping that Lexi and Spencer had successfully tricked their teachers to leave the room because the plan would not have worked otherwise.

We entered the empty room, smiling to ourselves, basking in our small victory of making it there without getting caught. Lexi and Spencer weren't there yet, so we waited a few minutes before Amanda asked me, "How'd you know no one would be in here?"

I chuckled, thinking back on the memory, "Mr. Lotes always tells us in fifth period how difficult it is to get his kids on the bus. His wife makes him do it because he doesn't have anyone in his first period, so he can come into school late compared to the rest of the teachers."

"Nice," she smiled as Spencer walked in.

"What's nice?" Spencer asked, only for Lexi to walk in right behind him.

"The fact that everyone is here," I started. "Amanda, I know you might not want to do this, but you need to apologize to Claire during second period. Have you ever seen Mean Girls before?"

"Who hasn't?" Amanda scoffed.

"Well, you are our Kady. You're the inside scoop. I have a feeling that our theories are one and the same, so I want you to ask her to explain again how she found my diary. You might have to push and shove me a little during the day to really convince Claire of your loyalty, but trust me, that's fine. Put on a show. Entertain her. Give her what she wants," I nodded my head, raising my eyes to meet Amanda's gaze. "Are you okay with that?"

"Just fall back a little more dramatically than you should from the lightness of my tap, and I think it'll work," Amanda smiled.

"Well, I mean, we did learn that I am phenomenal at acting today," I laughed, my words erupting a chuckle out of Amanda. Spencer and Lexi gave us weird looks, but they weren't there to get the inside joke, so I just dismissed their confusion by continuing, "We all have to meet up at that park after school, maybe around 3:00 or so. I don't know the name of it, but-"

"Is it that park with that weird dinosaur slide?" Lexi interrupted me.

I rested my chin on my hand, trying to think of if what Lexi said was actually a thing I was talking about. I found myself nodding as I pictured that train wreck of a slide in my head, and the rest of them nodded along with me, knowing which park I was talking about.

"Amanda," I continued, "you'll show up with Claire. I guess you could tell her that the sun's rays and children's smiles do wonders to making a person look prettier. I think she'll believe it." I paused, letting my friends' snickers fall silent before adding, "The rest of us will just be there pretending to do our homework or something. Amanda, you'll probably have to start provoking me, and Claire will join right in. That's when we'll-"

"How do you know she'll do all of this?" Lexi asked.

"I've spent the entire school year glued to her side. I know what she's like and how she thinks. Being an outcast is one of her worst fears, so she takes it upon herself to define what makes an outcast and what doesn't. That's how she works. If Amanda is calling me names or just bothering me, Claire will, too because she doesn't want to be outcasted by her peers. Trust me on this," I explained.

"And she hates being alone just as much as Kiley does. Even if she doesn't join in, she'll at least walk over to my side because she doesn't want to stand somewhere by herself, without me," Amanda carried on.

"Yeah," I nodded my head continuously, convincing myself that the plan would work, "and then I just want to talk to her about all of it. How she found my diary. How she treats people. This plan isn't about humiliating her; it's only about confrontation."

"I thought we were going to embarrass her?" Spencer said, obviously confused.

"That's not really how I work," I made a sour face. "I hope that's okay with you guys. I hope you all are okay with this whole thing," I started panicking again, realizing that all I'd been doing during that talk was bossing them around.

"We're okay with it," Spencer ushered, putting his hands out in front of him, telling me to slow my roll, trying to calm me down.

"What happened to not doubting us?" Lexi raised one of her eyebrows, putting a hand on her hip.

Her sassy, playful manner helped me relax. "Sorry," I blushed, a small smile creeping onto my face.

The bell for second period rang, and I knew we had to get out of the band room quickly, before Mr. Lotes showed up and we got in trouble.

Before we all left, I smirked, "Ready for Phase Two?"