Hunting the Fairy Tale

Chapter 5 - Detention

Willow

After the craziness at the beginning of the day, the rest of the morning passes without any serious incidents. But when break time arrives, I'm feeling ready to escape. I'd been careful to speak only when I couldn't avoid doing so and to use as few words as possible, but there'd still been sniggers and odd looks every time I was forced to say something. Seriously, when are they going to get used to it? Until now, I'd never been aware of just how different my way of speaking is.

The boys in my class were paying way too much attention to me. Fortunately, we weren't given much time to communicate with each other. Most of their attention was limited to looks and winks and some mildly lewd gestures. I've started to feel suffocated and solidly on edge and antsy.

I'm just a strange bug in a glass jar.

Every time I had to change classrooms, I hurried to get my bag together and keep up with the first students leaving the class. Figuring out who was going to the same class I'm aiming for was tricky at times, but I managed. Unfortunately, I don't seem to have many subjects in common with Chloe. She's very helpful whenever she's around. One or two of the other girls also called me a couple of times when I strayed from the correct route.

Leaving my classes quickly serves two purposes. It stops me from being left behind and getting lost, and it prevents Melissa from approaching me. Unfortunately, she's in almost all my classes.

The girl and her three groupie friends - who look almost identical to her as far as style is concerned - take their time changing classes. They are always the last students to arrive at each new classroom. That suits me perfectly. I'm grateful that I wasn't assigned a seat near them in any of the classes we have in common.

I've been dreading break time, not sure how I'm going to escape the four girls when we're finally released from attending classes. They've been sending deadly looks my way the entire morning, and I'm getting tired of pretending not to see it. My fears are fulfilled when the bell announcing break time rings and I leave the classroom. Melissa's three friends step in front of me, blocking my escape.

Really, is this the warm Briar Cove welcome Mr Radford had in mind?

I'm having mental flashes of warn-out movie scenes like being sprayed with water, covered in rude post-its, and having my hair pulled. I really don't need this nonsense. Swallowing, I brace myself. If there's one thing in this world that I've had a lifetime of training in, it's dealing with bitchy girls that think they're better than others. Melissa and her friends squarely fit into that category. I loathe this kind of petty behaviour. She might be Hunter's girlfriend, but that doesn't mean that I have to put up with this.

"Excuse me, please," I try politeness, knowing it will not have any effect.

No, they don't want to excuse me. Instead, they stand at angles to each other with their arms crossed, blocking my way like bouncers at a nightclub, trying to glare me into submission. They have me nicely trapped against the wall. I roll my eyes and sigh before glaring back at them with the same intensity they're aiming at me. I hope my derision is showing. I'm surprised to realise that I'm feeling more irritation than fear.

Boys scare me, bitchy girls do not.

The leader of this specific pack takes her sweet time joining her friends. Arriving in front of me, Melissa parks herself way too close to me for comfort. She's appraising me with a look of utter contempt. Apparently, I don't meet her standards. Perhaps riding on Hunter's motorcycle requires a certain height and weight, and I'm not satisfying the specifications. If I wasn't feeling so incredibly out of place and unsettled, I would have laughed in her face.