Emily had never really had an enemy before, the one benefit of always being shy, and it was really starting to get to her. On Monday James had refuse to say anything to her, though he made sure to bump into her or any of her stuff when he passed.
On Tuesday he cornered her at her locker. “Hey Emily, still pasty I see.”
“Please, just leave me alone.” She had gotten into an argument with her dad about dinner last night, and she didn’t want to deal with him.
James leaned against the locker next to her, his two large friends blocking the rest of the space. “You see, I would, if you had just played along the other day.”
“You mean let me kiss you and God knows what else?” She didn’t know where that came from, the anger and annoyance just bursting into that one sentence.
James face inched closer to hers, but unlike last time all she could see was hostility and malice. “Watch yourself, you have no idea what I’m capable of.”
“You mean outside of the backseat?” She never would have said that before, and she blamed the fight with her father for her saying it now.
He glared at her, and Emily could nearly feel the anger rolling off of him. “You just made a big mistake,” he spat, and with a final look he turned and walked away, his two friends following.
* * *
Wednesday was the same as Monday, though she noticed that other people seemed to be paying more attention to her. When she looked up she would see others looking at her. Some would smile, others would quickly look away. Emily noticed them throughout the day, but she didn’t have the courage to confront any of them.
Thursday started in much the same way, though Emily was sure that more people seemed unnaturally interested in her. However, when lunch came around and Emily sat at her usual table, she could feel dozens of eyes on her. She turned casually and saw that several people were watching her, the ones sticking out the most being James and his posse. James met her eyes and smiled at her. She quickly turned away and pulled out a notebook, planning on doing some homework.
A few minutes later she heard a boy say, “Why bother?”
He sounded close, so she turned to see if he was talking to her. She saw a tall, heavy-built boy with black hair and green eyes looking at her; one of James’ goons. “Excuse me?” She said.
“Why bother? It’s not like it really matters anyway.”
“What?”
He pointed too her notebook. “Homework right? Why even do it, the teachers will give you a good grade anyway.”
“What are you talking about?” Last she knew not doing homework meant getting a zero, not a hundred.
“It’s okay, I already know,” he stated.
“Know what?” What the hell is he talking about?
“About your deal with the teachers, how they feel bad for you so they give you good grades.”
“What?!” That was the most ridiculous thing she’d ever heard. “Who told you that?”
