Squeak

Is it True?

Jezebel

The room was so quiet that you could hear a pin drop—scratch that. I could hear Tucker breathing heavily behind me like a raging bull. I swore my puffs moved forward and backward with every sharp inhale and exhale of his breath. I, on the other hand, had not taken a breath since Erik's callous, "my bad."

"Mr. King, can you please take your seat?" Mrs. Divet pleaded. Like me, she was sick of Erik's shenanigans already.

It's seriously too early in the morning!

I could feel his hypnotic eyes on me, but I refused to meet Erik's mischievous gaze. I wouldn't give him the satisfaction.

He wordlessly tapped the top of my desk, and I shivered when his fingers began to crawl up my arm. He gently caressed the shell of my ear before proceeding to the back of the classroom. Erik had no idea what he had just done.

I take that back. Erik is highly intelligent. He knows exactly what he did. Too bad I will be the one who has to suffer.

"Slut!" Ashlynn coughed from her seat, causing some of my classmates to giggle.

It's already starting.

"Asslyn, you don't have to announce to the class what you are. We already know!" Erik shouted, causing most of our classmates to titter. I didn't find it funny at all because I knew Ashlynn and her posse would later take it out on me.

"Mr. King, another outburst from you, and you'll be joining me in detention," Mrs. Divet threatened.

"Surely, The Undertaker will be joining us too if she says something else about my girl, right?" Erik challenged.

"The Undertaker?" Ashlynn gasped.

"Yeah, you ever watch wrestling? You do your eye makeup just like him. Friendly advice...don't."

The class erupted in laughter. Even Tucker chuckled behind me.

"That's enough! That's enough! Everyone quiet down so we can get back to the lesson!" It took quite a bit of begging, but the snickers extinguished half a minute later.

I came to a swift conclusion. Erik King wasn't satisfied unless he was the center of attention, and it didn't matter who he had to trample over to get it. They always said to be careful what you wished for. There were times when I wished I wasn't so invisible. I wanted to be seen and treated like a person with a beating heart and feelings. I was different—not by choice, but I didn't deserve the hate I received. I used to tell myself that many hated Jesus to make myself feel better, but I wasn't him, and although he was despised, he was still loved by most. For the life of me, I couldn't even say that I was loved by one.

I had to be careful what I wished for because I was no longer invisible. All eyes were on me, and my name echoed on their lips at a decibel as raucous as the crescendo from a Carnegie Hall orchestra.

The taunting and bullying was bad before Erik King's arrival, but after his little stunt, it was about to be Hell on Earth for me.

I picked up the blended coffee drink that sat on the corner of my desk when Mrs. Divet continued the lesson. I deserved a little bit of happiness.

I took a precursory sip, and my eyes widened in surprise. I started to slurp the drink down like a crackhead.

Oh, God. This is sooooo good. I'm sorry for taking your name in vain. Erik King...you can keep these coming.

***

I pitifully scraped the green straw around the bottom of the cup, trying to pick up every last drop of coffee, whipped cream, and chocolate syrup.