Sagas

{16} Highest givers ~ P

I was trying to get some rest after hours of attending to my schoolwork, but the voices of my classmates from the common room would not let me. They were playing games and making jokes, and Peculiar's voice was the loudest among them. Her protest about them cheating went on in every round of whatever game they were playing. She squeaked happily at intervals, but it was mostly an outcry at their unfair behavior. It suddenly went quiet at some point, and I was glad that she had given up playing and that the noise would reduce a bit. But my happiness was cut short when the door busted open and a sulking Peculiar came into the room.

"Thank goodness you're awake, Phoebe. You have to come to the common room with me. The others won't stop cheating, and I need someone by my side." She paused and looked into my journal. Her face squeezed up as she tried to understand what I was writing. "What are you always writing in there? And what language is that?" She asked.

"Nothing," I answered. I closed the journal and kept it back under my pillow. "And I'm not going to the common room with you. I want to take a nap."

"Please, Phoebe, you have to come with me. They will think I left because I was losing if you don't come with me. And since when do you take naps?" She questioned.

I had managed to divert her attention from my journal, but I had to make her understand that I wasn't going to go to the common room with her.

"It's because I haven't had the chance," I replied, turning to the wall and shutting my eyes.

"Well, I'll just have to stay with you then. I won't let you stay here all by yourself. If it's because of the note Kevin sent to you, just let him be. He's hooked on Laura anyway." She paused again, and I knew she wanted to say the one thing she knew I was bothered about.

"Becky is not there either. I haven't seen the three of them all day, so you don't have to worry about her," she said, waiting for my answer.

It was true that I was worried about Becky. I didn't want to run into her just yet, and I also hadn't thought of how I would handle the situation if I saw her. She wouldn't care a bit whether I liked the situation myself or not, and neither would other people. While my arrival initially caused excitement, things were changing very quickly. Becky had her flaws, but she was still the headgirl of this school and their queen. And I had sashayed into their kingdom to not only cause trouble but also threaten her throne.

I had also become a snub, an arrogant bitch, and a scholarship student who didn't know her place, and these were things that could not be condoned. Their excitement was evaporating now and was being replaced with disdain. This was why I didn't want to face them, but I could not avoid either Becky or the entire school forever.

I was also conscious of the fact that there were people who didn't care about the change. Kevin had said he was on my side in his mail, and I was certain Peculiar understood and would support me fully despite what happened. And there was Drake as well. He had told me he wasn't bothered, and though it was hard to believe, the fact that he was not upset with me surprisingly made me feel less anxious. And knowing that I had people standing with me in this alien environment was enough to give me the courage to keep going. And it was that courage that made me turn to Peculiar and agree to walk into the den of lions with her.

The wall clock chimed loudly, and my stomach rumbled as I got out of bed. It was five o'clock, and I was hungry.

"I will go to the common room with you, right after I get something to eat," I said to her.

"You haven't had anything all day, have you?" She asked and followed my eyes to the empty packet of chips and juice in the bin.

"That doesn't count. I'm talking about real food. Let's hurry. I don't want to waste too much time."