new kid / h.s

32

K A T

The next day at school, Harry was by my side whenever he could be. The date of our plan was getting closer and closer, and the situation became more dangerous daily.

I still felt bad for not sharing all this new information with Harry. If it were him, he would have told me.

By the time we were halfway through the school day, it was time for lunch and Harry had to meet with a teacher about an assignment before sitting down to eat with me. I walked through the lunch line with my tray, and was delighted to see that it was, once again, taco Tuesday at Eastern high.

I was just at the end of the line when the person behind me nudged me rather harshly.

"Hey!" I exclaimed, spinning around bravely to look at them. But my blood ran cold and my bad girl act had sadly diminished when I found myself eye to eye with my old best friend.

Caitlyn snickered and looked to her left, where Noah just so happened to be standing. Great, could this possibly get any worse? "Why'd you leave me high and dry, 'Trina? Just like you did to Noah!"

Now she was siding with him; but it only made sense. She knew about my little act that whole time. And she had told Noah. That's how he knew.

I shook my head and turned the other way, trying to block out their words. I paid for my lunch and causally walked over to where Harry and I usually sat, twiddling with my thumbs and waiting for his arrival.

He was taking a bit too long. I knew good and well that Harry was no slacking student. There couldn't have been anything the teacher would've wanted to discuss that would've taken this long. It was worrying me.

I glanced around the cafeteria warily, looking for any signs of trouble or any signs of Harry. But still nothing, except for the nasty glares I was earning from Caitlyn and her newly-made posse.

I sighed and kept my head low, my cheeks burning a deep red from my prolonged and unexpected time without Harry by my side.

I heard footsteps start to approach, making my heart beat faster and my hopes grow. That had to be Harry. Of course it was.

With a smile, I lifted up my head with a sigh of relief. "Harry, I'm so glad you're--"

"Save it." Caitlyn hissed, and her face was the first thing I saw when I looked up. Uh oh, I thought. Here comes trouble.

She giggled, almost as if she were reading my mind and saw how nervous I was. "Tell us, Kat." she spat in my face-- literally. "How does it feel to be friends with the most hated kid in school?"

My heart almost dropped to my chest. I had heard this same question before, but never had it had its full meaning laced in every word. She meant it and she knew that it was a fact.

"What are you talking about?" I asked. "How is he hated?"

A devilish smirk came across her features, while slowly but surely everyone else started to crowd around us. "Everyone found out that he's involved in gangs. What he did to his old girlfriend was horrible, wasn't it? We just don't want you to be next."

Fury grew inside me like a burning inferno, ready to explode and injure everyone that was in my way. Caitlyn knew what has really happened, but she was spreading false information to make us look bad. And bad reputation here at Eastern can decide whether or not the administration will let you attend prom.

Something was horribly, terribly wrong.

"Oh, hush up." I finally retaliated, earning a snicker from some of the instigators around us. "You're just trying to get a good laugh. You always will and always have been a bully."