FLY BOY - Completed

Chapter 4

I've uploaded a picture of what Danny looks like, so feel free to check it out. 

Chapter 4

By lunchtime the next day, River knew three things for sure, first: Scotty's girlfriend Sandra now hated her, second: Dayden's girlfriend Hailey now hated her, and finally Dayden himself now hated her. If looks could kill, River would probably have been dead ten times over by now. Of course both Sandra and Hailey were known to be two of the sweeter girls in the senior class. Because of this, they had a large following of friends. This large group of friends heard the gossip and circled their wagons, meaning that pretty much everyone now hated her. It didn't even matter if they had never spoken to her before, what mattered was that some snotty-nosed new girl, who was two years younger than everyone else, was stealing the affection of not one, but two of the most popular Fly Boys. 

About the only one who didn't hate River was Scotty. Scotty actually went out of his way to seek her company. He enjoyed talking with River about anything and everything as long as it had nothing to do with the Fly Boys or their possible mate selection. He also enjoyed the time away from his over-zealous girlfriend. Of course he assured Sandra that she had nothing to worry about, as he and River were just friends. For her part, River felt like a pariah. Though she tried hard, she found it difficult to ignore the many hurtful insults thrown her way, by students who didn't even know her. She was glad to have Scotty's occasional company, if only to break up the loneliness. Scotty helped River forget about all the nonsense happening at school and reminded her that it would all be over soon.

On Tuesday River saw Dayden twice, once during lunch and then again during Physics. Both times he completely ignored her. He never even glanced in her direction. On Wednesday Dayden wasn't at school at all. She found out from Scotty that Dayden and Gerald Brannigan, the Fly Boy who ranked second, had both been flown to Special Ops for a covert strategies session - which River knew from her father was just a fancy way of saying they had a meeting with someone higher up.

On Thursday during English, Scotty complained about how clingy Sandra was being. He talked River into going with him again into town for lunch. All the pressure was getting to him and he needed a break. He promised this time that he would get her back in time for Physics. As soon as English ended they hightailed it out the side door, hoping to avoid Sandra. They had left class so quickly that luckily no one saw them drive away this time.

They went to the same restaurant; only this time they ordered take-out with plans to eat their lunch in Scotty's car on the way back to school. River had to admit that spending time with Scotty was nice. At school there was always someone calling her an awful name under their breath, as they walked by. It was hurtful and made River sad, so getting away for a bit with Scotty was a welcome reprieve. They found they had a lot in common. They both liked the same sports, the same movies and the same type of music. Mostly though, hanging out with River reminded Scotty of his younger sisters and River loved to hear him tell stories about them. She could tell that Scotty had been very close with them and their deaths had been very hard on him. 

River and Scotty were sitting in the same booth near the front window, waiting for their take-out, when Dayden and Danny Martello, the fifth-ranked Fly Boy walked in followed by Sandra and Hailey. To say that River and Scotty were surprised, would be putting it mildly. A lot of things happened at once:  River's eyes grew wide, her heart started to race and she felt her whole body tense up. Scotty closed his eyes and dropped his head into his hands, as he let out a big sigh. Sandra started to cry. Hailey wrapped her arms around Sandra's shoulders, but never took her eyes off of Dayden. Dayden beamed a death stare back and forth between Scotty and River and Danny seemed oblivious to everything and everyone. He was already looking at a menu trying to decide what to order.