Between Two Girls

Chapter 39

As soon as lunch hour starts, Paige sees Lucy. Waving her over, Lucy comes towards her. "You ready?" Paige asks, quietly. "Even with everyone here?"

Lucy nods. "Yeah. I'll be fine," she replies. She twists her hands and looks around nervously. "Just fine."

"You don't have to do this right now if you feel uncomfortable," the bookworm says. "Besides, I think this should be handled privately."

Lucy shakes her head no. "He deserves this after everything he's done."

"This is going to be awesome!" Juli says excitedly.

"Do you even know what's going to happen?" Emery asks.

"Well, duh! Don't you?"

"Actually, no," Emery admits.

"Then shut up and enjoy the bloody battle! Man, I want popcorn to go with it."

"OK, no more Hunger Games for you."

"Awww!"

"Alright." Paige takes a step back. "Um, have fun, I guess?"

Lucy smirks. "You know I will," she says.

"I didn't, until now."

Eli and his friends enter the school cafeteria, and Eli's in the center. "And I said to her, 'That ain't gonna happen no matter what you--'" He stops mid-sentence as he sees both Paige and Lucy. "Well, if it isn't my girlfriend and the freak," he drawls.

"I--" Lucy starts. She hesitates, and tries again. "I'm breaking up with you."

Eli freezes in his place. "Did I hear you right?" he asks. "Did you just say you're, breaking up with me?"

Lucy nods. "You're surprised? You've been acting like a douche most of the time we were dating."

"Excuse me?!" Eli sounds offended. "I have been nothing but nice to you, you ungrateful bitch!" The students watching whisper to each other. "I was the best boyfriend any girl could have, and this is how you repay me?"

Lucy flinches at the volume, and clenches her fists. "It's not me I'm talking about," she says. "I'm talking about the other people you talk smack about behind their backs."

Paige is surprised at the statement. She didn't think Eli would make fun of others, only her. Part of her wishes Lucy would stop talking long enough to let her punch Eli in the face.

However, Lucy keeps talking. "For instance, you once told me Lily was being too melodramatic while she had depression. Another time, you thought Tony was sleeping with his math teacher to get better grades when really, said teacher is Tony's parental figure and is trying to get him to pass high school so he can go to a college far away from his broken home."

"Whoa, she is on a roll!" Juli exclaims. "You better not piss her off in the future."

"Oh, how about Penny? You said she wasn't worth talking to. Why do you think so? Because she's mute? She can still communicate, jackass!" By now, Lucy's furious. "So yeah, I may be a little ungrateful at times, but at least I try to be nice."

"She tries?" Juli asks.

"Well, she did stop being rude to Paige," Emery points out. "I guess that can count as trying."

Eli glances at between Paige first, and then Lucy. "Did the freak give you the idea about this?" he accuses. "I know you're not the Lucy I started dating."

"And if you know the real me at all, then you wouldn't have bothered to ask me out in the first place," Lucy shoots.

"Oh really? You think you're higher on the popularity rank than me? That I'm not good enough to be considered dateable?"

Lucy smiles amusingly. "Yeah," she says. "But not about the rank. You're not my type, personality- or gender-wise."

She waits for it to click in everyone's mind. Soon, Eli starts laughing hysterically. "I can't believe it!" he says. "I've been dating a dyke all along!" He keeps laughing, while the rest of the kids fall silent. "You're right, Lucy. I shouldn't have asked you out when I knew exactly how disgusting you are."

Paige sees Lucy pale, and Lucy almost immediately turns around and leaves the room. "Wait!" Paige calls out, going after her. She chases Lucy down the hall and to the left at the end of it. "Lucy, stop!"

Both girls keep running until Paige catches Lucy by the arm in front of the library. "Lucy, you're OK," Paige says.

"I'm not disgusting!" Lucy cries out. "I'm not!" Tears form in her eyes, and they fall down her cheeks as she tries to get ahold of herself.

"Lucy," Paige says softly. "Look at me." Lucy does, and the bookworm puts her hands on her shoulders. "You're still you. Nothing about you has changed."

"But how can I convince other people that?" Lucy asks.

"Don't worry about them. If they have a problem with you now, then screw them. They don't deserve your attention."

"You sure?" Lucy slumps against the door. "I don't think I can survive without so many people giving me the silent treatment."

Paige sighs. "To be honest, I went through the same thing," she says. "With different reasons."

"What do you mean?" Lucy asks.

"I think we should focus on you for a while," Paige interrupts. "I'll tell you some other time. OK?"

No answer.

"Lucy?"

"OK." Lucy looks around to see if anyone's there. To her relief, there isn't. "Thanks for helping me," she says.

"Um, you're welcome." Paige's unsure of what to do. "You, um, want to stay here for the rest of the hour?"

Lucy nods.

"OK. I'll stay here, too." Paige sits next to Lucy, and they wait for the bell to ring in silence.