Totally Inappropriate *UNDER EDITING*

Chapter 7

Benjamin hadn't pried after we'd gotten home that night. He looked like he wanted to, though. And I think I would have confided in him, despite still feeling slightly awkward, but I definitely wasn't going to push the story on him. Instead, it hung in the air unspoken.

The next day, I had another go at dressing modestly. This time I wore a simple pair of jeans with a sweater and a jacket, covering up as much skin as possible. I tugged a knitted hat over my hair and ditched the makeup, as well as straightened my usually-wavy strands. This time when I came downstairs, however, Benjamin frowned at my appearance.

"I figured I'd have another go at dressing like a nun," I joked as we clambered into his car. He was still frowning, so I said, "Hey, I know you can't stare at my boobs anymore, but maybe people'll stop being such pricks."

He didn't say anything, and I knew he was in one of his moods so I just let him be. We still sat together at lunch and everything, but it was only when there were only a few minutes left before class started again that I spoke up. Otherwise, we'd just been sitting in silence, Benjamin reading a book while I tried to be conspicuous about looking at his glasses.

"Okay, so after school, I'm gonna' be staying for a while. You can just go ahead without me and I'll walk it," I told him.

There was an internal debate going on behind his eyes, and I waited for it to finish. He wanted to ask, I could see it, but at the same time he was still to maintain nonchalance. Maybe that had been why he was so cold in the car earlier- maybe he thought we were getting too friendly and now he was pulling away. In the end his eyes went flat. I knew what he'd decided. "Fine," was his reply, tone clipped. "I'll see you at dinner, then."

The bell shrilled loudly then, preventing any further comments I might've made, and I headed off to class. I was actually glad he hadn't asked about my plans after school because I knew I wouldn't have been able to lie, and the truth might have bothered him. I was gonna' try out for the cheer team, hopeful this might improve my social standing, but... well, it was obvious that Benjamin wasn't exactly warm towards the popular crowd (or any crowd, for that matter). He never spoke about them but it was clear from his lack of friends and cold glares that he didn't like them. Someone like him wasn't an outcast without it being his own doing, so it was obvious that he held some sort of grudge.

Hopefully, though, I could make them see that I wasn't a horrible person. I was angry about the rumours, but maybe everyone wasn't like this Maria-chick, Krishan's girlfriend; maybe some of them were really nice people. This hope of mine started to seem futile not even five minutes after school ended.

When I entered the changing rooms, everyone turned to look at me- and I mean everyone. Every single girl subtly turned their head so they could scan me, except when all of them did it together, it wasn't so subtle after all. I could see each of them wondering what on earth I was doing there, could even see them assessing my body as I changed into a t-shirt and some sweatpants. I just pretended to be oblivious to their stares; soon enough, they'd see. What they were going to be seeing exactly... well, I didn't know that yet.

It was a little better when I entered the gym hall, as the coach asked us to spread out and I felt less conspicuous. Who I knew was Maria stood next to her in a cheer uniform, and several others integrated in the group wore the same outfit. I was betting on my stripping days to get me through this.

"Okay, so one of our squad, Wendy, is out for the rest of the year because she dislocated her shoulder and has to do physio for a while. Hopefully, we're gonna' fill that spot today, and we'll test you by getting you to do some routines." The coach paused to drag her stare across us all, as though she was challenging us, and then carried on. I found her kind of scary. "Those of you who don't get it will drop out. The one left standing will get a place on the team."