Lessons On Love

16: To Grope Or Nevermind, Best Not

A/N.: Sooooo sorry for how long it has taken me to post this chapter! I can't apologize to you guys enough, but if you're here right now reading this, I just wanted to say THANK YOU for all the support you've given me and for not giving up on me or this story! You guys are the sweetest people ever!!

Chapter 16: To Grope Or Nevermind, Best Not?

         

            Blood surged out of Brooklynn’s nose the moment I pulled my head back and it didn’t take long for the rivers of tears from her eyes to follow after. The sound that came out of her mouth was deafening, but instead of moving away from the sound like I was, everybody around me seemed to rush toward it like they were all canines and Brooklynn was the only female dog in heat within a five hundred mile radius.

            Tyler, of course, was the first one by her side, trying to comfort her and help her before a stream of teachers flew in and took over, ushering Brooklynn toward the office and separating the crowd of edgy students that had suddenly taken over the cafeteria in an uproar. I stood aside, still managing my spot at the bake sale, not feeling anything in particular.

            It doesn’t even matter what I feel – if I’m sad, if I’m angry, or if I feel like I’ve been wronged – so instead of such a useless attribute, I just stood aside and watched the crowd smother Brooklynn with affection as they stepped all over my cookies, the same ones that Brooklynn had flung on the ground only moments earlier, but have already been easily forgotten. It’s not one of Life’s greatest metaphors, but all the same, I thought it described human nature to a tee.

            “Camila!” Mr. Hudson, who I assumed had been overlooking the bake sale, threw me a glare when Brooklynn had finally settled down enough for him to take his attention off of her and let the other teachers sweep her down the hall. “We’ll call you down to the office when we get a hold of your father. Otherwise as soon as you finish with the bake sale, head down to the office you hear me? I don’t know what kind of influence you have to spare yourself punishment before, but not this time. I’ll make sure of it.”

            He didn’t stay long enough to hear my retort nor did I have the time to answer him as he rushed off after Brooklynn’s footsteps. Tyler took that opportunity to push me aside, his eyes lighting up with so much rage that the evergreen scenery turned into a forest set ablaze.

           “Are you sure you shouldn’t be following her?” I asked smartly.

          “What’s wrong with you?” He hissed. “I can’t believe you did that to her! Are you crazy? Do you honestly do that stuff on purpose?!”

            I shrugged since I wasn’t sure how I was supposed to take it. Maybe it was a compliment on his part – that I was cunning enough to plan something so detailed, from the bake sale and the burnt cookies to knowing that Brooklynn would come provoke me so that I could punch her on purpose, but either way, what he thought of me didn’t really matter. “Yeah,” I found myself saying after. “I did it on purpose.”

            Tyler released my arm and it was only after that, when I felt the change in pressure that I realized he was even holding onto me in the first place. He looked at me forlornly and I’m not sure what it signified, that he couldn’t hold onto me or that he was too afraid to. “That… that was wrong. My words didn’t come out right.”