Frostbitten Past

X V

SCHOOL THE next morning was hell for Andorra. She slipped into Kyle's car that morning, surprised to see him in her driveway, but shameful because of what happened last night in the library. Kyle of course had no clue she'd been with Noah.

It was hard to keep secrets from Kyle because he was so joyful all of the time. When he saw her slip into the passenger seat, his smile was so wide and contagious that she smiled too, wishing him a good morning, laughing when he grabbed her knee and squeezed it. And she felt genuine happiness when he kept his hand there the entire drive to school.

But, upon arrival, things had shifted. Kyle had to meet with a teacher, and so the two of them didn't enter school together. The moment she stepped into school, Shaniah had been waiting for her. She was standing by the front door, arms crossed, waiting for Andorra to step through the door. An ambush of sorts.

As Andorra stepped through the door, Shaniah was there with a sadistic grin on her face, trailing Andorra to her locker. "So, I heard the freak went shopping yesterday for a dress."

Andorra opened her locker and didn't look at Shaniah as she put her stuff away. "Yeah, I did. So what?"

Shaniah grabbed Andorra's arm to yank her back so that Andorra was looking into her eyes. Shaniah's face was twisted up into anger, so strong that Andorra wondered what she'd done this time to offend Shaniah.

"It shouldn't be you going with Kyle. Tell him you no longer want to go to the dance."

Andorra's mouth ran dry at the thought of telling Kyle that. She'd already bought the dress, and she already told Kyle yes to his proposition. There was no turning back, and she didn't want to.

"I'm going with Kyle, end of story." Andorra yanked her arm out of Shaniah's grip, then watched as Noah approached them from the other end of the hallway. For a moment, Andorra imagined he was coming over to talk to her like he had last night, and she could practically hear his voice say her name.

But, he wasn't coming over for her. Shaniah squealed when she caught sight of Noah, and then she laughed. "Noah, don't you think this freak should stay home during the winter formal? Freaks don't belong at the dance, isn't that right?"

Noah's face didn't change to show how he felt about Shaniah's words, but it was his response that killed Andorra and reminded her just why she didn't like Noah in the first place. "I'd say that's about right."

Noah moved to stand behind Shaniah, not touching her but close enough that it was clear who he was choosing. And he was choosing Shaniah.

Andorra turned back towards her locker, blinking away tears. She wondered what Shaniah's reaction would be if she told her that Noah gave her a ride home last night, but she couldn't say that. She wasn't that mean, nor did she have the guts to deal with the aftermath. So instead, she continued putting her stuff away, slowly and mechanically.

Shaniah didn't stop there, though. "I mean, it doesn't matter anyway. Kyle's going to see Jessica and realize he should have taken her to the dance all along. Her dress is absolutely gorgeous. I bet by the end of the night, she'll be in Kyle's arms, moaning his name!" All of them laughed at that, mockingly, and Andorra pressed into her locker, trying to fight the tears of shame and embarrassment.

She didn't hear Noah laugh, but she didn't care. He was siding with them, and that was what mattered. Andorra couldn't believe she'd let him bring her home last night, and she couldn't believe she'd fallen for his act.

She slammed her locker door shut and composed herself, turning towards Shaniah and her friends. She looked Noah in the eyes and then took a breath. "I think you're just jealous that Kyle picked me, not any of you. Why on earth would he take a freak like me to the dance instead of one of you, right? Is that why you're so mad?"