All Those Words

Chapter 6

Asa

On Friday, I find myself looking for Sydney during recess. We had gotten late to school because of a sudden change in Mrs. Harmon's schedule and we had to drop Yuna to day care first which ended up taking twenty minutes. Luckily we didn't get into trouble because Mrs. Harmon called the school and informed them that we'd be late. So I missed Sydney during homeroom and she wasn't in any of my other classes.

After the events of last night, I feel the sudden urge to understand what actually happened between Calysta and her friends. I know it has to be something big for the entire school to be harassing her for such a long time.

When I finally round the corner to the cafeteria, I first notice Calysta in the line to get food. She hadn't had time to pack food for herself due to the rush in the morning and I can tell that she's regretting it. She has her head hanging low, her hoodie covering most of her face and even then I can tell from the way her body is hunched over and rigid that the people standing behind her are talking about her. As the line moves forward, they push her along and I wonder whether they've ever heard of personal space. But I don't have time to step in because Sydney saunters into the cafeteria, waving to me when she sees me.

"Hey, Asa." She gives me one of her famous smiles and I force a smile back. "Who were you looking for?"

"No one," I lie but then realize that it will make her feel good if I tell her the truth. "Actually, I was looking for you."

"Really?" she asks, her smile getting wider and I know that I've achieved something. "Do you want to go get some food first?"

"Actually I wanted to ask you something," I say quickly because the cafeteria is relatively emptier than usual and I want to get it over with. "I think I'm ready to hear your story-" She raises an eyebrow. "-about what happened with Calysta. Why do you guys rail on her so much?"

Her smile falters and she motions for me to follow her to an empty table. She seems more than ready to tell me the story and I felt my heart pick up pace as I take a seat beside her. Am I being too nosy by going this far just so I can find out why Calysta is the way she is?

"So it happened in like seventh grade," Sydney starts and I already feel the urge to roll my eyes.

She's been bullying her till senior year for something that happened in the seventh grade? I feel the need to point it out but I bite my tongue. Wait till she's finished, I tell myself. Maybe it's more serious than I think.

"We used to be best friends before that," she tells me. "Even though she used to be quiet and stuck to me because she was too shy to make more friends. Then I got a boyfriend so we started hanging out less and I knew it was getting to her. She probably felt left out so I invited her to a closed party at my boyfriend's house."

Although I can feel the immaturity of the story radiate from her words, I'm intrigued to know what happened next. I mean, I'm not sure what a shy twelve year old could have possibly done to deserve being pushed around for four years but I stay silent, waiting for her to tell me the rest.

"We were playing seven minutes in heaven and the bottle landed on her and my boyfriend. I actually felt relieved because she was my best friend, right? She wouldn't dare to make a move on my boyfriend even if it was just for game," she continues, her voice riveting. "So they went into the closet and we rest of us waited for seven minutes. When we opened the door, she was basically forcing him to kiss her; hands on his chest and everything. So of course, I was pissed. I couldn't believe it."

I can't believe it. Was that it? She was torturing her friend for four years for kissing her boyfriend?

"So I started screaming at her but she started crying and said that he came onto her." She smirks and I realize that she isn't done with her story. "But when I asked my boyfriend, he started laughing. He asked everyone whether they'd actually believe that he's come onto a freak like her who couldn't even talk to people properly. But she refused to admit that she did it and so-"