Journey to Psitharis

Chapter 39

Thirty-nine

School went by as usual. By lunch I was feeling pretty good. Every time I thought about that last look from Roland it put a smile on my face. I guess I should have known that by showing any sign of happiness I was begging for trouble, because before lunch period was over I was paid a visit. Jennifer, Peyton and Natalia stood in a line, two of them glaring down at me. Natalia seemed to be detached from the entire situation, as if she was still trying to size up her new friends. But I couldn't escape hearing the daily rant from the queen of the bitches.

"What are you smiling about, freak?" I sighed at Jennifer's used and abused insult and shoved my books into my satchel, getting ready to walk away. I was too good for this.

"I would file that under 'None of your Damn Business.'" I replied, never looking her way, reaching for the tray that held the remainder of my soggy French fries and tiny cardboard container of chocolate milk. Jennifer must have taken that as a supreme affront, because the next thing I knew my tray had been flipped by a perfectly manicured hand, and fries and milk were scattered on the floor on the other side of the table.

"You look at me when I'm talking to you, bitch!" Well, well. The threat of a secluded boarding school must have died a painful death, because Jennifer certainly was pushing the limits. I grabbed my satchel to leave. That's when I was jerked backward violently by one of the girls, probably Peyton, as they grabbed one of the loops on my bag.

"I'm warning you, Jennifer. You and your stupid lackeys need to back off. I'll only deal with your bullshit for so long before I knock those teeth down your throat. Got it?"

Jennifer laughed. "You'll do no such thing. I know for a fact if you do one thing wrong your ass is getting thrown in jail. You touch me and not only will I sue you for everything your pathetic trash family is worth, you'll get to spend the next couple of years where you belong. Maybe because you're so crazy they'll put you in the nuthouse with the rest of the nuts."

I could see one of the teacher lunch monitors approaching the table. I had to end this before he got here and reported me to Tonsch, otherwise I'd get to see if Jennifer was right. "We're done here Jennifer. You come over here with your little minions trying to start something, but I'm not interested. For girls like Aubrey who couldn't fight back, I'm standing up to heartless bitches like you. And if I get in trouble, so be it. So, if you want to push your luck, see just how psychotic I can get, keep trying to piss me off. Because one of these days I won't be so nice."

Jennifer stood there for the longest time, wordlessly weighing her options. I could see her fist opening and closing, as if she were deciding if hitting me was worth the minor possibility she might actually get in trouble. When Mr. Mackie finally got to our table, she had apparently made up her mind.

"What is going on here, ladies?" Mr. Mackie inquired.

Jennifer gave me a long, hard glare before turning on her brilliant smile and facing Mr. Mackie. "Why, nothing at all Mr. Mackie. We were having a little tiff about a problem I got right and she got wrong on the history test we took this morning. Turns out I was right all along!" She turned her back to me and began to walk away, leaving Mr. Mackie to eye me with a mixture of curiosity and pity before he walked away. Peyton mouthed the word bitch before walking away. Only Natalia lingered for a moment. But the look she gave me wasn't angry or threatening. It was almost a look of...pity. To me it was worse than the glares I got from the Jennifer and Peyton. Slowly she turned to join the others, just as the lunch bell sounded. I stared after her, completely baffled as I gathered up my things and grabbed my tray, leaving the dripping milk and fries for the cleaning staff to worry about.