The Dollhouse

Part 7

Chapter 7

I walk into class. I'm late. Try calling an Uber for the commute that I had to make in the morning. I was still having issues with my dad so I didn't want to ask him.

"Excuse me do you have the right class?"

"It's me, Mrs. Applewood. Yogi."

Stares. All of these stares. You ever walk into a room and feel like people were just talking about you? That's the only way I can really describe this. It just feels like people were literally just talking about me.

"Mr. Luthor, nice of you to show up," Mrs. Applewood states in AP History class, "Have a seat."

Her tone is trying to make it seem like she feels normal but I can feel Mrs. Applewood staring at me. She hardly even recognized me. I walk to the back of the class. Marisol told me I would get used to this. Maybe she was on to something. By the time I sit down at the back of the class I have this smile on my face.

As soon as I sit I realize Bates and David Mitchell nearly break his neck to turn around and speak to me.

David Mitchell shakes his head, "You been hitting the gym, kid?"

"Something like that."

These were guys. Dumb guys at that. They probably thought I just miraculously changed. Maybe they just didn't fucking care or something. It was all the same to them. Plastic was real when it came to people in Lionsdale.

"Looking good," Bates says before adding, "No homo."

He says it as if dumb David Mitchell would have been smart enough to catch on if he was flirting with me or not. David had to be the biggest idiot in school. Bates licks his lips. There was a time that would have done something for me. I would have been falling all over myself about it.

Today wasn't that time.

I sigh with boredom, "Thanks."

All of a sudden Bates just seems normal. His look wasn't all that spectacular. He was just a normal cute guy with the attitude of a follower.

"I saw you at the party, I waved. You must not have seen me or..."

I shrug, "Must not have."

"No big deal," Bates states.

"No big deal, everyone's been talking about you guys..." David responds, "The only person I recognized was Kordell. Who was the girl in the black dress? She was hot. Can you hook me up? Was that Candice with him? Or..."

David is going a mile a minute. Bates can tell it's annoying me because somehow he manages to kick David's chair.

"Jump off his dick David..." Bates tells him.

David turns around a little bit embarrassed. That's when I see Bates take out a piece of paper out of his notebook, write something and then throw it on the floor. It lands right at my feet.

I think about picking it up. This isn't the first time Bates had written me a secret note. I'm sure it's something juicy knowing Bates. And then for some reason I think about him telling Braden what I said about him in the locker room a while ago. I remember how betrayed I felt.

"Hey, Bates...you dropped something!" I say out loud.

Real loud. Loud enough for everyone to hear it. Braden hustles to pick up the piece of paper but Mrs. Applewood is standing over Bates with an open hand at that moment.

"Hand it over..."

"It's nothing."

"Hand. It. Over."