Once Upon A Muslim

Chapter 19 | Blood

"Do you know what I find disturbing? There were these girls who were gawking at Mr. Lewis. That's disgusting," Veronica says, who seems like she wants to puke any second. "The guy's in his early twenties."

"So? You have crushes on celebrities around the same age," I point out, although I did find that weird and disgusting.

She shrugs. "It's not my fault Ian Somerhalder is so hot," she replies before eating a french fry.

Bonnie nods in agreement while Katy just glances behind me. "That Nick guy is staring at you," she informs me, squinting her eyes. "But now he looked away."

"Ooh, someone has a secret admirer," Veronica coos.

I slap her on the arm and she feigns hurt while I glare at her. "I thought I told you to stop saying that." She pouts at me mockingly while I stand up to throw my tray away. On my way back to our table, I see a black-haired girl over there, her hands on the table, her body leaning in, glaring at my friends. Her dress is way too tight for my liking. She flips her hair and interrogates them menacingly. "What are you doing here?" I ask her through gritted teeth as I approach them.

"Making small talk, I guess." Stephanie straightens her back and props a hand on her hip. "Why do you always seem to be disturbed by my presence?"

"Because your presence is disturbing," Veronica retorts, holding in a snicker.

She ignores her and narrows her eyes on me intently. "So, you haven't decided yet?" I assume she's referring to the stupid gang thing.

I roll my eyes. "Isn't it obvious? I wouldn't have escaped if I enjoyed smuggling cocaine and taking a few puffs of weed," I spit out. "Can you just not be in my life? Ever?"

She snickers as she walks up closer to me. "Kayla, Kayla, Kayla. It's nice to see you here with your little friends." She glances at the three of them, who are just as uncomfortable as me from her presence.

"Shut up Stephanie. Why can't you leave me alone already?" I grumble as I sit down next to Bonnie. "I think you've wasted enough time here."

She stays silent as she speculates me carefully. A sneer grows on her mouth quickly as she takes two steps forward. She takes out a small plastic bag that has dark red liquid inside and spills it all over my hand. She also smears some of it on her cheek and lower lip. She discards the bag in a nearby trash can and falls to the floor, howling loudly.

The first thought that comes into mind is: What the hell?

She kicks my leg and a sharp pain shoots up to my thigh. I almost retaliate, but I realize that people are starting to notice what's happening. I crouch down on the floor and hiss at Stephanie, who ignores me and screeches while feigning pain. "Blake! Anyone! Please help me; she's harassing me."

A rabble of students crowd in front of us, taking in the scene. Most, if not all, have been persuaded by Stephanie that I harassed her. If I told them it's just fake blood, they wouldn't believe me, since the fake blood looks awfully real. Besides, she threw away the bag, and there's no way I'll be digging in that big, reeking trash can.

I still wonder why she's doing this. What is the purpose of all of this? She shoots me a glare while I return it with an icy cold stare. I have the urge to punch her for real this time, but I know it's not right, despite the fact that she's an evil, despicable person.

I look up at the mob again and shake my head before catching someone's eye. Our stare intensifies as he takes in the scene. His eyes grow cold as he realizes what has not happened, but which he thinks happened. I start to open my mouth to explain the situation, but shut it again. No matter what I say, he won't believe me.