The Other Hailey

6| count your calories

After class, I sort of got lost, trying to find my way to the cafeteria. However, thanks to three random—may I add—cute boys who abandoned their robotics homework to help Veronica, I finally found my way to the nosiest compartment in school.

With my food tray in hand, I begin walking through the cafeteria. There are plenty of chairs, but nowhere to sit. There's no one to sit with. Adam and I split up after second period, and we haven't crossed paths ever since. I'm currently trapped right in the middle of the cafeteria, not knowing what Veronica would normally do. Actually, I don't know what I would do either. I usually sat across from a quiet girl at lunch from my previous school. We never once spoke to each other, but we always sat together. I never really had friends, and it seems it'll be the same at Brick Way High. I guess my only friends will be Veronica's — fake friends of mine. Yesterday, I shied away from all the attention, and ended up hiding in a bathroom stall. I didn't even get the chance to make friends to sit with at lunch as Hailey Marshall— no wait, I did.

My eyes dart to the back of the cafeteria. Someone catches my eye. Mikey. He's sitting with four other boys at a table, all wearing letterman jackets. I head over to their table.

"Mikey. Hi."

Blinking eyes look up from cafeteria food, and lunch boxes. The boys at the table start to adjust themselves in their seats, some brush their hairs away from their foreheads.

"Bro, why is Veronica Gates at our table?"

"Stop eating like that in front of her, dirty pig."

I choose to ignore the rest and focus solely on Mikey, who hasn't said a word in the last five seconds. I move out of the way when he slowly rises up to his full height. The look on his face makes me slightly nervous; jaw clenched and eyebrows furrowed. He guides me away from the boys till we're in a corner, perfectly out of hearing range.

"I didn't know you played sports." I comment, pointing at his red and white jacket.

He gives me a blank stare. "I know it's you, Hailey."

"Oh," I say, exhaling in delight. "Thank the stars. I was kind of hoping you would. It's a little unsettling when the whole school thinks you're someone else." I stop myself. "Wait, how did you know?"

"What do you mean?" He squints his brown eyes. "I know it was a different person at school yesterday."

"Yeah, but I look just like her, don't I?" I touch my hair.

"Oh, so you're wondering why I wasn't fooled like the rest of these brain-dead, sleep-deprived fuckers that are trapped in this zit-covered, hormone-addled, low-stakes ass world?"

I frown at his vivid description of 'high school' as I softly stroke my hair.

"That's because you walk differently, and quite amateurly."

"Ah, I'll blame that on the shoes. These are quite heavy." I point down.

He shakes his head. "What is this, Hailey? Why are you dressed like her?"

"Okay," I grip my food tray, interested in the conversation. "I can't tell you all the details, but the answer to your question is probably the answer in your head right now."

"You snuck into her house and stole all her things?"

"No."

"So, it's not the answer in my head."

I sigh, stepping closer to whisper. "Last night, I ran into her bodyguards."

More like they kidnapped me.