Shirley and I walked quietly, till we got to her locker. Mine was a few lockers away.
"Hey", she started, " they're idiots. Don't think too much about it. Okay?"
I managed to force a smile. "Them? I couldn't bother about them if I tried", I shrugged. " I'll see you in class". She gave me a big smile and turned to go for class, so I walked to my locker.
As I shut my locker door, Liam was there, behind it. For a second, I was startled, but I didn't really show it. I rolled my eyes at him, and sighed, but he didn't relent.
"Hey, uh, good Morning to you too", he said sarcastically. Faking a smile, I waved my hand in front of him.
" Hi, Liam. It's you. Oh I hope you're not too tired from last night". I was audible enough for those that cared to hear. And I got reactions, of course!
Liam and I looked around, and he had just started to get it.
"Oh" He turned to me, "I am so sorry. I really wasn't.. "
"No? No", I cut in. "uh, you know, it's cool. Yeah, like 'whatever'. Helper bee isn't that bad. Hey I'm getting used to it already", I said with an obvious fake smile.
Liam's shoulders fell. He rubbed his forehead. " But Mon...."
"You know what Liam? It's okay, really", I cut him off again. "I'm late for class". I walked off, and joined Shirley who was standing a few feet from where we were.
Liam's friends, Dylan and Troy, came up to him and he acted normal, or tried to.. Until Troy said, " Yeah. I see you. She's really helpful isn't sh..."
"Just shut up man", Liam cut him off. " Jeez". Liam rolled his eyes and walked to class. Dylan gave Troy a questioning look, and Troy put his arms up in surrender, "Woah, it wasn't me i swear. I didn't even say anything". Dylan sighed at how oblivious Troy could be to certain things. He just did not have the energy. " Whatever, man", he said casually, and turned to go to class. Troy stood for a few seconds, wondering 'what in the world is wrong with everybody?! Of course, he eventually shrugged it off and walked to class, with his eyes locked on his phone.
Shirley and I were seat mates. We usually sat, somewhere in the middle of class. Liam and his friends walked in and went straight for the seats at the back. I looked over my shoulder at him. He was playing with his pen. And suddenly, he looked up, in my direction. What felt like a staring contest, lasted for about a minute before he tried for a smile, and I looked away.
Shirley, who had been trying to show me something on her phone, tapped my leg gently. "I'm finally in love.. And with these shoes too, Yay!
" Shirley, I love you but you're always in love.. and with 'THOSE' shoes. Shoes can't love you back hun", I stated rather bluntly. But when I saw the look on her face, I had to fix it. "Uh.. Except these particular... Shoes, that .. I just absolutely love. Girl you are so lucky. I am so happy for you B. Just beautiful" And just like that, a wide smile found it's way back to her face. That was Shirley. She was a sweetheart. Even after everything she'd been through because of it, somehow, it never changed. It just got... Sweeter.
The Math teacher walked into the class and shut the door behind him. He placed his stuff on his desk and walked straight to the board to begin the class.
The class went on for quite sometime, although I didn't even feel time passing. I was lost in thought. I didn't realise it until the math teacher spoke to me, dragging me back to reality. "Miss Monica? Would you be so kind as to help the class with the answer?", he asked, and without a warning.
" W..What? Me?", I stuttered. He gave me a nod and what looked like a warm smile, but didn't feel warm. "Oh, uh...", I trailed off. What was he even talking about? I couldn't think or say anything for about a minute. And then I did the most stupid thing I could think of... The ONLY thing actually.
" Fourteen, sir", I blurted, out of the blue. What was I thinking? What are the odds? The math teacher, Mr. Henry, looked at the board for a minute and turned back to me. He looked confused for like a second but almost immediately, it changed and he gave me his 'warm' smile again.
"Thank you for trying. But that's not it. Please sit. Liam, help us please", said Mr. Henry.
Liam stood up. " The answer, sir, is AB over square of C plus D". That explained the confused look I caught on the teacher's face. So, basically, I felt like even more of an idiot, and sunk in my seat.
"Thank you very much Liam. Please have a seat. So here is how we arrived at A, B, ov....", the teacher had turned to the board to continue his lesson. And I sure could've melted a hole through my seat with how hot I felt. I felt sick.
After the class, I rushed to the girl's bathroom... Alone. Shirley had to go talk to Mira, leader of the cheerleader's team, to see if she could turn up for the tryouts that evening. I hurled all my breakfast, and a bit of last night's dinner, and I still wasn't feeling good. I cleaned up and took a quick look at the mirror before leaving.
Outside the door to the girl's bathroom, stood Liam. He was looking at his shoes, probably waiting long enough to see his big toe grow a few centimeters. But I guessed wrong... He was waiting for me. I walked fast enough to disappear among the other students in the hall.
School was cool the rest of the day; if you didn't consider people making fun of me every chance they got.. And they did get a lot. But I was, still am, very strong. It was hardly an issue. What's the saying? 'Wear it like an armor, so it can't be used to hurt you'
After school, Shirley had the tryouts so i had to walk out of school alone to wait for Vincent. Soon, I had the doors in my sight... And then, out of nowhere came Liam. God, he was everywhere. Of course I turned around, even though I knew he saw me; there weren't many people in the hallway after all.
"Mon.. Monica! Monica, please..", I stopped in my tracks, but didn't turn around. I was so annoyed, I could've sworn he'd have died if I'd looked at him. And I didn't realise he'd gotten close enough to grab my hand and turn me around.. Until he did.
" I am so sorry.... I feel so terrible about what happened. If anything, I owe you. I swear I don't know where it's coming from but I..
"But what, Liam? You....", I let the sentence trail off as i felt a rush over me, like i would explode.
I shook my head and just looked at him, wondering if it even made any sense to say what I wanted to. After a few seconds, I looked down, and sighed. " Liam, I already said it's cool. Just let it go", I still had not looked up.
Liam was shocked for a while, then that changed to... anger?. Defeat. He inhaled deeply, and tried to sound casual. He even tried a smile, "Uhm, sure. I'm s.....", he paused to be sure, " I'm um.. Sorry for, disturbing. I'll.. Just... See you around, Mon".
He walked past me, back into school. Something in me wanted to burst or break. I wanted him to stop following me... Stop trying to talk to me. It seemed like I got what I wanted, and it didn't particularly feel good.
I walked outside and Vincent was there. He didn't look happy, not that he ever did. I got into the car, without saying a word. I got his lecture about how late I was and about being punctual in future... Blah blah. But I just didn't have the energy. So I let him rant, and when he was done...
"I'm sorry Vincent. It won't happen again". I said it more to the window on the passenger's side, than to him. But still, it's not everyday Monica apologizes. So, like magic, it shut him up, the whole ride home.