Tomorrow. Zenobia promised she would see what she could do…tomorrow. Because there was no way anything would get done today. Not with how whispers crowded her ears. Not when someone was waiting for her, potentially causing an unwanted heart attack to her already stressed heart.
"Who's that?"
"What the hell? He's not a student is he?"
"He looks shady-who wears a mask like that?"
"I'm getting a teacher!"
The girl in the fox mask resisted the urge to smack herself. She couldn't say she expected this, but at the same time…there was this feeling that sooner or later it would happen. That still didn't prevent a headache from rippling across her head, throbbing every second her eyes lingered on the surprise visitor. He looked so out of place.
A pair of scuffed, work jeans, worn sneakers and ironically enough a black t-shirt with a fox design on the front. If the moron wanted to paint a target on his back, this was a sure way to do it. He had his mask on, but it did nothing to hide his white gaze as he waited for Zenobia. His arms and legs were crossed as he leaned against the gate, looking far more confident than she knew he felt. Why didn't he wait in Ms. Mude's office like before?
"Come on, Phoebie." The whispers grew louder as Zenobia led her friend by the hand to Elias. Any hopes of the two of them never meeting and conspiring against her was dashed. However, if it meant both of them finding some peace away from the irritating background noise, she would get them out of here. Though that didn't stop her from giving the boy a deadpanned stare for his recklessness.
"You really know how to stir up trouble."
"Just like you know how to get me out of it. Who's this?"
"A friend."
"You have friends?"
Phoebie gasped at that. Zenobia couldn't be bothered to look at the girl's face, knowing she was ecstatic to connect the dots of this little encounter. Or that she realized that Elias just said the same thing she did when she first learned about him. The red-eyed teen wasn't sure which of the two were worse, but it seemed inevitable that she would soon find out.
"So this is the legendary Elias."
"You've heard of me?"
"Unfortunately not enough-a little text was all I could grasp of your existence. Then I had to pull teeth for the basics of basic information."
"A shame-since this is the first I've heard of you. Then again, Z, is quite the territorial one."
"She is, isn't she?" This was a mistake. This time the embarrassed girl couldn't even be bothered to smother a groan. She could see it now. Within five minutes the two trouble makers would exchange numbers. Later on tonight after they all split up, they would invite her to a group chat, before conspiring in all manner of things against her. The end was near.
"Phoebie. Her bestie that comes from Coralin."
"Ah, thought the mask style looked familiar. Elias. Her partner in crime for all things related to trouble from the Vawushu District." Funny how the two of them were just talking about Elias earlier. If she didn't know any better, Zenobia would've thought that they actually knew each other beforehand to arrange this coincidental meet up.
Dismay painted her crimson eyes when both of her friends gave a merry handshake. Confirming the end to her sanity. She sighed. Too late now to invest in new friends, she supposed.
"Phoebie, Zeno, get away from that guy!" Of course the jokes and friendly smiles between Elias and Phoebie had to be disturbed with the arrival of their two other friends. Zenobia caught Elias' flinch from the corner of her eye.
She said nothing, but widened her stance, slightly blocking her color-blind friend from view. Something he realized when he met her brief over the shoulder gaze. He wouldn't be in any danger. Not on her watch.
"Liam, Renzo, don't be so rude! Come say hi to Zeno's boyfriend." Elias' choked hearing that. Zenobia really couldn't blame him for that reaction. if anything she choked on air right along with him. Her cheeks burned while mentally curse Phoebie's motormouth.
Excitement overrode everything else when it came to the demon-masked outcast. Now that there was a face and voice connected to the mysterious Elias, her friend's brain was in romance mode. Even if Zenobia strapped herself to a lie detecting chair, Phoebe would never believe the two of them weren't dating. That didn't mean she wasn't going to put up with her friend humiliating the poor boy when it wasn't true.
"Not dating actually."
"Seems like a waste."
"Phoebie don't-"
"Dating or not he doesn't belong here! No one wants to deal with a damaged freak." Zenobia froze hearing Liam's words. Air couldn't reach her lungs.
'What kinda freak has red eyes?!
Words filtered through her ears.
'No one wants to hang out with a weirdo like you!'
'You don't belong here!'
As loud as her heart drumming against her ears.
'Foxes are nothing but tricksters! Liars!'
'Your dad left you!'
'He hates yo-'
Zenobia felt pressure on her shoulder, dragging her from the depths of her memories. Elias…it took a moment to realize, was the one responsible for that pressure. His trembling hand gripped the top of her shoulder. He brought her back.
As if he knew she was failing to take in oxygen while her entire body shook with adrenaline. Did he notice how her pencil lead stained hands furled into fists? She didn't. Instead she focused on the muffled conversation around her
"I didn't mean to cause trouble…I just wanted to see-"
Twisted words.
"Too late for that!"
"You think you can just strut around like you own this place? This is our school!"
"Get out of here you creepy bastard! No one wants you here."
Cruel words.
Enough.
A loud slap silenced the background murmurs. It silenced Liam who recoiled. Everyone held their breath, Zenobia especially when she blinked at the realization that she was the cause of it all. Her palm spread out, Liam's mask was knocked to the side.
She slapped him…the proof was the stinging sensation spreading through her hand. Still it surprised her. Zenobia honestly didn't even realize she moved until she once more angled herself protectively in front of Elias. The red-eyed teen didn't completely cover him from view, he was taller than her by a few inches, but her stance was easy to note.
Without thinking her posture was straight and tall. Her arm hung off to the side, ready to strike again should the need be. It would take more than a bunch of staring flapping morons to get her to submit. Her eyes narrowed, taking a page out of Ms. Mude's book to call out her fellow classmates.
"No bullying allowed, remember? Just because he has white eyes doesn't mean he's any different than you and me. We're all born with problems and struggles to deal with. Don't you dare insult him in front of me when I've seen enough people judge others terribly from eye color alone."
"But he's-"
"My friend, Liam. You got a problem with me being his friend, then don't associate with me." Suddenly Zenobia recalled the advice her father told her so long ago. He said it in multiple ways over the years. At the end of the day, it all boiled down to 'Treat people how you want to be.'
She could honestly say that was hard advice to follow. So much so that she forgot about it over the years. It took meeting Elias and Phoebie that she wanted to change. To rise against the unfairness in everything. Though, that didn't mean she was completely in the right.
Her hand stiffened alongside her with guilt. Regret swirled in her belly at the fact that she resorted to violence. If her old man was around he would give her that disappointed stare he was so good at. But she didn't regret defending her friend. She couldn't.
If Zenobia was the only one to think that way, so be it. Any and all ties would be cut if it meant that she'd stick to her father's beliefs. If for no other reason, then for Elias to never have to feel alone while going through such painful ridicule. This wasn't something she would've done months ago, weeks ago, however long it had been since meeting Elias.
But things were different. She felt different. Or rather she felt how she wanted to handle these types of complicated situations was different. It took too long for her to really remember, but she'd make up for the lost time. Especially since she went through it far too many times to feel comfortable allowing it to happen in her presence.
"What the hell guys! You of all people should know this isn't right!"
Much to her relief, Zenobia didn't have to feel that way alone. Phoebie, though looked more subdued with the crowd, tugged at her arm, linking the two of them together. Her stance was fidgety, unconfident and small compared to Zenobia's but, the relief the two girls shared when they met each other's gazes was immeasurable. Just to add salt to that rotting, puckered wound that erupted from their peers, the two girls grabbed Elias' hand.
Their combined strength pulled him closer to them further making their point. There stood two sides. One full of bullshit statements full of ridicule. The other with no tolerance for it. A silent, staring showdown between the students that would go on for as long as it would take for one side to fall. And Zenobia refused to let her side be the loser.
"Just what is going on here!? Elias?" All eyes except for two went wide at Ms. Mude's shout. It looked like a losing side came sooner than expected with Liam specifically flinching at her enraged tone. Guess her fellow students had no idea Elias was related to her. What a shame.
"Zenobia, I want an explanation…and it better be a good one. Now." Zenobia could bet she was getting detention at least for hitting a classmate. She accepted that potential future as she bowed her head towards Ms. Mude's approaching figure. Because whatever punishment she was getting was going to be a slap on the wrist compared to how the principal was going to react to everyone else.
When word of her kin getting bullied by ninety-eight percent of the individuals present breaks free…it won't be a pretty sight. And that didn't even count the 'no bullying' rule that the older woman was so strict about.