5: School

I couldn’t sleep well last night, my mind was occupied with so many thoughts that it was hard for me to concentrate and think further without having to linger back to Jessi and the things she could do to me. I know Jessi like the back of my hand and I know what she’s capable of doing, she’s not the girl that sits around and waits for karma, she fights back even if she’s at fault, and with the way I annoyed her last night, I have a deep feeling she’s planning the worst for me.

It’s Monday morning and I’ve been standing in front of the school contemplating whether I should enter the school or skip today. I’ve never skipped a day of school as I love to maintain my attendance but with the way my birthday party ended last night, I can already feel my day going bad, I have a feeling that the whole school is going to bite my ass and make my day worst than it already is.

After so much contemplating, I took a long deep breath and walked into the school. I kept my gaze down, walking slowly and trying to ignore the whispers around me. I could hear a few of them talking about my birthday party and how it turned out. I could even hear some calling me names but I just refused to acknowledge them.

As walked further through the hallway, my gaze landed on Jessi who was pressed against the locker kissing Nathan. My heart instantly dropped, and I felt a wave of anger and hurt just watching them. The wound is still fresh and I still can’t believe that Nathan broke my heart to be with Jessi.

Watching them, Jessi must have felt eyes on her because she turned around and caught me staring. I quickly diverted my attention to elsewhere not wanting to get caught up with her drama.

Jessi looked like she was about to speak but before she could, the principal bashed out of his office and growled "Jessica Hunter, I want to see you in my office in the next minute!"

Jessi’s attention moved to him, her face frowned as she asked "Why?"

"Ask me when you get in." With that, he walked back into his office angry. Jessi must have done something very bad for the principal who is a nice man to yell at her like that.

I ignored them and walked into the class, sat in the front seat, stared down at my English textbook, and pretended to be reading. I’ve never had a friend in school, all the people I used to talk to were either Nathan’s friends or were just talking to me because of Nathan but now that I’m no longer with Nathan, I’m all by myself.

Soon enough, the classes started and the teacher came in. I paid attention to the lesson but I couldn’t help but notice Jessi wasn’t in class, I guess she’s not done with the principal. Math class went so quickly that I didn’t realize when it was already time for the next class, English. I had a test in English so I started brushing through my textbook wanting to revise what I read.

As I was deeply engrossed in my reading, I suddenly felt something hit my back. I turned around and saw Nathan and his friends giggling making it obvious that they threw the paper at me. I chose to ignore them, turning back to my textbook, but then another piece of paper struck me. Determined not to give them the satisfaction of my attention, I kept my focus on my studies. However, when a third paper landed right on my book, curiosity got the better of me. I opened it and my eyes widened in disbelief—it was a crude drawing of a breast.

I whipped around, my voice rising in confusion and anger, "What the heck does this mean?"

Chris, one of Nathan’s friends, let out a chuckle and replied, "Isn’t that how your breast looks? Nathan told us all about it."

Shock coursed through me as I turned to Nathan, my eyes stinging with tears. How could he do that to me? Nathan just smirked saying, "Oh come on, don’t make her cry now, I don’t want to see that."

Just then, Jessi walked into the classroom and chimed in, "Why do you care if she cries?"

Nathan shrugged a nonchalant look on his face, and said, "I don’t care if she cries; I just don’t like hearing noises. Her voice when she cries is super annoying."

I couldn’t believe he was saying that about me. The Nathan I knew hates to see me cry and if anything he could never say such about me.

I rolled up the paper and threw it at his face. "You’re an asshole!" I growled before turning to face my book.

I could hear Jessi and the rest talking shit about me but I refused to acknowledge them. I was hurt but I wasn’t going to let them see through me.

In less than a minute the teacher walked in. "Settle down, guys. You know what time it is," he announced.

"Test time," everyone chimed in unison

"Yes, that’s right. So settle down, and let’s start this right now,"

The classroom finally fell silent, and we began the test. Fortunately, it was an easy one, and I felt confident as I started answering the questions. Just as I was getting into the groove, Jessi raised her hand. The teacher turned to her, asking, "What’s the matter, Jessica?"

"Someone is cheating," she declared, her voice cutting through the quiet.

"Who?" the teacher asked, looking around the room.

She hesitated, not saying a word at first, and I was puzzled until I realized she was pointing directly at me. My brows furrowed in confusion and disbelief. "I’m not cheating," I protested, feeling my heart race.

"Yes, you are. I saw the piece of paper, Bella. You don’t have to lie,"

"No, I’m not cheating," I insisted, trying to keep my voice steady.

"Oh really? Then explain that under your table," she said, her finger jabbing toward a crumpled piece of paper that I hadn’t even noticed, it must have been one of the papers Nathan and his friends threw at me. I quickly picked it up and said "Nathan threw this at me before the class even started."

"Hmm, I don’t think so." She pouted

"May I have it?" The teacher asked, I handed the paper to him, he opened it, and his expression suddenly changed "It has the answers to the questions."

"What!" I exclaimed, completely shocked and taken aback.

"Jessica was right, you’re cheating on the test." He said shifting his gaze to me "I can’t believe this Bella."

"No, it’s not mine, I wasn’t cheating, I swear," I explained, my heart racing in my chest

He scoffed "I think you’ll explain better in detention." He said leaving no room for explanation.

I felt a wave of frustration as I looked at Jessica, who just smiled back at me. That smile only made me more irritated, to the point where I wanted to punch her in the face. She really messed up this time.