“You mean our world history teacher. And what do you mean?”
“I mean he would be better off working with people with insomnia. He made us all fall asleep as he droned on about the Axis powers!”
I shook my head as chuckles parted my lips, looking at Jess’s text on my phone.
“I’m waiting at your locker.”
“Jess is waiting for us,” I said to Mel.
I noticed the way other students looked at her. She was new, and following East Willow High’s “laws,” she had to experience a lot of staring, finger-pointing, and hushed conversations about her. I had to give her credit, since she didn’t even flinch under their inquisitive stares, walking confidently with her head held high.
“I never thought the day would come when I’d admit some other school is worse than Rawenwood High. The students there are awful, but look at all these insects. They’re just buzzing around and gawking, and the only thing they’re good at is getting on your nerves. They’re worse than flies.”
I broke out in laughter. I enjoyed her interpretation of East Willow High’s students a little too much. She was a breath of fresh air we needed.
She rolled her eyes. “It’s not funny. I’ve already heard a few girls say my punk style was an eyesore.”
I skimmed over her black Dr. Martens with a gray skull print, black ripped jeans, and Green Day long sleeve shirt. It was hard to imagine her wearing any other kind of clothes. These were perfect for her.
“What did you tell them?”
“To choke on their high heels and drink bleach.”
I halted. “You really said that? And how did they react?”
“What do you think? They didn’t quite worship me and decide to make me their queen bee.” She heaved a long sigh. “Seriously, Sar, I’ve only been here for a couple of hours, and I can already see this place is falling apart. It’s a mess. That principal, Anders? Someone needs to kick him out. He told me not to make any problems at his school. Me! Just because I, and I quote, ‘look the way I look.’”
I led the way to my locker, frowning. “And what would be ‘the way you look?’”
“Like Rambo with a ton of makeup.”
I let out a spurt of laughter. “What?”
“He means I look too violent. He was surprised my school record at Somers was more or less ‘clean.’”
“Don’t take it personally, Mel. He’s that way with everyone. He’s a horrible, corrupt man who only cares about himself and the image of his school.”
“The image of his school is already as awful as it can get, so I don’t know who he’s fooling with all that talk about the ‘reputable’ East Willow High.”
Jessica grinned when she spotted us. “Hey, girls.” She opened her arms wide and pulled me into a hug. “Congratulations, Sar! Yale, huh? That’s amazing!”
Mel patted my shoulder. “That’s our geek. Destined for big things.” I turned to look at her and smiled back at her. “I knew you’d make it.”
“Thank you.” I caught her extended hand, feeling proud of myself for a change. My confidence and spirits were boosted now that I knew I’d made it. “I almost had a heart attack when I saw it.”
“We have to celebrate,” Melissa said as we headed to the cafeteria. “We should go out and have some drinks—”
“We’re underage, Mel,” Jess told her.
“There’s surely some place that will let us drink! It’s not like I haven’t done it before. Come on, loosen up!”
“I’d like to celebrate with you, but I can’t until Hayden gets better. To be honest, I’m not in the mood for celebrating when he’s in the hospital.”
Mel nodded. “You’re right.”
“Is Hayden feeling better?” Jess asked me.
“Yes and no.” I exhaled a long sigh. “Overall, he’s getting better, but there’s something else. He has some memory loss.”
Mel’s mouth dropped open. “Are you serious?”
“Yeah. But it’s not what you might think. He can’t remember the day of his accident, that’s all. I just hope it won’t be permanent.”
“I’m so sorry, Sar,” Jess said, her brows pulled into a small frown. “How are you holding up?”
“I’m trying to stay strong and positive. It’s hard, but we’ve been through a lot already and we came out of it, so we can’t give up now, can we?”
Mel nodded. “That’s the spirit. There’s no point in being pessimistic. He survived the worst, and I’m sure that even if he doesn’t recover the memory, you two will be able to cope with it.”
“Thanks, Mel. That helps a lot.”
“How are your classes so far?” Jess asked Mel.
“If I hadn’t attended them, I never would’ve known the meaning of true happiness. Not because I’m able to attend those horrible classes, no. But because I learned that happiness is being away from this, what do you call it, Sar? Hellhole?” I nodded, laughing. “Yes. Being away from this hellhole. That’s true happiness.”
Jess and I were still laughing when we entered the cafeteria. Melissa was funny when she was grumpy, especially with the way she looked at everyone—like they were bugs she’d like to squash—but I hoped she would cheer up.
She acted tough, but her parents’ divorce affected her more than she wanted to admit, and I wished there were a way for Jess and me to help her. We tried talking with her about it a few times, but she always dismissed it, acting like it wasn’t a big deal, but I already knew her well enough to know she was putting up a front.
We reached the end of the lunch line when Melissa stopped, her eyes zeroing in on something on the other side of the room. I followed her gaze to Blake, Masen, Steven, and a few of their football teammates at Hayden’s table.
“Oh look. It’s Poo, an Even Bigger Poo, my brother the idiot, and their friends.” Mel shook her head. “So he decided to show up in the end. While I had to listen to mom complaining about him spending the night away and not answering her calls.” Pain twisted her features, but it was quickly replaced by anger when she grimaced. “That irresponsible idiot. Look at him, all chill with his brainless friends and not even bothering to turn on his damn phone. I’m so going to strangle him.” She strode over to them, leaving us to gape at her.
“What is she doing?” Jess asked.
“She probably wants to talk with Steven. Come on.” I motioned to her to follow me. “We can’t let her face them all alone. I’m sure Blake, Masen, and the others won’t be civilized.”
“But I’m sure they won’t dare harass her in front of her brother.”
I understood why she didn’t want to go anywhere near their table, but we couldn’t be sure with Masen, Blake, and the other douchebags on their team. I wouldn’t be surprised if they made fun of Mel, despite Steven.
“Come on. We’re her friends. She’s clearly pissed off, and I don’t want her to do something reckless.”
We were halfway there when her loud voice reached us. “Why do you even have a phone when you don’t use it?” she hissed at Steven who sat reclined in the chair with his hands behind his head, his face blank.