I mask the hurt as another knocks my drink onto my half-eaten sandwich before he walks away. They treat me like I am a deadly plague, one they don’t want to risk catching.
I suck up the hurt and focus back on my lunch. Or at least the parts that aren’t ruined and try to ignore the stares I can feel on me. I can hear the cruel and hurtful whispers.
My appetite is suddenly gone, and I get up, dump my tray on the stack and walk out. I head for the library and nearly walk in when I spot Alicia through the glass doors. She is talking excitedly to someone. Yeah, I can’t go in there now.
Sighing, I glance around, debating where to go before giving up and going to the one place I always go to. I watch as groups of students talk and muck around; the sight makes me feel more alone.
Nothing is more lonely than being alone, while surrounded by an audience to witness the loneliness you feel, yet the ones you love and are closest to are blind to see it.
I would settle for anything, even my wolf.
I can’t wait for that day to come. My brother has his wolf already. Mom said I will have to wait until I’m eighteen. It seems unfair; but at least then, I will have a friend, someone to talk to, someone who will get me, and hopefully, who knows I’m not a monster.
Sighing heavily, I let the library door go before going to my other hiding spot. I really need to find a new one. Pushing the bathroom door open, I listen for any voices, then quickly walk to the far cubicle.
Slipping inside, I lock the door. Pushing the toilet lid down, I sit down. Grabbing my bag off my shoulder, I pull my phone from the front pocket out.
My heart skips a beat and I smile to myself when I see I have a text from Jonah. I am in the middle of replying when my phone rings in my hand. I can’t help the smile that splits onto my face when I see Jonah’s picture pop up on my phone screen.
“Hey, Jonah,” I whisper the greeting.
“There’s my favorite person. Why didn’t you write back? Are you going to come with me?” he asks.
“I thought Kyan was your favorite person,” I chuckle.
He pauses for a second. “He is my best friend, not my favorite person; that spot is reserved for you,” he tells me, and I can’t help the way my cheeks heat at his words. Gosh, I am pathetic.
He is my cousin, well, not technically. We are not blood related. He is adopted, even so, it is kind of weird, and he is twenty-two, and sees me as his geeky cousin – the way he should see me. But it doesn’t stop my cheeks from heating or me from smiling like an idiot.
“So, are you going to answer or continue to stay silent? I already rang your mother; she said it was fine,” Jonah asks me, and I sigh. The bell saves me from answering as it signals the next class.
“Who’s going to be there?” I ask him hesitantly.
“Just Kyan and the usual crowd,” he tells me.
“Kyan will be there?” I ask, knowing his friend does not like me. He just glares; I have no idea why he hates me, but he is always so hostile toward me.
It’s not like I haven’t tried to get along with him, it’s just every time I try he shrugs me off or dismisses me. He took an instant dislike to me the moment I met him.
It has been three years since I last saw him and I wouldn’t mind continuing on like that for a few more years. My stomach drops. If I say yes, I will have to face him since he will be there. His presence always makes me feel uneasy and unwanted.
“I have an English assignment due on Monday, so I really don’t think I can,” I tell him. Unlocking the cubicle door, I peer out to make sure no one is there. As I see no one, I rush out of the girl’s bathroom.
“Come on, it will be fun, and your mother already okayed it. Live a little,” he tells me as I step into the hall, only to run directly into Alicia.
She flicks her blonde hair over her shoulder and shoves me away, glaring at me. Her foundation is a shade darker than her skin, making an orange ring around her neck. She really needs to get some makeup tips.
She steps closer and I back away, only she shoves me, and my back smashes against the brick wall. I barely manage to stop myself from dropping the phone.
“Watch it, skank,” she spits at me before walking off.
I watch her leave, snapping out of my thoughts when Jonah’s voice comes through the phone.
“Hey, is everything alright?” Jonah asks, worry clear in his voice.
“Huh, yeah, just some girl speaking to another; she wasn’t talking to me,” I lie while I adjust my bag on my shoulder. I didn’t need him to worry unnecessarily. Besides, it is nothing I’m not used to by now.
“I should go; I am late for class,” I tell him.
“Wait, you never answered,” Jonah says, and I quickly hang up the phone. Then, I send him a rushed text to tell him that I am too busy and need to do some fake homework.
Walking to class, Eziah walks around the corner up ahead and throws his arms in the air. “Where have you been? Everyone said you left. I’ve been looking for you.”
“I had to use the bathroom,” I tell him as he loops his arm through mine.