Rarity Read Online Free PDF Page B

gently touched my shoulder as he walked away.  Meg and I needed a moment to close our mouths and collect ourselves.
     
    “What the heck!”  was all Meg said.  I just shrugged my shoulders, I had no words for what just happened.  Now that I thanked him, could I really disregard him from now on?  The rest of the day I replayed the interaction at lunch and fought with Meg as she teased me for spacing out.
     
    At the end of the day I saw the Blonde-squad surrounding Becca.  One of them pointed in my direction and suddenly all eyes fell on me.  What the hell?  Why were they pointing at me?  I hurried with my locker so I could get home fast.  As I walked past I heard Becca’s voice mutter “loser”.  What the heck!  What was her beef with me?  I stayed out of everyone’s way, I didn’t stir the pot, I just went to school.
     
    “Why are we speed walking?”  I turned and saw Meg next to me trying to keep up.
     
    “Avoiding the Blonde-squad.”
     
    “Oh?  Why are you avoiding them?  Are they trying to absorb you into their superficial blonde hood?”  I stopped and busted out laughing.
     
    “No.  I think Becca has a thing for Jay.  She was hanging on him after Algebra this morning.  Then the whole gang was staring me down at my locker.”
     
    “Huh, so she sees you as a threat.  That’s not good.  Not good for Jay and especially not good for you.  She’s going to target you and do whatever she can to make you less appealing to Jay.”
     
    “I am already NOT appealing to Jay.  He was just checking on me.”
     
    “You are TOO appealing to him.  He saved you, that creates a special bond between you two.  You survived a stressful situation together and helped each other.  You can’t buy that in a bottle.”  She was right.  I felt that bond grow between Jay and me that night.
     
    “Shit.  I’m in trouble.”  Meg puffed out her cheeks and nodded.
     
    When my mom got home from seeing patients that night, I told her about the events of the day.  “Mom, I’m worried about what Becca and her buddies will do.  I hate drama.”
     
    “Well, they haven’t really done anything yet.  People will say what they want and can be cruel.  It’s up to us to decide whether we let their words in to hurt us.  You just have to decide to not let it in.  Maybe she’ll give up once she realizes it’s not affecting you.  Don’t give her words any power.”  It was worth a try.  I mean, my mom went through lots of school and has helped many people improve their relationships with others, surely she’d be spot on with her advice.
     
    The week continued very much like that Tuesday had.  Jay would purposely bump into me when I was at my locker and smile and say, “oh sorry, excuse me.”  This would cause me to blush despite my efforts to not be affected by him.   On Friday he joined our lunch table at the end of the period just to “update me on his healing progress.”  But Meg and I think it was to leave behind his hoodie so I’d have to seek him out to return it.  All the while Becca was putting forward an excellent effort to ensnare Jay.  She tried to burn through my skin with her venomous glare during the two classes I had with her and I did my best to not let it get to me, just as mom suggested. 
     
    I continued with my drawing, meditation, and runs and decided to move them to an earlier part of the evening, hoping to avoid the afterwork barhoppers.  I needed to be strong, physically and mentally in case the Blonde-squad attacked.  School was in full swing and there were talks of the upcoming Homecoming dance and tryouts for several winter sports. The high school melodrama was in the air, you could almost smell it - sickly sweet at times, rancid and putrid the rest of the time.
     
    In Tuesday’s art club, Meg teased, “Are you going out for basketball this year?” She knew I didn’t do organized team sports.
     
    “Nah, too busy trying to become a world class