“What’s with the deer–in–the–headlights look?
Scared?” Luke grinned, unconcerned. “Lucky it was me. If that hit you, you’d be crying, and that wouldn’t be pretty.”
I dabbed the ointment on his back, muttering,
“Shut up.” Outside the curtain, the nurse was
tending to another student.
“…What are you so upset about?” Luke’s upper
body was bare. My hand trembled slightly as I
applied the ointment.
He turned his head, his usually playful eyes now
serious. “He treats you like that, and you’re not
angry?”
I shook my head. “I’m used to it.”
“Why don’t you fight back?”
“It’s pointless.” I concentrated on applying the
ointment. “The more I resist, the worse he gets.
Ho’s got iccups
C
can’t roooon with him
Wic
<
He’s got issues, you can’t reason with him. His
upbringing’s messed up too. If I tell on him
again, he’ll just get punished and take it out on
me even more.”
Luke was silent. I sniffled, also silent. As I
finished applying the ointment and reached for
a tissue, he caught my hand. He gently wiped
away a smudge of ointment from my fingertip.
“So, what about me? What do you think of
me?”
- 21.
“Why are you running?” Luke caught up to me
as we left the nurse’s office. He struggled to
pull his shirt on, hiding his well–built physique.
“Am I that scary?”
“No.”
“Then stop running.”
11 11
Luke stopped me, lowering his voice. “You think
I don’t know what’s going on between you and
Ethan? We’re close.”
“Then why are you getting involved with me?”
There was a hint of accusation in my voice.
Luke paused, then laughed. “What do you
mean, ‘getting involved‘? Desk partner, have a
heart! I took a basketball for you. Don’t you
think you owe me something?”
“…I’m heartless.” My face screamed ‘avoidance.‘
He laughed, and ruffled my hair. “Okay,
heartless.”
- 22.
Ethan was at my house, sitting on the sofa with
my parents, when I got home. Seeing his hostile
glare, I had a bad feeling.
“Sarah, come here,” my mom said, her smile
<
I sat beside Ethan, leaving a space between us.
My mom slid her phone across the coffee table.
A picture of Luke and me walking together, his
hand on my head.
“Sarah, tell me, who is this boy?”
I glanced at Ethan. He was practically radiating
smugness. My dad lit a cigarette, silent.
When I didn’t answer, my mom continued, her
tone serious. “Sarah, you’re a senior now. It’s
good that you’re making new friends after
transferring, but there are boundaries. You
know what’s right and wrong, don’t you?”
“Yes.” I took a deep breath. “I’ll fix it.”
A text from Ethan popped up on my phone: Snitching, huh? Two can play that game.
I blocked and deleted him.
<
“He’s just a friend. Nothing more.” After Ethan
left, I insisted to my mom. “Being ostracized at my old school wasn’t my fault. I was the victim. I didn’t do anything wrong.”
My mom sighed. “I know you wouldn’t. But I’m worried. I’ll ask Ethan to keep an eye on you. He’s always been protective of you.”
“What if I told you he’s lying? He’s changed.” My hands clenched, trembling slightly. I stared at my mom, waiting for her response, suddenly wanting to tell her everything Ethan had done to
- me. The isolation, the transfer, the bullying.
My mom just rubbed her temples. “Sarah, then where did this picture come from? I want you to
be honest with me.”
I unclenched my fists. Forget it.
- 24.
The next day at school, I felt everyone’s eyes
- 7.
<
on me. Thanks to Ethan, the whole school knew
about the basketball court incident, how he and
Luke had supposedly “fought” over me.
Luke, seemingly unbothered, was catching up
on homework.
“Hey, desk partner, let me copy your answers,”
he said.
I glanced at his blank worksheet. “Why don’t
you do it yourself?”
He cleared his throat, casually rolling his
shoulder, then wincing in pain. “See, heartless?
You injured me and now you won’t even help
me.”
A few nearby classmates turned to look. My
cheeks flushed. “Shut up!”
Luke grinned, carefree. I sat down and handed
him my completed worksheet.
<
Then, the girl in front of me turned around.
Ethan’s current girlfriend, Vanessa.
“Sarah, we need to talk.”
- 25.
Luke grabbed my wrist and looked up at
Vanessa. “Something you need?”
She blinked. “What’s it to you?”
Vanessa was popular. Pretty, confident, and outgoing. She knew a lot of people, including some outside of school. Compared to me, the new kid, Luke probably thought I’d be easily
intimidated.
I gently pulled my hand away. “It’s fine.” I stood
- up. “Let’s go. We can talk outside.”
- 26.
“You’ve seen this picture, right?”
<
