“What is your problem?” I said, pushing Christina back. I heard a few people gasp and quietly root for a fight. I ignored them and turned to the girl, pulling her to her feet. I pushed her behind me and faced a furious Christina.
“She ruined my shirt.” Christina narrowed her eyes and stepped closer, grabbing a fistful of my top. “No one destroys my stuff.”
“Back off, Christina. Don’t be such a bitch. She apologised.” I slapped her hand away and stepped back. Indie rushed over and led the girl away from the crossfire just as Christina shoved me hard in the chest.
“You think you’re tough cause you’re dating Ryder? You think you can disrespect me like that?” As Christina laughed, the silence around us seemed deafening. “Ryder doesn’t care. He doesn’t want you. You’re pathetic, Bailey. Always have been. You’re just making a fool of yourself.”
She was wrong. She was pathetic. The sneer on her face pushed me over the edge, and I snapped. “You’re the one making a fool of yourself, Christina.” I lunged for her, making her fall to the ground, taking me with her. A mixture of orange juice and orange soda seeped into my jeans, but I didn’t care. Christina thrashed beneath me trying to buck me off. Her screams were wild, and her voice was hoarse, but the hall was silent except for Indie quietly cheering me on. “Picking on a kid like that. Really? Did that make you feel important?”
“Get off me.” She struggled, but I just laughed.
“You. Are. A. Pathetic. Bitch,” I said slowly. “I have no idea what Chace sees in you, but you deserve each other.” I pushed myself up and grabbed the books that were still scattered on the ground. Christina was still spread out in a pool of sticky orange drink.
“I may be a bitch, but you’re the pathetic one, Bailey,” she called after me as I walked away from her. “I’ll be the one who’s wearing the crown at prom. Where will you be? Crying into a tub of ice cream because your boyfriend ran away to avoid you. Ha! Why do you think I had the date brought forward? Because Ryder’s not here to take you. Do you even know where Ryder is or what he’s been doing?” she hissed, her voice venomous.
I stood staring at her, dumbstruck. I didn’t have a response. I couldn’t form a coherent thought. She had changed prom so I couldn’t go. Because…why? Was she worried I’d steal her precious crown? What a joke. I couldn’t care less about that piece of plastic. Was I pathetic, though, waiting hopefully for Ryder to return? I had no idea what he was doing or where he was. He’d promised to explain it eventually but left me completely in the dark for now. I glared at Christina, and in a real act of maturity, I flipped my finger at her and turned and walked through the crowd.
A few people clapped and cheered and slapped me on the back, but most just stood there in shock, probably trying to process the entire event. Indie and the girl caught up with me as I reached the front doors.
“Are you okay?” I asked the girl. She nodded slightly and sniffed back the tears. “What’s your name?”
“Lenora.”
“Well, Lenora, would you like a lift home to get cleaned up?” I asked her softly, handing her books to her.
“Thank you.” She smiled. “That would be great.”
“Come on then. Let’s go,” Indie said, ushering us through the door.
“Thank you for sticking up for me. I didn’t mean to run into her or spill my drink.”
“We know. It’s okay. Someone had to put her back in her place, and I couldn’t stand by and watch her treat you like that.”
“But everything she said…” Lenora trailed off, a look of determination crossing her features as she continued, “She’s going to pay. I promise.”
“It’s not worth it. Believe me,” I said.
Chapter
Nineteen
The days went by slowly without Ryder to occupy my time. I was almost tempted to cross off the days in my diary, but that would only depress me more. He’d been gone so long, and the rumours just kept getting worse.
“Ryder left because she was a head case.”
“Ryder left because she was no good in bed.”
“Ryder was cheating because he can’t commit.”
“Ryder didn’t want to go to the dance with her.”
“Ryder left because he was scared of Chace.” That one made me laugh!
They just kept going. I only wished he were there to set the record straight. He knew how to handle these situations so much better than me.
But the approach toward me was slowly changing. People were still talking about how I finally stood up to Christina and how great it was. Though Christina was still strutting around the school like she owned the place, she stayed out of my way for the most part except to make nasty comments about Ryder whenever I was alone.
I was not surprised when Greg and Lizzie joined us again for lunch the day before the dance. They’d been eating with us on and off for a few weeks and talking to us in class more, much to Chace and Christina’s dismay. Slowly but surely, more and more people were talking to me and interacting less with them. You could see a shift in the social structure, particularly at lunchtime in the cafeteria.
Once upon a time, Chace and Christina’s table was the most popular table. Everyone sort of just congregated around it whether they were friends or not. But now the table was empty except for their few close friends who just sat there quietly eating their lunch. The other tables that were now full of laughing students having fun were a stark contrast to Chace and Christina’s.
I was relaxing under the tree, as it wouldn’t be long before it got too cold and we would have to start sitting in the cafeteria with everyone else, when Tom and Anna approached us slowly.
“Mind if we sit?” Tom asked, looking from me to Indie while Anna uncomfortably shifted from foot to foot.
“The more the merrier,” Indie replied, moving over so there was room for the two newest additions to our rapidly growing group of friends.
“Thanks. We’ve wanted to come over since Chace’s party but were worried how you guys would react.” Anna smiled slightly.
“Like Indie said, the more the merrier. You guys didn’t betray me. They did.” I nodded in the direction of the cafeteria where Chace and Christina were sitting, throwing the occasional nasty glance in our direction. We fell into an easy conversation about our weekends and other random stuff, completely avoiding the topic of Ryder, Chace, and Christina, which I was grateful for.
I decided to send Ryder a text since it had been a few days since I’d heard from him. I didn’t want to come across as clingy, but I still didn’t know where we stood after Chace’s party. I had no idea where he was or what he was doing, just that he was taking care of family stuff and would explain it all to me eventually. We hadn’t even discussed the dance, but Indie had made me go dress shopping the week before just in case he came home. “You don’t want to be caught off guard, do you?” she’d challenged. I’d argued back with her that it was unlikely he’d be home for prom. He’d been gone more than a month as it was. “If I’m wearing a dress, you can make an appearance,” she’d said before I reluctantly followed her into every dress shop in town until we’d found something we both liked.