It's a Wonderful Death - Sarah J. Schmitt Page 0,44
of Dave makes him nervous?
“Shut up,” I try to say in an even, calm voice. I fail miserably.
“What’s gotten into you?” she says with venom oozing off each word. “He’s a nobody. Why are you defending him?”
“Because he’s not a nobody.”
“Relax. I didn’t know you had a new BFF.”
I shake my head in disgust. “At least he’s real,” I mutter.
“Excuse me?” Felicity says over Penny’s gasp. “You know what, forget it. I hope you enjoy your downward mobility. It’s going to be a lot of fun to watch.”
I move even closer. “Are you threatening me?”
“Who would ever threaten the queen?”
“Well, maybe I don’t want to be the queen anymore.” From the far reaches of my mind, I feel the urge to take it back and I wonder if it’s the old me struggling to regain control. I bet this is what it feels like to be taken over by an alien body snatcher.
She gives me a tight smile and gleefully says, “That can be arranged.”
“Oh, big deal. Now I have to find another place to sit in the cafeteria. I think I’ll live.”
Her smile widens, but it’s far from friendly. “Oh, I don’t think that will work. We can’t have you becoming a social martyr for the losers of the school to rally around.”
I give her a look of shock and then start to laugh.
“What?” she asks, crossing her arms in front of her chest.
I try to stop laughing. “I’m just surprised you know what a martyr is.”
Without missing a beat, Felicity leans close. The smell of her peppermint gum is so strong my nose starts to tingle. But her breath is still better than Claudia’s. Why do mean girls like to get in your face so much? And then I remember doing the exact same thing when I’m trying to intimidate someone. I also remember it being highly effective. “You would be surprised at what I know.”
Behind me, I hear Daniel stand up. “Forget it, RJ. You don’t have to defend me.”
I swivel around to face him. His face is bright red and he’s slumping over, broken. The sadness in his eyes tugs at my heart. I turn back to Felicity but she’s walking toward the parking lot, her cackle grating on my nerves.
“Dang it,” I say, turning back to Daniel who’s shoving his sketchbook into his bag.
“What?” he asks, wiping his face with the back of his hand.
“Well, I can’t be sure, but I think Felicity is off sealing the coffin on my popularity and there’s a very good chance that Dave is going to leave me here without a ride home.”
“Your friends would do that to you?” he asks.
I shake my head. “I wouldn’t exactly call them friends, not anymore, anyways.”
“Still, you didn’t have to get in a fight with her.”
“Are you kidding?” I say with a laugh. “I’ve wanted to tell her off for a year. You just gave me a good reason.” My words ring with truth and I can feel my new timeline finally catching up with me.
He smiles and takes his sunglasses off to clean them.
“So, do you have a car?” I ask.
His head snaps up and when I see his eyes, my heart skips a beat. “Why?” he asks with suspicion.
“Um, well,” I begin, but I can’t break eye contact with him and it’s distracting. “It’s just that, um, like I said, Dave was supposed to take me home.”
“So, you need a ride?” he asks, and I think I see a smile starting to form.
I give him my most sincere smile. “Kinda. I mean, unless you want to leave me, too, which I would totally understand, seeing as how my people make your life a living hell on a daily basis. It would be a fair retaliation.”
“Huh,” he says. “But I thought they weren’t your people anymore?”
I laugh and look down, my flirting skills kicking in. “I guess not. I’m in high school limbo.”
“Welcome to my world,” he says, and even though he’s smiling back at me, I can still feel his pain.
“Daniel, I am really sorry. For everything I did and everything I didn’t do. It wasn’t right.”
“Forget it,” he says, looking away as a blush spreads across his cheeks.
“No. If I can help it, I won’t forget.”
He looks back at me. “What do you mean, if you can help it?”
I force a nervous laugh and reach out to touch his arm. For a moment, I think he’s going to pull away, but he doesn’t. “Never mind. So, about that ride?