Although my mind told me to relax, my body instinctively lunged toward her, knocking her to the ground. She screamed, surprised, as she landed.
Her eyes were wide as she looked up. I wanted to be tough at that moment, but with spit dribbling down my face and my brain torn into two directions, all I could do was stand over her, my eyes mirroring hers. Then, with a deep breath, I grappled to regain my composure.
"Come on," Blake said, quickly pulling me away. His voice turned into a whisper as he said, "We don't want this to get bigger than it already is going to be."
"You're dead, Hazel!" Sasha shouted. "As dead as your father!" Anger tore through my body, filling every vein with its venom.
"Shut the hell up, Sasha," Ana snarled as we walked away, "and go pick on someone your own size." Sasha said nothing else, but I felt her stare glued to the back of my head.
I held my tongue and walked with my head held high. Sasha wanted her comment to hurt me; I knew it. It took everything in my body to keep moving and not give her the satisfaction of my fist busting her hideously gorgeous face.
I got into the car with Mindy, DQ bound again, wiping the remanents of the spit off my face with the napkin she handed me.
The drive was utterly silent. I didn't know if this made me angrier or if I appreciated its presence. Either way, the emotions I was feeling were rooted deep. It was going to take a lot of crying to get it out. When we finally pulled into the parking lot, I slammed the door shut as we walked into Dairy Queen. My body shook as I stared up at the menu. My friends were too quiet.
In a flash, my anger dissipated. I couldn't handle it anymore. I ran out of DQ, my friends following. I sank to the ground as a bucket of tears flew out of my eyes. Ana and Blake sat on either side of me and wrapped their arms around me tightly.
A few long minutes later, we finally went inside and got some ice cream.
We sat together as my heart calmed.
"We've got your back," Mindy said. "Don't worry."
"What about the text messages she's going to post?" I signed. "What am I supposed to do?"
"We'll cross that bridge when we get there," Ana said. "You're not alone."
The sundae I got was flavorless as I ate. Ana translated to everybody mine and her interaction as I anxiously stared at my phone. I waited for the precise moment I'd see the Instagram message saying I was tagged in Sasha's humiliating post.
But it never came. All night I waited anxiously and terrified. Even after we left and went home, I stayed up into the early morning hours to see if she would do anything.
She never did. And I think that scared me more.
***
The dream started with Grey running through the woods again.
I would show no kindness to him this time. He was going to be jolted awake for how he treated me.
I heard the wolf howling as it chased after him. I looked around on the ground until I found what I wanted—a large black cloak that looked like something Death would wear. I eagerly put it on and waited.
It took a long time for Grey to appear. He was running like his legs were made of lead, which we've all experienced when running in nightmares. I stood in his way, and he stopped quickly. I pulled out a scythe from behind my back, and to make it creepier, I leaned my head to the side in an exaggerated position and began to limp toward him. I made sure he couldn't see my face. He said nothing as he turned around and tried to run back from where he came from. But the wolf stood there and bared his teeth at him.
To intensify the nightmare, I dreamt up two humanoid creatures so that we all surrounded him. They were gray, bald, and crawled on all fours. He spun around in a circle and began to scream. Again, I felt my brain being dragged awake. Then, with a satisfied smile, I fell back to sleep.
***
The following Monday, I stood outside my school with a sickening knot in my stomach. Although the people passing me hardly spared me a second glance, I still felt super nervous. Summoning what little courage I had, I walked to the entrance of my school. Still, hardly a person noticed me nor cared who I was. They all ignored me as they walked by. They listened to whatever was playing on their earphones or continued to enjoy the conversations they were having amongst themselves. I tried to be lowkey and slipped through the crowd. I grabbed what I needed out of my locker for the day and inconspicuously rushed to homeroom.
I sank into my chair with a mini sigh of relief. Ana and Blake gave me pity-filled smiles.
"No, this day is going well," I signed happily. "It's as if I didn't exist, like normal; I love it."
"Well... just expect someone to say something stupid," Blake warned. "You know the kids in our school love drama."
"Yeah, but that's mainly the ninth-graders," Ana said. "And Grey didn't invite them so..." Ana pursed her lips and glanced between us playfully. I smiled and signed, "She's right."
"I mean, yeah..." He looked around the room for a moment. "Just don't let your guard down." I knew he was right, too.
The bell rang, and I headed off to English class. I tried not to think that Sasha would be there as I slowly walked over, but my anxiety wasn't even allowed to build up—Sasha stood in the class doorway with her arms crossed.
"Hope you've come here to apologize," she said, her brows furrowed. I tried to push past her, but her other friends stood in the way behind her.
"Apologize," she demanded. "Say it." Say it? My teeth clenched. She smiled at my angry reaction.
"Unless I hear you say it, you're not getting into class," she said with a smug shrug.
"Come on, 'mute girl,'" one of her friends said. Judy, I think her name was. "What's wrong? You look upset." She smiled deviously.
"Girls, what's going on here?" Ms. Williams asked as she stood behind me. I jumped at her sudden presence.
"Not much," Sasha said casually. "Just talking about Macbeth."
"Excellent. I can't wait to hear what you thought about the reading! Inside, everybody."
They parted the Red Sea for me to walk past. I hesitated before walking through them. Sasha stopped to put her sickeningly soft hand around my upper arm. She yanked me close as she whispered, "We'll talk later, Mutey."
YOU ARE READING
Little Sweet Dreamer - Wattys Edition
Teen Fiction"Oh," he said, as my back hit the wooden wall. Damn it, of course. With nowhere to go, his arms locked me in between him and the wall. He stared down at me as he said, "So you're trying to piss me off?" His lips were surprisingly close to mine. No g...
