I didn’t respond.
She snapped her fingers. “Hey, bitch. I’m talking to you.”
I glanced over at her. “My name isn’t Bitch or Trash.”
“It should be. I’ve been looking into your pathetic little life, you know. I found your Insta.”
“Good for you,” I said, raising my chin. “Maybe you can be a detective after you graduate.”
A small crowd was gathering around us now, watching our exchange with gleeful faces. They looked like a pack of hyenas.
I desperately wished Trina would hurry up and come back, or that Adam would show up to defend me. I had no idea where he was though, because as a junior, he had totally different classes in a separate wing of Royal Hall. I probably wouldn’t see him again until lunch.
“You’re from Silvercreek,” the girl said, flipping her red hair over one shoulder.
“So?”
“So you’re literally a walking, breathing stereotype. Shit-hole town, single mom for a parent, sad little job flipping burgers on the weekend,” she said with a taunting grin. “Your dad probably left because you’re such a pathetic loser.”
My stomach lurched. “He’s dead,” I said, gritting my teeth.
I thought that would make her relent, but instead, she latched onto the new piece of information like a shark with a hunk of chum.
“Well, he was probably glad to die, because at least that way he got away from you and your trash-whore mom,” she said.
“I can be your daddy, if you want,” a tall dark-haired guy cut in, smirking in my direction as he made a lewd gesture.
“Fuck off, Jessica!” Trina had just returned, and her face was twisted with fury. “You too, Brandon!”
The dark-haired guy walked away, still smirking. Jessica simply giggled. “Careful, Trina. You wouldn’t want to find yourself on the blacklist too, would you?”
“I’ll happily add myself to the list if it means I can smash your face into that locker,” Trina replied, taking one step closer. “But I’m sure you don’t want your brand new nose ruined. Cost you thirty grand and three months recovery time, didn’t it?”
Jessica scoffed and stalked away.
“That’s one benefit of being six feet tall. The other girls are terrified of me when I get mad,” Trina said with a wry smile, turning back to me. Her expression changed almost instantly when she saw my face. “Are you okay?”
I took a deep breath. “I think so.”
She sighed. “I’m so sorry she said that shit to you,” she said softly. “I had no idea about your dad.”
I shrugged listlessly, indicating that I wanted to change the subject. She handed me some tissues, and we worked at the meat juices in my locker together, each of us scrubbing one side.
Things were quieter for the next couple of hours. No one spoke to me in my classes apart from Trina and the teachers. They barely even looked at me.
I found myself dreading the lunch bell. The mere thought of leaving the safety of the quiet classroom and walking into the crowded cafeteria made my skin crawl.
The bell finally went, and my stomach plummeted.
“It’s okay,” Trina said. “Remember, you’ll have me and Adam with you.”
I nodded, but I didn’t feel any better.
Adam was waiting for us outside the cafeteria. “Hey, how are you doing?” he asked, eyes filled with concern.
“How do you think?” I said. I bit my bottom lip and shook my head a second later. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to snap at you.”
“It’s okay, I get it. Today fucking sucks.”