He walked in front of us as we entered the cafeteria in an attempt to shield me from the stares and insults. It didn’t help much. People still hurled abuse at me, and some even threw stuff at me.
I wasn’t sure why they were even bothering at this point. They’d already made it clear how deluded my earlier thought process was. I would never, ever be one of them.
I did my best to ignore the abuse and grabbed some food. Then I followed Trina and Adam over to the same table we sat at the day before.
“Laney, wait! Don’t sit down!” Adam held out a hand toward me, eyes wide, but it was too late. I was already in the seat.
“What’s wrong?” I asked.
Before he could answer, I felt it. Something wet and sticky was on my ass, seeping into my skirt.
“I only saw it when you were about to sit down,” Adam said. “It looked like a packet of sauce or something.”
Trina stood behind me as I slowly got to my feet. She groaned. “It’s corn syrup,” she said. “Fucking assholes.”
“Ew!” A girl shrieked from somewhere nearby. “She has her period and she’s just free-bleeding everywhere! That’s so gross.”
A chant of ‘Carrie’ started up almost immediately. I had a feeling that would be my nickname for the rest of the day. At least it was a real name, unlike ‘bitch’, ‘trash’, or ‘whore’.
As I looked around, almost unable to believe this shit was really happening, I spotted the Princes across the room. Most of them had their heads down, ignoring the situation in favor of their phones, but Hunter was looking right at me. When I caught his eye, a slow, serpentine smile spread across his face.
He did this.
He might not have physically planted the stupid fake blood packet himself, but it was still his fault. He blacklisted me for no reason. He made all these kids attack me relentlessly with his undeserved influence and power.
“Carrie! Carrie! Carrie!” The chant grew louder and louder, along with a few cries of ‘dirty bitch’, ‘stupid cunt’ and ‘ugly skank’.
Leaving my tray behind, I fled from the cafeteria and ran toward the nearest bathroom, lower lip wobbling as my face burned with humiliation.
I’d tried so hard to keep my head held high, but when a whole room of people were jeering at me and calling me a cunt, I just couldn’t do it anymore.
Trina and Adam followed me into the bathroom, trying their best to comfort me as I sank to the tiled floor.
“This is even worse than I thought it would be. They’re acting like fucking animals,” I heard Adam mutter in Trina’s ear as she wrapped her arms around me. By now I was openly crying, chest heaving painfully as broken sobs escaped my mouth.
“I can’t even eat,” I managed to get out. “They just won’t stop.”
“We can eat in your dorm from now on,” Adam suggested. “It’ll be fun! Like when you’re a kid and you want to have secret midnight feasts with your friends at a sleepover.”
Hiding out in my room like a fugitive wasn’t my idea of fun at all, but I forced a weak smile anyway. He was only trying to help.
“We’ll bring you food,” Trina added. “That way you won’t ever have to step foot in the cafeteria again. And we can keep the door locked, so no one can get in.”
I wiped my cheeks. “What about breakfast and dinner?”
“I’ll wake up extra early and bring you breakfast,” Trina said. “I’ll even bring you one of those amazing mochas I told you about. Every morning, I promise.”
“And I’ll stay late after school and bring you dinner from the cafeteria,” Adam said.
They were being so nice to me that it made me burst into a fresh set of tears, sobbing so loudly that I didn’t even hear the door open.
“Hey… Laney?”
I looked up to see three girls standing nearby. I recognized one of them from the hall earlier. Unlike the other students, she’d stayed quiet and left me alone, ducking her head and pursing her lips while the others smirked and mocked me.
She stepped over to me with a sympathetic half-smile. “I got you some vinegar from the cafeteria kitchen,” she said, holding out a small bottle in her hand. “It helps with the stains if you mix it with soap. I know because my brother played that stupid corn syrup prank on me once.” She paused, shook her head, and rolled her eyes. “As if periods are something we should be ashamed of. It’s so childish.”
Her friends silently wet some toilet paper at one of the sinks before adding a little soap.