She won’t be able to tell anyone that it’s me now. I’ll go to the principal’s office and reveal the recording if she ever does, damning everything she claims she is working hard for. She knows, as well as I do, that spreading that photo around draws the wrong type of crowd. More people will hate her than love her.
I sigh, feeling the adrenaline ease. It was close. I nearly agreed to her terms until I thought about Conner and everything we’ve built and shared—our future.
I wasn’t giving that up for her.
38
MY GIRL
Puppet [Thousand Foot Krutch]
The restof the week was quiet for Sarah Jane. Whenever I noticed her in the hall, she glared, yet didn’t go out of her way to shove my shoulder or spit rude and insensitive remarks. The picture of me faded. Fewer and fewer people spoke about it as time went on. I felt better pushing it aside. The thought of me out there still made me sick, but I’m moving forward. I don’t want to dwell on the past, especially this. I have more important things to deal with: my home life and meeting Conner’s parents for the first time.
I sit in the classroom with Conner, Aaron, Finch, and Troy. We playDungeons & Dragons. I compromise, naming my Paladin Class Guinevere because I can’t think of another name. Besides, I like that there’s a hidden meaning and an inside joke between Conner and me over that name.
I survived the quest but lost an arm when I opened a chest rigged with bombs. It was a gamble, and I took it. However, the thought of winning the quest made up for my countless errors this time. Conner barked a laugh whenever I rolled low, and sowhenever he rolled low, we laughed at Conner until he turned a bashful red.
I’ve noticed from this small interaction that he has many flaws, yet I adore them. Conner is competitive and a sore loser. He pouts, complains, mutters, and swears under his breath whenever Troy or Finch rolls a higher move. Yet, no one seemed to care, for we all found it funny how invested he gets in the game.
When it was my move, and I rolled high, I blushed when his arm went around my shoulders. As much as he was a sore loser, he was also encouraging, and I felt more confident the more I played. I stood while rolling the dice. My Guinevere had an accent I didn’t realise until Finch said something. At first, I felt embarrassed, but then I heard them talking and realised they were not laughing at me. They were admiring how much I was getting into the game. I wanted to keep playing, exhilarated and excited by the atmosphere, but the bell rang, signalling an end.
“We should go over to your place on the weekend, like old times, and all play D & D together,” Troy says, brimming.
“We definitely should,” Conner agrees. His arm wraps around my waist, and he says, “Noya and I are moving in soon. We will plan something then.”
“Conner,” I murmur, feeling the heat spread across my cheeks.
“Wow,” Aaron says, stretching out the word. “That was fast.”
“Is it at the apartment your parents gave you?” Finch questions.
“Yeah. There are two bedrooms. We will be roommates for a time,” he explains.
Suddenly, the fear simmers after he says that. I contemplated sleeping arrangements all week, wondering how it would work. I’ve slept in the same bed as Conner once, but I was asleep, and he was awake. I also, out of habit, sleep with music on. Thereare many habits I have before sleeping that Conner may not like. I’m glad he mentioned that. Now we can ease into sleeping in the same bed.
“Ah, sweet. When that happens, set a date, and we can play a longer game ofDungeons and Dragons,” Troy says.
“Yeah, man,” Conner agrees.
“Two rooms?” I question when we leave the classroom.
“Hmm,” Conner agrees. “There are two rooms in the apartment. Did I not say that before?”
“I know your games,” I huff.
He leans in, and his smile broadens. “Am I that obvious?”
“Very,” I agree.
He chuckles.
We head down the stairs when Andy walks up. They eye each other, and Conner’s hand touches my back gently. Andy looks between the two of us, sneers, but keeps walking.
I want to ask him what has happened between them, but I hesitate. There are things I don’t want to tell Conner. There will be things he doesn’t want to say to me. Maybe his and Andy’s friendship in primary school is what he wants to leave in his past. I know everything within that house will be in the past when I move out with him. I don’t want Conner to know about the broken home I’ve been in, nor the markings across my skin.
I was friends with Andy throughout primary school as well. But now that I think about it, I was too absorbed in therapy. Everything at home and primary school was such a blur that I can’t remember anything besides Mrs Jones’s therapy.
Samantha,Renee, Zarya, and I walk around the oval at the end of the day. Renee shows us the bracelet her mum gave her from a famous jewellery chain called Pandora. She shows me the shiny pink teddy bear and tells us the story of how she has had thesame stuffed teddy bear since birth, so the figure on her bracelet holds a lot of sentimental value.