Sia (15 page)

“
Oh, okay,” Stacy says, her expression lightening. Then it creases into a frown. “Hey, what’s with the no-makeup thing? Amber’s totally going to kill you if she sees you like that! Come on. I’ll set you up before she gets here.”

“
Why would I want to kill her?”

Stacy pales slightly at the sound of Amber’s voice coming up from behind us.

“
Sia, honey! So good to see you’re okay. Your mom sounded totally manic on the phone last night.”

I frown. Something about Amber’s tone makes me question her sincerity. She looks like a starlet right off a movie set. The length of her yellow leopard print skirt almost matches the height of her matching heels. Her black top flashes with rhinestones, and her long blonde hair shines in the sun. As usual, she’s flawless.

“
Hey, Amber,” I say. “I’m fine. Thanks for worrying, but you didn’t need to.”

Amber freezes and stares at me, aghast. “Ugh. Her face, Stacy,” she says sharply. “Why haven’t you fixed it?”

“
I was just about to. Really.”

“
Fixed?” I demand. “I don’t need to be fixed! I’m not broken.”

Amber’s expression melts instantly, becoming sugary sweet with condescension. “Of course you do, honey. You look so . . . plain.”

“
I like the way I look, Amber. If other people don’t, they can look the other way.”

Both girls gawk at me as if I just spoke in a different language.

Stacy covers her mouth. “Don’t say that!”

“
Fine,” Amber snaps. “They can look at
me
then.”

The bell rings and we head inside. The school corridor is its usual mayhem, noisy with voices and locker doors. A couple of the teachers stand in the midst of it, bravely directing traffic.

I reach my locker and just start unlocking it when Kyle stops beside me. He’s dressed comfortably in faded jeans and a black t-shirt with a yellow Batman logo on it.

I smile broadly. “Hey.” It’s hard to describe just how good I feel, seeing him there. Yet I don’t miss the stunned expressions on Amber and Stacy’s faces, or how they spin toward each other to whisper something. In Amber’s world, Kyle is a loser, so I’m sure their words aren’t pleasant.

I turn my back to them.

“
Hey,” he replies. He keeps his eyes purposefully away from the other girls. So he knows. What must that feel like, knowing people are looking down on you? Saying cruel things? He doesn’t deserve this.

But he doesn’t appear to care. He leans casually against the locker beside me. “Just thought I’d tell you I saw Carol this morning at the soup kitchen.”

I drop my lock and give him my full attention. “You did? Was she okay?”

He nods, grinning at my reaction. I can’t help thinking how much I like his smile. It’s warm and genuine and makes his grass-green eyes sparkle like emeralds. “Yeah. I told her hi for you. She said she can meet you at Elysian Park after school if you want to talk.”

“
Awesome, Kyle! Thank you so much!” I throw my arms around his neck without thinking.

After only a slight hesitation, he hugs me back. I breathe in his delicious cinnamon scent, then let go reluctantly and back away. “Oh, I almost forgot. I have your sweater in my—”

Before I can finish, Duke charges in like a bull and slams Kyle into the lockers. “What do you think you’re doing, geek?” he roars. “You keep your floury hands off my girl, doughboy. She’s
mine
.”

Kyle pushes back, pressing his hands against Duke’s broad chest. “Get off me, Duke.”

But Duke isn’t finished. He jams his forearm against Kyle’s neck, suffocating him.

Kyle’s fingers clutch at Duke’s arm as he struggles to break free.

I shove at him. “Duke! Let go!” My shouts echo in the hallway, but even with all my strength, I can’t move him.

“
Back off, Sia. I’ll take care of this twerp,” Duke snarls. “He needs to learn a lesson. Nobody touches my girl!”

“
That’s right!” Stacy chimes in from behind them. “Sia belongs to Duke!”

I
belong
to Duke? The nerve of these people!

The two girls press against each other as they watch the action. Amber is smiling like a satisfied cat, obviously relishing the moment.

I’m so busy trying to rip Duke’s arm off Kyle's throat that I don’t hear Mr. Barrow coming up from behind us. “Duke, would you mind letting go of Kyle? We don’t condone murder in our hallways.”

Finally, Duke drops his arm, but his furious stare remains glued to Kyle’s face.

Kyle stares back, his eyes dark with hate and humiliation. He doesn’t bother swiping back the thick brown bangs that have fallen over his forehead during the struggle. “You have nothing to worry about, Duke,” he chokes out. “I’d never go out with a girl like Sia anyway. She’s your type. Not mine.” With that, he walks away, rubbing his throat.

I watch his back as he is swallowed up by the crowds in the hall. The sea of backpacks and t-shirts blur as my eyes fill with tears. It shouldn’t hurt so much. I barely know him. And yet it
does
hurt. A lot. Like a fist squeezing my heart.

CHAPTER NINETEEN

This time it’s Duke who ends up with his back against the lockers. I push him there and glare up at his handsome face. “You’ve got it all wrong, Duke. I am
not
yours. Not now, not ever. I don’t belong to anyone.”

“
Sia . . . ”

“
I don’t want to hear it. We’re done.”

He frowns, then smiles and tries to grab for my waist. “Okay, baby. You’re just upset. We’ll just talk about this later.”

“
No,” I say, stepping back. “You and me—it’s over.”

Duke’s jaw drops. “What? Why? Because of Kyle?”

“
No. Because of
me . . .
and because of
you
! I’m sick of how you push people around.”

“
What are you talking about, Sia?” he asks, looking confused. “You’ve never objected before. You used to laugh your head off before.”

“
I don’t care what I did before. I don’t like it anymore. I don’t want to be anywhere near you.”

“
Hey, now, there’s no need to go crazy here,” says Amber, coming up to join the conversation.

I look at her, not at all surprised that she’d barge into a private conversation. Then I stare incredulously at Stacy, who is actually crying.

“
Oh, Sia,” Stacy wails. “You can’t break up with Duke. I mean, you two are the perfect couple. If you aren’t together, then, well, that means there’s just no such thing as
love
, ya know? Please, Sia—don’t break up!”

I shake my head at Stacy. “Calm down, Stacy. Besides, it has nothing to do with you. Duke and I are done. That’s all. It’s not the end of the world, so get over it.” I glare at the small crowd gathered around us. “Do you hear that, everybody? All of you can get over it!”

“
Great,” Duke mutters. “Just freakin’ great.” He shakes his head. “Sia’s lost her mind. All because of some little loser.”

“
That’s another thing,” I practically yell, dividing my attack between Duke and Amber. “You have no right to talk about anyone that way. Kyle is a person. Just like the other kids you bully. They are people—and they matter. They have feelings. Just like you and I do.”

“
Okay,” Amber cuts in, looking frustrated. “Here’s the thing, Sia. I have been trying to be patient with you, but even I have a limit. This has been really hard for me . . . and you’re making it even harder.”

“
I’m
making it difficult for
you
?”

“
Yes! This is a lot of drama to put up with. But . . . ” She puts up both hands as if to stop me from possibly interrupting. “I’m a good friend, Sia. So I’m going to be patient and wait for you to come to your senses.”

I frown at her. “Come to my senses?”

“
Yes. And trust me, you will. Once all your memories come back, you’ll see how ridiculous you’ve been acting. This . . . ” She flaps her hands at me, taking in everything from my plain ponytail to my sneakers. “It isn’t you, okay? This goody-two-shoes character you’re pretending to be is going to disappear as soon as your memories come back.”

I chuckle bitterly. “If that’s the case, I hope this amnesia lasts forever.”

Amber’s cheeks flushed an angry pink while she ranted, but my words make them pale. She seems to shrink a little under my glare.

“
Oh, that’s really mature, Sia. Ugh. You know what? I’ve had enough. Until you apologize to me for the way you’ve been acting lately, we’re not friends. You hear me?” She leans in close, matching my stare. “Think about
that
.”

She spins on her designer heels and crooks a finger at Stacy, who glances apologetically at me before following Amber down the hall.

Stacy’s little-lost-puppy behavior infuriates me more. Why can’t Stacy think for herself? It’s like Amber does that for her, too.

Duke’s mouth is drawn into a tight line. He squints to show me how angry he is. “Our conversation is not over,” he growls.

“
Oh, it’s beyond over. Goodbye, Duke.”

He shakes his head, then he follows Amber and Stacy down the hall. I watch them go, the girls’ heels tapping angrily on the linoleum. I have trouble figuring out how I feel about what just happened. I’ve just sent my former best friend away, just minutes after dumping my longtime boyfriend, the school heartthrob. Yet now that I stand by myself in the empty hallway, I realize I don’t feel alone at all.

Instead, I feel empowered, strong, independent, and proud of myself. I wonder if I’ve ever felt like this before.

Mr. Barrow’s head pops out of his classroom, interrupting my daze. “Are you coming in? I do believe we’ve got some history to discuss?”

I nod and follow him inside, but since Stacy has moved into my old seat, next to Amber, I walk to the only empty seat in the back of the classroom. Every pair of eyes watches me wind my way through the rows and eventually take the seat.

I’m well aware that my cheeks are bright red; the color probably stains my face all the way up to the roots of my light blonde hair. But there’s nothing I can do about it. And though I hate the scrutiny, hate knowing everyone thinks I’m out of my mind, I have no regrets over what I did. I’ll show them I don’t need them. It’s just going to take a little time.

Kyle’s friends from BooBoo’s the night before are sitting a couple of rows ahead of me. Like everyone else, they watch me make the lonely, humiliating trip to the empty seat. As I walk by them, I glance at the papers on their desks. Roberta and Tiff. I’ll remember those names. I might want to get to know them better.

No one speaks to me through the whole class. The next class is the same. Of course, that’s slightly more awkward because Duke is in that class and won’t look at me. Amber does her best to look superior and completely happy about the situation. She busies herself with her cell, texting angrily as fast she can. Stacy glances back a few times but never quite meets my gaze. Most of the time, she sits quietly, filing her French manicure. From the nervous expressions of the other cheerleaders, I assume Amber is texting them about what just happened. And warning everyone to stay away from me.

But if Amber thinks imposing isolation on me is going to break me, she’s sadly mistaken. It’s painful, being talked about, but I try to ignore it. It will pass. Soon people will realize I’ve changed for the better. Or at least the people who matter will notice.

Even during lunch, I’m tough. I don’t expect anyone to save me a spot, and they don’t. I spend the lunch hour on my own, which is fine by me. I convince myself that it’s better to be alone than to be stuck in bad company. Besides, this way I can focus on my family’s problems. They need me now more than ever.

I also start to get excited about my plans for after school. Kyle had said Carol would meet me at the park, and I can hardly wait to see her.

The day drags on, and it doesn’t really improve. I slump from one class to the next, shunned by everyone. But I’m determined not to let it hurt. The only thing that really pains me is Kyle’s sudden absence. I don't see him all day after the hallway fiasco.

“
Fine,” I mutter to myself. “He’ll just have to wait to get his stupid sweater back then.”

CHAPTER TWENTY

When the day is over, John pulls up in the parking lot. After I climb in, he asks hopefully, “Good day, Miss Holloway?”

“
It’s just Sia, John . . . and not exactly.” I grimace.

I’m so ready to see Carol. I need her help. The only tough thing will be convincing John, since my parents ordered him to bring me straight home from school. “Hey, John, can you please take me to Elysian Park? I’m supposed to meet a friend there.”