MATED TO TWO: A BULLY AND A GOODBOY

2

Athena:

"Are you blind or what?" Cameron yelled, grabbing my shirt roughly and startling me. His eyes briefly glowed red, but when our gazes met, they returned to normal, and he let go of me.

"You," he said, holding my gaze for a fraction of a second before pushing me away and knocking my head against a wall.

Seeing him walk away without attempting to inflict pain on me piqued my interest, and when I realized people were watching, I dashed to the restroom and shut the door with my back against the door. Then I buried my face in my palm and slapped myself several times. This was Cameron, my bully, and here I was bothered about him being sad when all he had done was make my life miserable.

I gazed at my reflection in the mirror and spoke to it.

“You will not, under any circumstances, allow them to break you! ”

“Cameron is a jerk!” I yelled again, then a tear dropped from my eyes, and I wiped it off.

After that, I took a deep breath, changed my clothes, and walked into the hallway.

*****

I could tell by the looks on the students’ faces in the hallway that they were upset that I was holding myself apart, which made me feel less inferior. I raised my hands in the air and gave them the middle finger.

When I entered my classroom, I noticed that the teacher was already there.

“Athena, why are you late on the first day?” Mr. Pax inquired, lowering his glasses with a finger.

I was going to respond when someone spoke up from behind.

“It would take two cities to wash a body like that.”

The class burst out laughing, and the teacher screamed at them.

“Robby, I know you said that, and you have detention today at five.”

When he stated this, the boy groaned heavily, and the teacher turned to face me, saying, “Take a seat, and I hope this is the last time.”

I quickly apologized and grabbed a seat.

The day’s classes were very long, and as much as I wanted them to end, I feared what came next—lunch break.

The sound of the bell brought me back to reality, and I realized I’d have to go to the cafeteria again. This was the last place I went before leaving school, and it was the site of my most humiliating experience.

I waited until the class was empty before dragging my bulky body out of the classroom and into the cafeteria.

Remember to always wear two sets of clothes, I reminded myself, checking to see if my clothes were double. I always had to be one step ahead.

I took a deep breath and then opened the door to the cafeteria. The first thing I noticed was Cameron and Rochelle kissing.

“Look who’s here,” he smirked, pulling away from the kiss. I should have known that they were dating.

'F**k me,' I muttered, swallowing the hard lump of spit in my throat.

My stomach tightened in distaste, and I wished I could walk up to him and knock the heck out of him, but they were just wishes.

I attempted to keep my cool, encouraging myself to avoid him, and I succeeded. After that, I proceeded to the counter to place my order. I ordered a salad and a diet coke before returning to a vacant table with my tray of food.

A guy brushed me from behind as I moved closer to the table, almost spilling my food.

The entire cafeteria burst out laughing, and some took pictures while others joked about an earthquake erupting if I had fallen.

I was about to yell at him because I assumed he was one of Cameron’s i***t pals, but he immediately apologized.

My heart was in pain because of the treatment I received, but I ignored it. The guy apologized, and I tried not to let their silly cues make me unhappy.

I sat down, trying to eat while ignoring everyone’s horrible comments.

“Hey there, fatty!” Cameron yelled and threw a burger at me, which smacked me square in the face.

I tried to remain calm, but I’d had enough, so I stood up and stamped my hand hard on the table, deafening the entire cafeteria.

“Uh Uh.”

“She is about to explode.”

When I noticed they had gone silent, I decided to leave. I am weak as both a human and a wolf, and I didn’t know how much pain I would cause myself if I picked a fight.

I assumed leaving would stop them from being mean and restore civility, but the cafeteria burst out laughing the instant I tried to leave.

“Someone forgot to put pads on her period.”

“Oh, I forgot. They don’t make pads for elephants and hippos.”

I walked up to a nearby window, then I saw my reflection and the massive red mess behind me. I looked over at Cameron’s table to see the guy who had hit me give Cameron a fist bump. This heightened the heaviness in my chest, and my face paled out.

“Welcome back to school, b***h!” Cameron yelled, and I dashed out of the cafeteria with my eyes clouded in tears.

I prepared, but they outwitted me. When I sat down, the ketchup they spilled on my outer clothes made its way to my inner one. I didn’t have a change of clothes left, so I missed classes and painfully watched videos and photos of me circulating on social media. The captions used in my videos were heartbreaking.

“Menses mama.”

“Menses cow.”

“Menses pig.”

My stomach twisted with disgust as I watched this, and I resolved to get back at Cameron.

Will I make it? I’d find out the next time he crossed my path.