The Best Thing for Me

by Lauren Jackson

  I sighed, shaking my head. Talking to this boy was practically pointless. I hardly even sat in a group now. I literally just kept to myself mostly, unless Jason was hanging with me. He was mostly swimming these days though. Who else would I hang with? Penny? "Okay then. Anyway, I just want to know what you're sorry for?"

  "Some guy named Mark asked me to keep an eye on you." he shrugged, dropping the joint and stamping it out. He hunched over and threw his hands into his pockets, leaning back on the table. He just stared at me, while his words slowly sunk into my brain.

  "You've got to be joking." I asked in disbelief.

  "And I sort of told Penny about you."

  "Great. Cool." I snapped. Who else did he ask? Everyone person that I knew? I turned around and began to leave, angry tears filling my eyes, when he spoke again.

  "Oh and firstly." he snipped, clicking his fingers and doing a head bop, much to my irritation. I definitely did not do that. "I acknowledged your presence."

  "Oh because you said like, ten words to me over two years?" I asked over my shoulder, not turning all the way back around.

  "Well you didn't make it that easy to talk to."

  "You never even gave me the chance!" I fumed, whipping back to him, my face glowing. Some of the other group members glanced over and I took a few breaths, trying to calm myself down. Why did this boy always get under my skin? I hardly even knew him.

  "Yeah well, now it looks like I can't."

  "What the hell, Ben?" I cried out. "What, it took you until I was with someone to realise that you liked me?"

  "Yes."

  I opened my mouth to shout at him but stopped abruptly. Okay, so both Chase and Ben liked me? No one used to like me. I shook my head as I stared at Ben. If he liked me so much, why did he not ever show it? Urgh, boys! They were doing my head in.

  "Well, I'm sorry. You're too late."

  As I turned to leave he asked me something that made me stop in my tracks. "But if I wasn't, would you ever have given me the chance?"

  I slowly pivoted back to him. I opened my mouth just as the bell buzzed loudly. He sighed, and turned to go get his bag. I made sure that when he looked back up, I wasn't there.

  My mind was in absolute over-drive. Since when did I have boys attracted to me? This was so strange. The first couple of classes dragged by and I found myself deep in thought. I barely even realised half the day had gone by when I was sitting down at lunch. My mind had been so preoccupied on other things. I pushed my legs out, allowing my skin to soak up the sun. I took a savage bite out of my apple.

  The half-time bell rang and I slowly got up. I wanted to go and swing by the pool, to visit Jason. I finished off my apple and threw it in the bin. I was about to round the corner when I heard a voice. I paused, straining my ears to hear. (I know it was rude, but it sounded like the person was in trouble).

  "Stop." the voice pleaded. "Please, stop!"

  Curiosity got the better of me, so I slowly crept back along the wall and went around the other corner. I peered around it and what I saw almost made me gasp with surprise. Remember when Daniel try to practically rape me? Well, old habits die hard, huh.

  Britney was sobbing as he ground his body against hers roughly. She was whimpering, begging him to stop. He leaned down and bit her shoulder. As in bite, not a nibble, an actual hard bite. I screwed my face up in disgust as she hissed in pain. I didn't like either of them, but I'd been there and witnessed this abuse. No matter how much I dislike Britney, I wasn't going to allow her to get put through the same thing. I stared in horror as he roughly lifted up her skirt.

  Backing up, I spun around wildly, trying to find something. Anything that would help get him off her. I went over to the bottom of the building, seeing some wooden planks underneath it. Getting onto my knees and reaching under, my fingers enclosed around it. Reefing it out, I shot up, surveying it. With a steady breath, I went in.

  "Daniel!" she cried out, pummeling his chest with her hands, repeatedly. He obviously didn't 'get' the message. "Please!"

  He slapped her hard across the face and she yelped, sobbing. He began fumbling at his pants and I was so shocked, I could hardly move. With a shake of my head, to clear my thoughts I went up behind him. Britney's eyes widened at me and I slowly put my finger up to my mouth, ordering her to be silent. Her eyes were frantic and Daniel cocked his head to the side, obviously wondering why she was so silent all of a sudden.

  "Daniel, back away."

  His body froze at the sound of my voice. He kept his hands on her.

  "Daniel, I'm serious."

  "Yeah, get lost." he spat. He shoved Britney again and she gasped.

  "Say that to my face." I stated bravely.

  He let out a snort of laughter. "Emma Ross-"

  He turned just in time to get smacked over the head. The wood hit him with a smack, causing him to collapse to the ground. My hands were shaking as he rolled around. My whole arms trembled as I saw what I did. I stepped back and out of his range. I'd seen horror movies. One hit doesn't take someone down.

  "Don't. Move." I ground out, staring lasers into him. "Or the next hit won't be so gentle."

  He gingerly touched the side of his head, wincing. Keeping my eyes on him, I inched my body closer to Britney. I glanced over at her. "Are you okay?"

  "F-fine." she said breathlessly. "Why... why did you save me?"

  "Because he did the exact same thing to me." I replied.

  She stared at me in shock, just before I heard footsteps. Mr. Jones, the P.E teacher walked around the side of the building and gasped at the scene that was in front of him. His eyes were as wide as sauce pans. "What on Earth!"

  "Er- let me explain..." I trailed off, trying to actually form a sentence. I scratched my head, trying to actually think of an explanation. I guess I hadn't really thought about this. But would have you? I wasn't going to go get a teacher. By then it would have been too late.

  "Principal's office. Now." he demanded, his voice lacing with authority.

  I slowly lowered the wooden plank, placing it on the ground. I looked up at Britney. I had never seen her look so frightened. The signature, cocky smirk was wiped from her face. She just stood there, frozen like a statue. I grabbed her arm and tugged her.

  "Come on." I muttered, inclining my head. "It's time to go and explain."

  She walked silently beside me.

  All I heard was; "Daniel, on your feet."

  I sighed deeply. I never thought I'd see the day where I'd be sent to the principal's office for hitting a student. Again, it was so uncharacteristic of me. Where had this violent side come from? I had never so much killed a fly before.

  I must admit, the way I'm going, I was going to have a definite reputation.

  53

  Mr. Harlon's penetrating gaze bore right through my eyes and I swear into the back of my skull. I gulped under the pressuring stare. I shifted nervously, folding my right leg over my left and placing my entwined hands over my lap.

  "So." his voice began. He sounded overly calm and collected. He leaned forward, resting his lower arms onto his desk and flicking his eyes over to Britney, who was still as pale as a ghost. I think she was still shaken up from the traumatic event. Well, it would have been traumatic if more had happened. "Who's going to be the first to speak?"

  I turned my head to look at Britney fully. She looked over at me, her eyes pleading for me to take over. With a small sigh, I shrugged. "I guess that would be me."

  "Ms. Ross, is it?" he asked, cocking his head to the side, his eyes examining me. "I don't believe we've had a run in before."

  "I don't believe so." I replied, trying not to fidget. "Well, I was on my way to the pool, to watch the relay team practice, when I heard these voices."

  "Go on." he urged.

  "I could hear Britney asking... begging someone to stop, so I went and checked if she was alright." I explained, trying not to ramble. When I got nervous, I spoke at a ridiculous speed and no one had any idea what I was saying.
You don't even want to hear about the comment I got for my Health speech. "I then saw Daniel forcing himself onto her. I went and grabbed something weapon like, just in case I needed to defend myself. After that, I returned and asked him to stop."

  "How did Daniel respond to this?"

  "Er- not well, I suppose." I said, scratching my forehead awkwardly. "He sort of told me to go away and resumed what he was doing."

  "So you beat him over the head with a plank of wood." he stated. It wasn't exactly a question but I nodded affirmative anyway.

  "Yup."

  "Aren't you step-sister to Daniel?" he asked, directing this question at Britney. I saw her flinch at the mention of them being half related. Now this was awkward. I had to bite my tongue in order blurting out that they were apparently 'in love'.

  "Well, not technically anymore." she murmured so quietly that I didn't hear her. I looked at Principle Harlon and I believe he also struggled to hear her.

  "Pardon?" he asked.

  She repeated the sentence a little louder and he rolled his tongue across his teeth. He made a movement with his hand to continue. The way he was acting it was as though he was impatient and just wanted to get this over with. I refrained from pursing my lips at him.

  "My dad broke up with his mum, so technically we're not."

  Principle Harlon and I exchanged a brief glance. In my opinion, I would assume they still are but any who. I shall not put my two cents in. (Although I do think he agrees with me on this one). I was unsure on whether to bring up the fact that Daniel had once done this before. I'm not sure if that would cause more trouble or not.

  As if reading my mind, Britney blurted; "He's done it before."

  I sighed. Guess I didn't have much of a choice now. I bit my lip, unsure of how much to say. He's done so much to me, that it's hard to not lay it all out in the open. I never was that great at keeping secrets.

  "To you?" he questioned.

  "To Emma, right?" she asked, looking at me.

  I licked my lips, feeling Principle Harlon's eyes on me. I wriggled under his gaze slightly, becoming even more uncomfortable. "It's true, he did."

  "Was it on the school premises?"

  "Yes."

  "Why did you not inform any of the staff, or police, for that matter?"

  "Because nothing serious happened." I shrugged, trying to act nonchalant. "Jason Mayor stopped it before anything happened. I didn't want to make it a big deal."

  "Jason Mayor was it?" Principle Harlon repeated, jotting down what I presume was his name on a piece of paper, which was located on his desk. I gulped. Maybe I shouldn't have mentioned him. I didn't even think about it.

  "Okay. Did anyone else witness this?"

  "Just Mr. Jones." I informed him. "As for when it happened to me, no."

  "Okay, well thank you ladies. I will be in touch. You guys are the victims here, so no punishment will be served."

  "Thank you." I replied, nodding at him curtly. We exited and I locked eyes with Daniel, who was sitting in a chair at the front of the office, looking completely at ease. He glanced over and smirked upon seeing us both. Britney stiffened beside me and I grabbed her arm out of reaction. My eyes were scorching as I glared at him.

  "Daniel." Pricipal Harlon said, beckoning him over. I dragged Britney out and felt the much needed fresh air wash over me. I inhaled deeply, shaking my head. So that had been slightly scary. I never thought I'd ever be in the office for something like this.

  "I guess I should thank you." Britney muttered, averting her eyes so that she was staring down at her feet.

  "No worries." I shrugged.

  "I know we're not friends." she pointed out, not looking at me in the eye still. "So it was nice of you to defend me."

  "It's what any person would have done." she looked up at me, gazing curiously. I physically bit my lip in order to prevent myself muttering that she probably wouldn't have done the same for me. Oh well. I will never know for sure, so no point dwelling on it.

  "Do you think you'll be okay?" I asked as she looked a little faint.

  "I might call mum to come pick me up."

  "Okay." I nodded. I took a step to go leave, but something stopped me. I looked over at her, frowning slightly. This was a little awkward. I sighed, running a hand through my messy hair. "Did you want me to wait with you?"

  She looked down at me, (as she was taller), in surprise. "Would you...?"

  I shrugged. "If you'd like. I was a bit shaken when it happened to me. I know how you're feeling."

  She rolled her lips into her mouth and nodded. I walked with her to the other end of the office, where a lady with auburn hair and small, framed glasses offered to ring up her mum. Principle Harlon approved that she was allowed to go home for the day. I felt like going home too, but I decided against it. I could use the school work. I missed out on a bit from my in and out of hospital experiences. I sat down in the vacant seat in the waiting room. She plopped down beside me. An awkward silence filled the room and I felt the need to start a conversation, but I had no idea what to say. I nibbled at my lip, looking around.

  "I'm sorry for all the things I did to you." she muttered, rubbing the back of her neck. "You seem like a really nice person."

  I stared at her with wide eyes. Britney Chevalier was apologising to me? I really, really thought I'd never see the day. My mouth fell open as her words slowly sunk into my brain. No way. I couldn't believe my ears.

  "Huh?"

  "Jason broke it off with me and I hated it. He's the first guy I've been with who dumped me." she continued as though I hadn't spoken and laughed without any humor. "I couldn't believe it. Then he goes off with some nobody, no offense, which is such a Serena Van der Woodsen, Dan Humphrey moment."

  "Thanks." I replied sarcastically. "Comparing me to Dan Humphrey."

  "Sorry, but I assume you've seen Gossip Girl."

  "Yes, I have." I said flatly. I liked Dan but comparing me to a 'nobody' did cut a little. Like, who wouldn't be offended? I could call myself a nobody, that's fine. But it hurt when others did. I frowned at her.

  "It killed me to see how he looked at you." she bit out, jaw clenched. "He never looked at me like that. He never laughed the way he does with you. He was never happy."

  "How do you know he wasn't happy?"

  "Well, for one thing, other then what I've stated above, I knew about his Dad but every time he went to talk about it, I would ignore it." she said. "I was so self-centered that I didn't realise how much he needed me. How bad the situation really was. I never really cared."

  I scrunched up my face. "Well, that's definitely different to me. I cried when he told me."

  "Do you talk about it with him?"

  "Yes."

  She shook her head, leaning back and looking up at the ceiling. "I was so happy with being with the hottie at school. I’ve just realised that I liked the stereo type more then I actually liked him."

  "Why did you fight so hard to get him back then?"

  She looked over at me. "Because you ruined it. The popular boy is always with the popular girl. He wasn't meant to run off with some nobody."

  "Okay, you can stop calling me that now." I snapped, my voice rising louder with each word. "You may not think so, but it hurts. It hurts to call people names, Britney."

  She blinked at me a couple of times. "Wow. You never used to speak like that."

  "Not the first time I've heard that today." I muttered, my voice going back down low again. I didn't want to cause a scene.

  "I never considered you as a person. I just thought of you as annoying nobody, sorry, that stole my boyfriend to gain popularity."

  I snorted. "I think I'd rather have friends and be happy with myself, then be what you call 'popular'."

  She turned her head, staring at me. "And that's the difference between us."

  We were just staring at each other, when the door opened. I looked over and couldn't help the smile crawl onto my face. I was full on beaming as Jason stepped in. He gri
nned at me. "Hey."

  "Hi."

  He walked over, glancing in between Britney and myself. "Everything okay here?"

  I looked back at her. "Surprisingly, yes."

  He raised his eyebrows. "Huh. Okay then. I got a call to come talk to Harlon?"

  "Er- yeah. That's sort of my fault. I accidentally mentioned you..." I trailed off, afraid he'd get angry at me. He just shrugged.

  "Okay. What happened?"

  Just as I opened my mouth to explain, the door opened and Britney stood up. I looked over and saw Britney's mother. She looked exactly like her. She was tall, thin and had platinum blonde hair. She had so much make-up on you could hardly see her natural beauty underneath. She signed something the auburn-haired-lady gave her and turned to Britney.

  I stood up and smiled politely at her. The icy stare I got back made my heart stutter in my chest. My mouth fell open slightly. After giving me the once over, she looked at Jason. "Jason."

  "Ms. Chevalier." he replied formally.

  "Britney." she summoned her, curling her finger. "Hurry up. I'm already late for my manicure."

  Was she not going to ask if Britney was okay? She almost got raped! If my Dad knew the full story, I knew for a fact Daniel wouldn't be here. He'd be possibly hospitalised. He'd be fretting if I was okay and probably send me to therapy or something. Britney looked back at me and gave me a tight-lipped smile. With that, she turned and followed her mum out. I watched them, shaking my head.

  I never thought I'd say this, but I think I now understand why Britney is the way she is.

  "You hit someone over the head with a wooden plank?" Dad echoed. I flinched at his tone and nodded slowly.

  "Er- yep."

  I was expecting a lecture or to be yelled at. Something along those lines. But what he did really surprised me. He leaned forward, his hand connecting with my cheek. The slap forcefully knocked me off my feet and I hit the ground.

  Hard.

  I'm only joking!

  Of course my Dad wouldn't hit me.

  But what he did do was surprising. He laughed. Like actually doubled over and began cracking up. His face became red as he was panting for air. My eyebrows shot up as I stared at him laughing hysterically. I blinked a couple of times and looked at Jason who was trying not to laugh at my expression.