I sniffed. “That's great, Rhonda. Can you get her to fetch and roll over too?”
“As I was saying,” she said, ignoring me, “it's one thing to waste my time. It's another to spit in my face by saying you'd rather be with a pointless freak like Joshua Harper than with me.”
I glared at her. “He's not a freak, and you know it. You just tell everyone he is so you can terrorize him whenever you want. But yes, I'd pick him over you every day of the week.”
“Awwww, that's so sweet.”
“Go to hell, Rhonda.”
“Oh, I'm going to enjoy this.” She stood up. “Attention everyone!”
Every girl within twenty feet turned to look at us.
“I have an announcement. Make sure everyone knows this by the end of the day.”
I just stood silently, facing her. Do your worst, witch.
Rhonda pointed at me. “Starting today, Eve Devereaux is dead at this school. No one talks to her. No one even looks at her. Ever. Anyone got a problem with that?”
I looked around. Two dozen girls were staring at me, not speaking. The silence was deafening.
“Didn't think so,” said Rhonda. She turned to face me again. “And Eve? Make sure you tell your loser freak boyfriend this applies to him, too. Or so help me, I will make you watch while Brent beats him half to death.”
My jaw dropped. I had pegged Rhonda as being a spoiled, power-hungry brat, but I was wrong. She was pure evil.
Rhonda sat back down. I looked at Chloe and Kendra, who were both giving me the finger. “Have a nice day,” Rhonda said, and all three of them laughed.
I turned around and slowly walked out. I made eye contact with a few of my classmates, but they all just turned away. I looked around for Emily and Susan, but I couldn't see them.
I left the cafeteria and approached the empty playground. I wandered aimlessly over to the nearest bleachers and sat down. I was numb. I was prepared for the worst, and I got it.
I'm such a fool. Such a stupid fool.
I just sat there, my thoughts racing. I had nothing left. Rhonda had taken it all away from me. Everything except …
My eyes locked onto the bleachers on the far side of the playground. It was so far away, but I could barely make out a figure sitting there. A figure wearing glasses and a blue hoodie.
I walked toward Joshua's Island. The short distance felt like it took hours. When I got close, he finally saw me. He jumped up, took my hand and led me to the bleachers, sitting me down on the bottom tier. Taking me by the shoulders, he swung my head around until we were facing each other. “Eve? Are you okay? Talk to me!”
I looked into his eyes. “It's done.”
He gulped, and then hugged me briefly. I didn't return the hug. “What happened?”
“I told her I was done. I was out. I told her to go to hell.”
His eyes widened. “Son of a bitch.”
I felt dizzy, so I closed my eyes and buried my head in his shoulder. He put his arm around me almost immediately. My God, how things had changed between us.
“Did she blow her stack?” he asked.
My voice was barely audible. “No.”
“Really? What did she do?”
“She stood up and told everyone that nobody was to speak to me …”
“That doesn't sound too …”
“… ever again. And that includes you too.” I sniffed heavily, trying in vain to keep the tears at bay.
He tightened his hug. I felt a tear trickle down my cheek. “Everything's going to be okay, Eve.”
“No, it's not. She annihilated me in there. And I totally deserve it.”
“No, you don't!” he said, facing me once again. “You don't deserve it any more than I do!”
“Yes, I do. I turned my back on my best friends … for nothing. I made the biggest mistake of my life, and now I have to pay for that mistake.”
“Eve, you were conned by a liar into an offer you couldn't turn down.”
“I could have said no! When she said I had to stop being friends with Emily and Susan, I should have said no!”
I laid my head on his shoulder again as another tear rolled down my cheek. He put his arm back around me, holding me tight. “But I didn't … and now I've lost everything,” I said.
He put his other hand on top of mine. “Not … everything.”
I lifted my head. We were less than a foot apart. We just sat there, not speaking, for what seemed like hours, staring into each other's eyes. He had such amazing, deep brown eyes, full of genuine concern and sympathy. After a few moments, I started to feel a tiny bit better.
Three short weeks ago, I couldn't even stand to look at him, and now, I feel completely at ease when I'm around him. If it hadn't happened to me, I wouldn't have thought such a thing was even possible.
Then it hit me: we were the same now. Two totally different people, who through fate, circumstance, karma or bad luck, had found ourselves here, on these crappy bleachers. We had nothing left but each other.
Finally, he broke our gaze and removed his hands from around me. He smiled, gestured to the bleachers and said, “Welcome to the Island. Population: two.”
* * *
On the bus ride home, I instinctively took Joshua's hand in mine and leaned my head on his shoulder. It amused me slightly to think that had I done this when the school year started, he might have had a heart attack … but now, he was the only friend I had left. His shoulders, like most of his body, were small, but they seemed to be the perfect size for my head. I could so get used to this …
I'd never been this … physical with a boy before, at least not willingly, so it should have been awkward. And given how isolated he'd been for the last few years, it should have been mega-awkward for him. But it wasn't, and I couldn't understand why. No boy could be THIS sensitive. It's just not possible. Is it?
I noticed he was looking down at me. “Screw her.”
“What?” I asked, looking back up at his face, which had a look of determination I'd never seen before.
“Screw Rhonda,” he said. “Let her threaten me all she wants. I don't care anymore.”
“Joshua, please … I don't want you to get hurt because of me.”
“Hurt?” He shook his head. “Up till now, it was only me that was getting hurt. I've had to deal with that for years. I've never stood up to them because … I didn't have a reason to. But that's changed now.”
I straightened up. “Joshua …”
“No, Eve. They've taken everything from me already: my dignity, my friends … everything.” He shook his head again. “You're the first real friend I've had in years, and I'm just supposed to sit back and let them take that away too? I can't do it. I won't do it. No freaking way.”
“They'll hurt you …”
“Only if they catch me,” he said, grinning wryly.
Suddenly, I understood. There was no talking him out of it. “You just be careful, Joshua.”
He nodded, placing his hand on my cheek. It was the most overt act of affection he'd ever made on his own. His hand was soft and warm, and I loved the sensation. I closed my eyes and exhaled deeply, letting the tenderness of the moment wash over me.
When I opened my eyes again, he was smiling. His warmest smile yet. It was the most beautiful thing I'd ever seen. My God, he IS that sensitive.
If they only knew. All my female classmates ever did was get together and talk about what idiots middle-school boys were, how immature they were. How they couldn't wait to get to high school and hang out with boys that weren't stuck in a prepubescent state. I'd found the one boy that not only knew how to act around a girl, but what to say. And it was the school outcast. If they only knew.
I smiled widely. “Okay, then. Screw her. The Island or bust.” We both laughed.
I put my head back on his shoulder. About four seats up, I locked eyes on that ten-year-old girl again. She was grinning. Joshua and I gave each other a puzzled look, but by the time we looked forward again, all we cou
ld see was the back of her head as the bus rumbled on.
* * *
I didn't want my sisters to know what a crappy day I'd had, so when I got home, I waited until I got a chance to speak to my mom alone before I said anything about it.
“How'd things go with Rhonda?” she asked as she started preparing dinner.
I looked around, making sure Kirsten and Sophie weren't eavesdropping. “About as expected. Horribly.”
I told her about my blow-up with Rhonda, as well as the comforting shoulder I'd received from Joshua. “I'm proud of you, Eve,” she said after I'd finished. “You did the right thing.”
I bowed my head. “Doesn't feel like it.”
“I know, sweetie, I know. I'm just glad there's still someone who has your back.”
I sighed. “I don't know what to do, Mom. Rhonda threatened to have Joshua beaten half to death. Those were her exact words. And Principal Baird has done everything but give Rhonda and Brent written permission to do it.”
She looked directly at me. “Have you ever met your principal?”
I shook my head. “Not face to face.”
“Are you sure you're not exaggerating just a bit? I can't believe anyone who runs a school could be that callous.”
“All I know is what Joshua's told me. It's hard to believe, but I believe it anyway.”
She stared into space. I could almost see the wheels inside her lawyer brain turning. “Well, sweetheart, let me tell you what I think. Rhonda sounds like the kind of girl who likes to intimidate others. Am I right?”
“Definitely.”
“If this Brent actually did cause Joshua grievous bodily harm, there'd be consequences that even your principal couldn't gloss over. Charges would be filed, and Brent would be in serious trouble. And since Rhonda made her threat against Joshua publicly, she'd be in the same hot water if Joshua was seriously hurt.”
I nodded. “You're probably right.”
“Do you have any idea why Joshua's parents aren't doing anything to help him?
“No, I don't,” I said. “He doesn't talk about them much.”
She leaned in close to me. “Do you think they … abuse him?”
“The thought's crossed my mind, but I don't think so. He's a nice guy, Mom. He's kind, and he's polite, and he's …” I trailed off. Mom's eyebrows had gone up. “All I'm saying is, I don't think he'd be that way if he was being hurt at home and at school.”
“I hope that's true. Can you try to find out what's going on with him?”
I shrugged. “Well, now that he's the only friend I have left …”
“Just do your best, Eve. Something's not right about any of this, and it sounds like I need to get involved.” She exhaled, leaning back against the counter. “Unfortunately, the timing couldn't be worse. We just began the trial phase of a high-priority case that's taking up all my time. The District Attorney himself is supervising.”
“How long will it last?” I asked.
“Hard to say. We're hoping to have it wrapped up in a couple of weeks, but you never know with these things.”
“Can Dad help?”
“I'll talk to him, but the airline just changed his schedule due to a manpower shortage. He's going to be working a lot of extra hours for the foreseeable future.”
Damn. Sometimes it sucks being the daughter of a lawyer and an airline pilot. “So what can I do to help Joshua?”
“For now? Just be there for him, sweetie. Like he's been there for you.”
I nodded. “I can do that.”
* * *
Lying on my bed, I couldn't get Joshua's amazing smile out of my head. I felt so lucky to have been the recipient of that smile. He probably hadn't had much to smile about for a very long time. I made a promise to myself that I would find a way to make him smile every single day.
Chapter 21
DAY 29
JOSHUA
More than a week peacefully passed without any more trouble, and my confidence was growing. Every school day I spent three hours with Eve – an hour on the bus to and from school, an hour at recess, and an hour during Science class – and we spent the majority of that time talking. Just talking. We talked about everything two thirteen-year-olds could talk about: music, television, movies, sports, current events, our classmates, our sisters. You name it, we talked about it. Occasionally, she would ask me about my parents, and I would give her some little piece of information before quickly changing the subject.
Eve was so easy to talk to. Most guys my age probably would have been shaking in their sneakers being this close to a pretty girl. When we were deep in conversation, though, I almost forgot she was a girl … almost. There were also times when I almost forgot about the bullies, and the rumors, and the pain and suffering I'd endured. Almost.
Eve was my friend. My best friend. A voice, after years of radio silence.
We'd agreed, for the benefit of our relationship, not to spend any length of time talking on the phone, or chatting online, or texting. I'm sure we could have talked until late in the evening if we'd wanted to, but we figured if we did that, there'd be nothing to talk about the next day. Our time together was something to look forward to, to cherish, and we wanted to keep it that way.
We'd started out as … well, not enemies, but definitely not friends, and now we were each other's sole companions. Though I despised the chain of events that had led her to this point, the selfish part of me rejoiced that I had this incredible girl all to myself. But every time my thoughts crept into territory that went beyond a PG rating, I had to remind myself I was her friend and nothing more. I'd seen movies where guys heard the word “friend” from a girl and acted like it was the kiss of death, and now I understood why.
After Rhonda's horrible pronouncement, I couldn't help but wonder if there were other people who had finally concluded that she'd gone too far. There probably were, but no one came forward to challenge her. No one had reached out to Eve at all, and this made me furious.
There had to be others who saw Rhonda for the Dragon Queen that she totally was, and those people should have been lining up to congratulate Eve for standing up to her, but it didn't happen. Fear and apathy were powerful things, and Rhonda had cornered the market on both. I didn't know if our school had its own motto, but it should have been “Just Keep Walking.”
Though my confidence was indeed growing, a large part of me still felt unworthy, undeserving of a friend like Eve. Every morning I woke up expecting her to come to her senses and break it off. One day, I figured, she would start sitting in the front of the bus again. Or someone, perhaps an old friend of hers, would break their silence and reach out to her, and then she'd choose that person's company over mine. Every morning, recess and afternoon, I looked for signs that she'd finally had enough of my face, of my voice … but there were none.
All things considered, she adapted to becoming an outcast very well. Every day, she put on a brave face as we began our conversations, but I'd gotten a lot better at reading her emotions. Losing her status as a popular girl hadn't fazed her in the slightest; what made her sad was not being able to get back any part of her old life. She frequently told me stories about growing up with Emily and Susan by her side; it was bittersweet, because all those happy stories ended with the sad realization that they weren't friends anymore.
We were only one month into the first semester, and never had a single month of my life seemed so long. October had finally arrived; the leaves were turning brown, the temperature was down in the low seventies, and things were as right as they'd ever been. But as I'd come to expect over the course of September, drama would always follow Eve and me, waiting to pounce.
I'd just finished sixth-period Social Studies and was making my way toward the parking lot where the school buses left when Rhonda appeared from around a corner. Thankfully, she was alone.
Immediately, she pushed me into the nearest brick wall. She was quite tall, and still intimidating as hell, but I didn't fear a pounding this time. S
he never got her own hands dirty.
“Long time no see, freak,” she said, scowling.
Angrily, I pushed her hand away from me. “What do you want, Rhonda?” I asked, although I already knew where this conversation was going.
“I see you two together all the time. Must be nice for a loser like you to have a girl talk to you, even if she's just as big a loser.”
Whatever confidence I'd gained over the past week had unexpectedly lit a fire in my gut. The fear I used to feel coming to school had been tempered by joy and anticipation. I realized, at that moment, that I was no longer afraid of Rhonda. Whatever barbs and insults she threw out just bounced right off, and I wasn't the least bit upset by them. My friendship with Eve had become my shield, my armor.
Rhonda's expecting fear. Don't give it to her. Give her the exact opposite. That'll piss her off even more. I smiled wickedly. “Yeah, Rhonda, it's true. Thank you for making it all possible.”
This was clearly not the reaction she was hoping for. She dug her fingernails into my arm, making me wince. “Were you not in the room when I told everyone Eve was not to be spoken to ever again? Huh?”
In spite of the pain, I kept on smiling at her. “As a matter of fact, I wasn't.”
She let go of my arm. “She must have told you.”
I replaced my grin with an indignant frown. “Of course she told me, Rhonda, we're best friends now.” I cocked my head slightly. “Do you even know what friendship is?”
She brought her face close to mine. “If that dumb bitch didn't make it clear to you, then let me clarify: I said no one was to speak to her ever again … and that includes you, freak. If you value your life, you'll do what I say.” She leaned back, satisfied I'd gotten the message.
Rhonda was a beautiful girl, and always had been. She was pretty and glamorous, with perfectly styled long blonde hair and hazel eyes. She probably could've been a model if she'd wanted to be. I just couldn't understand how someone that lovely could be so ugly on the inside.
Changing tactics, I decided to appeal to whatever humanity she had inside her. Straightening my shirt, I looked her square in the eyes. “When is it enough, Rhonda? Everyone in this stupid school is obeying you, okay? You've won!”
Joshua's Island (James Madison Series Book 1) Page 7