Popularity Rules

by Shamika Lindsay

  Chapter

  XIX

  Marc turned in exasperation at yet another girl who was strolling toward us with a confident smile. I had to admit she was attractive, but it was annoying how much these people were taking this seriously. Even the girls that sat at our lunch table were getting irritated by the constant interruptions of our conversations. It was even more embarrassing that Gina was sitting a few chairs down, watching everything play out.

  “Can you take a hint already, we’re having lunch,” Marc snapped, voicing his frustration.

  I saw the girl’s face crumple out of the corner of my eye. Marc wasn’t being mean; he was just echoing the thoughts of everyone at the table. It wasn’t easy being humiliated at a ‘prestigious’ lunch table and, pretty soon, I’m sure it would’ve been swirling through the grapevines and whatever reputation she had would be ruined.

  “Wait,” I called at the last moment possible. I winced at the obvious glimmer of hope within her eyes. “I’m sorry, we’re just really tired. No hard feelings?” I asked, hoping to play it off as if we were chums.

  The hopeful glint was still in her eyes as she smiled widely at me. “No hard feelings.”

  Marc turned to gaze at me in disbelief as the girl walked away, head held high. “And you wonder why they’ll never stop. It’s a wonder everyone doesn’t walk all over you.”

  The table fell into a strange silence as someone coughed, trying to deter the awkwardness now settling between us. I was grateful for a friend like Marc whose bluntness straightened me out easily.

  A member of the swim team met my gaze and I could see he was ready to defend me, I sighed briefly, looking down at my half-eaten meal. “But who’d walk over the star athlete, right?” he asked, gaining a few nods and agreements here and there.

  I smiled fleetingly at the cult-like loyalty these people were showing. I looked up to see Gina staring at me. My smile instantly fell and I felt as if my brain could no longer process anything else. Before our break-up, all I’d been able to think about was everything that made us so wrong for each other. But now all I could think about what a good sense of humor she had and how fun-loving she was and…

  I flinched as someone slammed a book on the table beside me, breaking me from my reverie. I looked up, startled to see Avery’s ocher-colored eyes burning holes into mine. Marc, the traitor, was ignoring the whole thing, not even bothering to try and help as he just did. I turned back just in time to hear Avery demand that the girl closest to me scoot over and let her sit.

  It was noteworthy that Gina, although not saying anything, had her eyes trained on our faces. And to make things worst Avery casually grabbed my drink and took a long swig. Everyone looked thoroughly surprised and concerned about whatever sort of ‘relationship’ this was. As far as they knew, no one drank from my bottle. It was ‘sacred’. Marc, in contrast, snorted which led me to bite my lip to hide my amusement.

  Avery ran her finger over the cover of my drink, clearly enjoying herself. I couldn’t help but be amused. Everyone was aghast, staring unhinged at the intruder. Avery though, was completely flippant and almost oblivious to the tension surrounding us all.

  Finally, she looked up and gave me half a smile and, for a moment, I forgot I was angry with her. “Are you ready to listen now?”

  I smiled widely at her. “Nope, I’m not.”

  Avery ran a hand over her tattered textbook while narrowing her eyes at me. Her smile altered into a wicked one and I smiled innocently in return. As much as she was accustomed to winning it wouldn’t be today. It was also easy to ignore everyone’s gaze when her eyes were so fierce and probing.

  Marc nudged me and silently mouthed, ‘Just listen to her.’ Oh, so now she was conspiring with Marc, I shouldn’t have been surprised.

  Avery had begun to walk away, irrefutable confidence intact. Before she was too far out of hearing range, I called out, “See you in Chemistry.”

  She rolled her eyes at me and showed me the finger, albeit contritely as if it was the only option she had. “I’m not coming to class today. And luckily I won’t have to see your sorry ass,” she retorted, just as clearly.

  I frowned in response while Marc positively howled with laughter. The table shook from his hand banging on it. I didn’t find it that funny but a few people in hearing range smirked at me. The only thought that was plaguing my mind was why she wouldn’t be there. Honestly, I was a little worried and it wasn’t as if I could chase after her and duct-tape her to the wall because I certainly would. But, Avery was so quick and stealth-like that she was probably nowhere to be found.

  It was also surprising because her Chemistry grades were superb. I remember sneaking a glance at her paper seeing an A. I had frowned and looked at my paper where a big C had been circled many times, as if Mr. Pierce wanted to will the knowledge into my non-receptive brain. I remembered her snort and snarky comments. And to top it off, Mr. Pierce absolutely adored her, so I didn’t get it.

  I broke out of my pondering to realize Marc was still laughing and I mentally kicked every thought of him setting me straight, out of my head. He was just a major pain in the ass.

  There was a passing breeze in the courtyard that was serene—calm which was a total contrast to what I was feeling. Groups of people were milling around, creating an inescapable buzz of chatter. For once, I was thankful to be alone without the unnecessary hordes of talking. I had expected Avery to be here because, as trite as it sounded, whenever anyone skipped a class, they’d come here. Of course both classes and school had ended.

  Chemistry had been pretty uneventful if you didn’t count the girls that sauntered over to my table as soon as Mr. Pierce left. I humored them though, smiling good-naturedly as they complimented me. A few of them questioned if I was going to the science fair like Dylan had promised. I pretended to be innocently confused and pulled the, ‘dunno, how about you?’ line. They all got flustered and stumbled around for words.

  It was pretty entertaining until I imagined what would have happened if Avery would’ve just barged in then and performed multiple lacerations on the girls who dared to sit in her seat. I knew their fear of her simmered noticeably since news had gone around that Dylan had cooled her temper. But I knew she still hated them—in fact, she hated anything artificial.

  I decided to sit and kill some time to see if she’d magically appear out of thin air. As I scoured the crowd, I felt like a grade A stalker, waiting patiently to make a move. I was at my second 360◦ look around when my eyes met dark clouded ones. I blinked, hoping it was only a figment of my imagination. But even then, it was still there, completely rigid and dangerous.

  A quick look around led me to the conclusion that I was the only person seeing this, which was strange because everyone should’ve at least been curious at an individual who was different, something strange to us here. Despite the beckoning of my feet from my brain, I got up and inched closer, still acutely aware of no one noticing. His face relaxed upon seeing me, but I didn’t miss the two bulky shadows behind him.

  “Do you have some mysterious powers or something?” I blurted when I was in hearing range, then mentally kicking myself for being so stupid.

  Elijah’s face crumpled in surprise. “What?”

  “Do you not realize the lack of attention you’re getting?” I asked, once again aware of my stupidity.

  He stared at me blankly for a moment before breaking out in guffaws, which made me frown deeper. Criminals were not to be this easily amused from my history of watching criminal based movies and TV shows.

  After giving me a look of incredulity, he said, “Wow, is it that hard to imagine not being adored for a few seconds of your life?”

  I scowled at him; he was just as irritating as Avery but unlike her, I wanted to break his nose. “I meant, you stand out so much and it seems like I’m the only one seeing you.”

  Elijah shrugged one shoulder. “It’s easy to stand out and blend in at the same time,” he commented indifferently.

 
; Instead of showing my confusion, I crossed my arms. “Why are you in the school?”

  “To blow it up,” he commented casually.

  My face contorted in shock and I looked around me nervously. Now there were eyes on us, everyone was curiously staring our way as if slowly noticing the weird dark-haired guy in their midst. I turned my attention back to him and noticed he was stifling laughter.

  “You’re so gullible,” he said in between gasps of air, tightly clenching his stomach.

  I waited and waited, his hacking laughter getting more and more unbearable. To avoid doing something rash, I folded my arms tightly over my chest again. It went on and on as if every second something even more comical appeared to him.

  After a moment, his face became so serious that I almost forgot he was laughing raucously a moment ago. I uncrossed my arms uneasily and prepared for him to probably fight me. Although, I considered myself quite the pacifist I knew I’d have to do something if push came to shove.

  In unhurried silence, he motioned for me to join him as he sat a small distance away from the people nearest to us. Even though I wanted to resist, I felt compelled to go. Besides I didn’t want him to have a personal vendetta against me I just obediently followed.

  The seat was cool and hard, it being concrete and all. It felt strangely cordial to be sitting here facing him, as if we were having a business meeting and he was the important clientele.

  “I can see you like her,” he commented thoughtfully, staring behind me at something I didn’t want to look.

  I laughed weakly, “What’s not to like?”

  His dark eyes flickered back to mine quickly. “You have no idea how much there is,” he replied seriously, “I know she looks innocent, trust me. But there are just some things that overshadow that.”

  I shifted uncomfortably. “Before, you said you didn’t go to her school so where does she know you from?”

  Elijah gave a wry smile and glanced behind him briefly, probably checking if his goons were still there. “I knew you aren’t that stupid, but do I look like a high school student?” he asked, and without giving me a chance to respond he continued, “I’m not. I’m 23.”

  “Oh,” I replied quickly, mainly to hide my astonishment at his words. Chances are he could’ve been lying but, for some reason, I believed him. Odd, I know, but it felt right.

  “It’s funny actually. I was always at her school for fundraisers and those sort of things—got to keep up the community player image, you know—but I never noticed her. I don’t see how I could; she blended in so perfectly. Then, one night after a long day for some charity run, she came up to me—with a timid looking guy tagging behind her, shooting me daggers—”

  “Jonathan,” I interrupted. Well, at least that part was true, there was a Jonathan.

  “Yeah, I think that was his name. But, anyway, she came up to me and said in her soft little voice, ‘Can I have a smoke?’ I stared at her blankly for a moment before laughing at her. You should’ve seen her face; she looked as if she wanted to smash my head or something. Now can you imagine, a small fragile-looking girl saying that to you?

  “After a while, I said to her, ‘You’d choke from just the sight of a cigarette, sweetie.’” Now, as he was talking, I could see him reliving the moment. I averted my gaze to the nearby bushes. “She was so upset that she swung a fist toward my face. Of course I caught it but I was still surprised. No one had attempted that before. I pulled her closer to me, much to the protests of her little friend who had enough sense to shut his trap when I looked at him.

  “I told her I was dangerous, that she should back off, that someone like her shouldn’t associate herself with me. Instead of backing down, she smiled at me and said, yet again, ‘Can I have a smoke?’”

  “And what, were you allies from then?”

  “Hell no! What part of high school student do you not understand? I told her I didn’t smoke, first of all, and then I sent her and her little boyfriend home. When you have a reputation like mine, you don’t mix and mingle around town unnecessarily; you just did what you had to do.”

  I listened as his voice got softer and I knew I was privy to whatever information he was sharing. “I was surprised to see her show up to one of our little meetings one night, all decked in full black. And even then, she looked like a little kitty. One of the fellas made a wrong move and grabbed her; he was on the ground in seconds. She narrowed her eyes at me and came closer, saying the three words I’ll never forget: ‘I want in.’ After that, I knew she was mine.”

  I decided to ignore how cheesy what he was saying was and focused on how territorial he sounded. In effect, he was subtly telling me to back off and let him take her by any means, force included. I looked up to the two bulky guys who seemed to always appear out of nowhere. I took this as a warning, a very good one too. I wouldn’t fight it because I knew I couldn’t win. It seemed all I could do was sit back and watch…

  “Look at that,” he commented casually, as if he wasn’t dangerously serious a moment ago. “Everyone’s staring now. And a few of them look ready to defend you.”

  I turned cautiously, ensuring my face was completely blank and uninviting. A brawny guy who definitely was not the brightest bulb there was met my eyes and relaxed a little. It was a good thing that my expression could comfort them while I was feeling all kinds of anguish. My eyes met Jade who looked very excited at the obvious bad-boy in front of me. I tried to send her subtle warning glances, but she was determined to come over.

  A sigh of exasperation left lips as she sat beside me, not even acknowledging that I was there. Her eyes were trained on Elijah. She saw this as a challenge, I could tell.

  “Jason, who’s your friend?” she asked, without even looking at me.

  I glared at the side of her head. “Why don’t you ask him yourself?”

  Jade’s head snapped around and she scowled at me as if I’d ruined her chances. She did that herself by being way too assertive and not very intuitive. “Okay, I’m Jade and—”

  “Listen Jade,” he said, interrupting her, giving her the most disinterested look I’d ever seen. “You don’t want to be here.”

  Jade looked confused. “But, I’m just sitting.”

  Elijah gave her a flat look while gesturing behind him. The burly guys behind him were staring straight at us, just emitting danger. Jade’s eyes widened and she met Elijah’s with innocently scared ones. He pressed his lips together as she cautiously got up and left. I watched as he stared intently after her retreating figure. I pulled my bag from the seat and started after Jade.

  Just what had she done?

  Chapter

  XX

  I expected Jade to be her normal self and ignore me as I called for her down the halls, but she appeared shell-shocked as I tried to catch up with her. People in the hall were already beginning to appear concerned, getting out of the way before I inadvertently crashed into them. Jade had already reached the parking lot before I managed to catch up to her. Apparently, she was heading to my parked vehicle which was a first because she’d always beg my parents to take the undoubtedly unsanitary bus.

  Jade paced the length of the vehicle, clutching her bag tightly. “Who was he?” she asked without turning around. I wondered briefly how she knew I was in hearing range but dismissed the thought because I noticed how the graveled ground crunched beneath my feet as I inched closer to her.

  “No one you should want to know,” I replied calmly.

  Jade ran her thumb and index finger over the ring on the top of her lobe, still facing away from me. “This has to do with that Avery girl, doesn’t it?”

  I opened and closed my mouth for a while before running my hand through my hair. “What makes you say that?”

  Jade gave me a flat look. “God, you’re so obvious!” she exclaimed.

  “Jade, it’d be better if you left it alone,” I muttered through my teeth, aware of the prying eyes beside us.

  She ignored my warning tones and continued,
“Jason, are you in a gang?”

  I sighed and pursed my lips at her; now she was okay with addressing me by my name and for what? Just because she assumed I was using my free time to terrorize the masses? “Do you hear how stupid you sound?” I snapped, watching as her face abruptly changed from the forceful cool exterior to pure shock.

  “It’s not stupid! You’re capable of it, you follow that Avery chick around like you’re her lackey!”

  I gritted my teeth in frustration. “I am not, nor is Avery, a member of a ‘gang’,” I said slowly and deliberately.

  Jade shook her head resolutely. “But remember when you made her reveal to everyone that she killed someone?”

  I blanked; I’d forgotten about that completely. I merely pushed it to the back of my mind. Another thing that was perplexing was the fact that Jade knew about it. How did she?

  “I’m sure you are aware our father is a police officer and he can bust your ass for being involved in this,” she said simply, yet condescendingly at the same time.

  “He is the head of sex crimes and, as far as I know, I’m not a sexual offender,” I said with less conviction than I wanted. I thought about Elijah. I knew nothing about his criminal history and Avery being the uncanny liar she was, probably wouldn’t truthfully tell me either. Being truthful isn’t her forte after all.

  “Get in the van,” I said under my breath.

  Jade’s brows furrowed. “What? No.”

  I exhaled through my nose. “Take it from me, we need to leave now,” I said quietly, noticing belatedly that Elijah was watching us from the entrance of the school.

  She followed my gaze and her eyes widened in response. She nodded briefly, not giving me another chance to speak, while hurriedly slipping into the passenger’s seat. I followed suit, a little shell-shocked. Jade had never set foot into my van before and to think it was voluntary. Maybe not voluntarily per se, because fear of Elijah led to that.