Chapter six | Feeding him to the sharks

Chapter six | Feeding him to the sharks

"You have created quite a talk in the entire school, Cyn," Fern exclaimed as we walked into the girls' locker room.

Fern's bright eyes were dancing with amusement and curiosity. She waited for me to respond, hunger for any oncoming gossip. She was ready to dissect every word I said, so I chose them carefully.

I rolled my eyes and let my gym bag drop. "I don't see what's the big issue?" I spoke, sounding nonchalant.

"The big issue?" Fern echoed. "The big issue is that you came to school with a NERD! Had it been Aaron or maybe Ian, it would have been normal. But this, this is just so... shocking."

I shrugged in response and pulled my dress over my head. "He is my neighbor. For the sake of the environment, we decided to carpool." The lie was straight out of my ass, total shit.

Fern rolled her eyes, not believing a word I said. "I understand the environment and stuff. Being the amazing human I am, I have replaced straws for metal ones for my drinks. But what you did, babe." She made a grimacing face.

"That is just a whole another level and so... weird," she continued.

I slammed my locker shut, making the sound echo off the walls of the room. At that moment, I couldn't help but wish it was Andrea, whom I shared my PE class with, not Fern.

With my movements, a momentary silence lived over the room. Every eye was focused in my direction, waiting for me to blow up like a bomb. Fern backed away, getting the fucking huge hint sent her way.

She mumbled under her breath and moved towards her locker. I couldn't help but scoff.

Pulling my PE shorts up my legs, I turned feeling the penetrating stares.

"Do you need some special words of motivation to get back to your shit?" I yelled, placing my hands on my waist. I mockingly lifted my brow, challenging anyone to say something.

None of them dared to say anything.

With that, I walked out of the room, moving towards the open grounds.

The PE was complete torture as the teacher made us do laps around the football stadium. Apparently, we needed to get that summer flab off our bodies. His words, not mine.

The laps drenched me in sweat as Fern caught up to me. She huffed laboriously, almost tripping over her own feet because of sheer exhaustion.

"He is such an asshole," she complained in harsh gasps. I couldn't agree more because my shirt clung to my body with the amount I was sweating.

My eyes scanned the ground, noticing the slow pace of many students. The only ones who seemed unaffected by the labor were the football players and the runners.

Just as I turned my gaze forward, someone abruptly jumped out in front of me. I came to a harsh stop, stumbling into the shirtless and sweaty back of the person in front of me. I grimaced, pushing away from the person.

I looked up to meet mischievous gray eyes, making my jump back by a foot at the disgust that filtered through my bones. Fern gave a dramatic gasp at the minor mishap.

"Watch your steps, Cyn," Jacob called out, giving me a smirk over his shoulder.

I glared at his retreating figure, mentally hurling wild curses his way. While his words seemed playful, I was able to reorganize the underlying threat in them. He was warning me after my morning stunt.

I scoffed, even if a small seed of panic had settled in my mind.

"He is so hot. I wish I could be his girlfriend," Fern gushed, having a starry-eyed look in her eyes. She fanned herself dramatically, making me roll my eyes at her antics.

"Andrea is one lucky girl," she continued, making my annoyance grow. I resumed my laps, ignoring her presence.

Fern quickly caught up to me, matching my slow pace. "So-Sorry, I didn't mean it l-like that," she stammered, knowing how protective I was about Andrea.

I hummed in response. Her fear disgusted some part of me, while some parts relished the feeling. The feeling of absolute dominance.

I walked back into the locker room, feeling completely out of breath. Light whispers were floating through the air, making it a normal girls locker room. This place was a hub of gossip, right after the girls washroom.

Quickly grabbing my bag, I stepped into the shower. Changing back into my dress, I worked hard to regain my light makeup.

Just as I turned around, someone crashed with my bag and fell straight into the lockers. The noise of metal meeting skull echoed through the room, followed by the fits of giggles that broke out between the girls.

Casey Langley looked up with teary eyes. A faint streak of blood flowed down her temple as her hands fisted her gym shirt. She moved her gaze down with mortification, not being able to handle the shame of being laughed upon.

Watching the light trail of blood, I could feel my worry sprout, but I smothered it down. Burying the real Cynthia behind the trained one. But, somehow, my laughter became more and more forced with every moment till I couldn't laugh anymore.

Usually invisible, Casey was suddenly under the entire locker room's attention. She was mortified with her clumsiness and being the laughingstock. It was clear through her sniffles that she was crying.

Somehow, something struck inside of me at the sight of the helpless girl.

I tilted my head as she gave me an apology and rushed to her locker.

"Klutzy Casey!" one of the girl's teased, making everyone laugh harder. Casey's sniffles turned to silent sobs as she avoided meeting anyone's eyes.

For a long moment, I just kept staring her way. My mind tried to find the reason I was suddenly so intrigued with the forgettable nerd.

As if lighting struck my mind, the realization dawned in.

Looking closer at her personality, I couldn't help but notice her resemblance to Eli's. Both of them were off the radar of the popular group. But suddenly, when they rose in attention, the predators of high school were out for blood. Ready to rip them apart to pieces.

My gaze moved all around the room, observing the distinct faces. While a few got over the light accident, most of them kept making fun of Casey's fall, pointing daring fingers towards her.

They fed off the fear, and shame Casey was letting out, sating their inner insecurities and demons. I was no better, and suddenly this fact made me feel sick.

With slow steps, I walked closer to Casey. Fern let out a gasp behind me, placing a hand on my shoulder. "She is already crying, Cyn. Leave her."

I didn't bother correcting her or telling her that my intentions were noble. I just shrugged her hand off my shoulder and walked closer to the cowering girl.

Noticing me approach her, Casey wiped her tears away in a haste, giving me a brave face. Somehow the insignificant gesture made me smile.

I stopped a foot away from her, running my eyes over the slight bump that was forming on a side of her head. The faint trail of blood was missing, letting short-lived relief pass through me.

"I-I am sorry. I didn't mean to crash with you. It was an accident," she whispered. Casey's eyes refused to meet mine, roaming all over the room. She fidgeted on her spot, fisting her already rumpled shirt.

The locker room was plunged into a heavy silence. The audience waited for me to spit some cutting remarks her way. A few even took out phones to record the event.

I gave her a comforting smile, tilting my head to a side. "Are you all right? Do you need to visit the doctor?" I asked, trying to keep my voice friendly.

Shocked, Casey looked up from her feet. Her eyes were wide in confusion as her braces peeked out of her slightly parted lips.

"Y-Yeah! Yeah, I am fine!" she responded, making me nod my head.

"By the way, I am Cynthia, and you are?" I offered my hand forward for a shake. Even if I knew her name, I acted oblivious to the information.

She stared at it for a moment, not being able to process my words due to sheer shock.

"You are?" I coaxed again, gesturing towards my hand.

Gasping in realization, Casey blushed and took my hand in hers. "I am Casey Langley." She gave me a shy smile in return, seeming a bit dazed.

My action shocked everyone in the room. I could feel the odd stares on my neck, pricking my thick skin. They couldn't help but wonder what my intentions were.

That day I decided that even if somehow I had fed Elias to the sharks, I was going to do everything to protect him from the ugly face of popularity and the school hierarchy.