The lunchroom went silent. Everyone watched the chocolate milk drip painfully slow from the top of Angela’s head, down the sides of her face and into her eyes. Her attacker was across the room with her hands behind her back.
Angela felt the ground for her glasses, her cheeks burned red. She wanted to crawl under a table and hide, but she was not a coward. “Really? Was that necessary?”
“Yes really, bitch,” her attacker spat from across the room.
Before Angela could respond, Dean Shane was behind her, “You need to come with me now.”
Angela scooped up her backpack and followed the women back to her office. “Am I in trouble,” she asked tears pooled in her eyes.
“I’m not sure yet.”
Two Weeks Earlier
Angela had not seen it coming. The love of her life had a new piece hanging off his arm. The decision to leave her ex-boyfriend for him had not come soon enough, now the one she wanted was gone. Her phone buzzed with Jeremy’s reply to her angry text from hours before.
Don’t call my boyfriend an asshole. I will end you.
Laughter bubbled out of her lungs. Looks like Jer's new girlfriend is a freshman. Who even says I will end you anymore? She sent a quick reply remembering to sound her age.
You’ll end me? You probably shouldn’t threaten me. I have plenty of friends, I’m sure I could take you.
Almost immediately a reply came,
Watch yourself, I’ll teach you to call him an asshole. Who do you think you are?
Just to be safe, Angela took screenshots of the entire conversation and then sent her last reply,
You’re cute, but I’m pretty sure you won’t touch me.
The weekend went by in a flash, Angela worked a lot with no word from Jeremy. Emotions coursed through her almost every hour. Two days ago, he was her everything, today he has a new girlfriend. So what does that mean? Is she a ploy to make her jealous? Or has he really moved on?
Her friends gave her the same opinion. He was an asshole and she needs to forget about him asap. But that felt impossible. Angela was a lover not a fighter, she didn’t hold grudges, and she forgave very easily. Everybody in her life agreed that this is her best, but worst quality, because she always ended up hurt.
Angela expected some confrontation that Monday at school, but there was nothing. Jer and his new freshman sat happily in front of her holding hands and talking almost as if she didn’t exist. Angela could not keep her eyes off of him, searching for a hint of unhappiness, or maybe even a glance her way. She wanted to know that he still cared, but he didn’t.
As the days went on, Angela forced herself to delete his number and pretend she was over him. Her friends believed her lies, but maybe that meant they weren’t really her friends. If they truly cared, wouldn’t they see the pain in her eyes? Wouldn’t they know how much she couldn’t stop caring about him? Maybe they thought she was smarter than that. They thought she knew better than to fawn over some guy who obviously didn’t care for her.
Present Day
Angela got off the bus in front of her school. It had been two weeks since she lost the person she thought she loved, and although it hurt when she thought about him, she finally felt like she could move on. The first half of her day dragged, with no friends in either class. She eyed the clock all morning waiting for lunch to begin.
Her group of friends claimed an octagon table on the reject side of the lunchroom at the beginning of the year, and that had been their spot ever since. Angela was the first to arrive, she had a phobia of being in long lines by herself so she always waited on the appearance of her friends before deciding what lunch would be today.
“Heyyo.”
A slow smirk took over Angela’s face. “Heyyo? What is that your new word?”
“Yep! Do you like it?”
“Sure Liz. Are you eating today?”
“Nope. But I’ll come with you to get food. Let’s go.”
The girls shuffled back to their table. Angela with her favorite lunch in her hands, and Liz with nothing as usual. Angela’s eyes immediately traveled to the table in front of her. But instead of being sad, anger overtook her. She slammed her tray on the table and took her seat between two of her best friends. The table went silent, everyone glanced her way not understanding why she was suddenly angry.
“You okay?” a few of them asked in union.
“Just great. I love watching my ex fondle some bitch over there.”
“I thought you were over that?” Liz asked across from her.
“Obviously not.”
Angela watched Jeremy gently slip his arm around her back and perch his head on her shoulder like he used to do with her. She watched him move the girls long blood red hair out of her face and kiss her cheek.
“Ugh, he’s such an asshole” she sneered a little louder than intended. Her loud exclamation of insults got her some unwanted attention. Jer’s girlfriend was now looking her way.
“You got something to say over there?”
“Pretty sure I wasn’t talking to you. Thanks.”
No reply came. The friends that surrounded Angela giggled at the annoyed look that took over the other girl' s face. They continued to eat their lunch in peace, that interaction had relieved some of Angela’s anger.
Lunch was almost over, the two friends next to Angela decided they were not satisfied with their meals and ended up in the snack line. Both seats beside her were empty and she was left vulnerable. Not thinking to watch her back, Angela continued to converse with the few friends at the table.
She watched as the redhead stood from her table, she watched as she walked toward her with a chocolate milk container and lunch tray clutched in her hands. Angela gave her the benefit of the doubt, maybe she is just throwing away her lunch she thought. When the girl passed, Angela sighed a breath of relief and continued talking.
The next thing she knew she felt something cold pouring on her head and down her face. Before she had the chance to respond the redhead slapped the glasses right off Angela’s face leaving a nasty cut from where they scraped her nose. Blindly, Angela turned to confront, but with no glasses on and chocolate milk in her eyes, the girl in front of her knocked her off of her seat and to the ground.
Angela’s friends were by her side in a second, helping her up off the ground and handing her the glasses that were thrown across the floor.
“Are you okay?” each friend held one of her arms to keep her steady.
“Yeah I’m fine. Where is she?” she glanced around until a scuffle caught her attention. One of the bigger lunchroom attendants had her attacker by the arms and pushed her up against the wall. From her spot across the room this girl, continuously tried to twist out of the bigger ladies grasp and lunge at Angela, but that wasn’t happening.
Within minutes an administrator of the school took control of the situation. She took Angela back to her office on the first floor, and the attacker was put in handcuffs, and shoved into the back of a waiting police car.
Back in the dean's office, Angela explained everything that had went on in the last two weeks, keeping out her personal feeling toward Jeremy. She spoke of the threatening texts and everything else. After writing a report, as well as verbally explaining what had happened and why, Angela was free to go.
