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Chapter 24 (iii)
“You know I had to do it, right?” she said, leading him over to the couch to have a seat. He was pale and still shook though less noticeably. Matthew’s mind had been pushed into overdrive as it tried to rationalise all he’d seen and fit it into the world he thought he’d always known. “He was going to take Kai…he was going to take you. We’re family; we have to stay together. You know that, right?”
Her voice was soft as silk, inviting him to retain his trust in her. It offered reason in the midst of the chaos and sought to assure him that everything that had happened was for the greater good of our little family.
He desperately wanted to believe that. “He…was going to take Kai?”
“Yes, but I’d never let that happen—to either of you.” She spared a glance in my direction, one filled with purpose and the direct message that escape wouldn’t ever be so easy. Her actions were as much to finally rid herself of the only man capable of playing with her emotions as they were
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The Girl with the Masks and The Student Body President Chapter 24 (iv)
Back in my room, I found my iPod laid on the right side of my bed. I slammed the door shut then ran over to grab it, marvelling at the device I’d been so sure I would never see again. I thought back to my little brother and the turmoil that must have plagued his mind enough for him to extend this act of mercy. The events of the day had shaken him, turning his left into right and vice versa. I wouldn’t look too deeply into his actions, choosing instead to be grateful his anguished thoughts had led to the return of the only thing I had.I hit the power button and saw at once that it was fully charged. The faintest wisps of a smile spread across my lips and my brother elevated himself in my esteem.A half hour later, the phone rang. I snatched it from the hook with an unusual degree of anticipation. So much had happened since Jayden dropped me back at Lilia’s and he was the only one I knew I could share it all with.“Hello?”“Is this Kai?”It wasn’t h
The Girl with the Masks and The Student Body President Chapter 25 (i)
The next morning, I rose before my alarm. The adrenaline coursing through me at the thought of the performance I would put on left me too anxious for any meaningful rest and caused nothing but tossing and turning the night before. There was a part of me that was relieved to greet the day if only because it meant I would no longer be left to wallow for hours with thoughts I would sooner forget.They would talk about it; it was invariably the course things took no matter where I transferred. There would even be those who were bold enough to walk up to me, shamelessly seeking clarification or further provocation. Rationality dictated that I ignore them and wait to be transferred again but experience reminded me it would make little difference. My peers had always had overly active imaginations. They needed little help from me to flesh out the details of their fantasies concerning the many lives they had convinced themselves I lived.It was only 5:50 in the morning but I&r
The Girl with the Masks and The Student Body President Chapter 25 (ii)
At the other end, I found Madelyn. She stood by Hayley and a girl from our French class. Our eyes locked for a second or two before she turned to continue the conversation she’d been having.It had begun, and I would need courage to see me through the day.I thought of Emi and the mother I wanted to be for her sake. It was only the beginning; life would be harder. She was still young, but there was no telling what lay ahead for her when she gained her own classmates and started accumulating her own experiences. If I couldn’t withstand the harsh words spoken about me in ignorance by my peers, how would I help her through her own struggles? How would I lift my head proudly and guide her through the bad feelings if I couldn’t escape my own?I would have to be the person she would one day look up to and that started with making my way to my locker without allowing the piercing stares to crawl too deeply under my skin.First would be math, th
The Girl with the Masks and The Student Body President Chapter 25 (iii)
“Yeah. We figure the three of us could get better…acquainted.” He took a step forward, forcing me to move back until I met the wall and could go no further. With nowhere to run, my gaze was forced to the pair whose lips had spread into satisfied smirks. They knew they had me cornered and had rightly assumed no one would come looking for me. Screaming, while useful, would draw unwanted attention and I’d garnered enough of that on my own.Dale, the other boy, reached a hand over to caress my cheek. It was an action that caused my heart to hammer erratically inside my chest. My airway began to constrict as visions of my past transgressors and their hungry hands flooded my mind. It wasn’t only the two who stood before me, but every boy I’d ever had the displeasure of meeting. They’d managed to find me, transcending time and space to assault me once more.I shoved his hand away. “I don’t want to acquaint myself with eit
The Girl with the Masks and The Student Body President Chapter 25 (iv)
“Good.” He shoved me from behind the stairs. “Hurry up, we don’t have much of lunch left.”The hall was as empty as when I’d first entered. It was a thing for which I should’ve been relieved but instead it brought little more than a sense of melancholy and despair. There would be no one to divert my path and no one to intercede on my behalf.By the time I got to the other end of the hall, my vision had become too blurred by tears for me to see the sign that welcomed me to Lab 3. Try as I did to compose myself, the sorrow and resentment only worsened. I shut the door behind me and took a seat near the back, creating as much distance between myself and the door as possible. It would delay the inevitable by seconds, at most, but it was the only comfort I could offer myself.I sank to the floor, wedging myself into the corner and pulling my knees up to my chest. The seconds that ticked by were slow and agonising. My heart sa
The Girl with the Masks and The Student Body President Chapter 26 (i)
Jayden took me by the hand and led me through the crowd that had grown following the first punch. He didn’t stop until we’d come to our biology classroom. With another 10 minutes before class started, no one else had made their way over but I knew they would begin filing in soon.Jayden sat at his stool, his face buried in his hands. For several silent seconds, he didn’t move or otherwise make a sound.“…Are…are you okay?”He shook his head slowly as if the action itself brought him great discomfort. “Those guys gave me a splitting headache. Feels like someone took a jackhammer to my head.” Jayden lifted his face to look at me and I could see his condition had deteriorated significantly since he first appeared back in the lab. “Are you okay? They didn’t hurt you, did they? I swear, I’m—”“No! No, no, please; I’m alright. Don’t go after them again; you&r
The Girl with the Masks and The Student Body President Chapter 26 (ii)
“Stop!” I shouted.It was evident that only I would see need to end the brutality. As much as the students loved and admired their student body president, they were always there for a scandal and were indiscriminate in their amusement. They would grin at him in the halls and vote him in time after time, but they wouldn’t lift a finger to ensure he didn’t receive such harsh treatment.I pushed my way through the crowd knowing I had no real power to stop them but compelled to make an effort where no one else would.“Stop hurting him; he’s sick!” I said, pleading with them to see reason.With Dale beating down on Jayden’s back, Ryan rushed over to pull me away. He held me flush against him, his breath hot against the back of my neck. “Let’s leave the fighting to the boys.”I squirmed to break free as another tide of nausea rose from within me. With everything that the last 20 minutes ha
The Girl with the Masks and The Student Body President Chapter 26 (iii)
We all looked to Ryan, wondering if he’d be chicken-shit enough to admit to the ordeal. There had been a tacit understanding between us that if no one spoke, he could only punish us for being late—at the very most, we would have an instance of skulking class on our records, a lecture to pair with our detention and be sent on our way. Things would get more complicated if we mentioned fights and staircases or empty chem labs and sexual assault. The visit to the principal’s office would become unnecessarily eventful after that and that was something we were all better off without.When the dust cleared and things cooled down, we could work at getting our individual retribution. For now, there was a threat bigger than any of us and it required a bit of cooperation to see us all through it.Dale broke the code. In Ryan’s determined silence, his friend thought the need to gain justice more important than allowing us all to walk out relatively unscathe
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