Chapter 2

“Okay, rule number one,” Maeve said over the noise in the cafeteria. “Don’t challenge Tyler Sinclair in algebra.”

I tried my best not to look around. "Why? He was wrong.”

Maeve picked up a food tray and stopped in front of me. "I'm not blind, Sydney. And no one else in that class was. We all saw it.”

I just blinked.

“You should have waited for Mrs. Holloway to correct him." She added.

An uproar broke out from one corner of the room, and my eyes moved before I could stop them.

My gaze landed on Tyler. He was with his basketball teammates, jerseys on, waiting for practice after lunch. And he was staring.

That smirk was back.

"And the fact that he's friends with your sister doesn't give you that liberty. You know that, right?”

‘But I was only trying to prove a point.’ I almost said.

Instead, I turned to the mini burger and a few sprinkles of fries on my tray as I followed Maeve towards a table.

“What happens when he’s challenged?” I asked quietly.

Maeve sat across from me and shrugged. “On the court? They get trashed. But in class…this is the first time he’s ever been wrong.”

That made my heart skip.

I was just about to take my seat when someone bumped into me from behind as they passed by.

“Oh my God, I’m sorry,” I blurted. But the boy didn’t even look back.

Then I sat down, aiming to hurry out of school immediately after the last bell. Just in case.

At first, everything was normal. I'd just picked up my burger while Maeve was already halfway through hers, scrolling on her phone.

Then I felt it—cold and liquid beneath me.

I frowned and looked down on the bench.

‘No!’

“What's wrong?" Maeve asked, looking up and noticing the distress on my face.

I stood.

A medium-sized ketchup sachet slid off the bench.

‘Shit.’

My stomach dropped.

I lifted my head, my eyes straying across the cafeteria.

Tyler was watching me.

Someone laughed.

“Yo, look."

The sound spread before I completely grasped what was going on.

Tyler's lips curled.

“Uh-oh." He called. “Someone get her a jacket."

Laughter exploded through the cafeteria. Even people who hadn’t been paying attention turned to look.

My whole body trembled, but I couldn’t tear my eyes away from him.

He wasn't laughing, just staring, like he was waiting for my next "smart move”.

But I had nothing left in my body, safe for the extra layers of skin I suddenly felt too aware of.

Tears pricked my eyelids and I wished I could melt away.

"Syd, it's okay. Keep it together.” Maeve said over the laughter in the room. "It's just some ketchup. It's not that—"

I bolted.

I ran as fast as my legs could carry me out of the cafeteria.

"Hey, hey, slow down!” Tyler called after me. "Earthquake!”

The laughter followed me into the empty hallway as I walked towards the bathroom.

Tears burned my eyes.

“Syd!" I heard Maeve yell.

But I didn't stop. I couldn't, not with the ketchup smeared on my black jeans. Not with my chest burning.

Tyler had struck again, and this time he'd made the entire school laugh—well not everyone, but they'd laughed. Not just his teammates this time.

I ran into the bathroom and slammed the door behind me, pressing my hand against the sink as I stared at my reflection in the mirror.

‘Don’t cry, Sydney. Don't cry. You've been through worse.’

I shut my eyes, trying to shut out the laughter from my mind.

It all felt like I was back in Newston. Only worse.

The door flew open as I exhaled, and Maeve appeared, her backpack slung over her shoulder.

“Syd, oh my God.” She shut the door quickly and rushed to where I was, placing her hand gently on my shoulder. “Are you okay?"

I scoffed bitterly. “There's ketchup on my butt. What do you think?"

“Oh God.” She dropped her bag and dug through it. “Tyler is such an ass. Ketchup on your chair? All for what?” She pulled out baby wipes. “He wasn’t even always like this.”

“Earthquake? Really?” She muttered.

I leaned further as she began to carefully wipe away the ketchup. “Well maybe I look like some fat toy to him. Something easy to squeeze.”

"No, don't say that, Syd.”

"Maybe a joke then. He says it all the time and everyone seems to find it funny."

My throat tightened as I stared at my reflection. “Why do I have to be me? Why do I have to be the other girl? The fat one, the lest attractive one. The joke.”

“Syd." Maeve stood close to me. “You know that's not true. Tyler is just being mean because he can, because he wants to. No one sees you as a joke."

“You mean you and Brooklyn?"

Maeve brushed away my words. “I'm sure Tyler is actually angry that you challenged him in class. That's a good thing, isn't it? At least now he knows what it feels like to feel like a fool."

That should have comforted me. But it didn't. It could never.

Tyler had still won and he was going to keep winning unless I woke up as a completely different person.

I'd only proved that I was some fat nerd, and Tyler had proved that I could never make him feel bad.

I was the one crying in a bathroom again.

“There's no point, Maeve." I said. “Tyler will always win. And I'll just be…Sydney, Brooklyn's forgotten sister.”

“Forgotten?" Maeve threw a hand over my shoulders. “No. You are Sydney Walker. A girl too good for this goddamn school.”

The door swung open, and we both turned.

Brooklyn walked in, pom-poms in hand.

"Sydney, oh jeez. I heard. What happened?”

"Your sick friend. That's what happened.” Maeve’s Asian-American ass snapped, but Brooklyn ignored her and rushed to me.

“It's okay. I'm fine." I said, forcing a smile.

"Some girls said you insulted him in class. You shouldn't have done that.”

I stared at her. "You believe that?”

Brooklyn paused as if realizing what she'd done wrong.

But then she continued. "When I told you to say something back to him I didn't mean like that.”

"So what did you mean?” Maeve snapped again, taking the words right out of my mouth.

I wasn't going to say it anyway.

Brooklyn eyed Maeve and turned back to me. “You drew a war line Sydney." She said quietly. “And I’m not sure I want to get caught up in a war between you and Tyler."