I felt dizzy. Everything around me began to spin.

Who would do something like this? They were my only pair of fresh clothes. There was no way I'd possibly wear my dirty ones again.

I heard Ashley cackle across the other end of the locker room.

I should have known. No one could be as evil as her.

"You really think you're better than me?", she said.  "Scoring academically doesn't level you up. They call me queen bee for a reason. I told you before itself to stay the fuck away from Kyle. But no, you didn't listen. You had this coming Summer Hills-"

Her words began to fade around me. I felt the bile rising up my throat. I tried to swallow, hoping it would help push it down. I suddenly had lost all the energy to even call Abi or Heather.

Someone then tapped my shoulder and I flinched.

"Hey. Come sit down."

I turned around and saw Mia, one of my classmates from French; her face filled with empathy and kindness. 

"Come, sit", she repeated and I followed.  "Drink some water", she said, handing me her bottle. I took a sip and smiled weakly.

"Thank you."

Thankfully Ashley had left by then, clearly unhappy with someone coming to my rescue.

"I know you must be a little shaken up. Nobody expects to find themselves in such a situation right after a nice, warm shower", she said smiling.

I nodded. "I don't know what I've done to her for her to have done such a thing."

"It's Ashley. She does things even if there's no real reason."

Before I knew it, she handed me a pair of clothes. "Here, take it."

I looked at her surprised. "No, no I can't.  I-"

"Relax. I always carry an extra set. Just in case you know, for situations like these", she said chuckling.

I didn't know what to say. She had literally saved my ass. I didn't know what I would have done had she not been there.

"I can't thank you enough. You've literally saved me."

"Oh you're exaggerating. I've done no such thing. It's just a pair of clothes. And I'm pretty sure you'd have done the same if it was me in your place."

I smiled. She was right.

-----

When I stay back at school post classes, usually for some or the other work, I usually wait for Hunter to finish his soccer practice and the two of us together take the longer route home; taking in the scenery and hustle-bustle of the town, we tell each other about our day at school.

But today I decided to avoid both of these things. I didn't wait for Hunter nor did I drop him a text; I took the shorter route home and practically ran half the distance in the hopes of reaching faster.

There's usually no one home when I come back from school since both - my mum & dad - are at work.

Thankfully today was no different. I let myself in and ran up to my room. On a normal day, I'd wander into the kitchen and pick up my mum's note - informing me what food I was to warm up for lunch. Today? I had lost my appetite.

I dropped my bag on the floor and plopped onto the bed.

Today was a disaster, I thought.

And then I realised. Hunter would be home soon and he'd definitely peer into my room from across and try to talk to me. Quickly getting up, I drew my curtains shut.

Better, I said to myself.

I laid back down on my bed, multiple thoughts rushing through my head.

Maybe I should take revenge and set her straight once and for all. Who does she think she is? She might be pretty on the outside but she's hell of a lot uglier on the inside. She shouldn't be allowed to get away with bullying and harassing whoever she feels like.

But I knew her reputation in school; people despised and feared her. If I tried to level up, they'd think nothing less of me. And I didn't want that.

------

I woke up to the sound of my phone buzzing. I didn't even realise when I had fallen asleep.

A text message from Hunter, my phone read - "Hey, how was gym? I was surprised you didn't wait up for me. Everything okay?"

I held my phone towards my chest and shut my eyes again. What do I even reply? What do I even tell him about today's gym session?

Nothing, I decided. For now, it was best if no one knew anything. They would simply worry and hype it up for no reason.

"Hey! It was good. Really sorry, I was just super tired", I ended up replying.

I peeped at the wall clock. It was past 6pm. Shit, I had to draft and send out applications for the editorial board.

I quickly compiled a list of the team members I would need: a photographer, a compliance in charge for all possible permissions and perhaps having a small time editor would be a good idea as well.

I drafted the applications and sent it out on our batch mail through the new email address I had received - [email protected].

A smile crossed my face; I did feel pretty important - with my own personal email ID and all. Now I just had to wait for the applications to roll in.

By the time I had finished, it was time for dinner. I debated whether I should eat in my room or join my parents downstairs; reason being that they instantly realise if something's up with me and I was in no mood to relive what had happened in the gym. But working on the applications had lifted my mood a little so I decided to join them.

"Hello stranger", dad said smiling. "You must be extremely busy since you were pretty much locked up there."

I smiled faintly, "I'm sorry, I was just a bit tired and then there was all the school stuff to do."

"How was gym today sweetie?", mom asked, serving the food on the table. Spaghetti with meatballs for dinner. Yum.

"It was great!", I said quickly, avoiding eye contact. "Pretty refreshing."

"That's lovely. Were any of your friends there? To perhaps give you company?"

I narrowed my eyes at my mom while she served me. I could hear my dad chuckle. "Mom, I'm not a baby. I don't need someone to give me company while I'm working out." Not wanting to delve further into the topic, I decided to change the subject; "and besides, I've some good news."

I saw my parent's face light up.

"Did Hunter finally ask you out?", my mom squealed, clasping her hands.

I face-palmed myself. Like the typical parents they were, Hunter's parents and mine 'shipped' us together. They believed we were made for each other.

Yeah right. They clearly didn't know him the way I did.

I rolled my eyes. "No. Anyways, Ms. Bell handed me the position of creative writer for the editorial board. She was pretty impressed with the way I write apparently."

"That's amazing Summer!", my dad said kissing my forehead. "I always knew you had magic in your words."

My mom hugged me from behind, "We're proud of you sweetheart."

In that moment I realised, with all the avoiding, I had forgotten to tell Hunter the same good news.

I sighed. Tomorrow's another day I suppose.