Soundtrack: 'Tightrope' - Janelle Monae

{Kadee}

Kadee changed a dozen times getting ready for school. She wanted something that looked normal, like nothing was different about her today—a look that denied the existence of the sultry girl in stockings and a corset all over her social medias right now. She finally settled on lime-green jeans, a blouse that covered all the relevant parts, and flats. Still fun, like nothing had happened and she didn't care. Her stomach was squeezing and she was clammy with sweat.

Neither of her girlfriends were on their phones that morning, which was weird, so she pulled up to the school parking lot alone. She flipped her hair over her shoulder and took long strides in her lime-green skinny jeans like she was six feet tall instead of 5'3." Someone wolf-whistled, but she ignored it—too far away to be about her.

It was registration day, and the school administration had set up the cafeteria to run 800 students through the process like cattle. Most of the Grade 11 class was in the long hallway. Voices bounced off the metal lockers as people called and greeted each other after a summer apart. Kadee propped her shoulder against an empty locker and scrolled through her phone. There was nothing on there she hadn't already checked, but she definitely didn't want to catch anyone looking at her.

She startled when a touch ran over her back. "Hey girl, what you doing later?" The guy was close enough for her to smell his morning breath as he smiled, his eyes narrowing. She didn't even recognize him—he was too poorly groomed to have registered before now. She curled her lip. "Nothing with you."

The guys flanking him hooted.

She flicked her fingers to brush him away, turning her back and returning to her phone. Her back was rigid, waiting for him to leave. Finally he made an annoyed huffing noise and swaggered off. One of his friends turned back, holding two fingers in a 'V' to his lips, waggling his tongue suggestively between them.

Ew. Kadee's face heated, and she glanced around the hallway for the security of someone she knew. A wave of relief washed over her when she caught sight of Madison's blond curls, and she wove through the crowd to reach her side.

"Hey, oh my god, it's chaos in here," she said, laying her hand on Madison's arm.

Madison glanced at her, and then around at the other girls with her. She didn't say anything. "

"Cute skirt, by the way—is that one you bought yesterday?" Kadee asked.

"Before you ditched me," Madison said acidly.

Right. She'd conveniently forgot about that part. She sighed. "I'm super sorry. I was a little stressed out, and you weren't exactly being the most understanding friend."

"What part, exactly, do you think I don't understand, Kadee? You didn't leave a lot to the imagination."

Kadee brushed her hair back from her face, glancing around at the other girls to see how they were taking this conversation. They were mostly from their wealthy neighbourhood—not necessarily girls who came to youth group, but some of their families went to the church. Their expressions ranged from pity to outright disgust.

"I made a mistake," Kadee said. "All right? We all make them. We don't all have to live with them splashed all over our social media feeds like we're slut of the week, but it'll blow over." She lowered her eyes, willing to eat humble pie if it kept her safely in the middle of this group of friends. She was sweating and her stomach was squeezing. "I'm totally sorry to drag you all into this. I hope you know that girl isn't me anymore. I'm done with guys. I was done before and I'm definitely done now."

One of the girls rolled her eyes.

"I'll believe it when I see it," Madison muttered.

They didn't kick her out of the circle. They didn't exactly look at her or include her in their conversation either. Kadee shuffled miserably next to Madison as the line moved forward, invisible to her girlfriends, and all too visible to every passer-by. She kept her chin up and her expression imperious, as if she didn't hear the whispers and whistles, or see the looks, but her friends saw them and the circle closed a little more each time until she was looking at Madison's bony back--standing in line alone.

///

It was a long, long day. When she finally had her class schedule and locker assignment, she got away from the crowd as quickly as she could, striding down the hallways, watching the numbers at the top of the lockers. They were assigned alphabetically, which meant she usually had her locker in the wing with the gymnasium. She didn't notice the pack of guys in football jackets until they had filled the hallway in front of her.

"There she is," Todd Klassen said. He'd stretched up over the summer and a mean breakout of acne spread over his chin. "Kadee, baby—me and the guys were just wondering..."

Her legs jammed against the floor, and she mentally ran through all the self-defence moves her brother had taught her. Three of them versus one of her—not good. "Fuck off, Todd," she snapped.

"Filthy, filthy," Todd smirked. "I love that side of you." He stuck his thumbs in his pockets and swaggered closer, and she backed off, bumping against the chest of the footballer who'd come up behind her. "We were just wondering if you have anything more to show us. I was up all night thinking about you, Kadee baby."

"You want your brother's sloppy seconds?" she spat.

"The sloppier the better." As he leaned in, she stomped down hard on the instep of the guy behind her and punched the heel of her hand into Todd's leering face. He reeled back, and the guy behind her was hopping on one foot, swearing. She tried to run, but hands caught her arms and dragged her back, twisting and cursing like a cornered cat.

"Jesus fucking Christ broke my nose again!" Todd roared, blood pouring into his mouth. "You're paying for that, you bitch."

Her heart was hammering and she was panting, straining against the arms that held her. She bared her teeth at him. "Go fuck yourself."

"Excuse me," someone said. "I'd like to get to my locker."

The group turned, and Todd found himself sizing up Cary Douglas, standing there with a pink slip between his fingers. Todd was not the only person who had a growth spurt over the summer. The paper looked tiny in Cary's hand. Todd dropped back a step while Cary looked at him from under his eyebrows.

The hands holding her loosened, and Kadee jerked free, pulling her blouse straight and tossing her hair back from her face. She flipped them all a double bird as she backed away until Cary was between her and them.

Todd spat a fat gob of blood onto the floor, glaring at Cary, his eyes flicking to Kadee behind him. "The hell you doing here, Douglas?"

"That's my locker," Cary said slowly. "You're in my way, Klassen."

The guys closed in beside Todd, glancing at one another to decide what to do. Todd looked Cary up and down, his fists bunching at his sides. "You here on probation?" He seemed reluctant to get within swinging range, but he wasn't backing down. "What happens if you get caught fighting on school property—again?"

Cary was silent. Kadee couldn't see his face, but Todd's mouth pulled up in a familiar smirk. "I don't think your new dad would like that very much."

Cary flicked the pink slip out of his hand to flutter to the floor, and Todd flinched. "You know how many kids I did off property and never got caught?" He asked soft and flat. "Ask around."

Todd jerked his jacket straight, sneering. "You know what—fuck you. I don't need this shit." The whole pack separated from the lockers and jostled down the hall, laughing and high fiving before they were around the corner.

The surge of adrenaline abruptly left Kadee's body, and she made her shoulders small by crossing her arms tightly. Cary's head turned to follow the group, and then he gave himself a little shake, opening his fisted hands. He stooped to pick up the pink slip off the floor, glancing back at her. "You all right?"

She nodded stiffly and stalked to her locker, shoving it closed and threading the lock she'd brought through the metal loop. Her fingers were shaking, and it took a couple tries to snap it closed. "Which locker is yours?" Her voice was unsteady.

"None of these," Cary said. "They put me next to the offices to keep an eye. I was putting Jon's lock on for him when I heard Todd's nose breaking. Again." His voice was dry.

"Oh my god." She slumped against the locker, covering her face with her hands. "I can't believe I did that." The skin on her arms was tender where the boys' fingers had dug into her flesh. One fingertip was stinging, and she dropped her hands and looked at them with dismay. A gel nail was torn off almost completely and her cuticle was bleeding. "Oh my god—those assholes broke my nail!"

Cary laughed drily, and then wiped it off his mouth with his hand. "Oh my god," he drawled. "Do I need to kill them for you?"

Her laugh was strangled. "Yes!" She caught the corner of his elbow. "No—no, I'm joking. Stay out of trouble. God." She let her hand drop, oddly uncomfortable at feeling the tension in the muscles of his arm. "Thanks."

He shrugged. "You pretty much had it handled."

She shook her head once, shivering as she wondered how far they would have taken it if Cary hadn't come along. No way was she leaving home without her whistle and mace in her pocket—not at the bottom of her bag.

"Give you a ride home?" She tried to smile.

He swung alongside her, hands in his pockets. "Walk you to your car, sure," he said. He was scanning the hall behind her and ahead of them. She held the school door open for him, and he ducked through and held the second door for her. Stepping into the daylight and open air felt like a concrete block lifting off her chest. She straightened, flipping her hair over her shoulder. "I need some serious mall therapy. And—" she made a face at her nails. "A manicure."

He made that dry sound again and it gave her a warm feeling that she could make him laugh. "Wish I could come. I have to stay and see the counsellor. Terms of probation."

She looked at him sideways, thinking about him coming apart in her car yesterday. His face looked as even and expressionless as it always did.

"Are you okay—today?" she asked hesitantly.

His dark eyes touched hers. They looked as guarded as she felt. "Living," he said.

She guessed she shouldn't press. She made herself smile. "So—thanks. Again."

He ducked his head and passed close to get to the school door. He had his hand on the handle before he drew a breath and turned back. "Do you know what to do for these?" He touched her upper arm lightly, and she shied away from his fingers. For the first time she saw there were bruises purpling her bare skin. She sucked in her breath—they looked really bad—nothing she had experience with.

"Ice them, okay?" Cary's eyebrows were drawn together, looking at her face.

She tried to tug the sleeve of her blouse down to cover the marks, and Cary's mouth flattened in an unhappy line. "Assholes," she managed. "I had the cutest short-sleeved shirt for tomorrow."

He dropped his eyes, hiding them behind his long lashes. "My mom just used her makeup. Wear the shirt. To hell with them."

He went into the school, and Kadee strode to her car, head high. A manicure and a makeover.

*So what do you think? Do Cary and Kadee have a chance together? Why might it work between them (or not?)*