Elitism

The next morning, I got up bright and early and I was on a mission. I was pissed. You had no idea. Riley had no idea. I wasn’t going to beat around the bush. I was going to be straight up.

I held the pocketknife inside my hand, hidden from everyone. I walked up to Riley and brushed my hand over her arm cutting her in the process purposely. She yelped and turned around, placing her hand on her arm to stop the bleeding. It wasn’t a deep cut, but enough to bleed just a little bit.

“Are you fucking insane?!” she yelled at me.

“You gave a six year old a pocketknife and you’re asking me if I’m insane!” I overpowered her.

Everyone heard what I had just said, you knew by their reactions and their speed walk to get out of harms’ way. Only her friends didn’t look fazed one bit and that just pissed me off even more. Were they on drugs or something that didn’t let them connect with their emotions?

“I can have you arrested,” Riley said in a deadly tone.

“Go ahead, and I’ll do just the same,” I stepped closer. As I did, her eyes widen because she was feeling the sharp end of the pocketknife on her stomach. I wasn’t afraid to use it.

“That’s enough,” one of her friends said with authority in her voice. She put a hand on Riley’s back and the other on my hand, ready to stop me if I decided to pursue with the stabbing, as cold as that might sound, I didn’t care.

“Join us and we can keep your family safe,” she said.

I deathly glared at her. As if she had the balls to say something like that. Oh, I finally understand what Jennifer meant. They were good at hiding their true intentions. I would join them, but only to keep a close eye on them. Nobody touches my family, especially a child. They wanted me in. I was in. But they just got themselves an enemy.

“Go near my family,” I slightly poked her in the stomach and she tried to hide the flinch in her eyes, “and I’ll make sure you have a new one in the morgue.”

I had to make sure she knew my threats were real. Nobody messed with me. I saw her swallowed hard. She was trying to fight back her fears. I gave her props for trying to be brave. In my world, where I was from, if you showed any sign of fear, they would shred you.

“Welcome to the world of elitism,” she smiled, her lips slightly trembling.

She had just witnessed what I was capable of and that was just the tip of the iceberg. Were they regretting their decisions? In a blink of an eye, the pocketknife was back in my jeans pocket. Riley and her friend went to the bathroom to clean up. At the end of the hall stood a figure I wished I didn’t see. It was Nathan was watching yet again.

Man, that was guy was everywhere these days. What was up with that?

I decided to impulsively skip first period to meet Jennifer at the convenience store where I had left a note in her locker. I hoped she was more than willing to do the same and meet me here.

I waited a good five minutes for her while pacing back and forth up and down the street, not realizing I was making myself suspicious by standing in front of the corner store. Then I remembered I wasn’t back home. The employer probably just thought I was bored out of my mind or something.

I saw Jennifer crossed the street and jogged over to me.

“What’s this all about?”

Before I could read her in, I was curious about something first.

“Why me?”

She didn’t pause to think. “I’ve been watching you closely ever since you stepped foot in that school. With Riley and everything, you look like you can fight your own battles.”

“I can.”

“So why the change of heart?” she asked bluntly. I was beginning to like her more now than before. I wanted to understand where she was coming from, why she was hard on herself with this whole Riley situation.

“Simple. Family.”

As soon as I said that, it looked the air sucked right out of her. I knew, not of why, but that she could relate.

“So you’ve dealt with bullies before?”

I looked away at the passing cars. “Something like that.”

Only back then, I was much younger and the bullies were much older and bigger. Dealing with Riley gave me back some control in my life. Sure, she rose up the challenge every now and then, but compare to the men my mom brought home, she’s easy to handle.

All my life, it had always been about fighting for my life, for my body because it had cost me my virginity in the end. Now, I barely tolerated anything and Riley was one of them.

“I guess Riley has us right where she wants us,” Jennifer said, her voice distorted.

“Where is that?” I looked at her.

“Struggling to keep our secrets at bay,” she said, sounding a little sad.

Something was eating inside of her and I was curious to ask, but I knew better than to ask questions that were none of my business. If she wanted to tell me, she would have. I had a feeling she would, but only when she was ready.

Sharon knew my darkest secret the same night I ran to her. It dawned on me that Jennifer might be feeling alone with a heavy burden that she couldn’t share with anything. A small part of me thought I just might have made a friend in progress.

My cell phone rang before I could ask her what was eating at her. Talk about bad timing, I thought as I looked at the screen and saw it was Brad. I looked back at Jennifer and she smiled as though everything was okay before leaving to return to school. I watched her leave for a few seconds before answering the phone.

“What’s up?” I said as I made my way back to school as well.