Chapter Text
My alarm didn’t even go off. I was already awake, staring at the ceiling like it had answers. First day of high school. My stomach felt like it had swallowed a blender. Mom was clanking dishes downstairs. I knew she’d yell soon, asking if I was excited. I’d lie. Of course I’d lie. What kind of loser says, “No, I’m terrified, and I already want to drop out before first period?"
The first day of high school should be normal. I brushed my teeth, pulled on the one shirt that didn’t smell like a closet, and pretended not to notice the pink streak in my hair glowing under the bathroom light.I told myself today would be boring. Looking into my full mirror checking my clothes looked plain but I didn't want to draw looks, never did, never will. A white long sleeve shirt with a cute cotton vest on top and some pair of jorts and some random shoes probably from Walmart…it didn’t matter.
As I slunk downstairs I was met from the brightness of the dining room and my parents communicating. “Hey sweetie ready for the first day.” My mom spoke as she slid that chow in front of me. Sometimes I should get up before my mom can touch the kitchen. I slid it to my dad, he gave me a smile as he gulped it down “aww honey why didn't you eat it, I work hard.” I gave her a perturbed smile “I… already ate” my voice shook, her slaplook switched to a golden happiness “OMG.. hubby did you hear that, she is so prepared, that why you in those high classes.” My mom yelled as she dragged my dad into it, they were so easy, I’ll never insult my parents… but they are something.
They both took me to school blasting music on the way they so loud they were always loud, life of the party during highschool maybe not college not saying they didn't go, but im not saying there…that I never say that not to my parents never want to insult them, the people who love unconditionally, in weird ways, they always gave me affection the only ones. I do hope they really quiet down though I don't want eyes on me and never want eyes on me. The drive to the school was painful. I just wanted to sink into my seat the horrible thought of going back to school and a new school matter of the fact sent a sharp pain through my spine, certainly paralyzing me. It had to since I couldn’t move, not even look out the window to my left or right. But the paralyzation didn't stop me from seeing that giant school building and their obnoxious school color with their cute mascot attached.
As we pulled up to the car loop the color drained from my face which was pretty obvious as my dad was able to point it out. “Hey sweetie you looking a bit pale, are you sick?” My dad was oblivious to my anxiety for the first day but I shook him off. My stiff hand reaches for the door as I push it open and stiffly walk out as my parents drive off. The entrances to the school made the bug crawl around more violently as my shivering was intense. If I didn’t knock it off people would stare at a girl shiver in mid-August…in Florida. Thunder came rushing into my ears making me jump. It was the bell, the bell rang and I was still not in the school and had no idea where my schedule or classes were.
I rushed into the school maneuvering around students or just walking in the grass to beat the crowd. The cool thing about outside school is you have a wide area of space to walk if people are blocking the freeway. But I still don’t know what class,building, or number I'm supposed to be at. I'm lost, confused and most likely late if I don't ask anyone. Maybe my schedule is with the front office or maybe there are some people with everyone scheduled on it, and just my luck as a security guard holding papers.
Now I just have to speak up and talk to them, I thought as my body started to walk towards them but I'm still as stiff as a board. As I got closer to the security guard 4 giant girls went up to them and strike up a conversation. I couldn’t continue my body couldn’t move the 4 girls made me nervous I mean there no reason not to they have a beautiful skin all of them a rich brown color but two out of the fours girls do look a bit pale they also look like they workout or do anything active since the clothes they are wearing show off everything the biceps,legs and most importantly chest. And the most noticeable feature is their height.
One isn't that tall as the other or even most people but to me as sad as I am I'm only 4 '9 but still the other three can definitely tower over everyone they see. Their brown skin, their muscular physique and their height I could just-”hey are you ok, you just been staring at us do you need your scheduler.” I look up to see who snap me out of my perverted day-dream so i can personally shake their hands it was one of the girls I was staring at and day-dreaming about, the tallest one with a full thick black curly hair tied up into a high ponytail to get it out of her face she was the one with the light brown skin.
“Y-yeah, I need my schedule.” My voice cracked at the end of my stuttering. They one hundred percent noticed that but chose to ignore it “ok what your name sweetie.” “ R-Ruby C-CAMPBELL!... sorry” I accidentally yelled my last name but the girls gave me reassurance and looked at the tallest one flips to the paper checking for my name. It shouldn't take long since my last name C. “Here it is and you’re a freshman, but lucky for you Amber and Amy have to go to that class let them take you.” The tall girl handed me my schedule as I stared at the two girls who I now know their name, the pale one who is the second tallest with straight black hair that reached her butt is Amber, while the shortest one who has a buzz like cut or pixie cut, but also her hair is wild while having light brown streak through her black hair and a light mix skin color is Amy. As I get ready to shake their hands Amy yanks my hand away from my side as she berserkly and savagely shakes my hand with dog-like enthusiasm “Hey Ruby the name is Amy-” “come on Amy she is going to be late.” “DON’T RUSH ME!” Amy yelled at Amber or more like growled. I'm pretty sure I heard a small growl when she yelled at Amber but she turned around to me with a big dumb smile that reminded me so much of a dog.
I never got a good look at her face. Amber and Amy had me by the arms before I could even blink. Amy wasn't just leading me; she was dragging me, my sneakers barely skimming the linoleum. The freeway turned into a dizzying smear of the sun so bright it turned everything into a blur. I tried to tell myself I was just nauseous from the first-day jitters, but my brain couldn't ignore the way Amy moved. It was too fluid, too fast like she was being pulled by a wire. We came to a dead stop in front of my first period so suddenly I slammed into Amy’s back. It was like hitting a brick wall. “Here it is. Hope you have fun,” Amber said. Her voice was flat, empty. I turned to thank them, but the "thank you" died in my throat. They were already gone. Not just walking away gone. The freeway was forty yards long, and in the time it took me to turn my head, they had vanished.
I don't remember walking to my next three classes. It was like I was a passenger in my own head, watching the concrete freeways pass by in a sun drenched blur. By the time the 'fog' cleared, I was sitting down on one of the tables near the entrances of the cafeteria. It was 12:30 PM. Four hours had just... vanished. I don't mind; school is just a bore to me now. The draining classes are not something I really have to remember. I would mostly like to be on my phone and play silly games that can take my brain away. The idea of eating that crappy food that can barely be counted as lunch disgust me to the core. The way it looks like it was made to sit in the sun all day, gaining weird mold that can be counted as its own disease is disgusting to the whole school food system.
I started to feel someone looking at me. I wanted to ignore it. I tried to ignore it. I can’t… I can’t. I whipped my head up looking at the cause of my distress. A pretty girl with dark skin, and curly hair that I usually found attractive. Which causes me to stare too. Unfortunately the staring contest ended when she started to walk over to me. My heart skips a beat as I start to breathe too heavily. Her body stretches bigger in my vision with each step she takes. In return my heart mimics her walking pace. “Hey you look pretty, what is your name?” I stared at her, my ears and face starting to heat up causing discomfort, the heat causing the want to rip my knitted vest off. Why did I thought wool was good to wear? “Ah” I tried to respond but all that came out was a tiny scream.I’m such an idiot.
I was finally able to actually form a word. “My name is R-Ruby.” I usually stutter with new people; I don’t know why I pause when I say my name. “ That's such a cute name, I guess that's why you got it.” I blushed even harder, feeling like someone slammed my ear on the stove. Before I can even respond to her flirting…I think, did she even give me her name. Yet she sat next to me. Too close for someone new you are meeting. Her face is getting real close up. Looking like we were about to kiss her lips wanting to brush up on mine too. And it doesn’t help that I can smell her perfume stinging my nose and assaulting me with a strong sweet smell. It could be intoxicating if humans can smell each other's pheromones.
“Hey are you trying to move on my girl!” I heard someone yell behind me. I can’t really tell if that person was speaking to me. And It doesn’t help that I was way too distracted with the hot girl towering in front of me. Also I couldn’t turn if I wanted to; she was shrouding over me blocking me from facing the yeller. However I figure out that yell was directed at me as I feel a hand grab me by my shoulder. Forcing me to turn around. As I faced him he yelled again and more slowly this time “Are you trying to move on my girl!” I cowarded in fear. First day of school and now I got all the eyes on me, because all of this everyone who wasn’t in the cafeteria was walking around the school stopped to stare. Eyes, eyes,eyes. I hate it…I hate attention. And I don’t like this guy who just starting things.
“Listen, I think there was a misunderstanding on what was going on-” “Lies,I know my girl will never do anything like that HOMEWRECKER!” As I tried to ignore his irrational yelling by trying to shrink down; agree with everything that was happening to me to end this real quick.But out of the corner of my eye, I saw her. The girl wasn't flirting anymore. Pulling everything out in a rough way to discover any ‘treasure’ hidden in my crappy dinghy bag. It was a heist. The yelling that was starting to turn into static turned straight into nothing, as I started to walk over to that girl before trying to grab my bag. Swallowing the fear that was caught in my throat when I first started to walk over to her. The more I move closer the brave facade starts to fade, as my heart starts to slam into my chest. Standing right in front of the girl, I grab my bag causing a tug of war. Anything that was in my bookbag now gone and fled with a little tussle. My feet start to drag across the concrete. I'm small, lightweight, and easy to pull around, so I did the only thing I could. I let go. Cause the girl to fling back slamming her body to the ground a loud echo was made when she impacted the concrete. Maybe it was bone cracking, causing a guilty feeling to consume me wanting to comfort her. I tried to rush to her but a new feeling arose in my body. Fear.
A shadow fell over me. The boyfriend. He wasn't a monsternhe was just a guy, a big man with a red face and veins popping out of his neck. That was almost scarier. He was human, and he was livid.“You pushed her!” he roared. He stepped into my space, his chest hitting my face. I stumbled back on the concrete, the heat from the ground radiating through my shoes.I tried to find my voice. “She was... she was stealing”He didn't let me finish. He grabbed the front of my vest, the wool bunching up in his fist. I was so light he practically lifted my heels off the freeway. I could smell the oniony scent of his sweat and the pure, dumb rage coming off him. To him, I was just some weird girl who had just hurt his girlfriend. He swung his other hand back, a heavy, clumsy fist. I didn’t think. I just moved.
My arms shot up over my face like they’d practiced this a hundred times without me knowing. The impact rattled through my bones, but it wasn’t as bad as I thought. Painful, yeah but survivable.He was strong.But he was also slow.That was the first thing I noticed through the panic buzzing in my head.I stumbled back, heels scraping the ground, heart beating so loud I could barely hear anything else. Every instinct screamed at me to run. Hide. Disappear. That’s what I always did.But he stepped forward again.And something in my chest tightened not bravery, exactly. I don’t know what it is but it causes me to ducked and not run. His fist cut through empty air where my head had been a second ago. My hands shoved against his arm, not strong enough to hurt him, just enough to throw him off balance. He wasn’t expecting me to fight back at all.
Neither was I.My hands were shaking.My knees felt like they might fold any second.He was already turning back toward me, face twisted with that same stupid anger, like I was nothing. Like I was easy.Every part of me wanted to run.But my body didn’t.Before I could talk myself out of it, my arm moved.Fast. Clumsy. Terrified.My fist hit his chest not hard, not clean, but real.I had actually hit him.The shock of it ran straight up my arm.For a second, everything went quiet.He blinked, more surprised than hurt.And somehow… that scared me even more.Because now there was no pretending this wasn’t happening.No pretending I could just disappear.I had chosen to fight.Even if I was still shaking.
He came at me again, fists swinging wild, like he wasn’t even aiming—just trying to hit something.Iducked without thinking.Air rushed over my head where his arm had been, close enough to make my ears ring.
Don’t get hit.
Don’t get hit.
Don’t get hit.
That was the only thought left in my brain.I stumbled sideways, shoes scraping the ground, heart pounding so hard it felt like it might shake me apart. He was huge. Every step he took felt heavier than the last, like the ground noticed him more than it noticed me.Another punch I slipped past it.My fist shot forward before I could stop myself.It tapped into his stomach.Nothing.No dramatic impact.No heroic moment.Honestly… it felt like I’d just punched a couch cushion. I wouldn’t have been surprised if it made one of those stupid plush squeak noises.
But I’d still hit him.He blinked, more annoyed than hurt.So I kicked at his leg.Same result. Useless. Small. Pointless. My hands were shaking again. This wasn’t working. I wasn’t strong enough. I wasn’t brave enough…but I was still moving.Because the second I stopped he’d grab me. And even though I was terrified, every instinct screaming at me to run…something inside me refused to fall down.
He stepped in closer this time. Too close. Before I could slip away, his hand caught my sleeve and yanked. My balance disappeared in a second, the ground tilting under my feet like the whole world had been pushed sideways. My chest seized. This was it. This was the moment I lost. Panic flooded everything. Loud. Blinding. Run run run run But my body didn’t freeze. It twisted. I dropped my weight the way Coach showed us in gym that one time I never thought I’d need. His grip slid just enough just one tiny mistake and I ripped free. I stumbled back, sucking in air like I’d been underwater. My heart was beating so hard it hurt. He looked surprised again. Not angry. Not even tired. Just… confused that I was still standing.
That tiny look lit something hot in my chest.I rushed forward before I could think about how stupid that was.One quick step.Another. My fist snapped out not strong, not perfect but this time I aimed higher. His chin jerked back a little. Not much. Barely anything…but it moved. And the second I saw that the fear inside me cracked. Just a little.
My eyes darted around, looking for… anything. The cafeteria table I’d been sitting at before the one I’d complained about being too sticky suddenly felt like my best idea ever. I sprinted toward it. He didn’t notice at first, too busy swinging at the air where I’d been. I grabbed the edge and pushed off, launching myself onto the tabletop. Higher. Safer. His head whipped up, eyes wide, like he’d realized too late I wasn’t just some “easy target.” I balanced on the shaky legs of the table, knees bent, heart hammering, hands shaking, but I didn’t care.
One step.
Another.
I swung my leg like I was a cartoon kicking a cloud. It hit him square in the chest. Not enough to break ribs. Not enough to knock him out.But enough. Enough to shove him backward, stumble, and land flat on the floor with a thud that made me wince. He scrambled to get up, rage bubbling over, but I jumped down before he could reach me. I didn’t wait for him to come back. I ran, shoes slapping the floor, breathing hard, adrenaline still buzzing. I’d survived. I’d actually fought back. And for a second, just a tiny, ridiculous second… I felt unstoppable.
Until I felt my body being grabbed and hugged by someone. Looking behind me it was the school security restraining me and the boy pulling me away from the circle of students that I just realized had formed around me and the phone pulled out recording me. Which causes my only focus. First day of school freshman year. I have all the eyes on me; something that I didn’t want. My chest tightens up as the security roughly pushes me around to what I can presume is an administration office.
Forcing me to sit down in a chair. I noticed that the administrator wasn’t there, but the security guard still left me alone. In an empty sweet smelling office I study it. Most like every school administrator office it is filled with loved ones and their achievements including some senior photos. I was so stuck in my little I spy game that I didn’t hear someone walk up and into the room. “Hey, I saw what happened. That was pretty badass.” I jumped in my chair before whipping my head to the voice. It was Amber, Amy and their friends. “Hi” I squeaked out before noticing the tallest one had my bag and threw it in my lap. Before leaning down to speak eye to eye with me