I told Mya that I would meet up with her.
I was hungry but it was most essential that I preserved my distinct of below average grade that wasn't noteworthy but I was proud to have. Mr. Baryo kept his classroom open to students especially during lunch and he always welcomed anyone who was bored.
I had a paper due on wild carnivorous plant stock and the research took longer than expected. Going on websites and compiling new information was something I liked to do because the new stuff I learned always amazed me.
Being at Starkhouse for almost a week I knew which teachers were demanding when the topic of deadlines surfaced, and Mr. Baryo was more tolerant and merciful about cutoff dates.
I had to mean serious business and not fool around like the rich trust-funders that didn't have a care in the world since they would never have to struggle with having a life background of unkind circumstances such as my point in question.
Hopefully by turning in that essay Mr. Baryo would know I was determined to pass his class.
If turning in extra credit wasn't obvious enough that the new girl wasn't a neglecting quitter, I wasn't turned off by the idea of taking him up on afternoon studying. If the latest course work became too complicated for me to recognize and understand it would come in handy.
I weave my way around the vacant art building. For the most part it was empty save for good reason.
I couldn't imagine someone staying after class of their own volition especially during a free meal period. That's when the most drama happened.
Not many professors ate lunch with us so it was a wild card. In the Lunch Hall anything could happen. Orgies, hair styling, chain smoking. Take your pick.
I accelerated my pace since I wanted to get to the Lunch hall before all the good stuff ran out and all I was left with was some kind of salad. That was another thing I quickly picked up on. Since it was a privileged academy The Powers That Were heavily supported the healthful enhancement that organic soy products generated. Furthermore, on a specific personal note, I didn't understand how they could eat that stuff anyhow.
I preferred a nice greasy onion ring cheeseburger any day. Basically anything with saturated grease and tons of salt had my lasting count.
I go around the very next corner to my left because it was the quickest way to get to the Lunch Hall and cringe when I hear my wet sneakers step onto hardwood flooring. Everything was so neat and immaculate and perfect and here I was ruining things.
The lobby was decorated with precious artifacts that were kept behind old furniture cabinets, and I interpreted them as being invaluable to the school monarchy for whatever reason and high priced meaning costly to replace if shattered.
I followed the pathway of the smooth gleaming redwood and came to an abrupt stop when I saw Toby holding onto Josh's shirt in a tight grasp.
Toby grinned.
If they heard me they didn't pretend to care. My shoes were soaking wet and I left prints on the floor. My only guess would be they were ignoring their audience. I had the upper hand here because they didn't know it was me yet.
Josh tilted his head sideways to hide part of his face, his bottom lip curving out.
Toby didn't see it but I did. Josh tilted his head and looked up but not at Toby.
I shivered when Josh's lips twisted into a teasing, coy smile that extended to his eyes.
Not wanting to be the only eye witness to a fight that might or may not happen, I make the quick decision to get the hell out of their before Toby turned his head and saw me.
If the headmistress found out I had plausible information because I was some place I definitely wasn't supposed to be, I figured it was best to keep my head down and pretend like I never saw a thing. Like I never unintentionally snooped on Toby. Like I wasn't creeped out when Josh laughed.
I belly-flopped.
With that keen thought in mind I slowly but very carefully backtrack taking a step backwards one motion at a time. I couldn't turn on a pirouette pivot and make a run for it like I wanted without making more noise than I already was.
I felt awfully close to puking my guts out even though its been a while since I've puked but I was confident that once I gagged I would keep going. The sound of me upchucking would be my toothbrush down the drain.
I was a bundle of nerves and sweaty beneath my cotton thermal from all the non-anticipated, high stress level action. And I thought playing basketball was hard. I wasn't a sneaky person and this trying to get out before I was seen was all knew to me.
I tried to stop and muffle the acute jarring -screachy- -squirk!- -pfft- and resonating -Squirrrrrt- that was my shoes moving, crunching, and squeaking with every step I made.
Being in open position with no covering to shield me from being seen was the only thought on my mind. Not how hair-raising, alarming, or shocking Toby turned out to be. Not how Josh was laughing.
Watching Toby get in Joshs face was the reason I was going to starve for the rest of the day because I knew, I just knew, there would be no more pizza left in the cafeteria. My luck was going from black cat awful to cracking the mirror in my compact, seven years luck bad.
But I had more pressing issues to freak over....like how screwed I was.
If I didn't hurry my chances of a clean getaway were not going to happen and I would be the one meeting Tobys wrath just as I was leaving the lions den. I didn't know what I would say about how much I saw.
Prematurely than what I would have hoped for the bottom canvas sole of my wet shoes scuffed the floor, a strong screak grating to the ear followed by the ripple of a drenched splosh.
Unfortunately it didn't matter how quiet I tried to be. In the end, I was bested by gravity and the prevailing splatter of soggy, sticky, muddy tennis shoes.
My face grew bright red. I could feel the heat of blood rush from my cheeks to my small ears.
GO, go, Go, go, GO dummy! Hurry up already!
You idiot! What are you standing their for?!
Don't worry about them just go! Hurry up before they see you and then you'll really regret it.
Mid-stride I accidentally scrape the zipper key-chain side of my backpack on a locker that I was passing by. A metallic jangling stopped me dead in my tracks.
My heart flopped inside of my throat.
Oh please, please, please, tell me they vanished in the blink of an eye. That Toby wasn't holding Josh up against the wall with crazy strength that a human shouldn't have and that Josh wasn't just standing there and humoring him as if he wasn't worried at all.
I open my eyes and forced myself to deal with the embarrassing aftermath. OK if Toby asked I'd pretend as if I weren't trying to make a getaway just then, that our meeting was a total coincidence and then I would flee.
Against my better judgement I open one eye and then the other.
Dumbstruck, I stood there and smiled.
Out of happenstance or it could have been just plain carelessness on their part, who knew, who cared, I was astonished to find neither of them looked my way.
They were so focused on the other person it never occurred to them who might be roaming the halls at the same time. Toby was ballsy not to give a damn that professors liked to walk through this hallway and could pinch him and Josh for fighting.
Wait a minute-
What was I still doing here? I gave up on wondering why they didn't catch me and purposefully walk on the balls of my feet out of the loby, all the while glancing behind me to make sure they were more focused on each other than little ol me.
Once I was in the clear I ran as fast as my legs would allow.
Instead of taking the main shortcut, because that option was out of the question, I go around the other way
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