Chapter 6
292words
During track practice, Sophia and her minions jogged behind me.
"Move it, Evelyn!" they taunted. "At this pace, you'll fail the class!"
I kept my eyes on the track and pushed forward.
After practice, I dragged myself to the locker room. I'd barely removed my shirt when freezing water cascaded over my head.
Sophia and her friends stood before me, doubled over with laughter.
"Oops!" Sophia giggled. "My bad. Hand slipped."
I stood there shivering violently, soaked to the bone, my lips turning blue.
"You—"
"What?" Sophia cocked her head. "Going to tell Coach Wilson? Be my guest."
I didn't report it.
Sophia's father had just funded the new athletic center.
No teacher would touch her.
I walked home in wet clothes.
I caught a vicious cold that turned into pneumonia by nightfall.
My temperature spiked to 104.
Mom took me to the ER. The doctor insisted I needed admission.
But we had no insurance, no savings.
After Mom pleaded for nearly an hour, the doctor reluctantly prescribed antibiotics and sent us home.
I spent a week delirious with fever.
No classmates visited. No one called. No one cared.
I remember wondering if I died, would anyone even notice?
Probably not.
Sophia would probably throw a party.
One less eyesore in her perfect world.
But I didn't die. I survived.
When I finally returned to school, my desk was covered in Sharpie.
"TRASH"
"SLUT"
"KILL YOURSELF"
I scrubbed those words away until my fingers were raw. Then I sat down and opened my textbook as if nothing had happened.
Just endure it. This will pass.
Once I get to college, none of this will matter.
That's the lie I told myself every single day.
