The Rumour Mill - Completed

4. Impressionable

Libby's POV

My mum's voice crackled through the school's ancient tannoy system, seeping through the heavy atmosphere in the room. She began by welcoming the student body back to the new academic year before proceeding to inform them all uniform infringements would be dealt with severely. The sixth formers around me groaned their complaints, I could tell by their nonchalance they thought they were above her jurisdiction, but oh boy were they wrong, in her old school she had made an example out of them. I had often thought her punishment to them had actually been the harshest of all, with the younger kids she had made them wash their faces, remove nail varnish or in the event of trainers being worn to school she had made the offender take them off and walk round in only their socks all day. Yeah my mum was stubborn, I thought and I knew nobody got the upper hand on her...no matter what.

When the sixth formers had broken a rule she had a whole range of unusual punishments lined up, from assisting the teachers with coaching sessions, running after-school study groups for the younger students, helping the cleaners and her personal favourite, making the miscreant spend the day in a year seven class, taking part in all their lessons, her justification was that if they acted like children they would be treated like children. And that was when she was only a deputy head, so god only knows how the power would go to her head now she was top dog. My brow furrowed into a heavy frown as I realised once the other's found out she was my mum I'd be lucky if I made it out of the place alive, hmmm perhaps I should just accept the next two years were going to be very, very lonely.

The atmosphere in school this morning had taken an unexpected turn for the frosty, I thought as I headed towards second period and the gym. My timetable was a little vague, for the next two hours I had PE, but I had no idea what form of exercise this physical education class would take.

By the time I got to the changing rooms a couple of girls were already in their kits, there was no set uniform and like me the majority had shorts and a t-shirt. I found a space to change and rushed to get out of my clothes and into my sports gear. I was just pulling my t-shirt down when one of the girls, I think it was Zoe, shoved passed me, elbowing me in the back as she went. I jerked round quickly to see her walking off with two others I recognised from last night, she cast me a snarl over her shoulder before flicking her head back round spraying her long white blond hair out behind her, ooh very shampoo ad, I thought to myself before a flame of annoyance ignited inside me.

"What's your problem?" I called after her, although I am not normally confrontational I knew I couldn't let this pass...there was no way I was bring a victim for the next two years.

Zoe and her friends come to an abrupt halt a couple of yards away from me and they turned to face me, they looked at each other and started to smirk.

"You're my problem, slag!" Zoe challenged, the other girls getting changed all stopped what they were doing so they could catch my reaction.

"What did you just call me?" I spat as I took a step closer, my eyes fixed on hers. Out the corner of my eye I could see girls all around me fishing in their pockets for their phones, clearly they were expecting a fight and they didn't want to miss the opportunity of filming it so they could share the moment with the rest of the world.

Her smirk spread across her face as her posse of friends closed ranks around her; I just knew I couldn't back down. So I stepped forward, bridging the gap between the two of us and readied myself for the inevitable 'set-to' which was about to explode in the confinement of the girls locker room.

"I asked you what you called me!" I could feel the anger bubbling inside me, I had no idea what had happened, how she'd gone from a potential friend to my nemesis.