Lost

Chapter 9

For once in my life, I'm actually excited for school. Shocking, I know, but I can't wait to see Zach. All that nice stuff he said, when his family came to my house for dinner, makes me like him more than I already do. I didn't even know that was possible.

I'm smiling to myself as I walk past the lockers. Being my stupid self, I bump right into Kaylie, who's standing next to Megan and Sofia.

"Watch where you're going, loser," she snarls.

I know that if I start crying now, I'll never be able to stop. So I try to not let her see how much her words hurt.

"Aw, did Maddie get upset?" Sofia teases.

I take a deep breathe and try to control my anger, but deep down I know that I can't let them get the best of me. Not this time.

"Why don't you check eBay and see if they have a life for sale," I mumble.

"What did you just say to me?" Sofia asks.

"I said, 'why don't you check eBay to see if they have a life for sale', and leave me and my life alone," I say, this time with slightly more confidence.

The small group of people that have gathered around us let out a collective "oooh."

"Why don't you go kill yourself," Sofia yells, as she storms off in the other direction.

I knew I shouldn't have talked back to her, it only makes it worse. I hate to admit it, but that comment hurt a lot. Zach walks up to me, just as my eyes begin to water.

"Are you okay?" he asks thoughtfully.

"Zach, stop. You can't ask me stuff like that, it just makes it worse. I have to come up with an answer, and that means I have to think about what just happened, and then I'm going to cry..."

Before I can finish, Zach wraps his arms around me. I'm full on crying now, tears streaming down my face. He doesn't care, he just stands there and holds me.