Queen of the track

IV

Chapter 4.

Gray

When I walk to lunch alone, I notice more people than usual staring at me and whispering. The kid from class was right, all day I've been hearing snippets of bizarre rumours spreading around the school about my interaction with the Mitchell twins this morning.

It took a lot in me earlier not to snap at some Sophmore girls who had no idea I was walking behind them, but when I heard them say I had been shipped off to Mexico in a coffin, I wanted nothing more than to yell that I was still there, alive and ready to put AJ in a coffin the next time I see him.

The cafeteria was no different, in fact, it was probably worse.

"Hey," some Senior guy in a varsity jacket says from where he stands ahead of me in the line to buy food. "You're the guy who picked a fight with AJ Mitchell, right?"

Technically no, I didn't pick a fight with that asshole, he picked a fight with me, but that isn't what I say.

"What about it?" My eyes are cold as I assess my options for lunch.

"Good luck man," he chuckles. "The guy's a short-fuse."

I watch him walk away and sit down with a group of his friends. My eyes wander over to a table near the back of the room where the asshat himself sits with his sister and a few other Seniors. I glare at the side of his head, hoping that if I think hard enough about it, he'll feel my glare burning into his skin. But he doesn't, so instead, I buy some food and survey the scene ahead of me; almost every table is full with people I don't know, and don't want to know either, but as I take a few more steps forward, I notice a small table with only one occupant at the side of the room.

"Seriously?" The guy who's name I still don't know says to me when I sit down across from him. He looks up from the table and gives me an incredulous look. "I'm starting to understand why AJ wanted to kill you."

I shrug and take a bite out of my apple.

He sighs and shakes his head, looking back down at the table. At a closer look, I notice that he's doing work and grimace.

"Seriously?" I copy his tone, "you're doing work during lunch?"

"Well, we established that I'm not your imaginary friend," he says to me without looking up. "Which means that I'm two weeks behind. And for a Senior who's already got a pretty low GPA, two weeks is practically two months."

I nod in understanding. I'm not exactly the smartest guy—that added to the fact I don't usually prioritise school, means I know what it feels like to be under pressure by a big workload.

"I'm Ryan." I look up to see him looking at me rather nervously. "And don't expect me to come to your funeral when AJ eventually hunts you down, his sister can't keep him in check forever, you know."

I nod at him, "duly noted."

He looks at something over my shoulder before turning his attention back to his work. I not so subtly turn around, guessing that he was looking at the table where AJ and Raven sit with their friends.

"So, what's their deal?" I ask when I face Ryan again, dropping my apple core onto my tray. "Like, why're they so ... " I drag the word out, but can't think of anything to finish the description.

"Uptight?" Ryan suggests, then shrugs his shoulders without looking up from his work. "Who knows."

I furrow my eyebrows at his vague answer, it's clear to see that he knows, he just isn't saying anything about it. I pop open the lid of my soda can—yes, I know it's hypocritical because I just ate an apple, but I don't really care—and decide to lighten the mood.

"So, one of the rumours I heard today consisted of me being shipped to Mexico ... in a coffin."

Ryan snorts and glances up at me, "yeah? Well, I heard AJ ripped off a locker door and beat you with it before you stole it off of him and used it as a skateboard to get away." We both laugh, shaking our heads at the ridiculous scenario.

"This school is something else, man." I say with a small smile.

"This school is full of people who are terrified of the Mitchell twins," Ryan says to me seriously, flipping the page of his textbook. "You'd be better off acting the same way."

I shake my head with a scowl, "I'm not scared of them, and I'm not gonna pretend like I am, either."

"Well, that's good to hear, because I hate people who pretend to be something they're not."

My body tenses up at the sound of Raven's voice, but I force myself to relax and look up at her. She's standing completely at ease, but yet with a commanding presence about her, it makes me think that it's not just her looks that gain attention to her, but the way she carries herself. It's almost hypnotising.

From across the table, Ryan's hand has stopped writing mid-word, and his entire body has gone rigid as he stares at the table, avoiding Raven at all costs. Though it seems Raven isn't one to be ignored.

"Hayes." She averts her calculating eyes from me and puts them onto Ryan. Her tone is light and sounds kind of amused, but it also seems to come across as intimidating, like a mom trying to catch her kid mid-lie. "It's good to see you back at school."

Ryan slowly looks up but doesn't look Raven in the eye. Instead, he glances around the room nervously, looking for someone. A teacher maybe? Does he think Raven is going to beat him up or something? Ryan's a lot skinnier than I am, so I actually wouldn't be surprised if she could.

I have a 'don't hit women' policy, but I won't stand by and watch this kid get pummelled, verbally or physically. He doesn't deserve that, not from what I've seen, anyway.

"He's not here." Raven says harshly when she notices Ryan looking around the room, her 'nice mom' act fading for a moment before she composes herself again.

Confused, I turn in my seat to look at the table Raven had previously been sitting at. There are two guys and two girls staring at us—or more like glaring at us—and one of them is the guy from Chem Lab earlier, but AJ isn't among them anymore. He had left, but when and why? He was there five minutes ago, and there's still about ten minutes left of lunch. Is AJ who Ryan was looking for a moment ago?

"Can we not do this here?" Ryan asks in a small voice, still not looking up at Raven. I glance around the cafeteria, noticing how quiet it seems to have gotten since Raven made her approach to us. All eyes seem to be directed at this table, and Ryan doesn't like it one bit. Can't say I blame the guy.

"Why'd you come back?" Raven's eyes narrow in annoyance as she asks this, as if she already knows the answer, but wants him to say it.

"It's school," Ryan suddenly snaps, finding his confidence and looking at Raven with both anger and disbelief. "What, am I banned from here too, now? You gonna make transfer to someplace else?"

Fury lights up in Raven's eyes at his surprise response, but she keeps her composure and takes a deep breath, calming herself. She suddenly scoffs, but it sounds somewhat forced. "So what if I do? It isn't like you've got any friends here."

"Yeah," Ryan nods with a small dry laugh. "Yeah, you made sure of that."

"No," Raven says quickly, defending herself. "You did. So, don't be so quick to forget."

With one last hard glance my way, Raven spins on her heel and walks towards the exit, the deep click of her heeled boots the only sound echoing around the room. Her friends get up and follow her out, clearly deciding that their lunch break is over. The moment the door is slammed shut behind them all, the cafeteria buzzes to life as everyone starts to gossip about what just happened and why, which are the two questions that I desperately want to ask Ryan, but don't, because the pained look on his face is enough to tell me that he wouldn't tell me even if he actually wanted to.

I watch Ryan as he blinks and looks down at his work, carrying on as if the past few minutes never happened. I frown at him but sit there in silence until the warning bell rings, and the entire cafeteria clears out. Ryan has his books packed and his bag on his shoulder within five seconds and disappears into the crowd without a word.