Between the lines

lor

ng to spot the idiot, so while everyone else hurries to their classrooms and the morning announc

lesson, though that doesn't particularly matter to me because I'm pretty sure that no person in their right mind

ry to intrude but there's an emergency. Davidson and

urns to Kyle and gives him a quick

pping his pen and leaning back into his seat with folded arms. He's not h

he script?" I in

onfused, oblivious

Kyle has such

; the script we got ye

ns calm and sighs. "No, I

I roll my eyes and they land on Olivia, sittin

I give her a pointed look. I turn back to K

he middle of learning?"

cles. I unzip my schoolbag and

living daylight out of my bad luck and basically abusing the poor sheets of paper to the point where it looked lik

. All the other students in the class –and

Bu

osition. He yells, and I proceed to pull him out of the classroom while simultaneously apologizing to th

ainful groan before yelling, "Let go of m

e at me in horror. After I decide that a moment is all he needs, I grip at his s

hair! Not the hair!" T

ou by those two unflattering black snake bites

gth of Hulk. He pulls away from me and finds a way

. "Do you want that septum piercing yanked out of

reply. "You're so incompetent. If you had read the script last night you'd know why I'm bu

sincerely hope that it hurt. "What's so despairing that you had to kidnap me from class and coul

e rolling his eyes and glaring at me to sha

follo

we enter the room. I pinch Kyle by his ear again and he stumbles away from me to cover it. If it had ripped off I'd bore a hole into it and wear it as a necklace. If I wa

xpression over her pearly smile before respond

teeth and inhaling deeply. In as low a tone as possible, I try to rem

exa

ds. It's rather fitting that you'r

hering you? I hope you two haven't gotten yourselves

, "I'm missing physics because of you. What th

n, "I have learnt parts of it before," another poke, "And while taking into account every single time I've ever crossed

ice shakes

hat

under my finger and flipping through it, s

urning to him. "You see, Clueless Clif

ing to flip through the script like an imbecile with a futile motive. "Look at all these damn scri

fool out of himself. I pull the script from

say to the adults in front of us. He runs a hand down the back of

quite soft –at least it felt like he had a pretty good

e the

l its changes up till the point where you crossed the line with the kis

. "We aren't

We are not

ssed through the room a

th done?" Mr

de the rival party aware of the iss

for the explanat

Ye

board had sponsored it so she sat still until it was over to present her own idea. Then, it was scripted in into its current concept and left to rest until this new school year began. The contents of the

ads. You dummy. You absolute idiot. You sickening dweeb. You

we don't have to do

ave me from this unin

protests, sternly. "You dare not rem

you agree to uphold the initial terms

HANK

THANK YOU,

the kiss scene, I'd still have to cooperate wi

, turning to Kyle wit

," Mrs Bev's voice

s literally no other reason

ght abou

eat, his expression softening. "

to kill

cene, right? Is that right?" I ask in a desperat

rs Bev says, in her expressionles

almost ye

yle yells

sh bag. I study Kyle for a moment

*

d I take our trays to a table

urger it's like she's swallowing a whale

out of the cafeteria right then a

I say, bitin

plies, through

into my mouth. "Did

night. I'll do it bef

d or seen it. There are... things. Things that weren't there before. Strange things. Things I don't want to talk about while eat

just chew your food," she scolds me. "Yo

in front of us. Kyle slams his tray down on the furniture. He picks up his burger –drenched in so many sauce

ious b

Pal." H

most

ivia and reply to him. "You disgust me. No, you know what? I'm not even going to tempt you to insult or figh

are a stifled snic

y to talk to someone you're trying to cooperate wi

e over his head. He stands frozen at the feeling of the liquid on his skin, rolling down his cheeks, soaking into his scalp. Students who witness the action laugh and

e to run down his fac

holds an expression of shock –covering her

of his disgustingly sloppy burger in his hand and proceedin

p in h

dar

stern and frightening. "Don't test me." He says, walking away and pull

y," Ron says, following

barrassment, or I'll die of shame, or I'll die of frustration or anger, or I'll die because I'll kill myself. The two of us are never going to cooperate." I close

turn to look up and find Adrien Evans with an exte

go. Take these. What was all that abo

t the thought of Kyle and I being friends, but I'm too upset. "Thanks, Adrien -and hell to th

ping sauce on someone's face is the closest I've seen that guy come to having physical contact with

," I

eady looking up at him but turns away the moment he turns to her.

le too quickly, "Everyone in senio

ace. "You can take a sea

ging into his plate of potato wedges. Olivia goes

into my best friend –she's such a sell-out of herself w

g to snap her out of her daze before she embarrasses herself. S

turns to me. "Huh? Oh,

ere you're surrounded by too many friends to even be spotted among them? You've been pretty dis

so many times. That kind of life doesn't exactly allow one to settle with a sizable g

move so much? And to think you could've been done with all this high school c

got full custody of me when I was eight, and things were fine then but now he's a mess. So whenever he

ord to buy a house as recently as a year and a half ago. I've moved and rented houses and apartments my whole

sks, gesturing to Olivia, "or

. He never was my friend. He nev

e able to do anything t

do you

a tough one," he compliments. "He can't knock you down. He won't. And i

One of the class

rs –this one will make it the fourth. I just can't believe now it's gotten to the point wh

you two have to take the leading roles and how apparently the two of you are a popular pair in the school when it co

wards me. So I just return the favour. I

ivia. "You're a

" She r

t? Olivia Pres

aybe her reserved demeanour is roped to the fact that her parents run a church, but what I know for

a little tired, I think. And upset. Malory, you're still not telling me about what happ

script, Olivia. I'm not getting int

*

on

before approaching him. I finally find him in the boys' bathroom

ory Lloyd... and after four –almost five- years of b

I say to him. "S

h spite. "Sure. You might as well go sit with her an

having strong, impulsive urges to get violent when threatened specifically when it involves Kyle, and spit some seriously wounding insults most

hose who take the time to prove they're being genuine towards him. Like me. You'd think that after four, almost five, years of knowing him I'd be able to pick his brain

r waiting to pounce. One step over the line and he would go insane. I've only seen him get pushed over the e

aggressive a handful of times but I know that it could get out of hand. She

him –when I try to protect him. "You know, Ron," he says, his tone mechanical, "it's like you know me but you don't know

en talking about?

in. He sighs, closing his

my side or not. Sto

into my shoulder on purpose and walking

ly smart and has a funny bone every once in a blue moon, or that he's

ill can't pinpoint a defined method of dealing wit

m, I've spent far too much time by his side to mope over defeat w

meday I'll get the answers I want –that someday Kyle would learn that life isn't all about wo

t part of